September 11, 2006

Many times in church work, you spend weeks, months and years laying the foundation: encouraging and strengthening the brethren, patiently planting the seed in the hearts of non-Christians and persevering in the spiritual struggles of life. At other times, you are able to see the fruit of that labor and the way God has orchestrated it all to come together in divine perfection to His glory. Today was one of those days! (www.MichelleMissions.com)

I have shared much of the story of Jhonny Frias, Rosa's son, and the struggles of that family. Jhonny was one of the young men that accompanied us to the Amazon and has grown by leaps and bounds spiritually. He has been a Christian for a year and five months and led singing for the first time this morning. Wow! His spirit in leading the worship was truly inspiring and since he calls me "mom," I told him is was only proper that I feel a mother's pride at seeing him lead us in worship. His mom, Rosa, has had a limiting work schedule that has not allowed her to come to worship on Sundays, but today, she had off, which made our joy even more complete. To top it all off, Jhonny invited his dad to come to church "to see what we do there." Jose Antonio came to church for the first time and he had the proudest papa's face at seeing his son in front of the congregation and do such a great job. Jose Antonio has been very closed to anything related to God and the church, but today was a definite exception to that resistant attitude. Please pray for Jhonny and Rosa's continued growth and for Jose Antonio to continue to open his heart to God's calling.

While seeing Jhonny lead singing and seeing his dad walk in the door brought more than a few tears to my eyes, these were only the beginning of the day's many blessings. Denis and Robbie Ruiz had come in from Puerto La Cruz for Robbie to teach a ladies' class on Saturday (which was very well attended, even by a few ladies' who haven't come in months!), but we also had the honor of hearing God speak through Denis for Sunday's sermon. The attendance was more than 60 -- second highest attendance for 2006 with standing room only. (Remember that prayer request for a larger, more permanent meeting place?!)

I am teaching the children's class for September and October which we do on the hotel's patio. Immediately after church, Zulmelly (a 19-yr-old with whom I have been studying the Bible for more than a year), approached me with definite purpose in her eye. Right behind her were her mom, grandmother, brother and aunt. Zulay, Zulmelly's mom, was baptized more than 20 years ago, but after ~10 years away from the church, returned about a year and a half ago. Zulmelly (the daughter) said, very seriously, "I have something to tell you."
"Yes?"
"No, Don't make that face... it's nothing bad..."
"Ok"
"I've decided I'm ready to be baptized. I have only told my mom this morning. I told her that I wanted to tell you first."
After getting over the initial shock and excitement of Zulmelly's statement, I ran back into the hotel to ask Luis to do us the favor of lending us his apartment and the pool/baptistery. He squealed with delight and made the announcement to all those still fellowshiping that we would be having a baptism! Since our pool has more holes than I last remembered, we decided it was best to pile everyone into the cars and drive to the downtown Caracas (El Silencio) church building do use their baptistery. Just before the baptism, Luis explained to those present that "Since Michelle has been studying with Zulmelly and developed a special friendship with her, her heart barely fits in her chest today." Yep -- that was my undoing. I had mostly held it together before then... May God be praised for the ways He is always working in the lives of those who seek Him.

You would think that was enough to make for one day filled with blessings, but the joy continues. Denis, Robbie, Gabriel (their son), Luis, Fabiola and Jonathan (the East Caracas team) came back to my house to wolf down spaghetti before racing off to the Evangelistic English Classes and Puerto La Cruz. In the advanced class, the students are at the level where we can talk openly and discuss Biblical topics. The message today was about how Christ fulfilled so many prophecies in ways that only God could have orchestrated. I was humbled by their rapt attention and openness to the truth and reminded of one of the student's recent comments on a personal evaluation. Reina stated that she has learned through the class that "I thought I knew everything about God, but now I am learning about His love, and His Bible and what He wants for me." May God continue to use all of our efforts to His glory!

After the English classes, the East Caracas team celebrated the day's joys over ice cream. This was the first time we were able to meet informally since Jonathan Hanegan arrived on August 14th from Denver, Colorado, after graduating from Oklahoma Christian. We have been blessed by his spirit and willingness to work. He jumped right in with us in the Amazon and since then has continued to develop deep and lasting friendships with many of the young people.

God has already blessed us so much and it's humbling to see the ways He is bringing the work to fruition. I have, of course, included pictures online of all of these joyful events ( www.MichelleMissions.com). Please celebrate with us and keep the prayers coming!

In Him and for Him,
M.
www.MichelleMissions.com
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