Monday, November 29, 2010

Preacher "boys"

Wiliam Cuellar is preaching his first message. This was a very exciting day for us, to see our "preacher boys" behind the pulpit for the first time.
Gustavo also preached for the first time last Sunday. Although he is a soft spoken man, he did an excellent job his first time preaching.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

November Prayer Letter

Dear Praying Friends,

We would like to start our letter by thanking you for your prayers. Rosa is thriving in school, and we are amazed at how well her Spanish has developed over the past three months. Although she is half Salvadoran, she definitely stands out at school because of her excellent English, her light skin tone, and her height. She enjoys being called the “new kid” at school.

Caleb had his second birthday last month. Many of you may remember that Caleb was almost born on the same day of our first church service. We had our first service at MisiĆ³n Bautista Central at 4 in the afternoon, and Christine gave birth to Caleb a little after midnight. October is a special month for our family and our ministry.

Christine’s pregnancy is going very smoothly. We ask you to pray for the birth of our third baby in early April of next year. The baby will be born here in El Salvador. Obviously, the experience is very different from the States. Christine knows what to expect this time around, since Caleb was born here also. Please pray for a healthy baby, and for Christine.

Since we just celebrated the two year anniversary of the church, we have been reminiscing over the first two years. We are so grateful for all the new people God has brought to our church, and for the strong foundation that is being laid through discipleship and other teaching. Our Ladies Bible study has been in session for three months now. We started with three faithful ladies. Now, we have six ladies coming. We are excited about the growth, the sweet spirit the ladies have, and for their eagerness to learn. Please pray for Christine as she studies and prepares lessons to share with them.

The men have a prayer service each Wednesday. The attendance to that meeting has more than doubled, as has the attendance to Saturday Soul-winning. We have some good faithful men that are starting to learn to preach in the month of November. Please pray for Wiliam and Gustavo as they begin to write sermons. Pray that they will always rely on God to share His Word with others.

We have been sharing the story of Marlon Escobar with you. His brother Mauricio has been saved and baptized, as has his girlfriend Dora. We are excited to tell you that they got married. Steve was one of the witnesses to the ceremony on Friday, October 22. Mauricio is excited to start serving in the church any way now that he is married. Marlon´s wife, Carla, has begun discipleship lessons with Christine. We are very happy about this because it has taken her about three months to finally make this decision. She also attended her first Ladies Bible Study this week. We are thrilled with the way God is working in this family.

Still speaking of the Escobar Family, we have more good news to share. Marlon and Mauricio’s father accepted Christ as his Savior last Saturday. This was certainly a result of the change he has seen in his son’s lives. He has also begun the discipleship lessons. Out of seven adults that live in that home, we have reached and are discipling five of them. Praise God for his power to change lives. Please continue to keep the Escobar family in your prayers. Pray that they will continue to grow spiritually.

We thank you again for your prayers and faithful support. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Yours in Christ,
The Cernas