Bell Nouvelles 8.1

March, 2005
Bell Nouvelles in short:
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Praises:
-Good family retreat
-a good start to new year
-the Lord's working in some families
Prayer Requests:
-Easter cantata
-the children's testimony at school
-increasing emphasis on evangelism
-a new class in the Bible institute
-the salvation of my sister-in-law's boyfriend
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Dear praying friends,

It is hard to believe that we are coming up on Easter all ready. The year seems to be flying by at a frightening pace. The children are doing well in school, although we pray for them everyday that they would be a good testimony for the Lord there and that He would protect them from bad influences. The activities at church are going well. We are very encouraged by the growth that we see there.

This year I am teaching the adult Sunday school class. We are studying the book of Revelation. It has been a joy for me as I prepare these classes and then teach them to our people. I trust that the Lord will continue to use this study in my life as well as the lives of the church people. The children continue to enjoy their Saturday morning class. Maribel has been organizing the sessions this year; she and the young people have been teaching about spiritual armor. The children have been making their own armor each week. When they finish they are going to wear it for a Sunday morning service to present what they have learned about. That will be a sight!

We have had some very busy weeks recently. Our mother church in Elche held two conferences on the family last month. We were very glad to be able to have a good group present from our church to listen to the preaching/teaching. I was especially glad that my sister-in-law's boyfriend came. He is not saved, although he has been to church several times. The other day I went to his house to help him with some projects and was able to talk to him a little bit more about spiritual things. Please pray for him. He is not closed to the gospel, but it is hard to know if he is really open, either.

The weeks ahead of us promise to be very busy too. Next Sunday we will have our Easter cantata. Please pray that we will have good attendance. We have really encouraged our people to invite unsaved friends and family members. We trust that the Lord will work in hearts through this program. At the end of this month I will be starting another course in our small Bible institute. I'll be teaching about the prophetic and poetic books of the Old Testament. I'm really looking forward to this class, and it looks like I'll have a good group to work with (between 10 and 15). I desire to open their eyes to the beauty of these books of the Old Testament so that they see them in a new light. May God prosper his word.

As many of you know, I have been doing some very concentrated work on my dissertation for the last few months. Things are coming together, praise the Lord, and I if all goes well, I will present it and graduate in May. The Lord has been very good to us in these extremely busy months. I am thankful for all I have learned, and I know the Lord will give me the strength to finish the last push on this project. On the homefront, the children are doing well. Andrea just celebrated her fifth birthday this past weekend. We are thankful for the way the Lord is working in our children's lives, as well as our own.

Thank you for your prayers,

David and Maribel
davidbbell@ono.com
En MMV civitatem fundamenta habentem expectans