Sunday, March 6, 2016

A New Church to Serve in 2016

Holiday meal hosted by newlyweds Paul and Aimée. My sister Mary Ellen and her husband are on the left, my mother on the right and Paul's dad, Tim, in the center.

Hello Friends!

Greetings from wet and wonderful Washington! I wrapped up the mission in Puerto Rico in mid-December and returned to my Colorado home base for the holidays. It was great to celebrate with family and with my sending church, Boulder Seventh Day Baptist. One highlight was doing the downtown Boulder table ministry one afternoon with Dave Hawkins and Tracy Haines, fellow evangelists from previous years. I also got to volunteer one night with the homeless shelter my church hosts on Saturday nights during the colder months.



The family I lived with during my Colorado stays (thank you to the Bates!) was selling their house in early 2016 so I needed to move right after Christmas. Prayers were answered when a Christian couple in Boulder offered me a room for the three weeks before I left for Washington. Thank you, Fromholzers! They are connected to the Navigators ministry at the University of Colorado where my son, Paul, serves with Navigators. They were very gracious and I felt right at home. The view of the mountains from their living room was spectacular. Another blessing was the offer of long-term storage for my belongings in the home of friends of Ana, my daughter. Thank you to the Seatons!



On January 17th I set out for Washington driving through Wyoming and Montana where the west winds blow with gale force (so it seemed to me). I stopped in Hungry Horse, MT, where my friend Vivian Allen lives with her children and leads a small SDB fellowship. I enjoyed staying with her and her children two days and got to see a very snowy Glacier National Park as well as the Hungry Horse Dam. It was encouraging to hear how God is at work in both our lives. 




Vivian's home. The fellowship meets in the large front room.
They are praying for someone to join them to pastor the group. Just like the Church of Corinth did for the Apostle Paul, they “sent me on my way” with a gift of financial support (1 Cor. 16:6, 2 Cor. 1:16). That was a wonderful and unexpected blessing. December gifts for me were much lower than normal but in the first two months of this year the gifts have been way ABOVE normal. Praise the Lord for His provision!
 






My current home, blessed by a rainbow!
I arrived in Auburn (20 miles south of Seattle) late in the evening on January 21st. I’m renting a room from a friend of Pastor Ben and Marcela Figueroa, Karen Coon, which is not only very affordable but she and I have become good friends and that has eased my adjustment to this new location. 

 







My office is set up in my room and not far away is a large park with walking paths through the woods, so I’m thrilled to explore the flora and fauna of a new climate. When it’s raining I just put on my waterproof poncho and keep going. The trees are very tall and many are covered in a coat of green moss. In the light of the setting sun they seem to glow!




  The church I’m serving this year is a Spanish-speaking church plant, the Iglesia Bautista del Séptimo Día, sponsored by the Seattle Area Seventh Day Baptist Church, located in Auburn. We meet on Sabbath afternoons in the church building of the English-speaking SDB church. Pastor Ben and Marcela had been attending the Seattle church for about a year when they felt God's leading to begin a Spanish fellowship. That was 18 months ago and there are 20-25 people in the congregation today.
The youngest singer in this picture is part of a home Bible study with her brother and sister.
Leading worship in song.
  Pastor Ben told me the greatest need was to disciple new believers.  Within a week of arriving he began to give me names to contact to set up home Bible studies. I currently have three going. One is with three children and their mother, studying the life of Jesus. The second is with a married couple who want to know more about SDBs and receive training in evangelism. 

The third is with a mother of 4, Claudia, who wants to learn how to study the Bible and then teach her children to do the same (disciples making disciples)! Her teen daughters are already reading the Bible of their own accord. Claudia has a friend who is going to be joining us for the Friday morning study, and another friend who can’t make that time but would like to meet on another day. Definitely a hunger for Jesus here! What a privilege to teach these new believers

This is one of the families doing a home Bible study.
  When I brought my guitar to church one Sabbath for special music, Pastor Ben realized the church could offer guitar lessons as an outreach so I've started those on Wednesday nights. When the weather gets warmer I hope to add a table ministry in the downtown area or at a Farmer's Market. We have several people eager to serve the Lord through that kind of gospel outreach.

Singing with Pastora Marcela


Celebrating a birthday. Pastor Ben and Marcela top right.
  I'm also teaching the adult Bible study after the worship service and before the potluck supper. We're studying core SDB beliefs since many people are new to SDBs. I'm developing the lessons in Spanish, with copies in English for the few English speaking people who enjoy being part of this church. One of my goals is to include answers to the challenges believers face in sharing their faith, such as why we believe the Bible is accurate and reliable, or why evil is found in the heart of every person and we need God’s help to change (we need a Savior).



As a new resident I had to get a Washington driver’s license, as well as register the car and get local plates. Thanks to a new SDB program to partially fund church planters, I was reimbursed for my moving and relocation expenses, and will have the monthly donations matched up to $1,000/month. In addition to living and transportation expenses, I buy gospel tracts, Bibles, and materials for the home Bible studies from the donations I receive. Thank you so much for your gifts to God that He directs to this ministry!

 
Mount Rainier, 14,400 feet elevation (Auburn is about 600 ft elevation)

I'm busy for sure but happy to help fill the urgent need for teaching these new disciples. If anyone else feels led to come, give me a call! We could use more workers. I'll need new housing in June when Karen’s kids return from college so I'm thinking to get an apartment. They are very expensive in this area, so please keep me in your prayers for the right housing.





View from in town.
Because of you, I am able do this work full-time. The Apostle John wrote in his third letter, “For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support (show hospitality to) such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”


If you’d like to become a partner in this work, donations can be sent to the church I’m serving.  Please write my name on the memo line of the check and they will pass along 100% of the funds to me. You can mail (or use your bank's automatic bill-pay service) to send checks payable to:

IBS Dia
PO Box 217
Auburn WA 98071



 God bless you, my friends, and please keep up the prayers for Pastor Ben, Marcela, me, and the new church here.  “You also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:11

Signs of spring!



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