Goldfuss update (November 25)

Dear Praying friends,

You may get tired of hearing it, but as always, but we do thank you for your prayers.

We forgot to mention it last week, but we were thrilled to Elsa and Alondra present again in our services. They are each living out of wedlock, with a child, and they each have brought their partners to church in the past. Last Sunday they showed up together, Elsa with her little boy and Alondra by herself. Elsa's little boy was not feeling well and screamed for a lot of both services, albeit in another room. Many of you have prayed for them throughout the years. They are unsaved, but it is still a blessing to see them come to church (they have to take public transportation to get to our church and it takes over 2 hours.) Please pray for the Lord to have mercy on these two young ladies and save them for His glory and honor and their good.

On Saturday, Nico, Marcos, Memo, Beto and I worked all day to get the other part of the divisions up for our new half of the building. Please pray that we would be able to finish it up to be able to use it. There was a good spirit and it was encouraging how some different spiritual topics came up and how the men conversed about those. Praise our great God for the spirit of fellowship and communion we have because of Christ.

On Friday night, Melissa invited two of the older girls from gymnastics, Brooke and Yorman, to sleep over with her in her room above the garage. Brooke was very tired and fell asleep, but Yorman asked many questions and Melissa had an excellent opportunity to give her the gospel. Please pray for their salvation. On Saturday afternoon, Brooke and Yorman's 2 sisters and 2 other cousins came to help our girls and Melissa bake and decorate Christmas cookies. It was an enjoyable time for all of them. Please pray for our girls' testimony and witness before these unsaved friends.

Last week we asked you to pray for Francisco's father who is gravely ill and probably on his deathbed. He asked me something similar to this: "Mike, if he feels better and I can give him a bath, what do you think about me trying to baptize him with the water, even if he doesn't know it?" That was an opportunity to speak with him about what baptism really is and how it does not save. Please pray that the Lord would remove the scales from his eyes to see the glorious face of the Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel.

This Sunday, we had an incredible blessing. Jesus, Analilia, and their four children arrived!!!!!!!!!!! Many of you know that Analilia left about 1 1/2 months ago because she couldn't stand the difficulties at home with Jesus' brother and his three boys. We honestly thought that they would never return again. Praise the Lord that we were wrong and that they did come. Please pray for them to repent and believe the gospel as well.

This Saturday night at 7 PM we are having a piano recital. Melissa has done an excellent job in teaching about 15 children and young people (and a few older ones as well.) They are going to be giving us a recital after three months of lessons. Please pray that the Lord will enable some of them to continue on so that they may even be able to help in the future in accompanying our hymns in church.

Thank you for all of your prayers,

Have a Happy and very Grateful Thanksgiving.

In Christ,
mike for all the goldfii

Goldfuss update (November 19)

Dear Praying Friends,

We apologize for not getting an email update out for the past several weeks. Things have been quite hectic. Thank you for your prayers during this time.

1. A family in our church has had some problems with Morgan about several different issues that are very legalistic. First of all, Morgan talked to the man, explaining his position biblically. Then, Morgan and I talked to the man, and then Morgan and I talked to the man and his wife. Each night was a conversation lasting about 3 or 4 hours. It was exhausting. The situation appears to have been resolved by God's grace. The wife appears to be trusting only in Christ for her salvation. The father appears to be trusting in his works and high morals for salvation. Please pray for the Lord to save Gabriel. Praise the Lord for Morgan's humility in dealing with the issues and admitting where he was wrong. After the second night of talking, things were not looking too promising as far as resolving the issues, but it was a tremendous blessing to leave their home after the third night and feel relief and gratitude to the Lord for working in the family and the situation.
2. That same week, Morgan dropped Mike and Mikey off at Mikey's basketball practice at 3:30 on Wed. afternoon. Morgan received a call in the parking lot from his dad asking him to go check on his grandmother who had fallen. Morgan has done this many times before and it's usually nothing. When we arrived at church at 6 PM, Ruth met us at the door telling us that Morgan's grandma had died and Morgan couldn't come. So Mike quickly prepared in 30 minutes to preach that night after our prayer service.
   When someone dies in Mexico, there is normally an all night vigil in the home with the burial the next day. Mike went to the home and for the second time that evening, was called on to be instant "in season and out of season." :-) At midnight, he was able to give about a 25 minute gospel message. A "spiritist" man was present and interrupted several times to give his opinion. The interruptions and Biblical answers caused people to really listen well. Morgan and Memo drove Mike back home around 1 AM, and when they returned to the house, the spiritist man had brought his "spiritual leader in also" and that man was speaking. Morgan said that it was very interesting how people were sleeping and didn't pay any attention to him. When he would go to the kitchen, people would get up and go to the living room. When the man would go back to the living room, people would return to the kitchen. It is amazing the difference between truth and error and how people with error really have nothing to offer. Pray for the Lord to use His Word to save some of the hearers from that all night vigil. Pray for Alejandro to be saved also. He has harbored a lot of bitterness throughout the years because of some terrible things that his mother did to him when he was a child.
   The next day, Mike accompanied Alejandro and his family to the cemetery where there is a crematorium. The body is delivered (in a rented casket no less) and the whole family waits around the cemetery for about 2 hours while the body is cremated. The ashes are then delivered to the family. Practices are definitely different from what we have grown up with.
3. Cristi, Carissa, Matthew and Cherith all take gymnastics classes. All of their friends there are unsaved. Cristi and Carissa especially have had some excellent opportunities to witness to their two friends (9 and 11 years old.) The friends are very openly opposed to the gospel and were stating their beliefs about the day of the dead in which the dead spirits of loved ones supposedly return to eat from altars with food that people have prepared in their homes. They were also asking Cristi and Carissa about why they want to be modest in gymnastics and not show off their bodies. The girls gave some excellent answers which is encouraging since we just recently had a 3 week study on glorifying Christ in our church and homes with modesty. Pray for the girls (and our boys) to truly be in Christ and that their answers would truly reflect the glory of God. It is easy to see the struggle between wanting to please friends and wanting to please our Savior and Lord. Please pray for Faith and I to have wisdom to shepherd and guide their hearts.
4. Last Monday Mikey and Mike went to Texas for our annual trip. We need to get our US car registration done as well as shop for things that may be cheaper there or things that we cannot get here in Mexico. It is about a 1,500 mile round trip. We left on Monday morning and arrived home on Friday night. It was a very busy and exhausting week, but we were able to get most everything that we needed. We praise the Lord for His protection as it is a grueling trip.
5. This Saturday we are to have another work party to try to get the divisions finished on the other side of our building. Please pray that we will have a good turnout and be able to get the job done.
6. Francisco called yesterday and said that his father is near death. Please pray for the Lord to use this in Francisco's life to truly save him. He has a profession of faith from past years, but very little desire to obey Christ. May God increase each of our desires to love, please and serve Christ in all that we do.
   

We thank you so much for your faithful prayers, encouragement and support. May the Lord richly bless you this week.

In Christ,
Mike for all the Goldfii

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