Dear brothers:
I will present a summary of the ministry in Barcelona during October. I do it with joy and with a grateful heart to the Lord for His constant care for my family and me. You are the means that God has used to take care of us, both through your prayers and your financial support.
This month my fellow elder and partner in the ministry, Pastor David Barceló, visited Israel. For him it was a very special time to know that region and to spend time with his parents. In addition, this month, our new fellow missionaries Igor Dias and his wife Eliane (HeartCry missionaries) made their first visit to one of our church’s mission points. They visited the brothers and sisters in the city of Valencia. Other Christians from the city of Castellón also attended, and so the group of participants was more numerous than ever. It was a great blessing for all! At the same time, our brother Jordi Bolinches visited the church in Figueres, a town north of Barcelona, very close to the French border. This church needs encouragement, and the visit was very helpful for them.
This month, I visited the mission point on the Spanish island of Lanzarote—one of the Canary islands located approximately three thousand kilometers from Barcelona and off the coast of West Africa. There we shared with our brothers and sisters a precious time of teaching and preaching the Word, as well as fellowship with them. We rejoiced to meet Lara, who is 20 days old. She is the daughter of Ayose and Penelope, the Christian couple who offered their house to hold the meetings for the group. We had been praying for about two years so they could be parents and we thank the Lord because he heard our prayers. We also shared in Penelope’s sadness because in the same week her little daughter was born, she received news of the murder of one of her brothers in Venezuela. Pray for comfort in the midst of pain. I also ask for your prayers for another family in the little flock whose son has become addicted to drugs.
“Passion for the Gospel” is a congress that takes place every year in Madrid. This year Pastor David Barceló was one of the speakers. It was a very special time, too. More than 300 brothers from different reformed churches in Spain attended and listened to the conferences about missions.
We also had a visit from our brothers Paul Washer and J.S. and about thirty HeartCry missionaries from Europe. We gathered to have a series of very edifying conferences on the role of the missionary, his responsibilities, and the importance of the local church.
Brothers Paul and J.S. visited the church on Sunday 28th and despite their fatigue, they could be with us in a precious time of fellowship and a workshop for preachers in the afternoon. About forty brothers came from various churches of the Fraternity of Grace, as well as the young people of our own church that we are training as teachers and preachers of the Word. We all agree that it was a time of great spiritual benefit.
Finally, I want to thank the Lord for his care of my family. My son Daniel was able to move to another apartment with better conditions for the care of his children. Juan, my other son is now helping in the translation of the Bible studies from English into Spanish at the church where he congregates in Atlanta (Mount Vermont Baptist Church). Natalia, our daughter, is still looking for work here in Barcelona.
“We always give thanks to God for all of you, as we make mention of you in our prayers. We constantly remember the accomplishment of your faith, the hard work of your love, and the patience of your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah, in the presence of God our father.” (I Thessalonians 1:2-3).
Paul is the founder of HeartCry Missionary Society and currently serves as its missions director. He also ministered as a missionary in Peru for ten years. He has preached hundreds of sermons and has authored a dozen published works. Paul lives in Radford, Virginia, with his wife Charo and their four children: Ian, Evan, Rowan, and Bronwyn.
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