October 16-22

        Things were very busy this week, as all of my classes have now started. I had good Bible institute classes on Monday and Wednesday. The students are excited and asking good questions. Our Thursday prayer meeting was back down to normal attendance, but we had a very good service. On Saturday we met with Lorenzo and Ana María for our weekly Bible study again. They continue to respond well to the teaching. Yesterday was a very interesting day. We drove up to Elda, the city right next to Petrer where we plan to begin a new work in January, and we took Israel, one of my students from the Bible institute who feels called to the ministry and who will be helping us start the work in Petrer. The purpose of the trip was to visit the only non-charismatic church in the area. It was a good opportunity to clarify our goals. Please pray for us as we continue to take steps towards this goal.
        I preached in the evening from 1 Thes. 4 in the last of my series about not being ignorant. Here Paul instructs us about the resurrection. The difference between us and those who are without Christ is our hope. Those who died in Christ will return with him and we will see Him together with them. The emphasis on Christ is beautiful. Heaven is not a time just to be reunited with loved ones; rather it is a time to be with our Savior. This makes the joy and comfort even greater. After the message we had the Lord's supper. It was the first time that Viviana had ever experienced this celebration. She was very touched by it and is looking forward to being baptized soon!

October 9-15

        This past week was a rather strange week because we had two holidays (Monday and Thursday), so there were many special activities instead of our normal routine. On Monday we were able to spend the day with Lorenzo and Ana María, and we visited several families in the church. On Thursday we spent the day with Juan and Cristina and then had our couples' study with Lorenzo and Ana María in the afternoon before church. Since Thursday was a holiday, we had an extra large attendance at church for prayer meeting.
        But the biggest activity of the week was our men's retreat on Friday and Saturday. Pablo Portugal came down from Barcelona to be the speaker, and we had a total of 25 men. The topic was prayer, and the studies were very practical. The Lord was so good to us in many ways. Emilio was a great help to me for the last retreat, taking care of all of the food and other organizational matters, but he went to the hospital last Monday morning with yet another heart attack. When I visited him, he told me that he wasn't going to be able to be at the retreat. But he got out of the hospital on Wednesday and was there helping out and entertaining at the retreat as if nothing had ever happened to him. On Friday morning I checked the weather report and noticed to my horror that they were calling for rain Friday night and thunderstorms during the day on Saturday! I could just imagine all of our tents getting washed off the camp site. But the Lord overruled, and we had perfect weather all week end. Praise the Lord for answering our prayers about this retreat.
        Yesterday I preached from 2 Corinthians 1.8-9 about another of Paul's "ignorant" passages. In this case he warns us not to be ignorant that even the strongest trials can be used by God to teach us to trust in Him.

Bell Nouvelles 9.4

October, 2006
------------------------------------------------------------
Bell Nouvelles in short:
------------------------------------------------------------
Praises
- a good start to the Bible Institute (10 students)
- a good trip to Austria (a great encouragement to us)
- Viviana, new contact at church
- we found a good house in Petrer
Requests
- the sale of our current flat!!
- Men's retreat next weekend
- evangelization in Petrer
------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

I'm trying a new format. I have started writing a weekly summary which I am posting on my blog for those who would like to follow our ministry in more detail. In my email, I am mainly going to focus on our prayer requests. The weekly summaries are included down below for those of you who cannot make it onto the blog.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

David Bell
davidbbell@bluebottle.com

October 2-8

The Lord gave us a good week. We were able to make a down payment on the house in Petrer that we have been looking at for over a month now. We also put our present flat up for sale. Now we pray that the Lord would help us sell it soon so that we can move. My Bible institute class is going well. I have ten students this semester for the New Testament Introduction class. We have been covering some general topics like the canon and the historical background of the NT. Our study with Lorenza and Ana María continues to go well. They continue to be very open and interested in the topics we are covering about marriage. Dr. Garlock spoke this morning about Joseph's God-centered view that made the difference in his life. This evening I preached my second sermon in my series about not being ignorant. I spoke from 1 Cor. 12 about spiritual gifts. This week we will be getting ready for the men's retreat next weekend. I'm really looking forward to that time.

September 25 - October 1

This last week was the start of academic life once again. My classes at the university began on Monday as well as the classes that Maribel is taking. The kids went back to school after our time in Austria, and I began my class for the Bible Institute. I have a nice group of about 10 students for my New Testament Introduction class. We began by talking about the canon of the New Testament. I feel that is especially an important issue in the wake of the DaVinci Code and other such material. Viviana has been a special blessing this week. She started coming to church a few weeks ago through a contact with a lady in our church. She is in a motorized wheelchair and through that situation came to know the Lord through a local charismatic group. Since she started coming, she has been very faithful and seems to really be drinking in the teaching. She especially thanked me for the study before our Thursday prayer meeting. On Saturday morning we had our monthly men's prayer breakfast. Dr. Garlock was visiting and spoke. I found his challenge very direct, and it was a real blessing. He has been preaching on the family in Elche all weekend. Today at church I preached about one of the things that Paul warns believers not to be ignorant about: past blessings do not guarantee future success (1 Cor. 10.1-5). We had two visitors last night. After the service I spoke with them and found out that they are strong Catholics. They enjoyed the service and especially the preaching, but do not think that they should read the Bible. Reading and understanding the Bible, in their opinion, should be left to people who are trained to do so. They were just content to listen to the "exerts". I praise the Lord for the opportunity to preach to them, but I encouraged them to read for themselves. May God touch their hearts (they did promise me that they would attempt to read) and bring them to a personal relationship with Christ! After the service we had a time of fellowship to say good bye to Claudia who will be returning to Argentina this week.

September 18-24

We returned from Austria on Friday. We had a great week with the Sheltons. On Monday we spent the day in Vienna with a girl from the church. Then in the afternoon, the Hudsons came over. On Tuesday afternoon, Kai Soltau came over and we were able to spend some good time together. On Wednesday and Thursday we were able to see some more of the city. I am very thankful for the time that we were in Austria. Besides being able to relax some and see some of this beautiful country, we were able to spend time with others who are in the ministry and learn from them. Back in Spain, we hit the ground running with an evangelistic film for children on Saturday morning. We were very pleased that our neighbor came with her two daughters. She was very moved by the film and once again thanked us for inviting her (she made several good comments when we showed Treasures in the Snow). Yesterday we had a good day at church. I preached on God's grace as opposed to human merits from Romans 11.5-6. If we understand correctly what God's grace is, we will realize that we are in no place to bargain with God. He deserves our all!

September 11-17

This week we have been in Austria. The scenery was beautiful in Salzburg, and we were able to spend a little time visiting the city. I was able to spend time with a missionary church planter here and ask a lot of questions. It was a blessing to be able to learn from this ministry and get ideas that we may be able to put into practice as we begin a new work in Petrer. On Sunday we were in Vienna with Stan and Grace Shelton. They have just begun a new work here, so it was very nice to meet with a little group of believers in a living room and see how the Lord is building His church here. We are looking forward to more times of fellowship over the next few days with the Sheltons and other Christians in the area.

September 4-10

I want to try something new here. I used to write an update every month here and then send it out by email as well. Lately it has been more and more difficult for me to get around to writing, and so I have dropped to every two months. My new idea is to write a short update every week for the BLog and then edit them together once a month with the most important information. In this way, if someone wants more information from us, it is available from the BLog. And when it comes around to the monthly letter, I'll just have to put the information together from the weekly summaries.

This week I don't have too much to write because I published the monthly letter just three days ago. I'll simply comment on the weekend. I did the youth meeting in Elche on Saturday. We had a Clemson student come from Alicante who will be studying here this year. We showed _The_World_at_War_ from the _Left_Behind_ series. There were good comments from the young people. Sunday morning I preached from Romans 15.1 about how we all have an obligation to bear the infirmities of the weak. The verse implies a beautiful contrast. Our obligation is to be involved in the problems of others (to help); but we have no obligation to please ourselves. This "others" mindedness should characterize our church and pervade all of the conversations and activities. I really feel like the people received the message.

David

parati semper en MMVI dare omni rationem de ea quae en me est spe

Bell Nouvelles 9.3

http://bellnouvelles.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidbbell/

September, 2006

------------------------------------------------------------

Bell Nouvelles in short:

------------------------------------------------------------

Praises

- blessings from  BJU students

- good summer activities (camps)

- first contacts in Petrer!

- Lord's working in the Romanian couple

Requests

- new Bible Institute class

- evangelization in Petrer

- a place for us to live in Petrer

------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends and family,

I have so much to tell! These have truly been exciting months for us in the ministry. The months of Man and June were very busy for us, but they were full of blessings. In May we hosted the BJU mission team. Besides their ministry in the church which was a great blessing, we were also able to take them up to Petrer, our new target town where we will be starting a new ministry soon, Lord willing. The group of 16 students and the Casillas did a fantastic job getting literature out and talking to people on the streets and in a park. This was our first official effort in this town, but the Lord allowed us to even see some initial response. I almost felt like it would have been too much to ask, but I told the Lord that it would certainly be encouraging if we heard something back from the tracts. And when I went to check the mail that week, it was with a sense of awe and wonder that I opened a letter from a person responding to the tract and asking for a Bible and a video.

In June we hosted a group of 12 students from Bob Jones who came to study Spanish for a month. Through contacts at the University here, I was able to set up a program for them to study at the University of Miguel Hernández in Elche for one month. We were able to bring in some Christian graduates from our church here to teach the students, and we were able to place the students in families from the church. Along with the studies in Spanish and culture, we were able to include a daily Bible study for the students in Spanish, as well as encouraging them to use their Spanish to witness and get involved in the youth group at the church. How I praise the Lord for the wonderful opportunity to work with these students this summer. I know that they made a big impact on the families here, and I trust that the Lord planted a seed in their hearts that they will never forget!

In July I was able to take David Jonathan up to Guadalajara for the anual children's camp and participate myself in some of the activities there. Then I began my final preparations for a family camp in August up in Barcelona where I would be giving a series of 13 studies going all the way through the book of Revelation. The Lord, however, had one more activities to keep us busy in July. Back in March, the Lord brought a Romanian couple and their small daughter to our church after the mission in Oliva (a town about an hour north of us) closed down. But as it turned out, they had started living together before they got saved, and they desperately wanted to get married and do what was right before the Lord. They came before the church and told the congregation why they wanted to get married. Their testimony was so special. He told the church that he did not want to be a stumbling block for anyone, especially the young people. He told them that what they had done was wrong and was in no way a pattern for others to follow. We asked them to live apart until the wedding, which we were able to plan for the following week. We had never planned a wedding in such short time, but it was a simple yet beautiful ceremony that the whole church participated in. I truly believe that the Lord was glorified in this family. Praise the Lord for their tender heart and their desire to do what is right. Since then we have seen them grow as a couple and as a family. We are having weekly studies with them right now and it is a blessing to see their hunger for the word.

As soon as that wedding was over, we loaded up the car and headed north for Barcelona. We were able to see our dear friends in that area and worship with them on Sunday, and then we headed up to Girona for the family camp with Dr. Martin Valcarcel. Preaching through the book of Revelation two studies a day for just over a week was a real challenge, but it was also a wonderful blessing to my heart. The believers who were there were very kind and paid excellent attention and asked good questions. When we returned from Barcelona, we finally had some time to be able to spend extra time with the people from our church. It was great to have them over and do special activities with them that we do not normally get to do. We were also able to head up to Petrer and do a little more canvassing and start the process of looking for a place to live. Last weekend I took the young people from our church and the church in Elche up to Petrer again to do some more work with tracts. We were able to cover another section of the city with tracts. After we had finished, Maribel commented on how nice it would be if we just had a contact that was a believer who could help out. On Sunday night the phone rang! It was a man named Pedro from Petrer who is involved in a church which does not do a lot of evangelizing. He is excited to help out in whatever way he can as we seek to pass out tracts and share the gospel with others. We drove up again yesterday so that I could meet with Pedro and find out a little more about him. We had a truly blessed time together as he shared with me his testimony and his burden to share Christ with others. While I was talking to him, Maribel met a lady who is a believer; she is looking for a place to live in Petrer to move there from a city about an hour away. She was so encouraged because as of yet, she had not made contact with any church or believers in the city. We are praising the Lord for the way He seems to be opening doors for us in this new city. Please pray for us as we seek to find a place to live and continue evangelizing. Pray that the Lord would give us more contacts and open doors of ministry.

Just a few more matters for prayer from previous updates. I am still looking at the possibility of teaching a Bible class here at the University. I have turned in a proposal to the head of the Greek department and will be meeting with her soon. Please pray that we can get the approval that we need to go ahead with the course. It may not, however, come through for this year. I am leaving it in the Lord's hands. Also, I would appreciate your prayers for the Bible Institute. Our Greek class last semester went great. Lord willing this month I will be beginning an Introduction to the New Testament. Please pray that the Lord will bless in that class. Finally, our family will be taking a little trip up to Austria next week for 10 days. We found some very good tickets last year and decided it would be a nice break for the family and a good opportunity to see the ministry in another part of Europe. Lord willing, we will be able to spend some time with other missionaries, including some friends from college, Stan and Grace Shelton.

I'm sorry that this message is so long. I will try to get back into the swing of writing messages more frequently so that they do not get so long! Thank you again for your prayers. 

In Christ,

David & Maribel

davidbbell@bluebottle.com

parati semper en MMVI dare omni rationem de ea quae en me est spe

Bell Nouvelles 9.2

http://bellnouvelles.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidbbell/

March, 2006
------------------------------------------------------------
Bell Nouvelles in short:
------------------------------------------------------------
Praises
-good meetings with Marvin Robertson
-the Lord's continued working in members' lives
Requests
-Bible Institute class
-Easter program at church
-a Bible class at the university
-the Lord's direction for a new church
------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends,

Another month has drawn to a close, so I want to take a few minutes
and let you know a little about what the Lord continues to do in and
through us here in Alicante. This month we began with some special
meetings with missionary Marvin Robertson who came down from Madrid
to hold some special meetings at our church. The Lord used him to
touch on some very good topics, and we are thankful for his teaching
and consistant testimony. I am also very thankful for the way our
emphasis this year is going. As I have mentioned before, we are
trying to emphasize personal evangelism in a special way this year. I
have been very encouraged by testimonies from various members of the
congregation about ways that the Lord has opened up doors for them to
witness openly with different people they have contact with. Even
though we may not see many conversions here in Spain, we do see
growth in people's lives as they become more and more bold at sharing
their faith with others.

As we look forward to this coming month, there are two big activities
that you can remember in prayer. First of all, I am teaching another
session in our Bible institute. I will be teaching Introduction to
Biblical Greek. The Lord has given me a class of ten students who are
excited about learning some of the language which the New Testament
was written in. But we are also going to be taking some time to deal
with other matters such as commentaries, word studies, computer
tools, etc. My prayer is that the Lord would use these studies to
strengthen these young people and make them better servants of the
word. We are also working hard with the choir to prepare a short
Easter cantata. Please pray that we would have a good opportunity to
have a testimony before unsaved friends and family members this year
through this program.

I have some very special and exciting prayer requests to share this
month. In the first place I would like to ask special prayer about
the possibility of teaching a Bible class at the University of
Alicante. When I started working there part time four years ago, I
wondered how the Lord would use me there. Over the years as I have
slowly been learning more about the system, I have noticed that
teachers can propose classes in various fields (some of which are
even outside traditional academia) which the students can take for
credit. Lord willing I will be proposing a Bible class for next
year's term. I know that I have several students who are interested
in the class, but the main hurdle right now is to get a department on
campus to back the class (or at least OK it). I need prayer that the
Lord will lead me to the right person, because if I end up at the
wrong person, all the doors could be shut for this and any further
opportunity. I am very excited about this possibility. It could be a
wonderful tool for reaching out to the unsaved. Please pray
specifically for me in the coming weeks as I meet with people who
could possibly back my proposal for this class.

Also, I would like to ask your prayers for the activities that we are
planning this summer. In the first place, we have a special
evangelistic team coming from Bob Jones University in May. We are
looking forward to their ministry in our church through special
services, as well as their work in doing some evangelistic work out
on the streets. Please pray that the Lord would use them to touch the
lives of believers and make contact with unbelievers that we can
follow up. Also this summer we will be having a group of students
come to study Spanish. We are excited about the opportunity to teach
these young people and expose them to the ministry here in Spain. I
trust that the Lord will use their time here in Spain to burden their
hearts for the needs here and around the world. Finally, we would
appreciate your continued prayers concerning the possibility of
planting a new church in a city which is about 30 min. away from
Alicante. The Lord has continued to lay this burden on our hearts,
and we are excited as we start to take steps toward following the
Lord's leading. Pray that the Lord would continue to open doors to
make this step possible and that He would be glorified in all we do.

On the home front, we celebrated a birthday this past month. Andrea
turned six! It is hard for me to believe that we have already reached
that milestone. David and Daniel are doing well too. We were
especially impressed with Daniel tonight. As we were driving along
together, he suddenly called out from the back of the car, "Look at
that castle, kids." I guess that he has learned the common form of
address that mommy and daddy use! Maribel has kept busy by adding new
studies to her schedule. On top of being a mom and organizing studies
and children's classes at church, she has been working towards an
advanced degree in educational psychology here at the University of
Alicante. I am convinced that the Lord is going to open special doors
for future ministry through this training. But it has also been good
for her to make new contacts and be a testimony for Christ among her
classmates and with her teachers.

Thanks again for your prayers.

David & Maribel
david.bell@bluebottle.com
parati semper en MMVI dare omni rationem de ea quae en me est spe

Visiting with the Young People

100_2739.JPG
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell.

Last month we had the young people from church over and decided to get them involved in the ministry in a special way. Since we have several older people who can't make it out to services, we took this group of young people and sang for them. It was an encouraging time for all involved!

100_2650.JPG

100_2650.JPG
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell.

Just wanted to put a few pictures on the Blog. This is a picture of Maribel and me at our annual couple's banquet at church. What a blessing it was to have good evening of Christian fun/fellowship/food with other believers and a few unbelievers.

Bell Nouvelles 9.1

February, 2006

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bell Nouvelles in short:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Praises

-a wonderful youth retreat

-a special wedding

-a good start to 2006 and our theme of evangelism

-spiritual growth in new converts

Requests

-increased growth in church members

-wisdom for future plans

-new contacts

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

I would like to begin this letter by commenting on a few changes. Let me first of all mention that I now have a page with pictures of our family and ministry for anyone who is interested in taking a look (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidbbell/). I am trying to put a new picture there at least once a week, so if you want to bookmark the page, you can look at it from time to time! Also, I sent out a letter in January, but it is too large to include here. If you follow the link below, you will be able to download the file (but only during the next week). If you cannot manage to download the file and would like for me to send you a copy, please feel free to write and ask for it.

2006update.pdf (662 KB)

Well, to get down to the news about the ministry. The last time I wrote we were just heading into the Christmas season, and we had a youth retreat ahead of us. The Lord gave us a wonderful time with the young people as we studied the book of Haggai. How I thank the Lord for the opportunity to share with them what the Lord had laid on my heart through that book. Our Christmas program was also a blessing; we even had several unsaved people in attendance. The Lord truly seemed to be working through that program. We trust that we will continue to see fruit through this type of effort.

We have chosen a theme/motto for 2006: "Always prepared to share our hope. (1 Pet. 3.15)" We are trying to keep this before the church constantly encouraging our people to take advantage of opportunities to witness. Besides the blessing and challenge that this has been in my own life already, we have been blessed with testimonies already of how the Lord has opened doors for different ones in the congregation to share our hope. I trust that the Lord will use this emphasis to build up His church this year as individuals catch a vision for sharing Christ with others. Please pray for this theme that we will see fruit this year.

We have had other special activities recently. In January we had our first wedding in the church in eighteen years. The Lord allowed us to have a beautiful ceremony for Elias and Maru, and there was a very clear gospel presentation and testimony in both the ceremony and the banquet. Please pray for this new couple that the Lord help them build their relationship firmly on His word. In February we had our annual couple's meal. Once again this year we had several unsaved people in attendance, and they were able to enjoy a nice evening of food and fellowship, as well as hear a challenge from the Bible.

Maribel has been going back to school this year. She is working on another degree at the university here in educational psychology. It has been a blessing to see the ways that the Lord has opened up doors for her to be a testimony with her classmates and teachers already. We are also excited about the future doors for ministry that this degree will open up. I know she would appreciate your prayers as she juggles her duties at home, church, and now school.

I would like to ask your prayer for one more detail. We have been feeling like perhaps the Lord may be opening up the door for us to plant a new church here in Spain. We are not sure yet where the Lord will lead us exactly, but we sincerely desire your prayers for us as we seek the Lord's guidance and then make plans for this new step in the ministry.

On the home front, the kids are doing great. David continues to grow and amaze us with his tender heart for the things of the Lord. Every day we see how Andrea is maturing and helping out with all kinds of details around the house. She is definitely a little mother to her brothers at times, whether or not they want it, of course. And Daniel is such a sweet blessing to us. His joyful spirit is truly an encouragement for us many times.

David & Maribel

david.bell@bluebottle.com

parati semper en MMVI dare omni rationem de ea quae en me est spe

Bell Nouvelles 8.5

December, 2005
------------------------------------------------------------
Bell Nouvelles in short:
------------------------------------------------------------
Praises
-a good trip to the USA
-special meetings have been a blessing
-new outreach in the park
-spiritual growth in new convert
Requests
-youth retreat
-goals for the new year
-new contacts
------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,
Since the last letter I sent, it seems like so many things have
happened. How we praise the Lord for the good trip that he gave us to
the United States in August and September. We were able to spend four
weeks visiting churches, family, and friends. It was a special
blessing for me to share with many of you what the Lord in doing in
His church here in Alicante. I returned with a renewed desire to be
faithful in the ministry.
Since we got back, things have been very busy. Among the normal
activities of life and ministry, I have made two trips to preach in
other churches. It was a special blessing to be with Juan Alvarez up
in the Basque Region for a weekend of special meetings. We were very
thrilled to meet the believers who have joined the church since the
last time we were there five years ago. I was also able to speak at a
special prayer meeting up near Madrid. The time there with other
pastors and misionaries was a great encouragement as well.
We are very excited about how the Lord continues to work at church.
One ministry that I would like to highlight is our outreach to
children. One of our deacons reorganized the weekly children's club
to be able to have it out in the public park during the warmer months
before winter set in. It was a wonderful testimony to have new
children listen to the Bible lessons and missionary story every week.
We even had two boys come to church one morning for Sunday school!
Maribel was able to sit down with them and explain the entire plan of
salvation with them. Both of them made professions of faith, although
they have not been back to church since. Please pray for the seed
which was planted in their lives.
We continue to see spiritual growth in the lives of the church
people. We are very encouraged by Mari. She accepted the Lord as her
Savior earlier this year, and in spite of many difficulties in her
life, she has remained faithful to the Lord. Her son has also shown
real signs of spiritual growth. This type of growth is a wonderful
encouragement to all! We also appreciate your prayers for a young
couple in our church which will get married in January. This is the
first couple to get married in our church, and we are very excited
about how the Lord has worked in their lives. Please pray that the
Lord will make them a firm family in His church.
As we move into the holiday season, there are many special
activities before us. Please pray for us this weekend as I preach at
a young people's retreat for the Elche youth group. Also, we are
working very hard on our Christmas cantata which, Lord willing, we
will present the Sunday after next. We have encouraged our people
about inviting the unsaved for this program. Please pray that
visitors will come and hear the gospel.
On the home front, the kids continue to grow and mature. Daniel
turned three last month, and he continues to bring much joy to the
family. David and Andrea are full of excitement and activity. How we
praise the Lord for the family He has given us and pray that He will
work in their lives.

Thank you so much for taking time to read about our ministry and pray
for us when you think of us. May the Lord bless you.

David & Maribel
davidbbell@bluebottle.com
En MMV civitatem fundamenta habentem expectans

Bell Nouvelles 8.4

!!!!! Please note our new email address: davidbbell@bluebottle.com !!!!! Our old email address (davidbbell@ono.com) will no longer be valid as of next week.

August, 2005

Bell Nouvelles in short:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Praises:

    -Good week at camp

    -Good spirit among the young people

Prayer Requests:

    -Newly saved

    -Preparations for a trip to the States

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear praying friends,

This letter is going to be a short one. I just wanted to take a minute to write a short update before we leave for our short trip to the States. The first week of August I accompanied the young people up to Guadalajara to a Christian camp. The Lord gave us a good week of camp with some good teaching/preaching about letting God control your life. I was able to help out with the teaching during two of the morning sessions. This year we had a very small group at camp from our church due to some conflicts with work schedules for several of the young people. But I am very thankful for the way the Lord is working in their hearts. During the summer months we always try to schedule some special meetings for the young people, and we have been enjoying these times of fellowship.

We would really appreciate your prayers for the Lord's working in hearts. We are seeing some real growth in several, but there are other situations that could show signs of spiritual danger. Please pray for continued growth in the church.

David & Maribel

davidbbell@ono.com

En MMV civitatem fundamenta habentem expectans

Bell Nouvelles 8.3

July, 2005

Bell Nouvelles in short:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Praises:

    -Good Men's Retreat

    -Good Children's Camp

    -Salvation Decision

Prayer Requests:

    -Summer camps

    -Preparations for a trip to the States

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear praying friends,

Let me start with one of the biggest blessings of the month. One of our families invited a neighbor, and after three Sundays of attendance, she has accepted Christ as her Savior. What a blessing it is to see how the Lord has been working in her heart and that she is responding. Her son is also responsive to the Gospel! Praise the Lord for this new believer. We still have some others who have attended services recently who need Christ as Savior. Please continue to pray.


June began for us with a men's retreat. We have been holding two retreats a year for the past four years or so with the goal of strengthening the spiritual lives of the men in our church. Many times, they are too busy with work to get involved in other activities, so it is important to have a time organized for them when they can be together and grow in the Word. We invited missionary Juan Álvarez from up north in Spain to come down and give the studies. We had a wonderful time at a camp grounds up in the mountains. How I praise the Lord for what He is doing in the lives of these men!

The last weekend of June, we had a special service to recognize all of the students who have taken a class in the Bible Institute this year. We were also able to give out six certificates for those who have completed the first level of studies. Once again, we thank the Lord for the lives that He is building through this effort. Plans are already under way for our next academic year, as these young people continue learning and growing in the Word.

The first week of July was children's camp up in Guadalajara, near Madrid. We had two young people from the church who went to help as counselors, and two children who went as campers. For our son David, it was his first time at camp. He was so excited about going! Maribel also went to do the driving, to help in the kitchen, and to teach the Bible lessons each morning. She taught about Noah and the ark. Meanwhile I stayed home with Andrea and Daniel. We had a good week together and managed to survive the week without Maribel! Needless to say, we were all glad to have her back when camp was over!

As we look forward, we still have one more camp! I will be going up with the young people from the church the first week of August. I would really appreciate your prayers for that camp. This summer we have had several visitors. Two students from Bob Jones have come to Alicante to study Spanish at the University here. We also had a visit from Amos who teaches Spanish at Bob Jones Academy. Finally, we have a missionary's daughter from Austria who is visiting with us for a few weeks to practice her Spanish. All of these visitors are always a blessing and an encouragement for the Church.

On the homefront, last month was also very special because Maribel and I celebrated our tenth anniversary. We were able to get away for a few days together for some much needed relaxation. When we got back, it seemed like the kids had grown so much, especially Daniel!

The date is approaching quickly for our short trip to the USA. We have many details that we need to work on before we leave, but we are looking forward to being able to see many of you and share some of the many blessings the Lord has given us.

David and Maribel

davidbbell@ono.com

En MMV civitatem fundamenta habentem expectans

Bell Nouvelles 8.2

June, 2005

Bell Nouvelles in short:

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Praises:

    -Good Easter services and activities

    -Children's club

    -Bible Institute

    -Good visit with my parents

Prayer Requests:

    -Men's retreat

    -Unsaved visitors at church

    -Summer camps

    -Preparations for a trip to the States

    -the salvation of my sister-in-law's husband

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Dear praying friends,

The short, dark days of winter have finally given way once again to the long, bright days of summer. This May has been a very full and important month for us. It started with the celebration of our tenth anniversary. It was back in 1995 that Maribel and I flew back to Spain after our first year of grad school at BJU to get married here in her church. The Lord has done so many things in our lives in the last ten years that we can only stand back and marvel at His grace to us. The month was also special because my parents came for a visit. We had a wonderful time with them doing numerous activities not only as family but also as they participated in various aspects of the ministry here. Finally, it was also a special month because I presented and defended my dissertation on Bible translation at the University of Alicante. I was so happy that my father could be here for that special occasion. The title of my dissertation is "A Comparative Analysis of Formal Shifts in English Bible Translations with a View Towards Defining and Describing Paradigms." The topic of the Bible has opened up numerous opportunities to be a witness here at this secular university.

But going back a little, I would also like to tell about our Easter activities. The Lord gave us a good Easter, with an excellent cantata -- our choir joined together with the choir from our sister church in Elche --, a wonderful time of communion on a church outing, and finally a good sunrise service in a local park. These activities were all a blessing to the people of the church and an opportunity to give a public testimony for Christ. We had several unsaved visitors for the cantata, including one of my coworkers from the English classes. She was very touched by the program and thanked me so much for inviting her. She even spread the word to others about the program. On our outing, we ended up at a rather crowded camp ground, so when we started to sing and then have a challenge, we had many people listening. And our sunrise service, although not very big, also caught the attention of others who were in the park that morning. How good it is for us to give public testimony for the Lord  in this way. It encourages my heart, and it is a stimulus for our people as well.

After Easter we started our final trimester of the academic year for Bible Institute. I taught a class on Old Testament Introduction. I had a much smaller class this time than last year when I taught the first half of the class, but I am very happy with the group. They have studied very hard, and they each did a project on one of the minor prophets to present it in class. It is a blessing to see these young people get excited about the Bible as they dig deeper into God's word. In April we were also blessed with a visit from Pastor and Mrs. Yearick and Dr. and Mrs. Shelton. Their short visit was a real blessing and encouragement to us.

Please pray for us and for our ministry. This weekend we are having a special men's retreat, and we will have several unsaved men there, as well as several believers with specific problems. We also covet your prayers for the church in general. We have had several unsaved people attending services. This opportunity is very rare, and we have been witnessing to them, trusting that the Spirit will bring them to the point of salvation.

Here at home, the kids continue to grow. What a blessing it is often to see their sincere faith as it develops. We praise the Lord for what He is doing in their lives.

David and Maribel

davidbbell@ono.com

En MMV civitatem fundamenta habentem expectans

Bell Nouvelles 8.1 Pictures

I've decided to make a separate post this month with some special pictures, either of family or of people at church.


This young lady has been very special to us this year. She is an exchange student from France who is studying at the university here in Alicante. A missionary in France contacted us a year ago about her time here, and she is currently living with a lady from church. Her sweet Christian spirit has been a blessing to all, and her willingness to be involved in the minstry is a wonderful testimony. We are really going to miss her when she goes back to France at the end of this year!


For Valentine's Day, we had a special meal for couples. This gentleman has been coming to our church for about a year and a half. He was a Flamenco musician when he was younger, and he entertained us with some special guitar music during the supper. I have been working with him on a special number of a hymn to play in a service sometime soon. It has been very enjoyable for both of us.


The Soto family were in our church over ten years ago. Then he took a job in another part of Spain and they left. The Lord recently brought them back, and they have been a real blessing. Emilio has a real gift with people, and they have brought several unsaved vistors with them over the past few months. What a blessing it is to see the people of the church with a burden for souls.


The other day it was snowing up in the mountains, just 45 min. from our house. So we took the kids up to play in the snow. I took this picture of Maribel and liked it so much I decided to publish it here. I realized that I normally publish pictures of the kids, and my wife doesn't get much coverage. So, here she is!


David and Andrea, besides going through chickenpox together with their little brother last month, are also going through the toothless stage. Here they are showing off their respective gaps!


Andrea just turned five this month. Here she is at her party. The kids really had fun hitting this piñata until it finally started to break (we had to help it along a little, or they would have destroyed everything inside). I should have gotten a picture of the kids diving for the toys, but oh well.

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

Bell Nouvelles 7.5

October, 2004
Bell Nouvelles in short:

Praises:
-good evangelistic activities
-a good start to our weekly children's meetings
-good meetings about Creationism
Prayer Requests:
-a good testimony at the university
-the children's testimony at school
-several families struggling with problems

Dear praying friends,


The month of September began with the special blessing of my aunt's visit. She spent two weeks with us and was a great encouragement and blessing. Last month was a very important one since David just began first grade and Andrea started 4-year-old kindergarden. It was a bit of a rough time for her, but having aunty Christine here made things a little bit easier. Andrea has done very well at adapting to her school. We are thankful for the new opportunities for contacts and trust that the Lord will open up new doors for witnessing. Maribel was able to talk to David's religion teacher a few weeks ago, which gave her the opportunity to share with him exactly what we believe. Please pray for further opportunities there.


September was also a big month for the church. We were able to start our new year of children's meetings under the direction of one of the deacons in the church. But before we started, we wanted to have a special push for evangelism specifically aimed at children. For the last four years we have carried out a special children's evening in a local park where we have organized games, crafts, stories, etc. and been able to give out hundreds of tracts and even make a few contacts with families. This year, however, we ran into problem after problem when we asked for permission from the city government to do the same activity. At first they did not want to give us permission to run the activity for two nights. Then they required a special insurance in case of any accidents. In the end, we decided to modify the activity and do something on a little smaller scale which was less interactive. We took the young people and several children from the church out to the park and drew a crowd around with some juggling. Then Maribel and one of the young people presented a puppet story. Following the puppets we gave out coloring pages with a Bible verse and the information about the children's club. We have not yet had any visitors from those efforts, but we continue to make contacts. Many of David and Andrea's classmates from school were there in the park, and we are thankful for the new opportunities to witness.


The final weekend of the month we organized a special conference on "the Bible and Science." On the Friday night, a good number of people from church got together, and we went to different areas of our neighborhood and passed out invitations to the meetings. I was very glad to see the good participation of the people in this "hard" activity. The response of most was rather indifferent. But for several the topic seemed to catch their attention. I trust that the Lord will work in their hearts even though they did not come to the meetings. The first night of the conference, we had a crowd of about 80 people (many were from our sister-church in Elche) present to hear Santiago Escain, a chemist/Bible lecturer from Catalunya (north of Barcelona). We had good attendance as well for both services on Sunday. The lectures were very interesting and served to remind us of how great our Creator God is and that His Word is inspired and infallible.


Daniel is now home by himself in the mornings (without his brother and sister, that is) now that school has started. He continues to add to his bilingual vocabulary every day. And when David and Andrea get home from school, he's waiting for them, and the three have a great time together.

Thank you for your prayers,

David and Maribel
davidbbell@ono.com