Dear Praying Friends,                                                                                                        April 2017

It is always an honor to share with you many of the things God has done, here in El Salvador, over the past two months. The Lord is opening up doors of opportunity for us to take the Gospel further. Now, more than ever, we covet your prayers, in order to make wise decisions that will make a great impact for years to come. 

One of our greatest goals, as a church, has been to train men for full-time Christian service. A graduate of our Bible Institute, Mauricio Escobar, has shared with us a desire to serve the Lord full-time. Over the past three years, Mauricio and his wife Dora have been able to support themselves with a small business. At the same time they have been taking care of their children, and serving substantially at the church.  As a result of this, we pray that the Lord would allow us to start a bakery at the church.  That way, Mauricio can work only 40 hours per week, support his family, and have plenty of time to keep developing in ministry. Also, Steve can spend more time mentoring him before he is ordained for the ministry. While in many of the Christian families, one or both of the parents are enslaved to their jobs (thus not serving the Lord as He wants), Mauricio and Dora have shown a great desire to do the will of God.

Starting a bakery would also open the door for us to start a Bible College eventually. This way, the students can work flexible hours to support themselves, and prepare for the ministry. The most important resource to start a Bible College is the people who will be running it. In addition to Steve, we pray that God raises up, through the ministry, three faithful men over the next five years. It is our desire to be able to minister to dozens or even hundreds of young men and women that God has called to the ministry. The results of the last 10 years of ministry here in El Salvador have opened the door for us to plan to serve in this way.

By God’s grace, the church keeps marching along in evangelism. Over the last two months, we have had the privilege of personally sharing the gospel with about 400 people, in addition to the great many tracts that have been passed out. Please pray for a young man named William Rivas, who Steve led to Christ while door-knocking near the church. Although there is great joy when someone makes a profession of faith, we understand that the work does not end there. We need to continue to depend on the Lord for follow-up and discipleship.    

Thank you for always keeping our children in your prayers. While we have had normal ups-and-downs over the past few months, overall things are going well. They just finished the first period of the school year, and performed well. Caleb ended with A honor roll, and Rosa with B honor roll. Joshua turned five the beginning of April and we had a fun day celebrating as a family. He says a big thank you to those who sent him birthday cards. Our littlest is no longer a baby, but a big school boy!  Please continue to pray for us as we raise them. We daily seek God´s guidance for their lives. Thank you for your faithful prayers, encouraging emails, and support. We could not be here without you all behind us.

 Your missionaries in El Salvador,