In September of 2014, Ruben and his family were sent out by Grace Ministries International to begin training pastors in Ruben’s home country of Spain through the Berea Bible Seminary in Leon. The seminary focuses on training pastors and other men in expository preaching through seminars and conferences. HeartCry is helping Ruben and his family with a portion of their monthly support. Below is an update on the seminary and church in Leon:
Thank you so much for your prayers for us in these past few months! We’d like to tell you how the Lord has been working this month, and also tell you about the things you could pray about.
June
Berea Seminary Graduation
On Saturday, June 1st, we held the Berea Seminary graduation. After 7 years of hard work, ten men graduated from our Bible and Theology program, which is the second program offered in our seminary. These men represent six different churches throughout Spain. Two of them are in full time ministry as pastors, four are bivocational pastors, and the other four are in some kind of leadership position at their respective churches. Praise the Lord with us that He gave these men the grace and strength to finish well, and that they will be of even greater blessing to their churches and ultimately to our country.
After the graduation, our church hosted a barbeque for all those who attended. What a joy it was to see so many from our church serving joyfully and working hard. That day was a beautiful example of the fruit that is produced when the Word of God is preached faithfully. Praise God!
Pastor Nathan Busenitz from Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA traveled to Leon to preach at the graduation and at other services and meetings that we had that weekend. It was a blessing to have him preach the Word to us and to spend some time with him.
New Berea Students
The Berea Seminary is now open for enrollment. Please pray that the Lord would send students who are qualified and desirous to preach the Word of God.
Bíblicafe
This past year the ladies in our church have started studying the book of 1 Peter once a month. We usually start the meeting with breakfast, followed by the teaching of a passage in the book, and then we divide into groups to discuss what we have learned that morning and also the homework that we had done previously on that particular passage. It has been an absolute blessing studying and learning alongside the other ladies and to see the zeal for the Word of God growing amongst us. We look forward to continuing studying 1 Peter after the summer break. This month our pastor David Robles was the guest speaker at our last meeting, and he reminded us of the glorious hope that we have in Christ.
Traveling to Los Angeles
In just a couple of days, we will be traveling as a family to Los Angeles where we will be attending the Legacy Conference held for all of the missionaries sent out by Grace Community Church, and also spending some time with Jenn’s family. We will be attending the services at Grace Community Church the three Sundays that we will be in L.A., and Ruben will be teaching at one of the Spanish sessions of Sundays in July. We hope to see some you during our time in the States!! Please do pray for our trip from Madrid to L.A. We would love to have a pleasant and uneventful flight, so pray that we would still have a joyful attitude even if it’s not! Pray that the Lord would give us patience, grace and compassion toward our young children who will be enduring lots of hours of travel.
Evangelical Church of Leon
Upon our return to Leon, Ruben will be preaching through the book of Philemon. Please pray for him as he studies for his sermons and that the Lord would use them for His glory and the edification of His church.
Thank you for your prayers!!!
