If I were to choose the greatest delights of this past year, I could not mention only one thing, nor two, nor three. When I look at the list of prayers and see how they have been answered, I am almost unable to believe it. The regenerating wind of the Holy Spirit has traveled our way and breathed life into many of the names written on my list of prayers. Oh, how powerful is that wind! We have seen the salvation of people who have been detained since birth in the prison of religiosity. We have also seen people come out of a land “without God,” that is, those who have had no religious background.

When I look at the flock and see the harmony and love that flows from one member to the next, my heart is filled with adoration for Him that causes in our midst such sincerity, purity, and tenderness: Jesus Christ. I see some that have grown to be spiritual fathers to others; others that have grown at a rhythm that I have never known in my personal experience. I see God sustaining and purifying our payers for revival. I see some laborers that are apt for every good work, faithful companions and soldiers, martyrs in heart, puritans in spirituality, willing to suffer and be sympathetic, noble in spirit, aggressive in prayer, gentle in the moment of correction, eager for the heavenly land, and affectionate in their friendship.

I can hear only one song within the Family of Grace, with the same words and a single melody, saying:

“I glory in Jesus Christ;
His love He gave me, He is my life; 
I have no other to whom to cling, 
He alone satisfies me”

If I were to paint a picture of my feelings about 2014 with regard to the Family of Grace church, it would be this: We are returning to Eden as we continue on our pilgrimage through this wicked world, filled with hope, joy, and innocence, but also vigilant and suffering, saddened and anxious. We are in search of the One who awaits us with the promise, “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). We journey as those who are “unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:9-10).

I also want to tell you about an evangelistic opportunity that I have had together with my wife Andrea. We have come into contact again with a young lady that we met eight years ago in an orphanage (where me and my wife met as we served together there, and fell in love!). About two months ago, while I was praying, I was struck with an almost desperate sense of need to find her, and tell her about the love of Christ, begging her to be reconciled to God. It was strange, because I had not thought about her for some time, and because the burden was placed on me in an irresistible manner; that is, I could not resist the weight of the commission.

So, we were diligently looking for her for two entire days as we pleaded with the Lord for her salvation. Finally, we found her! And to our surprise, her heart leap when she received the first letter we wrote her! Since that time, she has totally opened to us the doors of her life, and we have not ceased to wrestle in prayer, as we speak to her about the person of Christ and His work on behalf of mankind. We would give our lives to see her raised from the dead!

But the challenges we face are great, and she is a girl that has very extreme needs. Please, pray that she might be made a daughter of grace. I implore you to pray on her behalf, and also pray that the Lord would give us wisdom to know how to help her in all her needs.