Here I am, by the kindness of God, writing a new report. I want to thank you for the time that you take to read these lines, and even more for the time that you set apart to pray for us.
The month of July has been a month with much work, and also of much weakness. At the beginning of the month we had to move to a new house. The house that we were living in before began to deteriorate quickly because of the dampness that came through the ceiling and the walls. We’re thankful to the Lord that we are now in another house that was built only a few years ago, which is also cheaper than the first one. Another couple from the church lives in the house that is beside our new home. We are very happy not only because of the house itself, but also because we can now live so close to other believers.
I began meeting this month with two young men that have been coming to our church for some time. I wanted to share the gospel with them in a more personal context and instruct them in the basic truths of the Christian faith. One of the young men comes from a hyper-Charismatic background. Because of many disappointments with evangelical churches he stayed far away from the “religious” world for years. During those years he began a family and he now has a baby girl at home. While he lived his quiet life, completely distanced from God, he began one day to have an overwhelming sense of his sin, which had never happened to him before. He couldn’t explain why he felt that way because he had considered himself a “good person,” an honest, faithful, and hardworking man.
He knew that the churches he used to attend could not help him, so he began to read the Bible and look for biblical teaching online. It seems that little by little, the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is winning the heart of this young man. I hope to soon write with news about him, but I ask that you be praying for him and for me as we continue to meet weekly.
The other young man is the youngest son of a woman in our church. The woman has been a member of Family of Grace from the very beginning when we were a group of only 5 people! This young man was always the least interested among his siblings, but he began coming to our services again because, in his own words, when he saw the harm that his father has done by turning away from the faith, he started to think about what kind of life he wanted for himself. He realized that he should pay more attention to what his mother had told him hundreds of times about Christianity and the life that Jesus offers, at least in order to know whether what she was saying was true or false.
Despite being very young, I was surprised by the seriousness of his interest and the depth of his questions. He is reading the Bible and he agreed to meet with me for some weeks to study the Gospel and deal with the different questions he has about Christianity. Please, remember to pray for him.
In addition to these new evangelistic meetings that I am having weekly, I also continue meeting with three men that I am personally discipling, with the hopes that the Lord will make them faithful men that are apt to teach others. Currently, we are studying exegesis and we are having discussions about different apologetic topics. On Sunday mornings I am teaching a series of classes for the membership of the church on the Doctrine of the Church. Thanks be to the Lord, the time we have had studying this topic together has been very edifying. Nicolás and I are also taking New Testament Greek classes and we are very excited about these studies.
In the midst of all of the work, I was led again and again to the recognition of how weak I am and the urgent need I have for the Lord to do in me, my family, and the church what is pleasing to Him. Apart from His grace and the provision of His Spirit, I am merely a jar of clay, weak and full of imperfections. When I consider my weaknesses, my young age, and my limited gifting, I cannot cease to be surprised by the high calling the Lord has given me in entrusting me with the responsibility of caring for the church that He purchased with His own blood. And what’s more, I cannot cease to be amazed at how He blesses over and over again the work of our hands! I am aware of my smallness, but I am even more aware of His kindness, and this compels me to continue praying and hoping in Him for great things, that His Name would be great en our city. Please, do not stop praying for us.