December 15-21

I met with Antonio and Gloria this week for the Bible study. It was an especially good study, because the passage we talked about dealt perfectly with a need they were facing. The Lord is so good to use His word like that. On a different note, it has been very cold over the past few days, and this weekend we got a lot of rain. So on Saturday morning when we woke up, we found that all of the mountains around our city were covered with snow. It made for a nice excursion with the kids to go and play in the snow. This weekend we planned a series of special meetings for christmas. On Saturday evening we met with the majority of the believers for a time of fellowship and teaching about the person and work of Jesus. Then we continued on Sunday with an all day activity including lunch. It was a wonderful time of fellowship for our little congregation, and the people responded very well to the preaching.

December 8-14

The day after we got back from the retreat, I had a Bible study at the university. We once again had a good group. I continue to encourage them to invite friends and fellow students, but so far we have not had any new attenders. For the weekend we had a special guest. I invited a Spanish pastor from Guadalajara to be with us on Sunday. He spoke to the students from Bible institute on Saturday evening, and then preached for us on Sunday morning. We enjoyed a good time of fellowship with his family, and the Lord blessed the different activities of the weekend.

December 1-7

This week there were two holidays, one day apart from each other, so we had a little extra time off from school and work. A few weeks ago, a church in Barcelona called me to ask me if I would speak at a special church retreat which would take advantage of those days, so our major activity this week was that retreat. Our family with a couple from our church spent four days with a group of about 50 representing several churches. The Lord gave us a wonderful time of fellowship in the word. I preached six sessions from James chapter one about dealing with difficulties. Back at home, Israel held the service with the remaining believers.

November 24-30

The different activities of this week went well. I had a good study with Antonio and Gloria on Tuesday, and a good group for the university Bible study on Wednesday. For our prayer time this week it was just our family, but we had a good time of study and prayer together. We did not celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday because we were busy with work and school. So instead we planned to celebrate it on Sunday at church. Of course we focused on the spiritual side of the holiday instead of the cultural aspect of the pilgrims and indians (not to mention football). Since we normally have a church meal once a month, we all stayed and had a big Thanksgiving dinner together. It was a wonderful blessing to share that time of special fellowship. But it was extra special because one of the ladies who hosted a student from BJU last year came to the service. She participated in all the activities of the day and was the last one to leave our house. What a blessing to see the Lord work in this way. She is the first person from our town to visit more than one service in the two and a half years we have lived here!

November 17-23

Since Antonio and Gloria missed the service last week because of illness, I took the time at our study to look at the passage I had preached on Sunday. We had a good time of conversation together about the story of Zacchaeus. Israel was able to make it to our prayer meeting this week, so he joined our family as we looked at a psalm and then spent time together in prayer. On Wednesday at the university we had a good group. I am still trusting that some of my students will come and that the other students will be able to invite some of their friends. But we have been having good studies with the young people from church who have been faithful. I had a special weekend because I attended a prayer conference in Alcalá de Henares. It was a special blessing because I took Emilio with me. We enjoyed the train ride up to Madrid together, and I even was able to witness to the lady who sat across from us. We spent Friday evening and all day Saturday with believers from all over Spain. Yesterday in our morning service Israel preached from Jesus' conversation with Pilate. Then in the evening I led the Bible study from Romans.

November 10-16

One special highlight from this week was the fact that both Gloria's brother and niece came for the Bible study. We continued looking at James 1, and both asked good questions. Our family enjoyed a nice time of study from the Psalms and prayer on Tuesday evening. The study at the university continues to go well too. On Sunday I preached about Christ's conversation with Zacchaeus. We can only imagine the entire conversation around the table, but the result was that Zacchaeus became a son of Abraham anew that day as he placed his faith in God's promised Messiah. In the evening we had our study at Ángel and Patricia's house. Some friends of theirs came, so there was a good size group as we continued our study in Romans 3.

It was also Maribel's birthday this week. We were able to spend some special time together on the day and make plans for further celebration with friends and family. I thank the Lord for the wife He has given me and all she means to me in the ministry that God has called us to, both in our family and in the church.

November 3-9

This week at the study with Antonio and Gloria I was pleased to have Gloria's brother present. He participated in the study and later told her that he was going to make plans to be present every week at the Bible study. Our prayer meeting was back down to our family, but we had a good time of study and prayer together. I was also able to have a Bible study with another family in the congregation on Friday. On Sunday morning I preached from the story of the gentile woman who asked Christ to heal her daughter. This story once again stresses the importance of faith as we approach the Lord. In the evening we started looking at Romans 3.

October 27-November 2

I recently started studying the book of James with Antonio and Gloria. This week we looked at the necessity of wisdom to get through the trials of life. They both are very actively interested in the study. For our prayer time, Israel was able to join us this week as we continue to look at the Psalms and pray together. Also this week I was able to begin a Bible study at the university. This is something that I did last year for the first time. This year I trust that God will continue to use this time to encourage students who are believers and to reach unbelievers with the message of salvation. On Sunday Israel preached about the rich young ruler. After his sermon, there were good comments by different members. The Lord used the sermon to move our hearts! It was also the day we had our monthly church fellowship. So we enjoyed a good potluck meal together and then in the afternoon, a study from Romans 2.

October 20-26

On Tuesday we had our midweek study on the Psalms and a time of prayer. We looked at Psalm 8 this week, the first psalm which is truly a worship psalm. Maria Eugenia was out of town on Tuesday so she did not make it to the study. The Bible study with Antonio and Gloria continues to go well. We are studying the book of James. Yesterday in the morning service I continued our series of sermons on the conversations with the Master. We looked at the short interchange between Jesus and the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus emphasized the importance of faith, a necessary quality if we are to draw near to God. In the evening we continued our study in Romans. We looked at chapter 2 last night, where Paul points to how God will judge the human race. Without the saving work of Christ, all will fall under condemnation. He continues to prepare the path for the good news of the gospel.

October 13-19

Our activities this week were normal according to schedule. On Sunday Israel preached about the Samaritan at the well. After his sermon, there were many good thoughts expressed about the message, and a profitable time of meditation and reflection. In the evening we continue our Bible study on the book of Romans.

October 6-12

On Sunday I began a new series of sermons on Christ's conversations throughout the Gospels. We began with Nicodemus. Jesus taught him that a relationship with God was possible only through a new, spiritual birth. At first Nicodemus had difficulty understanding what Jesus was telling him, but as the conversation porgressed, Jesus clearly confronted him with his need to be born again. In the evening we spent some time looking at the introduction to the book of Romans. Lord willing we will spend the next few months studying an overview of this great epistle.

September 30-October 7

This week was a very special one for several reasons. First of all, we celebrated baptisms this week. I have had a series of studies with Antonio and Gloria since they asked to be baptised after we got back from the USA. Two of my children, David and Andrea expressed the desire to be baptised. So I had some studies with them as well to prepare them for baptism. Yesterday in our morning service, Israel preached about Christ's interaction with Mary and Martha. It was a blessing to see how the Lord used the message to stir hearts. After our morning service, the whole congregation went to Antonio and Gloria's house. We had a barbecue lunch, and then we had a special testimony service. All four candidates gave a clear salvation testimony and then were baptised publicly. There were several unsaved visitors present who heard a clear testimony to the Gospel.

It was also a special week because on Friday I taught the first class of my course on Biblical Hebrew. A Christian student at the university approached me some time back about learning Hebrew. It has been a long process to get the official recognition of this course, but it has finally happened. I have 12 students in the course. I trust that the Lord will open doors to share Christ through this class.

Our other activities of the week went as scheduled. Maria Eugenia was present at our midweek study and prayer meeting.

David & Maribel
"servabis pacem pacem quia in te speravimus; sperastis in Domino in saeculis aeternis" Is 26.3-4

September 22-28

On Wednesday evening we had our prayer time and were happy to have Maria Eugenia with us. Since Sergio is now gone, she spends her weekends out of town with her children, so this mid week service was the first time we have had her with us for a service in a long time. I met with Antonio and Gloria this week to continue preparing them for baptism. I am pleased with their understanding of baptism and their desire to give this testimony. Yesterday morning we had good attendance. I preached from Matthew 7 about judging ourselves before we try to help others. In the evening there were thunderstorm alerts which kept Angel and Patricia from making it back for the Bible study. But we met as a family and looked at Colossians 3, a passage which we are trying to memorize as a family. Lord willing (and weather permitting) next weekend will celebrate a baptismal service.

David & Maribel
"servabis pacem pacem quia in te speravimus; sperastis in Domino in saeculis aeternis" Is 26.3-4

September 14-21

School started this week for the kids and Maribel. We also had a great time with Pastor Conley and his wife. I drove up to Madrid to pick them up on Tuesday. We were able to spend the day on Wednesday together showing them around our town and around Alicante. The time of fellowship has encouraged us to continue forward in our calling. On Wednesday we were with the Conleys in the service in Elche, so we had our prayer meeting on Thursday. Yesterday morning I preached from Psalm 3 about remembering and recognizing God's blessings. When Absalom kicked David out of Jerusalem, many assumed that God had finished with David. But David by faith knew that God would save him when it was time. So often Satan gains the victory with us by making us overlook God's many blessings to us even in the middle of the trials. May we have clear vision to see God's hand at work in our lives! For our evening study we went to Emilio and Ester's house. I spoke from Matthew 11 and Luke 16. Israel's parents came for the study as well.

David & Maribel

"servabis pacem pacem quia in te speravimus; sperastis in Domino in saeculis aeternis" Is 26.3-4

September 8-14

This week I was able to get a good number of projects done around the house. The kids went down to Elche every day for the Vacation Bible School that Israel directed. We were very glad for them to be able to have that contact with other Christian children and sit under the teaching of the Word. For our prayer service we looked at Psalm 2 and its implications for prayer. Yesterday in the service I preached from Acts 8 about how we view God. Unfortunately we often try to use God for our own purposes, as Simon the Sorcerer did, instead of allowing God to use us for His own purposes. In the afternoon we got a severe thundershower and had some flooding in our basement where we hold our services. We are very thankful that nothing was ruined, and we were able to get rid of the water fairly quickly. In fact, we finished getting rid of the water and still had time to make it to Elche for evening service in which they talked about the Bible club and then Israel preached.

David & Maribel

"servabis pacem pacem quia in te speravimus; sperastis in Domino in saeculis aeternis" Is 26.3-4

September 1-7

Last week we got back from the USA. We arrived on Saturday evening and got a good night's sleep before Sunday morning. For our service I preached about being true disciples and making disciples. It was a good service with nearly everyone present. After the sermon Antonio gave a testimony. He thanked the Lord that Gloria has been declared cancer free, and he announced publicly that they want to be baptized. Throughout the week we have been working on the house to get things in shape after being away all summer. On Wednesday we started our first semi-formal prayer meeting. Right now it is just our family, because no one else is close enough to come. We will be studying the Psalms and spending time in prayer together. Yesterday I preached from Acts 16 about difficulties that arise when we follow God. In the evening we had our first evening Bible study after the summer, and I spoke about true wisdom from James 3.

David & Maribel

"servabis pacem pacem quia in te speravimus; sperastis in Domino in saeculis aeternis" Is 26.3-4

May and June, 2009

The last two months have been full of amazing opportunities for ministry. In May we enjoyed a very special visit. Paul and Theresa Bixby were with us for just over a week. We enjoyed a special time of fellowship with them as we recalled our first months of ministry here in Spain when we worked with them. But the highlight for us came Sunday when Paul preached for our morning service. The Lord used his message to convict and encourage hearts. It was a special blessing to hear the testimony of Antonio, who shared how God had especially moved his heart as he heard the Sermon. We also took advantage of their visit to have a special memorial service for Vicente. The Lord brought Vicente to Himself under Paul's ministry in Alicante some 12 years ago. Two years ago when he passed away, his family asked me to preach the funeral. The Lord has opened their hearts up more after Vicente's death then they ever were during his lifetime. So we took advantage of the Bixby's visit which coincided with Vicente's birthday. We invited Vicente's family members for a special evening service in which we remembered Vicente. I was able to preach to the Gospel to two of Vicente's daughters and one of his granddaughters. We rejoice in the opportunity to share with Vicente's family the spiritual blessings which Vicente found in Christ.

May was also a busy month for us all of the preparations for an extremely full month of June. Let me give a little bit of background. Three years ago, we organized the first Spanish Study Abroad program from Bob Jones University in Elche. We repeated the program two years ago. This year as we made plans for our third summer, the Lord put it on our hearts to have the program in Petrer where we live. This meant a significant change for us, for we have always tried to house the students with families from the church in Elche, but in Petrer we do not have enough contacts in the church to house the students. So I met with a local government official in charge of education in Petrer and asked if the Town Hall would be interested in collaborating with us. The response was enthusiastically positive. Over the following months, we slowly put together a list of and then interviewed interested families; when June came, we were able to place the students with unsaved families from our city. I must admit that there were several moments along the way in which we were very nervous about what could go wrong, but we prayed and trusted in the Lord to work in each situation. In fact, throughout the month of May, I preached a series of sermons from the book of Isaiah about trusting the Lord. And each week the Lord encouraged me to trust Him more. In June we saw the Lord work in clear and wonderful ways, opening hearts and allowing the Gospel message to reach people. The students were a beautiful testimony for Christ in their homes, taking the gospel to families that would have normally been closed to the message. But their testimony went much further! The families started asking permission to come to church with the students. Over the month we had visitors in our services almost every week. The last week of June was a special highlight for us. We had almost 60 people in our Sunday morning service, and I was able to present the gospel in a clear way. After the service, we heard several very open and positive responses to the message. We are praising the Lord for the door He opened for us to reach out to families in our town through these students. It was also a blessing to spend time with the students and see how the Lord is working in specific areas of their lives. This program reached far beyond academics through daily Bible studies and first hand contact with the lost. We rejoiced as we saw the Lord burden the hearts of the students not only for the families they were living with but also for others surrounding them. We feel like the Lord advanced His work here in our city by years through the contacts made in the last month. Please pray for us as we follow up these contacts and minister to these dear people. We look forward to seeing how God will continue to work in their lives.

Throughout June we were also busy making plans for a trip to the United States during July and August. Israel will be carrying on the ministry in Petrer while we are gone, and we are excited to see how God will use this experience to develop him. Please pray that the believers will grow spiritually over these months and that people who visited the church in June would return. Pray with us that Christ would build His church for His glory in Petrer.

April 7-20

On Wednesday the kids finished their last day of school, so they came
home and packed up, and on Thursday we headed out for Germany. We
spent a week with a German family we met a few years ago when I spoke
at a camp up in Barcelona. It was a wonderful week of fellowship and
fun; a needed break for us. On Easter Sunday we were in a church
started by a group of Romanians. Even though we didn't understand the
language, it was a blessing to celebrate the Lord's resurrection with
these believers. We traveled back to Spain the following Thursday, but
turned right around and headed up to Madrid for the conference on
Isaiah. The Lord blessed with very good attendance. I taught from 9-5
(with a break for lunch of course). It was a wonderful day of
fellowship around the Word. On Sunday morning I preached from Isaiah 6
and then after lunch we headed home. We made it just in time for the
service, and I preached from Colossians 1. My voice was giving out,
but I made it through the weekend!

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

March 31-April 6

As time ticks down towards the Easter holidays, there is a lot that
needs to be done. I have spent a lot of time this week working on a
series of special sessions on the book of Isaiah that I will be
presenting in Madrid. But there has also been time for the normal
activities of this week. We had our last Bible study on campus this
week before the holidays. And we had a good little group once again. I
also visited Antonio and Gloria this week for a Bible study. It has
been a special blessing to work through some parables with these new
believers. I read the story and explain it to them, and then let them
talk about what Christ meant to teach through this story. It has been
absolutely beautiful to hear them wrestle with the meaning and express
the main teaching. On Sunday I preached about one of the events
between Palm Sunday and the passion week. I spoke about Christ's
cursing of the fig tree. The picture prophecy involved in this act is
powerful, as is the application to us as well. God is not impressed
with "leafyness"; He seeks true fruit.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

March 24-30

This past week was quite different for me. I spent Tuesday through
Friday in Morocco at a conference on translation. The University of
Alicante sent me to the conference where I read a paper on English
Bible translations. It was a very interesting experience. The
conference kept me busy, and there were many cultural experiences as
well as some opportunities to be a testimony. I thank the Lord for His
protection and help as I traveled. Yesterday was a nasty day with a
good amount of rain, but we had a good number in the morning service.
I preached a message to summarize the series that we have been doing
on Ephesians. In the evening we took Maria Eugenia with us and went to
church in Alicante. My son David and I played a special number with
French horn and trombone, and then I preached from the book of Isaiah.
It was a blessing to be with the believers there.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

April 21-27

Things were almost back to normal this week, except that Thursday was
a local holiday. I was able to visit Antonio and Gloria again to
continue our study. We had a visiting speaker in the Bible institute
on Wednesday. We had a good class with Pastor Waters from Guadalajara.
On Sunday I preached from Mark 5 about people who are afraid of God.
The demon possessed man asked Christ why He had come to torment him,
and then the people from the town asked Jesus to leave because they
obviously did not understand what had happened. And many people today,
even believers at times, are afraid of what God wants to do in their
lives. In the evening we had our study at the house of one of our
families. We were happy to have a couple visit for the first time.
Next week we have a church retreat that we are looking forward to our
church retreat.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

March 17-23

On Tuesday we had another good Bible study at the university. We were
missing a few that I thought would come, but some others came, so
there were still five of us at the study. After the study, I visited
Antonio and Gloria for a Bible study. We talked about another of
Christ's parables. It was fascinating to watch them meditate on the
image of the mustard seed and the leaven and come to Christ's teaching
about the kingdom. This past week was special, though, because we had
several days off from school because of Fathers' Day. So we spent a
good amount of time on Thursday and Saturday doing projects around the
house. On Friday morning we went down to the university to attend
Ruben Pineda's defense of his dissertation. He and his wife and
children lived in Alicante for a year while he was taking his
coursework. They were very involved in the church in Alicante during
that year. So it is always a blessing to see them again. It was a
special day for them, though, as Rubén finished up his doctoral work
and graduated with honors. We were glad to be able to accompany them
on that special morning. On Friday afternoon we had some unsaved
friends over for lunch. Flor studied with Maribel, and Antonio has
been in some of my classes at the Universidad Permanente. We had a
good opportunity to talk about the things of the Lord with them.

Yesterday morning Israel called me. He was not feeling too well, so he
stayed in bed. But almost everybody else from our small congregation
came. I preached on the Christian's armor from Ephesians 6. Yesterday
was our monthly church meal, so after the service we had a potluck
lunch. And then in the afternoon we watched a Christian film which
highlighted the family relationships we had talked about a few weeks
ago in Ephesians 5. The message was very powerful, and there were good
comments afterwards. We were glad to have Antonio and Gloria with us
for the first time at a church meal. Also, Angel and Patricia brought
some family members who just arrived from Argentina. We trust that the
Lord will give us further opportunities to sow the word with this
couple.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

March 10-16

We had an extremely busy week! But there were many blessings. First
of all, we were finally able to get our garage painted where we meet
for church. The fresh paint and color make everything much brighter
and cleaner! We are thankful for this improvement. Even though I did
not do the work myself, it created quite a bit of cleanup, but we are
thankful to have that job done! On Monday I had an interesting
opportunity to be on the radio about the students who will be coming
to study Spanish this summer. Lord willing we will be able to have
them in people's homes from here, and in that way be able to reach out
to the community with a strong testimony. Please pray for us that we
will find the right families and that God would work in their hearts.
I had a special blessing at the university this week. As I was walking
across campus I saw one of my students from last year sitting under a
tree reading a book. It looked to me a little like a Bible, so I
stopped and talked to her. I invited her to come to the Bible study
(that same day), and she did! I praise the Lord for this new contact.
The Lord has really encouraged me through it! It was also an important
week for us as family. Andrea turned nine this week! We were able to
celebrate with her classmates on Wednesday in a park and with family
and church friends on Sunday afternoon. On Sunday morning Israel
preached from Ephesians 6 about the Christian in the workplace, and on
Sunday evening I preached about the concept of discipleship in Luke.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

March 3-9

Our normal activities of the week continue as usual. I led the Bible
study at the University on Tuesday as we looked at Colossians 1 again.
I also met with Antonio and Gloria to talk about the parables of
Christ and follow up how they are doing with their new believers'
study they are doing. And Maribel had her study with the ladies on
Friday. On Sunday morning I preached on families from Ephesians 5.
There was a good response to the message. We trust that the Lord will
build strong families as a firm foundation for His church. In the
evening I also led the study.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

February 24-March 02

I am very thankful for yet another week with opportunities to minister
the Word. I met with Antonio and Gloria for another study this week.
Much to my surprise, her brother ate with us and was in on the study
as well. Later he shared some of his poetry with me. One of his poems
was about faith. This opened the door for more conversation. But the
most beautiful part of the afternoon was hearing Antonio witness to
his brother-in-law. He shared with him, in his own style, some of the
same concepts that I went through with them several months ago. What a
blessing it is to see the Lord at work! My class in the Bible
institute continues to go well. We discussed the Baptist distinctives
this week. Maribel continues to have good attendance at the Bible
study on Fridays with the ladies, and the Lord has given us a steady
attendance of four or five at the Bible study at the university. I
have more students who are interested, but it is hard to work out a
schedule when all of them can attend. On Sunday I preached from
Ephesians 5 about imitating God. This is the true test of a changed
life. Before the service in the morning we celebrated the Lord's table
together once again. It was a blessing to hear how God has been
working in the congregation. In the evening Israel gave the study, and
there was a good little group. Maribel continues to work with the
smaller children, while the older young people and adults meet
together for the study.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

February 17-23

We thank the Lord for another week with activity geared toward
eternity. We were finally able to return to our Bible study on the
university again. Last month we had exams, so while there were no
classes we did not have the study. On Tuesday afternoon I met with
three students. This was the first study that I had been able to
invite some of my students to. I talked to three, and all of them
came, except one girl who came by to let me know that she would try to
come next week but this week she couldn't stay. We had a very good
time looking at Colossians together. On Wednesday I met with Antonio
and Gloria for a study. Last week I left them some photocopies of a
simple course on discipleship. I was pleased to see that they had done
both studies instead of just the first! We had a wonderful time
together full of good conversation. On Wednesday night I taught my
class at the Bible institute. We had a good time of discussion talking
about the purpose of the church and the purpose of preaching. On
Friday I met with Emilio and Ester for another study about the church.
And Friday afternoon Maribel met with the ladies for a time of study
and prayer. This weekend Israel preached in Almería for a youth
meeting. We were a little discouraged that Sergio did not go. All the
plans were made, but he simply decided that he did not want to go. But
Israel said that the meeting was a real blessing.

The Lord blessed us once again with good services yesterday. I
preached in the morning from Ephesians 4 about the changed life. Paul
gives very specific, concrete examples of this change (v.25-32).
During the testimony time Antonio told us that he was very thankful to
God because he had found what he had been searching for for years.
After the service we celebrated Gloria's birthday together. She told
us several weeks ago that she wanted to celebrate her birthday with
her friends! They brought food and we all stayed and enjoyed a nice
time of fellowship together. After we had finished eating I shared a
challenge from 1 Peter 5.7 especially for Gloria, as she begins the
next phase of her treatment. Please pray with us for her that her body
will react well to this medicine.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

February 10-16

This week I had some good visits. I met with Antonio and Gloria for a
Bible study. For the first time I left them a written study that they
are going to work on before the next time we meet. I also had a good
study with Emilio and Ester. I met with my Bible institute class twice
to make up for the class we missed last week with the special
lectures. We had a good discussion on the qualifications for the
ministry and ordination. On Saturday Maribel, the kids and I were
invited to a dinner for the families in the Elche church. I gave a
challenge to the group about God's love and protection, and we all
enjoyed a nice evening together.

The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day yesterday. It was not sunny
or even warm. But we had a wonderful time of fellowship as we
worshiped the Lord together and studied His word. We had our monthly
meal together, followed by our Bible study. Yesterday was I think the
first Sunday that we have had all of our people here together at one
time. There were 19 including the children. We praise the Lord for
what He is doing in this little congregation.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

February 03-09

This past week I did not teach my Bible institute class because we had
Andy Bonikowsky down to give some guest lectures on Bible Geography.
Those who were involved in the class greatly appreciated his teaching
backed up with his own personal experience in Israel. Maribel met with
the ladies on Friday for their study. The Lord gave us good services
on Sunday. I preached from Ephesians 1 and three about Paul's prayer
for the Ephesians. In the evening Israel led the Bible study as we
looked at the titles of Jesus in Colossians 1. Maribel met with the
children.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

January 27-February 02

Israel hurt his leg several weeks ago and has not been able to go to
work since. This past week I took advantage of the situation and had
him come with me to make several visits on Monday. We visited Antonio
and Gloria. She went home from the hospital on Friday and is doing
much better. I left them with recordings of the services from the last
two weeks that they missed. Then we visited Emilio and Ester. We were
able to get back into our Bible study that we have not been able to
have for several weeks due to schedule conflicts. Maribel was able to
have a Bible study with the women again this week. It has been a while
since they have been able to get together. She is excited about this
renewed opportunity. I am also thankful for my Bible Institute class.
We talked this week about the call to the ministry and gifts of the
ministry. What a blessing it is to know that God never calls without
equipping.

Yesterday our attendance was once again affected by illness. Lorenzo
was sick, but Ana Maria came. We started out with our monthly
celebration of the Lord's table. Then we had our morning service. I
preached on Ephesians 3, about how God has united us to Himself and to
the chosen people through Christ. We ended our service with a call to
Gloria. We were able to sing a hymn to her and then all talked to her
individually. She thinks that she will be able to be in the service
again next week. In the evening we continued our study in Colossians 1
by talking about how God has equipped us to walk worthy of the Lord.
Maribel did a study with the children, during which Daniel publicly
prayed to ask the Lord to forgive him of his sins and save him!

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

January 20-26

Recently I have mentioned Antonio and Gloria often. Well, this past
week Gloria had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. I called her on
Monday to pray with her before the operation, only to find out that
she had already been operated on. They ended up moving the operation
up a day! So on Wednesday Maribel and I went to visit with them in the
hospital. She is doing well, and the doctors are confident that they
were able to remove all of the cancer. We also began a new course in
the Bible Institute. I am teaching a class about the pastoral
ministry. It is a very small group, but I am very excited. We have a
few who have expressed a clear call to the ministry, so it is a
wonderful privilege to prepare them for the future with an extremely
practical class such as this. In our first class we looked at Christ's
compassion for the multitudes who were like sheep without a shepherd
(pastor). His solution was to pray that the Lord of the harvest would
send out laborers.

On Saturday the young people from Elche came up. We were going to go
and pass out tracts, but the weather was not very good, so we had the
meeting in our house. I spoke to them from one of the parables of
Christ and then we had a time of prayer. On Sunday Israel preached
from Ephesians two about how God has changed us. We had some bad
weather over the weekend, so our attendance was down, but we praise
the Lord for those who were able to come. After the service we had our
monthly church meal and then our evening study. I spoke from
Colossians 1 again about being grateful for what God is doing in our
lives.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

January 20-26

Recently I have mentioned Antonio and Gloria often. Well, this past
week Gloria had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. I called her on
Monday to pray with her before the operation, only to find out that
she had already been operated on. They ended up moving the operation
up a day! So on Wednesday Maribel and I went to visit with them in the
hospital. She is doing well, and the doctors are confident that they
were able to remove all of the cancer. We also began a new course in
the Bible Institute. I am teaching a class about the pastoral
ministry. It is a very small group, but I am very excited. We have a
few who have expressed a clear call to the ministry, so it is a
wonderful privilege to prepare them for the future with an extremely
practical class such as this. In our first class we looked at Christ's
compassion for the multitudes who were like sheep without a shepherd
(pastor). His solution was to pray that the Lord of the harvest would
send out laborers.

On Saturday the young people from Elche came up. We were going to go
and pass out tracts, but the weather was not very good, so we had the
meeting in our house. I spoke to them from one of the parables of
Christ and then we had a time of prayer. On Sunday Israel preached
from Ephesians two about how God has changed us. We had some bad
weather over the weekend, so our attendance was down, but we praise
the Lord for those who were able to come. After the service we had our
monthly church meal and then our evening study. I spoke from
Colossians 1 again about being grateful for what God is doing in our
lives.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

January 13-19

This past Saturday the young people from Alicante came up and passed
out tracts with us here in Petrer. Then we were able to have a good
time at the house with a challenge and a time of fellowship. We were
also working on a new pulpit. A few weeks ago, Israel's father
approached me about building a wooden pulpit for the church. The
pulpit is coming along nicely and is a nice addition to our meetings.

On Sunday we began a new series of messages on the book of Ephesians,
based on the theme, "See then that ye walk circumspectly" (Eph. 5.1).
I preached the first message from the hymn in the first chapter on all
that God has done to bless us. So often we focus on material
blessings, but Paul here brings us to remember the rich spiritual
blessings that God has given us in Christ. In the evening we met at a
Angel and Patricia's house for our study. Many of our people were able
to make it out, and Angel and Patricia invited some Christian friends,
so we had a very good group. Unfortunately, Maribel was not feeling
well at all, so she had to miss the service as well as several days of
work. I taught from Colossians 1 about walking worthy of the Lord.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

January 06-12

This was the last week of the Christmas holidays. I had a special
highlight for this year. I played in the band for the Kings' Day
parade of our town on Monday. It was a lot of fun to march with the
band and play Christmas songs. After Tuesday, our schedule got back to
normal. The kids are back and school, and Maribel and I are back to
our normal teaching schedules. On Thursday I ate lunch with Antonio
and Gloria. I have witnessed very clearly to them in the past. But
last week I shared with them the concept of making a profession of
faith. It seems that they have slowly come (at least close) to the
point of faith, but they have never made a real profession of faith. I
had to be careful to help them understand Romans 10.9, 13. Antonio
wasn't sure if I was asking him to stand up at church and share all of
his sins. Gloria thought perhaps it meant that they had to go out on
the street and start preaching. In the end it was clear. Antonio told
me directly that he had placed his faith in Christ, even though he
still struggles with doubts. On Sunday morning in the service, he told
the congregation that he knew he was a sinner, but that the Lord is
working in his heart. Every time I spend time with them I am more and
more impressed with what the Lord is doing in their hearts. On Friday
I spent the morning with Israel preparing for the new series of
sermons that we will be preaching on Ephesians. We had good services
yesterday, even though Ana María was out of town and Lorenzo was sick.
Israel preached about love from 1 John 4. Antonio and Gloria were in
the service, and Antonio had some good questions. After the service
they stayed for lunch. We had a good time around the table. In the
evening we had a special service in which we watched the film Flame in
the Wind. The people were challenged by the stand for Christ that was
depicted in the film.

David & Maribel
davidnmaribel@gmail.com
"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas" Col 4.17

December, 2008

My weekly summaries dried up in December due to extreme busyness! But I will try to run through the weeks to recall all that was happening.

November 25-December 1

This week was a busy week preparing for my trip to the USA. I was, however, able to meet with the students at the university for another Bible study. It was also a special week because of Thanksgiving. The Tony Hart family came down from the Madrid area to spend the weekend with us. We had our Thanksgiving meal on Saturday, though, to accomodate our schedules. We were pleased that Camilla Becker who lives down near Elche could be with us that day. On Sunday Tony preached for us in the morning service on the topic of gratitude. That afternoon I rode up to Madrid with them and was in their church in Azuqueca for the evening service. 

December 2-8

This was the week I was in the USA. It was a whirlwind of activity, but a wonderful blessing. My major reason for going was to give a series of lectures on Translation Theory and the Bible. The lectures were very well attended, and I enjoyed the time greatly. I was also able to talk to many different classes. It was a special highlight for me to preach for the seminary students on Friday. My cup was full and running over! On Sunday morning I had the privilege of preaching for the hispanic ministry at Hampton Park, and then I was off to the airport to catch my flight back home. Here in Petrer, Israel preached a message to finish off our series of sermons on the miracles of Christ in John.

December 9-15

When I got back from the States, I had another two weeks of classes at the university. Those two weeks were extremely busy. But praise the Lord we were able to get everything done. I continued our Bible study with Emilio and Ester, and even got a chance to meet with Antonio and Gloria over lunch to continue witnessing to them. We were invited as a church to join the Elche church for their adult Christmas meal. María Eugenia came with us that night. Dr. Bob Jones was the speaker and I had the privilege of being his translator that night. On Sunday the 14th, we celebrated the Lord's table in the morning before the service and then I preached about Christ as the gift of God. That evening we went down to Elche to be in their mini-Bible conference. Dr. Bob gave an excellent challenge on a ministry of prayer.

December 16-22

On Sunday the 21st, Israel preached on Mary, the mother of Jesus. We were glad to have some visitors in the service. Bibiana, a Spanish lady we met in Alicante several years ago and visited in London earlier this year, was back in Spain to visit and brought her mother to the service. In the afternoon, we had our monthly church meal which was also a Christmas meal. After the meal we had a Christmas program. We read the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke and interspersed different Christmas hymns and special numbers. It was a nice time of fellowship as a congregation.

December 23-29

This was the first week of vacation. It was a wonderful breather for the family. We were able to have fun together and visit with friends and family that we have not had too much time to do things with in the past months. We decided not to travel anywhere, so we took advantage of the time together. On Sunday I preached from Zechariah 4 about the Spirit's roll in setting goals and making plans. Bibiana and her husband Rene were with us again this week, and once again they brought a visitor with them. In the evening we visited the church in Alicante and heard Israel preach. 

December 30-January 5

We had a special service on December 31 this year. I invited the Dodgens to come and Mike to bring a challenge. We had a good group at our house to remember the blessing from the past year and set goals for the coming year. It was another good time of spiritual challenge and fellowship. On Sunday morning I preached about the wisemen, in preparation for Kings' Day (Jan. 6). We were very excited to see Antonio and Gloria back with us after several weeks' absence due to her cancer treatments. I was very pleased that María Eugenia agreed to prepare a study for the children on Sunday night. I led a Bible study for the adults while she taught her lesson to the children. A believer from the church in Valencia came all the way to Petrer to be in our service and encourage us. We were very thankful for this blessing. Also a family from the church in Alicante was with us as well for the evening service.

David & Maribel

davidnmaribel@gmail.com

"vide ministerium quod accepisti in Domino ut illud impleas"  Col 4.17