Lots of Pictures from November 2015, part 1

We had a wonderful group come visit us here in El Salvador. Their photographer was fantastic and documented so much of what we do. These pictures are of the activites we did. Almost all of the people you see in the pictures are our church members. Towards the end, there are a few pictures of a very poor community that our church endeavors to reach. There are a few pictures of the Cathedral, and a few more shots of very common sights in Santa Ana. 

July 1015 Prayer Letter

July 2015

Dear Praying Friends,

As we reach the half-way point of the year, God keeps reminding us of his presence and guidance in our lives. Even in the midst of some difficulties, we are thankful to report many of the blessings that God has poured on us.  

We would like to start out the letter by asking you to pray for the families of our church. Right now, El Salvador is in the midst of a great problem with gang-related crime. It looks like the gangs have waged war on the government. One of our families, who own a store, was recently threatened by gangs. They were asked to pay them a certain amount of money or suffer the consequences (being killed). It turns out that the gangs would use this money to buy weapons. These types of situations are becoming more increasingly common. Thankfully, our family has not had to deal personally with these gangs but, the way things are going, it is probably only a matter of time. In all of this, we have a great God who protects us and gives us wisdom in difficult times. 

God continues to give us the strength to keep serving, and seeing fruit in the different areas of ministry. Very recently, the men of the Bible institute went door-knocking in one of the neighborhoods near the church. Steve had the great joy of seeing a teenager (Cristian) receive Christ as his Savior. Also, please pray for Luis, Esaú and Ricardo, that they would be even more rooted in Christ. They have recently completed the discipleship course with Steve, and seem excited to serve in the church.  We are thankful to report that three men (Wilfredo, Mauricio, and Gustavo) are in line to graduate from the Bible Institute by the end of the year.  Please pray for them and for the ministry in general, that those that receive Christ would be discipled, that those that are discipled would study in the Bible Institute, and that those that complete the Bible Institute would be used greatly of the Lord.

This past month, Steve´s grandmother, who lived in our city, passed on to eternity. We are glad that she accepted Christ as her Savior a few years back. However, she couldn’t completely let go of her religious traditions. This was reflected in the funeral.  We felt quite uncomfortable at the funeral because of this. But at the moment when things were awkward, suddenly a group of our church ladies showed up to be there for us. It was a huge relief, encouragement, and just what we needed in that moment. When fellow Christians rally around someone in a difficult time, it becomes a bit easier.  We are grateful for the Women´s Ministry in our church, how these ladies have grown in maturity and are willing to help in a time of need.  We have personally benefited from this.

Caleb has had a number of health problems including stomach issues, and strep throat. He had a serious fall off of a set of stairs and landed on his wrist. An X-ray revealed hyper-extended tendons but no broken bones. After realizing the height of his fall and the seeing the concrete he landed on, we are amazed that his injuries were not more severe. Thank you for praying for our families’ health and safety. We felt your prayers and are thankful.

April 2015

                               April 2015

 

Dear praying friends,

It is with great joy that we are writing to you this month, as we have seen the Lord work in extraordinary ways.  God has been faithful in giving the increase, as the congregation of the church keeps growing in maturity and numbers.  This month also marks our 9^th anniversary in this country, and we are thankful for His strength that allows us to keep going even in the midst of difficulty and trials. 

Several weeks ago, a lady (Imelda) and her daughter (Raquel) started coming to the Sunday evening church services.  We recognized them right away because they live close to the church.  About seven years ago, as Steve was door-knocking in the neighborhood, we came in contact with this family.  This is when Roberto (Imelda’s oldest son) received Christ as his Savior.  Soon after, he started the discipleship lessons, and would attend some of the church services.  The rest of the family was not interested in spiritual things.  Nevertheless, we did what we could to help them and show them Christ’s love. They never forgot some of the ways we reached out to them. After some serious difficulties in their lives, they realized their need to receive Christ as Savior. They are now part of our church, seven years after trying to reach them.  The mom and daughter are studying one-on-one discipleship lessons. Roberto is about to start studying again next week. We are grateful to see God bringing forth fruit from seeds planted many years ago!

As we keep planting the seed of God’s Word (5,500 doors knocked and over 400 people witnessed to with the Gospel every three months), please pray that we would be diligent in reaping and being faithful stewards of God’s harvest.

More familiar faces showed up at our church services recently. This time, it was a family that was part of our church over four years ago.  They left our church on friendly terms, but they were looking for something “bigger and better”, and only came to find confusion and disappointment.  They have returned, apologizing for leaving, saying that they wish they would have never left. They are both now studying one-on-one discipleship lessons with us. Please pray for this couple (Esaú and Ruth) as they have been through great trials, and need to understand the importance of resting in the Lord.

Our youngest son, Joshua (4 yrs old) has had a rather rough start to the year health-wise. Since January, he has had chikungunya, rotavirus, chicken pox, and parasites. We are grateful that none of these problems were serious. Please pray that things start improving for our little guy. We took him to the doctor this week, and the doctor says he is doing well right now.  As always, we covet your prayers for our family´s health and well being. Also, please remember to pray for us as parents to have wisdom raising our three children to have sweet spirits and servant´s hearts.

Yours in Christ, The Cernas