Goldfuss update (October 28)

Dear Praying Friends,

This past week has brought some new and different challenges. One dear friend who prays for us, used the word "crisis". She said that we do not realize because we are right in the middle, but it seems like many of our families are struggling with very difficult things.

1. Please pray for the Lopez Family--Erasmo, Matilde, Abby, Vania and Usi. This past week Abby left home with a girlfriend. Fortunately the Lord allowed her parents to find her, and she is back home again. I was able to spend two nights last week talking to them and trying to get to the bottom of the problems. Please pray for each one in the family to do what is right before the Lord. For Erasmo to lead, for Matilde to submit to her husband and be an example for her daughters, and for Abby and the other two girls to submit to, honor and obey their parents. There are some definite salvation needs in that family also.
2. Martha fell this past week in her nursing job at the children's hospital. She has a neck and back injury. As a result of being on sick leave this past week, she was able to come to church yesterday for BOTH services--although in a great deal of pain and in a neck brace. She almost always has to leave before our second service and so rarely gets to sing. She loved being there to sing. Pray for her recovery as the Lord allows and for her continued growth in grace.
3. Analilia has left Jesus. She has taken all 5 of the children and gone to Alcapulco where her family is. Please pray as we minister to Jesus and seek to try to reunite this family. Their main need is salvation.
4. There is some continued frustration with financial problems in a good number of people in the church. Many have taken on debts that have chained them down so that they can't do what they need to do to provide for their families. Please pray that the Lord would give us wisdom and patience and that the people would have the determination to seek to pay off their debts in order to owe no man anything. It is wonderful to see these same people growing in other spiritual areas of their lives, but it is devastating to see them not having a problem with spending money for birthday parties etc. when loved ones are ill and need medical attention.
5. We had a surprise: 5 guests arrived on Saturday evening. In the group were a couple from Singapore, a man from Columbia, and two men from Michoacan, Mexico. The Singaporean man is a retired teacher from BJ. He is helping with a church in Greenville. The man from Columbia also attends the church. They were all visiting the Mexican men. Apparently, one of the men was saved in Greenville and they were visiting to encourage him in the Lord. Since there is no good church where this man is, all came to the morning service to ask our church if we would go and start a mission work there about three hours away outside of the city. Please pray for this wonderful opportunity. Mike brought it to our church's attention and the men are going to pray. This would be wonderful for Mike to be able to take the men individually and train them to minister. Please pray for this along with the: men's meeting on Friday night and men's work meeting at the church 8AM Saturday morning. (They will be putting divisions in the other side of the church to create different classrooms).
6. On a lighter note, we are very thankful that we found the problem with our wood stove. The creosote and buildup in the chimney had fallen down by itself during the last 9 months and filled up the head of the chimney with about 6 solid inches of soot. That was making it impossible for the air to get by and so the fire would put itself out. We got that fixed and cleaned out last week and it is working like a new stove. That's a blessing as we have had some pretty cold nights and mornings---but for the most part here in the house we have been toasty and warm.
7. There is a possibility of several different people coming to help short term in the next year or two. Please pray for the Lord to open and close doors as He sees fit. Pray for us to have wisdom from the Lord as we seek to help place them in areas of service based on their gifts and interests.
8. Melissa only has 5 weeks left with us. All are studying like mad to make good use of our time with her. We hate to even think of her leaving, but are thankful for all of the help she has given in both homeschooling and piano lessons for the church.
9. Last night Gabriel went to talk to Morgan for about 4 hours. From that conversation, it is very obvious that he is trusting in his works for salvation and could possibly cause a good deal of trouble in the church. We ask that you would first of all pray for him to be saved and to truly understand God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. If that is not going to happen, we ask that you would pray for the men who have a good grasp of doctrine to understand and to be able to encourage him and refute his false ideas. Gabriel's wife Liliana and their three boys, Yoltic, Yolat and Yolotzin are all a blessing to have in our church. Please pray for the Lord to work in His perfect way in this situation.
   

Thank you again for praying!
We depend on your prayers!

In Christ,
Mike for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (October 20)

Dear Praying Friends,

Last week we asked you to pray Miguel Angel who Mike had met on a bus. At first he refused a tract, then took one, then asked some questions and talked for about 15 minutes. He showed up to our service on Wednesday night. He really seemed to enjoy the service and Morgan's preaching. Please pray for him to return.

Please pray for our own evangelism day by day--that we would seek to find opportunities to turn the conversations to Christ, that we would be bold in our witness, that we would give the gospel and that we would see fruit.

This past Tuesday night, Mikey and I went to church to paint the ceiling and walls. Mikey was a big help. On Thursday night, Morgan, Christian, Nico, Marcos and I all worked on getting the floor painted. It's the 4th time I've painted that floor and it was SOOO good to have help this time. The paint is a chlorinated rubber substance and it is strong stuff. It took us about an hour and a half to get the floor done. All five of us, a little woozy, went to a nearby taco stand to celebrate finishing.

In our men's meeting two weeks ago, we talked about helping Martha with some groceries since she makes $150 US dollars every two weeks and has two children and a husband who doesn't help her at all, but does expect her to cook for him. Last week Morgan and I went to Sam's club and bought 50 pounds of rice, 50 pounds of sugar, 40 pounds of black, pinto and lentil beans, salt, 5 gallons of cooking oil, lots of bleach and laundry soap, meat, hamburger, hot dogs, pastas, cereal, and some other things that I've forgotten. Martha was not home when we arrived and after waiting a while, two mechanics in the shop told us to "just leave it all in the office." Right. We found that the door to their small apartment was open up above so Morgan and I hauled everything up a small spiral staircase, and prayed that everything would be there when Martha returned home. I called her in the afternoon and she had gone to another state to see a sick sister but was planning on arriving that night with her two children (Frida-15 and Diego 9). We told her that we were worried about the food and she said, "It will be ok." I called her again the next day and she said that they arrived at 10:30 PM and her son said, "Mom, we can eat for a year. I've never seen so much food in all my life." She said that she was so thankful and was just overwhelmed and ready to cry after seeing it all. Praise the Lord that our church is looking for people who have needs and is trying to meet those needs in real ways. Please pray for Martha's husband Bruno to see Christ's love too. It would be easy for him to say, "Well, why should I provide for my wife if others will?", but please pray that he will see that we are Christ's disciples by our love for one another and that his heart will be turned toward our great God.

Martha had to work a double shift on Saturday afternoon and night at the hospital. She got off at 7:00 AM but was at SS at 11. She had to leave at 1 because she had to work again in the afternoon, but she said that our study in Heb. 9 about the superiority of Christ was exactly what she needed and was very encouraged and she didn't even feel sleepy. Praise the Lord for what He is doing in her life.

Nico has had a difficult week with Liliana his wife. It seems like she is developing a type of arthritis and is in a lot of pain. Please pray for Nico and his family. He is the only one saved there and faces many struggles with his wife and three children. He listened on my MP 3 player this morning two times to our SS class from yesterday and just returned saying that he had been encouraged. Praise the Lord for the power of His Word.

We had a good afternoon yesterday with Marcos and Ruth and their two children, Ximena (He-men-ah) and Joana their new baby. Marcos was around when Crystalyn died and is struggling with what would happen if their new little baby would die. We were able to encourage him with God's sovereignty and control of all things. It's an incredible thing to think that the Lord Jesus was born in the world's most unsanitary place, a stable, and He was preserved. Our lives and times are in God's hands. Please pray for Marcos' faith to increase.

We received a call from Analilia this morning, Jesus' wife. (He is the man with the recent hip operation.) She is really at her wit's end with her husband's brother who lives next door with his three boys. The brother is divorced and never there. The three boys (11, 8 and 6) have never been to school one day in their lives. They are always stealing what little Jesus and Analilia have. She has stated in the past that if he won't do anything to fix the situation, she is moving out. That day apparently has arrived. She is planning on leaving tomorrow and says that if Jesus will fix the situation, she will be back with him in no time. I do believe her. They are unsaved and have heard the gospel clearly. Pray for the Lord to work in their hearts.

Melissa took a couple of pictures of the family yesterday. I'll pass a couple along.

Thank you for praying for us,
Mike for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (October 13)

Dear Praying Friends,

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for praying about our renting the other side of our little building. Morgan finalized the deal with the owner of the building, and we have paid through the end of the year. Everyone is very excited! On Friday night of last week, we had a men´s meeting and then again this past Saturday. There were good turnouts to both meetings with 8 men coming last week and 9 men coming this past Saturday. I just love the spirit among our men. It is such an encouragement to hear the men praying and discussing points in the book on Biblical Eldership that apply to us. We are seeing now the fruits of years of your praying. Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray for the Lord to raise up qualified men with a desire to lead His church. After our men's meeting Saturday morning, a good number of the men stayed to help paint and get some other things done. It will probably be two weeks before it will be ready to use, but it is such a blessing to see the men encouraged and enthusiastic in wanting to help get it ready for the Lord's service. This will, Lord willing, enable us to divide all of our children and young people into four SS classes instead of just one.

CLIMBING WATERFALLS!!!!!! Last Saturday, we had a young people's meeting that was for anyone who felt like they were young. We had our third creek walk and this one was the coldest one yet. We had about 35 people attend--from as little as 2 months old all the way up to 70 years old. We had a very good devotional time on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from Daniel 3 and then ...........a hotdog roast!

We are continuing our study on the gospel and our evangelism. Please pray that those who are not saved would truly understand the gospel and be converted and that those who are saved will know it well and that it will continually be a part of our lives. We have personally had several very good conversations with others and been able to give them the Gospel in the last few weeks. Even today on a bus, after refusing a tract, Miguel Angel took one and asked all about it. We had a good 30 minutes to talk to him and explain the Gospel. He said he was a Christian, but with further discussion, he revealed that he is trusting in his obeying God's commandments to give him peace with God. Pray that he will come this Wednesday night as he said he would. Please pray that each individual in the church would take it upon himself to be a witness wherever he is---AND that we would be able to see the blessing of the Lord in the furtherance of the gospel though the Lord's church here in Mexico City.

Last week Mike had some pretty heavy and difficult visits. Jesus and Analilia (he of the hip replacement), Nico's family, and Martha all have been going through some very difficult trials. Even though there are some very pressing needs in all three families, it is amazing how dealing with those who are saved is so much easier because they have the Holy Spirit and respond to God's Word. Many times it's easy to leave a family that is suffering and does not have Christ and to feel total despair apart from God's intervening grace. At our men's meeting Saturday, they decided to take 200 dollars of our offering and give it to Martha. We are going to be giving her $150 for food and $50 for propane gas. This is a great gesture and really helps the men see the needs and seek to meet them.

UPCOMING EVENTS!

1. This Saturday's Ladies Meeting
2. Piano recital--18 young people are practicing fervently for their weekly lessons. Melissa is not only a wonderful homeschooling teacher for our children, but she is a wonderful piano teacher as well for the entire church. The students seem to have realized that she is only going to be with us for a short time and they are really progressing rapidly. Melissa has scheduled a piano recital for the end of November which will be right before she leaves us on December 5th. We praise the Lord for her hard work and sacrificial spirit.
   

Thank you so much for praying!

In Christ,
Mike and Faith for all the rest of the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (September 29)

Dear Praying Friends,

To be very honest, this has been a difficult week. We got a horrible cold front which would have been no problem except that we kept losing electricity--once for 24 hours and once for 12 hours. This would not have been a problem either because we have our wonderful wood stove, but we have had a problem with the gasket not fitting right and smoke has been escaping into the house. So as of right now, no wood stove usage. It was so cold that we could see our breath. Everyone in the whole family was very sick and it just seemed like we were not able to get much accomplished. But before you all feel bad for us, we realized that this was very good for one and all. We are so used to ease and comfort and that may not be in any of our futures. We were able to help the children use their heads and make the best of everything and just keep going. The Lord allowed us to do school even without the electricity. We just wore tons of clothes, wrapped up in blankets and did our best. The Lord has given us much to be thankful for.

On the worst day, when it seemed like we were just barely maintaining instead of "accomplishing something for Christ", the Lord in his incredible love sent us 2 letters that were extremely encouraging. (The electricity came on for 10 minutes and we got them via e-mail). One was an extremely encouraging letter from a church that supports us. Another was a letter from a young man who we were able to lead to the Lord when we were in language school almost 13 years ago. His name was Rene. We lived on a ranch, and he was the nephew of the owners of the ranch. Faith and I have wondered about Rene for years---really hoping that his conversion was real. He wrote and said that he had asked his uncle about us and finally found our web site. He now is 28, married, has 3 children, and works for the border patrol. This is what his letter said, "I'll start first by giving all praise, honor, and glory and thanks to our heavenly Father for sending his Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins, making it possible for us to go to heaven, when we deserve hell....I want to thank the Lord for using you to witness to me and 'sow the seed' in my younger years. I truly to this day believe that the Lord used you to change my life today. I use you and Faith as part of my testimony that God was calling me to Him at a very young age. It was me who wasn't listening to his voice. Some of my hobbies now are basically spending time with God..." We were thrilled to see that he is a godly father--leading his family in the Lord! AND actively witnessing to all around him. But we then again were overwhelmed.....Why would the God of the universe take the time to move this young man to write to us (truly nothing people) at a time when we really needed encouragement? It was a wonderful reminder that God is the One who does the work. We are just privileged to be the means to somehow get that truth to His people. We are merely the tools---and broken tools at that. It was an encouragement to just keep plugging along, loving the Lord, teaching that to our children, and allowing little difficulties to work their purposes in our lives.

On Sunday (yesterday), I was very sick and didn't feel at all well during the SS and preaching services. I thought that the delivery wasn't very good; but then again, it isn't about me. The people trickled in...many are also sick. All were wondering if we would ever again see the sun---AND the Lord blessed us with that on His Day.

Good news:

• Marcos and Ruth had their little baby--Joana (after Juana--the new grandma). She is beautiful and we went to see them yesterday after church to pray and rejoice with them.
• Teresa mentioned that her grandson Jonathan--who left after coming to church 3 weeks ago--is still not home. The Lord is using this situation greatly in the life of Teresa's daughter Vanessa. We have known her for years, but she has never wanted to bow the knee to the Lord. She told her mother--- in front of her very critical sister that the Lord has shown her her horrible sin--and that she has repented of her sin and asked Him to forgive her and be her Savior! We were thrilled. These are not just words because Vanessa is NOT the type of person that would just say something like that. Pray for her that she would come to our church or find a good church closer to her as she lives 2 hours away (still in the south of the city).
• Janet came after 3 months of not coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Janet had been dating an unsaved man for 3 months. She is still is struggling spiritually, but it was wonderful to see her with her sister Vanessa (another Vanessa). All of the church people hugged her and welcomed her with open arms!
  

Prayer Requests

• The owner of the church is now offering to rent us the other side for $200 more per month. (Thankfully his daughter's belly dancing business has gone belly-up!) Yet, the men need to meet to pray and decide whether we should take this next step. This would give us three extra rooms for more classes, another bathroom (really necessary), and another room for a stove and kitchen like area. Our total would be $500 per month. Pray with us for wisdom and the Lord's perfect will. We are not sure whether to keep renting there at all as some of the people who live there are being very mean to our people as they enter church. The wonderful thing is that it does not bother our people. The people who live there are normally kind to us gringos, but to their own, they treat them rudely.
• Normally, I make a yearly trip for supplies as some things are half price at the border. I usually do this in November, but may need to do it sooner as we decide about a generator or not. We want the Lord's perfect will on this matter--and don't want to purchase it if it is not really necessary.
  

Thank you so much for praying!!!!

In Christ,
Mike for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (September 22)

Dear Praying friends,

We haven't seen the sun for almost a week now. It has been cloudy, drizzly and rainy and pretty cold. The family is going through one of our pretty hard cycles of cough/sinus and throat problems. We appreciate your prayers for the Lord's grace in this time. We do have a wood stove but I recently replaced the door gasket and it is a bit too small so we can't use it right now as smoke comes out and fills the room. We hope to be able to get a new one from the States by the end of this week. A small request but it would be very helpful for our family.

Our communication has been a bit hampered also. We have been without telephone service for over a week and very limited internet. When you receive this email, you will know that our internet service is back--at least for a few seconds or minutes. :-) The telephone company told us that they will try to fix the problem today or tomorrow so we shall see.

Erasmo is still in some pain from his surgery. Please pray that he will be able to recover fully and quickly and be back to driving his taxi so that he can provide for his family.

Sra. Gloria and her mom Maria have been able to make it the last couple of months to our services but Gloria's shingles are still bothering her. The last couple of weeks she has only been able to stay for SS.

Martha missed last Sunday but was there yesterday. She is struggling with illness and the great burden of unsaved family at home and an abusive husband. He will not supply for any of the needs that his family has but still expects Martha to make food for him. She works as a nurse to make about $150 dollars a week. Things are extremely difficult for her physically and economically, BUT to see her in church as she hears about the Lord Jesus and what He has done and is doing for her is such a joy to see. You can actually see her face change during the service and when she hears a pertinent point about Christ, she just kind of closes her eyes, sighs deeply and smiles. It is such a blessing.

Another blessing is to see people whose lives are filled with physical difficulty and suffering actually in tears as they sing and worship during the service. Sometimes I am arrested with my own lack of worship or thought in the songs as I see someone who is actually so involved in their singing and the message of the words that they are brought to tears. May the Lord truly give us hearts to be filled and affected by what we say we believe.

This past Wed. night our longtime friend Pedro (unsaved) showed up for our Wed. evening service. He was with his bother Alejandro, and his wife, Norma with their little girl. Please pray for the Lord's saving work in each of their lives.

School continues to progress. Melissa has been a wonderful help to Faith and our family. Because of Cristi's intensive therapy last year, we were not able to begin school until October of last year. However, in two weeks Mikey should be completely caught up with school and Carissa should follow him very soon. We praise the Lord for allowing Melissa to be with us which has allowed us to get caught up. Cristi is doing so much better with her dyslexia challenges. Our monthly therapies continue. Thank you for praying.

Melissa is offering her piano playing abilities to the entire church. Eighteen people have signed up to take lessons. Only about 10 had their lesson last week. I announced that this next week is the last opportunity. Then we will revise the list if they do not come. Please pray that the church people would take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Our next young people's meeting will be this coming Saturday. If the rains stay this week, we will have our third straight creek walk. The kids are hoping for that. We'll try to send some pictures next week.

Thank you for all of your prayers,
In Christ,
Mike for all the Goldfii