End of The Year Dinner

We had a wonderful dinner at the church on December 26. We had a number of visitors and over 70 people in attendance. It was wonderful to see some of our core members invite their friends and neighbors to the dinner. Our friends from San Miguel came to help us prepare the food, and Steve's aunt made a large pot of "chocolate" to drink. We bought cakes for dessert. It was a lot of work, but completely worth it!

Wedding of Wiliam and Marlene

On December 26th, we were blessed to witness the legal wedding ceremony of two of our most faithful church members, Wiliam and Marlene. They have four kids who were also all present at the wedding. Christine led their son, Cristian, to the Lord 2 months ago. Steve led Wiliam to the Lord 3 years ago. Steve has discipled Wiliam, and Christine recently finished discipling Marlene. Now that they are married, they are excited to be even more active in the church. Wiliam is even going to learn how to preach.

November/December Prayer Letter

The last couple of months have been quite eventful, and we thank God for His continued faithfulness. On one hand we celebrated a wedding during a church service, and on the other hand there have been struggles with our health. Through everything, we continue to be very excited about ministering in El Salvador, and believe that our best days of ministering are ahead.
It is very common in El Salvador for a couple to live together out of wedlock. Brother Rodolfo and Xiomara obeyed the Lord and were married at church last month. We thank God for this victory because there are others in our church who need to take that step as well. It is our hope that Rodolfo and Xiomara´s obedience would motivate others to do the right thing. Please pray for the spiritual growth of this couple, and for their son Kevin. Rodolfo has been faithful to the church services, and is active in soul-winning. Now that he has improved his testimony, he will get the opportunity to become more active in church.
By God´s grace we are close to achieving our goal of knocking on the doors of about 10% of the city (pop. 400,000) twice in the year. If God permits, we want to increase our goal for next year. Please pray that we would be able to knock on the doors of 25% of the city during 2010. Bro. Gustavo Bonilla (65 years old) has been very active in this ministry. God has allowed him to win many souls this year while door-knocking, and he goes out with Steve (for either soul-winning or visitation) about five days per week. Also pray that God would give us the workers so that the goal could be increased every year. Right now, our ultimate goal is to be able to knock on every door of the city four times per year by 2015. This has been an effective ministry, and some have been incorporated (saved and baptized) into the church because of door-knocking. As we look to God in improving the way we do things, we are excited to think about the results that He will produce.
About a month ago, Christine broke her foot. She was in a cast that reached her knee for a month. As you can imagine, it was a trying time for us. She had to stop much of the ministry that she does, and she could not care for her home as she wanted. Steve took on the role of “Mr. Mom” along with all of his other responsibilities. But we are happy to tell you that through this trial, we believe that God brought our family closer together. Steve now knows, in detail, what it takes to keep a home running smoothly on the mission field, and appreciates Christine even more. Christine is so grateful for a husband that is willing to make sure his family is well cared for, even when it is not easy. And the kids enjoyed having Mommy sit around and read them books all day long! The cast was removed five days ago, and yesterday she began walking without crutches. Please pray for Christine’s continued healing.
Rosa has struggled with asthma over the past month also. We are in the middle of a transition with the weather. Rainy season has ended and the dry season is now here. Because of this, her asthma was aggravated. It looks like she is healing nicely now, but we do ask you to continue to keep her in your prayers as we battle asthma problems every once in a while. Please pray for her as she begins Kindergarten homeschooling early next year. We plan on keeping with the Salvadoran school calendar, which begins in February and ends in November.
Caleb is doing well and enjoys going to Sunday School. He is old enough now to interact with the children at the church and greatly enjoys “singing” in Sunday School. The children are always delighted to see him act out the action songs that we sing.
In closing, we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas. We pray you enjoy this time of year celebrating our Savior, the whole reason we are here in El Salvador. We thank you again for your faithful support. It is always an encouragement when we hear that you are praying for our family and the ministry in El Salvador.
Your Servants For Christ,
The Cerna Family

Wedding Story

Rodolfo and Xiomara got married Saturday at our church service. Rodolfo's testimony shows, without a doubt, that God can change the worst of situations for HIS glory! Rodolfo came to our church about seven months ago, drunk. He was crying, wanting desperately to change his life, but knowing it was impossible. However, over the next months, he learned that with God, all things are possible. We bought him the supplies necessary for detox, and he began the healing process. He has been discipled by Steve every week since that day. Steve has visited Rodolfo almost every day. He has been taking him soul winning and teaching him how to be a man after God's heart.

Seven months later, Rodolfo now has a good job, is married to the woman he has a 4 year old child with, and has not touched any alcohol since that day seven months ago!

See the next post to enjoy the wedding pictures.

Photos Wedding Celebration October 24, 2009

First Picture - Steve, our lawyer friend Beatrice, Rodolfo and Xiomara, and Pastor Tony from San Miguel.

Second Picture- Beatrice reading the laws for the civil ceremony.

Third Picture-Signing the marriage certificate.

Fourth Picture-The newlyweds kiss!

October 2009

Dear Praying Friends,

It is with great joy that we bring you tidings of what the Lord has been doing in El Salvador recently. Thank you for your prayers. God has been answering them. We also trust that the Lord is receiving all of the glory for the fruit He is allowing us to bear.
Just recently we asked you to pray about us being able to start another service. For about a year we only had one service per week. The idea was to always be aggressive in soul-winning and inviting others to church, but at the same time spend much time with those that are being discipled so that they could help minister during the services. We wanted to add services to the church in proportion to the laborers that are being equipped. About 3 weeks ago we started our second weekly service. The response has been great. Many of the church members have volunteered to help out, most of those who attend the other service attend the new service, and we’ve also had some first time visitors.
Please pray that more men would step up to take responsibilities in the church. We are thankful with how God has been transforming lives. Many of the men in the church had previously been enslaved by drugs or alcohol. Now they are soul-winners and disciplers for the glory of God! Though we are always praying for God to lead us to those that He will rescue and bring to church, we have a great burden for those that are already in church. The devil has been trying to discourage these men in different ways. However, many of them are patiently enduring trials, and we pray that some of them will eventually learn how to preach.
Thank God that many of the men are acquiring a burden for souls. God also has been touching their hearts when it comes to prayer. On Wednesday evenings, the men of the church get together for prayer. Since we began, at least four men show up each week to pray together. We pray that this group will at least double by next year. As the number of faithful men increases in the church, it is our desire to further develop other ministries (youth, children).
It is also a great blessing to see how God is burdening the women of the church. Christine is discipling two of these women, and it looks like one of them is about to learn how to teach a children’s class. Others have volunteered to help out in other areas also.
Please pray that God would give us the wisdom to plan a missions conference for early next year. From early on in the ministry, it is our hope that the church would acquire a burden for world missions. We’ve stated before that in El Salvador there has been and will continue to be a great potential for world missions. There are Salvadoran missionary families in several other countries. These missionaries are mostly supported by Salvadoran churches. We strongly believe that, in the Lord’s strength, the burden for world missions among Salvadoran Christians can increase a great deal more. Our goal is to build on what has already been done, and be used of God to equip and send missionaries. That is why planning a missions conference is critical at this point.
Our children have been growing, it seems, at an alarming rate. Caleb is almost one year old. He is walking quite well these days, and we think that he has said his first word (in Spanish). The doctor says that he is off the charts when it comes to his size. Too bad that Salvadorans do not play football. Rosa will be five soon, and we are praying for patience as she will be home-schooled for kindergarten. She has done very well in preschool, and is able to read a little bit. We are praying about eventually enrolling her in a Christian school here in El Salvador, while also teaching her some at home.
Christine and I have been more upbeat than usual lately. God has used us to encourage each other. More and more El Salvador feels like home, and we pray that, if God permits, He will allow us to minister many more years here. Once again, thank you for your prayers and support that are making this happen. May the Lord greatly bless you.
Yours in Christ,
The Cernas