September 9-15

Last week the kids started school again so we are back in our normal schedule. I started band practice as well last week. I signed myself up for the local band. It has been years since I have played in a large ensamble, but more than anything, it is a good way to meet people and be a testimony in the city. The rehearsal schedule is not convenient but at least it doesn't conflict with my other activities: we meet from 10:00 to 12:00 at night! Maribel continues to meet with the ladies for their time of prayer and study during the week. I had hoped to have a study with Sergio this past week, but he ended up going out of town yet again.
Our service yesterday was very full! I think we filled almost every chair. Several families from the Alicante church visited us, as well as Israel's dad. One couple was very special. They came to church in Alicante a few times several years ago, but God has continued to work in their hearts. It is not clear where they are spiritually, but it is obvious that the Spirit is working in their hearts. I preached the Gospel from 1 Corinthians 13.11 about the changes in a believers life. In the evening our little congregation went down to Elche for the evening service. We had a special time of recognition of those who have studied in the Bible Institute this past year and who have finished a certificate. One young person finished the first certificate (two years), another young man who feels called to the ministry received his second certificate (four years) and two young men (Fran and Israel) completed the third and final certificate, represented six years of studies. After receiving a certificate and a Bible, Israel preached the message of the evening. He preached from Ezekiel about Judah's sins which brought about the judgment of God. Please pray with us about our church retreat next weekend. We will be studying the book of 2 Peter as we spend a few days together at some cabins up in the mountains.

September 2-8

This past week, there was a children's BIble club in the church in
Elche. It was a good opportunity to get Sergio under more Bible
teaching. He came with us two days. I would have liked for him to have
been there the entire week, but he had exams on Monday and Tuesday and
then he went to visit some friends on Friday. David and Andrea were
able to go everyday, and enjoyed the week greatly. Yesterday morning
we celebrated the Lord's table before our morning service. It was a
blessing to share this time with the believers and hear how God is
working in their lives.

In the morning service, Israel preached from the book of Ezekiel. He
spoke on God's displeasure concerning sin in His people. We were very
pleased to have two visitors in the service. Bibiana lives in London,
where she got saved, but she comes back to Spain to visit her mother,
and yesterday she brought her to church here in Petrer. We visited
Bibiana and her husband in London last February. In the evening we met
at María Eugenia's house to continue our study on doctrine. We talked
about the Seventh Day Adventists and their prophet, compared to what
we have in the Bible. María Eugenia invited Pedro to bring his wife.
Pedro is a believer who has come to the evangelistic Bible studies we
have given, and he even brought his wife, who is not saved, over to
the house. We had a good opportunity to witness to her, but she has
not come to any of the ladies' studies. We were looking forward to
seeing her again, but in the end she could not come because she was
not feeling very well. We trust that the Lord will continue to work in
Carmen's heart and that we will see her saved one day.

August 12-September 1

Last week we were able to take a week off to go on vacation up in the Pyrenees on the boarder of Spain and France. It was a wonderful week to spend with our family surrounded by beautiful scenery in the fresh, mountain air. On Sunday we visited some believers that I had met when I spoke at a camp in Barcelona. We enjoyed our time with them very much on Sunday, and then returned home on Monday. The Sunday I was gone, Israel preached here in Petrer. He is one of my students from the Bible Institute who feels called to the ministry. This summer he told me that he felt it was God's timing for him to start helping us here with the work. I look forward to working more closely with this young man in the ministry. We heard good reports about the service on Sunday morning, and on Sunday evening Lorenzo gave a challenge. This is a very good sign of growth in his life.
This Sunday was the first week that Sergio was back. He is struggling with several issues in his life. But we are very glad to see him back. I preached my final sermon in my series on the life of Moses. It was a review of everything we have seen about Moses and a few ideas to wrap it all up. In the evening, we began to talk about what the Seventh Day Adventists believe.

August 5-11

Last week was the big week of youth camp. On Monday morning we
traveled up to Guadalajara with a car full of young people. I would
have loved for it to have been with young people from Petrer, but we
trust that the Lord will give us young people here in the future. The
Lord did wonderful things for us this week at camp. He blessed the
teaching and preaching in a special way as we talked to the young
people about the fear of man vs. the fear of the Lord. I taught a
short session every day at noon from Proverbs and a class in the
afternoons to deal with practical issues that young men face. Maribel
was a counselor for one of the girls' cabins. We arrived home on
Saturday afternoon completely exhausted, but happy to have had the
opportunity to serve the Lord.
We had a few unexpected visitors on Sunday morning. Lorenzo's brother
and friend came down to visit and came to church, as well as Ana
Maria's brother. Back in November we gave him a ride to Madrid and had
a good opportunity to witness clearly to him on the way. Sunday was
the first time he had come to church with us. We also had some
visitors from the Elche church. It was Jamie's last Sunday with us so
she shared her testimony with us. I preached about Moises' problems
with the leaders of Israel who were jealous of Moises (Num. 16-17). In
the evening we all went down to Elche to be in the service there.
Lorenzo and I played a duet and we participated in the camp testimony
service.

July 22-28

The Lord gave David and Jamie a good week at camp. They left early Monday morning and spent the week up in Guadalajara. We are very proud of David for winning a prize for verse memorization. Jamie did a good job working in the kitchen once again. Here at home things were a little quieter with just two children, but we had a good week too! I was able to finish up some of my preparation for the youth camp next week. I prepared all of the morning devotionals for the cabins, and I will be speaking every day on a verse from Proverbs as well as giving some classes to the boys in the afternoons about topics like materialism and relationships. We are excited about camp and asking the Lord for His blessings.

Our morning service yesterday was slightly smaller than usual. Maria Eugenia has a job taking care of an elderly man, and she had to work at 12.30. She felt that she wouldn't have time to come to the service and make it to work. She was with us for our evening service, though. In the morning I preached about Moses' problems with his family (Nu. 12) when God defended him before Miriam and Aaron as being completely faithful. In the evening we met at Lorenzo and Ana Maria's house and we talked about the Biblical doctrine of salvation compared to what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe about salvation.

July 15-21

Jamie, the student from BJU who is doing her missions internship with us this summer, has been meeting people here in town to exchange conversation in English for conversation in Spanish. This week she brought Juani to house so that we could meet her. It turns out that Juani grew up as a Jehovah's Witness. Maribel and Jamie were able to clearly share the gospel with her. We praise the Lord for this new contact! On Saturday evening the couples from Elche came up and passed out tracts. We went to several local parks to talk to people. We were pleased to see the response of some people to the tracts. Afterwards we had a good time of fellowship at our home. I shared a challenge with them from Colossians 3.12-14.

Yesterday we had no visitors in our service, but all of us were present except Sergio who is out of town visiting his mother. I spoke in the morning about the problems at Mt. Sinai. The people thought they could modify God's plan for them and ended up worshiping the golden calf. But we can never replace God's will with our own. God can, however, replace our will with His own (Phil. 2.13). In the evening we met at Maria Eugenia's house for our study. We were pleased that Pedro came. He is a believer we made contact with when we were distributing tracts. In our study we looked at what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe about Hell compared to what we find in the Bible.

This week David and Jamie are up at camp. We trust that the Lord will richly bless them this week.

July 08-14

Andrea and Jamie spent last week at camp. Jamie, the intern from BJU who is spending the summer here in Spain, worked in the kitchen and Andrea was a camper. They both had a good week. We were very proud of Andrea because she won a trophy for memorizing verses. On Wednesday last week, Maribel and Ana María drove down to Torrevieja, about an hour away, with Maria Eugenia to visit her son. He and his wife just had a baby, so the women prepared a special gift for them and made a visit. It was a good opportunity to show the love of Christ to a couple who have heard much about Christ from Maria Eugenia but are not saved. We also said goodbye to Sergio this week. He will be visiting his biological mother for a month. We had hoped that he would be able to go to camp this summer, but Social Services had already scheduled this visit with his family.
The Lord gave us good services yesterday. In the morning I preached about Moses' problems in the desert, as the people complained about what the Lord had given them, about what the Lord had (supposedly) taken away from them, and about what the Lord had not given them. In the evening we met at Lorenzo and Ana Maria's house to continue our study about what we believe (compared to the Jehovah's Witnesses). We talked this week about the Holy Spirit.

June 24-July 07

Last week I never got to writing. I had my last day of official work at the university on Monday and then a camping trip on Monday afternoon. David turned 10, so I and another adult took seven of David's friends on a camping trip. We had a great time on the mountain and had good opportunity for spiritual challenges. David said that it was an unforgettable birthday party. But it seemed that after that, I was running the rest of the week to catch up. And all that led into a very full weekend. On Saturday morning we finally met to work on our trombone quartet. We are trying to prepare music to be able to present in a church after the summer is over. We had a good rehearsal and all are excited about it. On Saturday afternoon we had the young people up from Elche and Alicante to pass out tracts. We covered several areas, putting tracts in the mailboxes (which is legal here) and a different flyer on windshields. There was a good spirit among the young people, and we are praying that the Lord will use this effort to reach people with the Gospel message.

Yesterday we had record attendance in our services with some friends visiting from Alicante and Elche. These visit always do a lot to encourage the three families living here. Our morning started off with our celebration of the Lord's table. Then in the service we looked at Exodus 14 and the "Moses' Problems at the Red Sea". When a problem comes, you either look inward and let yourself worry or you can look upward and let God work. In the afternoon we looked at what the Jehovah's witnesses believe about the person of Christ and compared it to the Biblical doctrine of Christ. There was good participation by all present. Jamie, our intern from BJU has been doing a great job. She has been taking all the children to do classes with them during the adults' study. Tomorrow, Andrea and Jamie will be headed up near Madrid for a week of camp. Maribel will be driving them up and coming back the same day.

June 17-23

The kids finished up their school year this past week. That means that summer is finally here for them! We are making plans for children's camp. I had hoped that perhaps Maria Eugenia's granddaughter would be able to go to camp, but it does not look like it will be possible. Sergio is supposed to leave for the summer, but we are praying that he will be able to go to young people's camp first.
Jamie, the missions student from Bob Jones doing her internship with us, went down to Alicante on Saturday evening for the youth meeting there. Here at home we had our normal group for the service. But just as we were starting we were surprised by a visit from some friends of ours who used to live in Elche. It was a blessing to have them with us in our service as I preached about Moses and his problems with the leaders of the people. He was the right man doing the right job in the right way, but things just did not seem to go "right". Pharaoh ended up making the work load heavier and the people cursed Moses. My phrase for this message was "God never asked us to understand Him; just to know Him." Moses once again had to trust the Lord that he was on the right path and that all would work out. In the evening we began a new topic. Several commented that they wanted to study what other religions believe, so we will be taking several weeks to dig into doctrine and compare what we believe with the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Adventists and the Mormons.

June 10-16

This past week Jamie arrived. She is a student at BJU who is studying missions. She will be with us all summer to have some first hand experience with missions. So far she has fit right in with the family and the ministry. Right off the bat she has been spending time with the women in our little congregation. And the people have accepted her nicely. This weekend was a very special time. A lady we met in Alicante years ago came up and spent the weekend with us. She is a believer and a very special friend. Two years ago I preached her husband's funeral. For the last year and a half, she has been in Argentina, but she returned last week and gave us a call. We had good opportunities to talk about spiritual things and encourage her.

This week the ladies had their prayer time/Bible study as usual, and I did the study with Sergio. Unfortunately he was away for the weekend, so he wasn't in any of the services yesterday. We had a special treat on Saturday evening. We were going to drop by and visit Lorenzo and Ana María, but as we got near their house, we saw them coming towards us with Gospel flyers in their hands. They were out passing out tracts as a family. What a blessing it is to see believers involved in sharing the Gospel in this way. So we split up the flyers and helped them pass them out. On Sunday Lorenzo and Ana María were not in the service here because they went to Alicante. The pastor there asked them to come and share a testimony with the church, since the church gave them an offering a few months back when Lorenzo was out of work. But their absence was made up by a few visitors from the church in Elche. We continued our series on Moses, looking at the excuses that Moses gave for not wanting to do God's will. In the evening we met at Lorenzo and Ana Maria's place for our last study in the series on the church. We looked at several signs of a healthy church.

June 03-09

After last week's contact with Carmen, we were excited about the possibility of her coming to the ladies' Bible study. But unfortunately she did not come this week. We will continue to pray for her and seek opportunities to share Christ's love with her. I continue to have good opportunities in the Bible study with Sergio. He suddenly started wearing a crucifix a few weeks ago, so we talked about it last week. He claims to be saved, but it is always good to go back over the gospel, and the crucifix provided the perfect opportunity as I shared with him the importance of Christ's death AND resurrection. Maria Eugenia thinks that Sergio will soon be leaving to spend the summer with his family in another part of Spain, so we must take advantage of every opportunity the Lord gives us with him. He came and spent the better part of Saturday with our family.
On Sunday I continued our series on Moses. We looked this week at the problems that Moses had as he was beginning his mission. He had a wonderful start, but he got ahead of God, and there are always problems when we get ahead of God, no matter how good the thing may be that we are trying to do. For our evening service we watched a gospel film and then had some time to talk about it afterwards. It was good to see how people were able to relate its message to the sermon from the morning.

May 27-June 02

Last week my parents left. We had a good time with them and were able to do some special things. I was especially appreciative of the advice and encouragement that they gave us. On Wednesday we got back into our normal schedule. I had the Bible study with Sergio and David while Maribel met with the ladies for a time of prayer. On Thursday I met with a Christian man from town who called me two years ago after receiving a tract in his mailbox. I have prayed often for his unsaved wife, but the Lord put it on my heart to invite them over for lunch on Saturday. He was skeptical whether or not she would come, but we prayed about it and he promised to talk to her. To make a long story short, he and his wife spent a wonderful day with us and another Christian family from the Alicante church. After lunch we had a short devotional in which I presented the plan of salvation. She listened carefully and is interested in meeting with the women for their time of study.
Yesterday in our service, after celebrating the Lord's table, we started a new series of sermons on the life of Moses. I have called it, "Why so many problems?" We looked at all of the problems surrounding Moses' birth. The solution for his parents was found in their faith, according to Hebrews. They trusted God and He used that "problem" to prepare Moses for his future service for God. In the afternoon we finished up out discussion on spiritual gifts with the second half of last week's study on the gift of tongues.

May 20-26

Last week I prayed very specifically about Lorenzo's work. I asked the Lord to give him a job this week if it was His will. I was really hoping that he would find work here in Elda, but the Lord answered in another way. They called him from a company in Alicante, and he is starting work today. This means that he has to travel almost an hour on his motorcycle to get to work and then another hour in the evening to get home. The hours are long, but at least he will be earning money. It doesn't seem like a long term job, but it is the answer to our prayers. Last week Lorenzo came to my Bible institute classes with me since he was not working yet. We were covering James and Hebrews. It was a special blessing to go through these books.
This was the last Sunday that my parents will be here, so it was nice to have my dad preach. He preached about the "complaint" sections of Jeremiah. It was a good message for our congregation. It reminded all of us that we must keep our eyes on the Lord and His promises to us. In the evening we met at María Eugenia's house for our study. We talked this week about the gift of tongues. We looked at the book of Acts and then started to look at 1 Corintians 14. We'll be coming back to this study next week, Lord willing. All of the believers in our little church are first generation Christians, and all have had at least some contact with Charismatics, so it is important to make sure that we have a firm base to understand the Scriptural focus on gifts.

May 13-19

Maribel and I celebrated our anniversary this past week. How we praise the Lord for these thirteen years the Lord has given us together. Last year we had to celebrate our anniversary in the hospital, so this year it was special just to leave the kids with my parents one night and go out together on a little date. We had many of our other normal activities this week. Marbel met with the ladies for a Bible study and I had our Bible study with Sergio. My Bible Institute class continue to go well. This past week we finished up the Pastoral Epistles. This week we will be starting the General Epistles. We have finally finished the construction project downstairs. So we had Lorenzo and Ana Maria over on Friday to help clean up all of the dust and dirt.
Yesterday we had good services. Unfortunately, Maria Eugenia and Sergio were out of town because of a local holiday. We were happy to have a family up from Alicante to visit. I preached my second message from Colossians about seeking the things from above. This week we looked at 3.2-4. There are two phrases there that really catch my attention: our life is hid with Christ in God and Christ is our life. We talked about several practical aspects of seeking the things above, like how we can do it, why we can do it, and why we should do it. In the evening my parents went down to the church in Elche and my father preached there. So it was just Lorenzo's family and mine. We met at their house and watched a Christian film together and then had a time of prayer.

May 06-12

On Tuesday my parents arrived. They will be with us over the next three weeks. But we had a weekend with plenty of activity. On Saturday Maribel organized a ladies' tea for Mothers' Day. She as well as the other ladies in the church invited neighbors and friends over to our house. She also asked a lady from the church in Murcia to come up and speak to the group. We had a wonderful lunch with the lady and her husband, and the ladies had an excellent meeting. I was very encouraged by the fact that several of our neighbors came. One of our neighbors has studied quite a bit with the Jehovah's witnesses, and she asked a lot of questions. Another neighbor took a Bible with her and promised to read it. Yesterday God blessed in our services. María Eugenia had her grandkids with her over the weekend, so we had extra children. I preached from Colossians 3 about seeking spiritual things. After the message, we split up and the adults spent a time of sharing and singing while Maribel took the kids and reviewed the message with them. In the afternoon we continued our study on the Church. I spoke this week about the temporal gifts. This was a very important part of the study because several in the group have had some contact in the past with charismatic groups, so I want them to understand clearly what the Bible teaches. The Lord blessed and there was a very good spirit.

April 29-May 05

This week we had some special days off from work because of a holiday. So it was nice to take a break from the routine. On Thursday we were able to take Sergio and Maria Eugenia with us to spend the day with a Christian family about 45 min. from here. Bible Institute continues well. Lorenzo was able to come to class one day with me this week. We continue to advance through the Epistles. Last week we talked about Ephesians and Colossians. Yesterday we had a very small service. Lorenzo and Ana Maria were here with their daughter, but Maria Eugenia ended ended up going to visit her daughter since it was Mothers' Day. We celebrated the Lord's supper and then had our normal service. In the evening we traveled down to Murcia with the young people that I traveled with over Easter and presented the same program in the church there. It was a blessing to be able to present it again, and many in the church commented on the blessing they received. There were also two unsaved university students who came to church for the first time and heard a clear presentation of the gospel.

April 29-May 05

This week we had some special days off from work because of a holiday. So it was nice to take a break from the routine. On Thursday we were able to take Sergio and Maria Eugenia with us to spend the day with a Christian family about 45 min. from here. Bible Institute continues well. Lorenzo was able to come to class one day with me this week. We continue to advance through the Epistles. Last week we talked about Ephesians and Colossians. Yesterday we had a very small service. Lorenzo and Ana Maria were here with their daughter, but Maria Eugenia ended ended up going to visit her daughter since it was Mothers' Day. We celebrated the Lord's supper and then had our normal service. In the evening we traveled down to Murcia with the young people that I traveled with over Easter and presented the same program in the church there. It was a blessing to be able to present it again, and many in the church commented on the blessing they received. There were also two unsaved university students who came to church for the first time and heard a clear presentation of the gospel.

April 22-28

We have been very busy this week. Since Lorenzo is out of work, I asked him to help me with a church construction project. We have been digging out an area to create another access to the area where we meet. I think that this will make our meeting space much more convenient. Lorenzo has done a fantastic job, but there has been a lot of work for us. We have carted out hundreds of pounds of earth and stones to create a space for a mason to come and build the stairs. I am glad for this time with Lorenzo. And God has used it to supply his needs right now as he is without work.

And I just realized that I have not said anything here about Bible Institute. I began another class this month, the second half of the New Testament Introduction course I taught last year. I have a small group, but we are enjoying the time together. Since Lorenzo has been out of work, he has been coming with me to some of the classes. This past week we talked about Romans and Ephesians. It is always a blessing for me to be able to teach these courses.

Our "normal" activities were all in swing this week. On Wednesday I met with Sergio for our Bible study while Maribel met with the ladies. Sergio is really struggling. He seems to genuinely enjoy the study, but when he gets back into his life, he struggles with what he is really going to do with God. On Friday we met at the public library for our second Bible study. All of us were present, along with Pedro, a believer who responded to one of our tracts over a year ago. We had hoped for another visitor, but as of yet, we have no response. We had a good time studying John 1.4-9. It was profitable for the believers even if none of the unbelievers we invited came. On Sunday we had a very special day. We invited the Dodgens family from Elche to come up and be with us in our service. Two others from the church ended up coming along as well, so we had a good group. After the service we all ate lunch together. In the afternoon we continued our study on the church. We are talking about the gifts right now.

April 14-21

I can't believe that it has been a month already since I last wrote. There has been a series of events that has kept me from writing these weekly reports, but I am back at it! The first was the team of young people that I took out over the Easter break. We had wonderful meetings in six different churches in central and western Spain. The Lord blessed in our lives as we shared and sang and in the people who came to the services. There were many visitors in the services, one profession of faith and many believers who expressed God's working in their lives.
This past week we began working on another entrance to the basement where we have our services. Since Lorenzo lost his job this month, he has been coming to help every morning. We have a lot of work ahead, but it is progressing slowly. In the middle of the week we had a funeral down in Alicante. Carlos, one of the men in the church when I came to Alicante, finally passed away. He has slowly degenerated over the last five years, and on Tuesday evening the Lord called him home. It was especially for his mother who is 88. He was really the only person she had left in this world. Perhaps now she can begin coming to church again. He has been so sick for the last few years that she has not been to church much at all. Yesterday we had good services. In the morning we ended up meeting in our living room because of all the dust from the work downstairs, so our service felt different, but the Lord blessed as I spoke about God's purposes for suffering people. Elena, a girl from the church in Alicante came up for lunch and spent the afternoon with us. We met for our evening study at Lorenzo and Ana María's house. I taught about spiritual gifts in my series about the church. It was a good time of fellowship.

March 11-17

On Friday night we held our first public Bible study in the library. We gave out some invitations personally and put up a few announcements. On Friday evening at 7:00 there were five of us who met. Maribel kept all of the kids here at the house so all of our people could be at the study. Pedro, a man I met over a year ago who is already a believer came to the study as well. Unfortunately we did not have any visitors. But we began our study of the Gospel of John. After we spent about an hour studying together, we took thirty minutes to pray together. Lord willing we will be repeating this activity on a regular basis. And we trust that next time we will be able to have some more visitors with us.

This Sunday morning we met early once again to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Normally we have celebrated it on the first Sunday of the month, but this month we wanted to wait and celebrate it closer to Easter. We had a very special time of sharing and reflection as we broke bread together. Following communion we had our normal service I spoke from Psalm 115 about our God who knows no limitations. I applied it to Christ, especially focusing on the resurrection. In the evening we all went down to Elche for the special Easter cantata. It was a blessing for all of our small congregation to be present for the cantata.

March 04-10

There has been a lot to keep us active this week. On the home front,
we had to make a trip to Valencia this week to see a heart specialist.
It was last year this week that it all started. I was in a doctor's
office for an ultrasound on my heart. When he finished, he informed me
that it was time for open heart surgery. Wednesday, almost exactly one
year later, we spent the morning in Valencia at the pediatric heart
specialist center. But this time, I wasn't the one on the table, it
was David. Let me fill in some of the details.

Back in September, we signed him up to play soccer on a team. He was
so excited to get his uniform and start going to practice. We took him
to a doctor to get a physical exam. Maribel was with the other kids,
and I stayed with David in the doctor's office. It seemed strange to
me that he was taking so long with the stethoscope. The thought
actually entered my mind, "What if he is hearing some problem in the
heart?" Of course I dismissed this as silly. When David was born we
were very concerned about whether or not he had a heart problem. But
the doctor told us that his heart was completely normal. And no doctor
along the way had noticed anything strange. However, when this doctor
finished listening, he told me that he couldn't sign the form because
David has a heart murmur. The news hit both of us like a load of
bricks. I had been out of the hospital for only three months, and
David had just seen everything that I had gone through in my surgery.
We walked away from there in silence, father and son immersed in our
own thoughts. I still remember very well my doctor's visit at 14 when
they told me that I had to stop playing sports. At the time it seemed
like crushing news. And now I could see it rolling over my son, but at
the age of 9.

Well, they told David that he could practice with the team, although
he couldn't play in the games because his physical was not signed yet.
And we started working on getting an appointment with a heart
specialist. At one point, we even went to a different doctor who
listened to him, didn't hear anything, and thus signed his physical.
That allowed David to play at least in a few games with his team. But
there was still something there. The only question was how severe it
would be. Last week they gave us an appointment to go to Valencia.

So on Wednesday morning we got the kids up at 6.00 am so we could make
it to the hospital by 9.00. When we arrived and checked in, they
started doing all of the tests: electro, chest X-rays, and then
finally ultrasound. The doctors have rated his condition as moderate
to severe. His valve seems to have the same basic problem as mine had,
but just the opposite: mine didn't open well, and his doesn't close
well. Mine affected the aorta as the blood shot out through a smaller
opening, causing the aorta to expand. David's valve does not close
well, causing the ventricle to receive too much blood, and therefore
expand. The doctor told us that his ventricle is roughly the size of
an adult ventricle. This means that they are looking at doing surgery
to fix this problem. The heart specialist will see him again in eight
months and then they will begin to talk about dates for surgery. Her
first comment was that it was a question of months. But then she said
that it could possibly wait a year or maybe two.

David has been taking it very well. I sat down with him and talked to
him about it. His only answer to me was, "Daddy, I know God wanted it
this way." We are praying for God to do something special, if it is
His will. Please pray with us too about this.

For church we had a slightly smaller service this week. It was
election day, and it turned out that Maria Eugenia was still
registered to vote in Torrevieja, so she took Sergio and went to vote
and spend the day there with family there. Lorenzo and Ana María were
in the service. We talked about the fruit of the Spirit as compared to
the works of the flesh. Our liberty in Christ is not an occasion for
the flesh. It is an opportunity for the Spirit to produce fruit in our
lives.

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February 26-March 03

One of the big highlights this week was a young people's meeting in
Elche on Saturday. More than 60 young people came from Murcia,
Almería, Alicante and Valencia. I was able to preach to the group in
the evening. The theme was separation, so I spoke on the Spirit's role
in transforming our lives so that we can be different from the world.
The young people were attentive and several commented on the message.
One young man in particular came and asked me to pray for him with
some of his struggles.

The other activities of this week were the normal ones. I continued
on with the Bible study with Sergio. Maribel met with the ladies again
for their study. Yesterday we had good services. I spoke from
Galatians 3-4 about how the Law leads to Christ. It is a tutor which
prepared the way for faith. In the evening we met at Lorenzo and Ana
Maria's house for our study on the church. During the next two weeks
we will be getting ready for an evangelistic activity. Lord willing we
will be holding an evangelistic Bible study at the public library
right before Easter. We need the Lord's blessing on this activity.

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February 19-25

This past week was normal enough, but we had a few extra activities
over the weekend that made it special. I did the Bible study with
Sergio on Wednesday, and things continue to go well. We've been
talking about reading the Bible daily. He tells me that he doesn't
have time to read, but I am encouraging him to find the time! Maribel
met with the ladies this week for their study as well. The first
special activity of the weekend involved a question answer session
with a group of young people. They sent me their questions and then on
Friday afternoon I spent two straight hours with them answering
questions. Many of them asked very good questions, and the time spent
with them was a real blessing. Then Maribel, Ana Maria and Maria
Eugenia spent Friday evening and all day Saturday at the ladies'
conference in Elche. That meant that I had to take care of our kids
and Sergio. But the ladies all gave testimony on Sunday of the
blessings received in the conference. Maribel gave her testimony as
part of the conference.

On Sunday morning I preached from Galatians about the reason for the
Law. I was only able to cover part of the topic, so I will come back
to it again next week. But in part, God gave to law to reveal His
character and ours. The Law reminds us that we are sinners and that
God is holy. In this sense, the Law is what leads us to Christ, our
tutor. In the evening we had our study at Maria Eugenia's house. We
looked at the activities we see in the New Testament that individual
believers carried out. This is designed to keep before us what we
should be doing on as individual members of the church. We cannot just
sit back and be content with what the church does. We must be actively
and individually involved in praise, prayer, witnessing, offering, etc.

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February 4-18

Even though it seems like it was a long time ago, it was just last week that we were in London. On February 4th I attended a conference on translation to read a paper. It was a very interesting conference and my paper about translation theory went well. It was also a big help for us to be able to get away for a few days. After the conference ended, Maribel flew in and we spent three days in London. On Sunday morning we went to church with a couple we had met before. She is a Spaniard who went to London to work and got saved. Her husband is Mexican, and his story is similar. They attend the Metropolitan Tabernacle in downtown London. We spent a few hours with them on Saturday night, and then went to church with them on Sunday. It was a blessing to hear their testimonies and see their spiritual growth. Back in Petrer, Missionary Flay Allen came to cover our service on Sunday morning. Both of the other families were able to be there, as well as our children.

Once back from London, we had to hit the road running. All of the activities were in full swing. On Wednesday Sergio came over to the house and we had our Bible study. Maribel moved the ladies' study to Valentine's day to celebrate it with the other ladies. They are preparing for a ladies' conference in Elche next week. Then on Saturday, Lorenzo and Ana Maria came over and stayed with our kids so that Maribel and I could attend a Valentine's banquet at the church in Alicante. We had a good time with 10 other couples. Some of them are new to the church, so it was nice to get to know them a little better. On Sunday we had our normal services. I continued my series on Galatians, speaking about our liberty in Christ. Paul describes it as no longer living, but having Christ live through him. This is what brings him the liberty from trying to fulfill the law to please God. Now he his free to please God through a life of faith in Christ. In the evening we all met in Lorenzo and Ana Maria's apartment to continue our study on the church. We finished up the different activities that we see local churches involved in throughout the New Testament. The studies are going well, and helping our small congregation understand the Biblical concept of a church.

January 22-28

This last week sped up and flew by us leaving us a tad bit behind on everything. I was able to start up my Bible study with Sergio again this week. It has worked really well to include David in the study. I am still surprised and pleased at Sergio's attitude. At first I suspected that he almost "put up" with the Bible study. But now he seems to be genuinely interested. I asked both boys to write a little text about what they were learning. Sergio surprised me and wrote a whole page! We were able to have a special "fun" time with some very special friends from the Alicante church on Saturday. We took them to the zoo. Lorenzo and Maria were even able to come along. This was a wonderful day with our family and friends.

On Sunday morning I preached my second sermon in my series on Galatians. I preached about Paul's re-presentation of the gospel from Galatians 3-4a. It was special to find out that Maricarmen from Alicante had decided to come up to be with us, and her unsaved husband came along. It was the perfect message for him to hear. I was very pleased to see him reacting to the message and showing he was following the progression of the message. We trust that the Lord will use this to continue to work in his heart.

January 15-21

Last Monday was the start of Bible Institute. I began for Dennis Flower who was still in the States after his father passed away. I taught the class on Monday and Wednesday about Church History. We have a good group of about 10 students who will be studying this trimester. This week we have also been doing some work on the house. I hired a mason to come and build some walls. We started with a wall at the back of the property to replace the old fence. And then we are building two walls down in the basement to take advantage of the space better. One will create a storage area and the other will give us a room where we can have homeschool. Up until now we have used one corner of the basement, but it was impossible to heat. This will also be a space that we can take advantage of for the church.

On Sunday we had our normal group from here. It was the first time Maria Eugenia and Sergio were here on a Sunday since the Christmas break began. We started a new series of messages on the book of Galatians. Besides looking at the background information on the epistle, we looked at the salutation. We noted the three major themes of the book that appear in those verses (a re-presentation of the gospel, a defense of Paul's apostleship, and a treatise on the Christian's liberty) as well as the specific emphasis on the gospel: Christ died for our sins to rescue us from this present age because it was the will of God. After the service we took the kids and went downtown for a parade and to pass out some tracts. Unfortunately we didn't see much of the parade, because it hadn't started yet, but we got to pass out some tracts. In the evening we all met at Maria Eugenia's house and continued our study on the church. We were noting where the early church met, when they met, and how they made decisions. All of this is very important in creating a Biblical idea of the church.

January 8-14

On Friday afternoon I traveled to Madrid by train to teach an all-day class on the book of Jeremiah. I had originally planned to drive up with Maribel, but in the end, our car was still in the body shop being repaired from the hail storm back in September when I taught the classes on Ezekiel up in northern Spain. Saturday was full of blessings. There were almost 50 people in the classes, and the Lord blessed the time greatly. It has been a special blessing for me to work on these studies on this special book. The classes began at 9:00 after a great breakfast and finished at 5:00. The time of fellowship was a blessing as well. I was able to see many friends from the Madrid area throughout the day. By 6:30 I was on the train headed back home, and my family was waiting at the station for me when I arrived.

We had good services on Sunday. We had hoped that Maria Eugenia would be back for Sunday, but she was out of town visiting her children. One family visited from Alicante this week. We enjoyed a good time of communion and then the service. I preached from Jeremiah, focusing especially on God's mandate in his calling. In the evening we got together at Lorenzo and Ana Maria's place to start a study about the church. I trust these studies will help focus our activities as a church.

One final blessing: Over the past few weeks my lap-top has slowly been dying. The backlight for the screen has been flickering on and off for a while now, but it finally died, making the screen impossible to see. I was not looking forward to what it would cost to fix the laptop or buy a new one. But in Madrid I was with missionary Marvin Robertson, who had a laptop almost identical to mine, except that he dropped his last year and the processor was not functioning. He allowed me to bring his computer back with me, and I managed to build one good laptop out of the two broken computers. I have to thank the Lord for His help in all of this. There were A LOT of pieces and bunches of tiny screws, but I managed to get them all into place, and my computer is working again!

Christmas07

Christmas07
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

This is our Christmas card this year. We were able to give these out to all of our neighbors and contacts here in Petrer (a Spanish version). We trust that the Lord will use our testimony as a family to open the door for further witness.

Kids at Christmas

IMG_1235
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

Here are the three kids in December. There was a beautiful sunset that evening, so I shot a few pictures of it, but decided to make it even better by getting the three kids in the shot!

Christmas dinner

Christmas dinner
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

Here is a shot of our Christmas dinner with our congregation in Petrer. We had a great time together and then afterwards enjoyed singing carols and sharing blessings.

Christmas carols at the mall

Christmas carols at the mall
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

The evening of the cantata, we got permission to play a brass quartet at the local mall. We played 1 hr. of Christmas carols and announced the cantata that night.

January 1-7

The new year has arrived which means that we have been holding services here in Petrer for 6 months now. I praise the Lord for this time. We can clearly see how the Lord has blessed and worked in and through us during this time. Saturday was a special time for us because we were able to have our first men's prayer breakfast here in Petrer. We had a good group of men from Elche and Alicante come up to be with us. I trust that as we continue with these breakfasts we will be able to have more men from here join us!

This past week we had two holidays: New Years and Kings Day. Yesterday morning I preached about the prophecy of Messiah being born in Bethlehem. Even though the city was small, it would be great, for Messiah was to be born there: the great leader and shepherd of God's people. He is our leader and shepherd, so we too should be moved to worship Him and give all to Him. In the evening I preached in the church in Elche. I preached from Jeremiah 1 about obeying God's will for our lives. I continue to prepare for the Bible institute this Saturday in Madrid about the book of Jeremiah.

December 25-31

This year for Christmas Eve we went down to Elche and spent the evening with my in-laws. We got together with Lorenzo and Ana Maria on Christmas day and had a wonderful time together. They asked me to dress up like Santa Clause for their 3 year-old daughter. She was supposed to recite a poem to get her gift. But when I asked her for her poem, she started balling. We went straight to the gifts!

We were able to visit all of our neighbors this last week to leave them a Christmas card and a small calendar with daily Scripture readings. Several of them opened up the topic of the gospel. The lady who lives directly next door to us commented that many times she hears us singing on Sundays and enjoys it. She told us that one Sunday she would stop by. Another neighbor told us that she had visited the Jehovah's Witnesses before and that she has some questions. We are thankful for these doors that the Lord is opening up for us to witness.

Much of my time this week has been spent preparing the classes on Jeremiah that I will be giving in Madrid in two weeks. It has been a blessing to work with this book and understand it a little better. Yesterday I preached from Jeremiah 45. The book has a number of passages where Jeremiah complains to God, and God answers the prophet's complaints. In this chapter, God talks to the prophet's helper and helps him see the big picture. Instead of seeking great things for himself, he must understand that God is doing His work and that He will protect his servants, but not necessarily make them "great" in other's eyes. I thought this was an appropriate message for the end of the year. As we think about plans for the new year, we must be careful that our own ideas of "great things" do not subtilely replace God's will! Maria Eugenia and Sergio were out of town this week, but a family came up from Alicante to visit us. After the service we all went down to Alicante to enjoy a Christmas/New Year's meal with the Alicante church. In the evening we met with Lorenzo, Ana Maria and Maria and spent some time singing, sharing blessing from the past year, and reading the Scriptures together.

December 17-24

This last week we were able to finish all the classes before Christmas. The kids finished their school work, and I finished up all of my classes. On Friday we had a very special time at the house with Chris Bixby and his wife. We invited some of the people he knew when he lived here with his parents 15 years ago and had a nice time together remembering times. The big activity of the weekend involved the cantata again. We presented it in Alicante in the morning and then again in Elche in the evening. We were especially glad in the morning to see our former neighbor at the cantata with her two daughters. She postponed her trip to visit her parents to be able to come to the cantata. There were many visitors both in the morning and evening. All of us from Petrer sang except Maria Eugenia. Her daughter had to be in the hospital for an operation, so she stayed with her. This is the same daughter who came to the cantata last week in Petrer. We are praying with her that throughout this time she will be able to witness clearly to her again.

Another important activity for us is distributing our Christmas cards. As in other years, I have made up a Christmas card with our family portrait and a verse. We have been giving them out to church people, but they also go to many unsaved neighbors, friends and family members. I also sent it electronically to all my students at the university with a short message about Christmas. We pray that the Lord would use this testimony to open further doors of witness.

December 11-16

This was our big week. It was our final push into our big evangelistic push for Christmas. It started with the distribution of 4000 invitations. I spent about six hours (with the help of several others) walking all over the city putting invitations on cars for the Christmas concert on Saturday night. It was nice to see later on in the week as we spoke to people about the concert, many of them already knew about it because they had seen the invitation. Many people responded positively to the concert, although others told us that they already had plans since this is such a busy time of year. Our final push for the concert was a brass quartet playing Christmas carols at the local mall. From 7:30 to 8:30 we played a repertoire of about 15 Christmas hymns. We had a large poster announcing the concert up, and many stopped to listen to the music and received an invitation.
The concert itself that night went well. The combined choirs from Elche and Alicante, as well as the five of us from here presented the cantata in public auditorium in Petrer. We were thrilled to see Maria Eugenia's adult children come. There were also a few people who received invitations. The program for the concert had a short presentation of the gospel and the cantata itself presented the gospel. We trust that the Lord is working in hearts, even though we do not always see the direct result of our efforts.
On Sunday we had a special day to celebrate Christmas as a congregation. We met for our normal service in the morning. I preached on John 1:14b: we beheld his glory. I spoke of the glory of Christ that John mentions here: his grace and truth. After the service we had a Christmas dinner together and then we spent some time in the afternoon singing carols and sharing different Christmas traditions. Next week we will all be involved in presenting the same cantata we did here in Alicante and in Elche.

December 4-10

This week we had two holidays, so it seemed a little bit longer. I was able to take advantage of the holidays and do some painting in the house. Preparations are going full steam for the Christmas cantata this weekend. On Wednesday I got the confirmation call from the Shopping Center for our brass quartet to be able to play Christmas hymns and pas out invitations. So on Saturday evening before the concert, we will play there for an hour. Then we will head over to the cultural center and prepare for the concert. We will be distributing invitations throughout the town on Tuesday, as well as mailing them to our contacts. Please pray with us about this effort. We desire for the Lord to bless and work through us.

Yesterday I started a two part Christmas message from John. Obviously, John does not tell the Christmas story, but in 1:14 he makes a significant statement which forms a beautiful backdrop for Christmas. Yesterday I dealt with the phrase, "the Word ... dwelt among us." I talked about the importance throughout the Bible of God dwelling with His people. Yet Christ dwelling among us is far superior to God's presence in the Tabernacle or the Temple. I ended with three implications of the incarnation: 1. because of the incarnation we have salvation; 2. because of the incarnation we have representation (a High Priest); and 3. because of the incarnation we have an example.

November 28-December 3

It seems hard to believe that December is already here. Today is Daniel's birthday! We had a very full weekend. On Saturday morning, I had a brass quartet rehursal. Several years ago I asked the Lord for some others to play my trombone with. And this is the answer to that prayer. We are practicing a selection of Christmas hymns that we would like to play the night of the cantata here as we pass out invitations. The group is off to a good start! In the afternoon we got together with Lorenzo and Ana Maria and Maria Eugenia for a picnic. It was a nice informal afternoon spent together. The kids had a lot of fun together as we hiked up to the castle in Petrer.

On Sunday morning we met together early to celebrate the Lord's supper. It was a special time as we prayed and read the scriptures together and then joined in partaking of the elements. Then in our service I preached from the final "I am" passage in the series: I am the resurrection. I looked at Martha's expression of her faith in John 11, and how Jesus gently encouraged her to deepen that faith by seeing that the resurrection is not something that just will happen: it is intimately related to the person of Christ. If in the other images we see Christ as Savior and Sanctifier, here we see Him involved in the process of glorification. After the service we all traveled down to Alicante for lunch and an all afternoon rehearsal for the cantata. And then we stayed there for the evening service.

November 20-26

On Monday I went and spent some special time with Lorenzo and Ana Maria. They are encouraged to trust in the Lord. I am excited to see their faith, but it is certainly not easy for them. They are fighting with the feeling that God brought them this far just to drop them unexpectedly. The truth is, I have seen enough in my own life in the past few years to be able to assure them that God has not dropped them. They will come out of this strengthened in their faith if they will just trust.

On Wednesday we celebrated Thanksgiving. I have a heavy teaching load on Thursdays, so it was better for us to celebrate early. We had 13 guests at the house, so that made for a very exciting day, especially since 11 of the 18 gathered were children! We had a wonderful meal and then a good time of singing and sharing our gratefulness.

On Saturday we had a special meal: Luciana, who worked with Lorenzo and Ana Maria up in Gandia several years ago, came down for a visit. Also, Ruben Pineda, the Mexican professor who is here working on his doctorate, will be going back to Mexico next week, so he came and ate with us. We spent the evening with Juan and Cristina from Alicante. It was a very full day, but a wonderful blessing to be with other believers.

We had a good service on Sunday. A family came up from Alicante to encourage us. Maria Eugenia and Sergio were not here for the weekend because it was her daughter's birthday, so they spent the weekend in Torrevieja, about 45 min. away. I preached the second to the last sermon in my "I am" series. I preached about Christ as the vine and the importance of our bearing fruit. In the evening I preached the last service of the 20th anniversary service in Alicante.

November 13-19

The big event of the week was a special prayer meeting in the Madrid area for men. It began on Friday evening, but I had to teach a class. So as soon as I finished (around 8:00), Maribel and I jumped in the car and headed out for Madrid. We ended up giving Ana Maria's brother a ride, since he lives in Madrid and was going to take the bus. On the trip I had a good opportunity to witness to him very clearly. I trust that the Lord will touch his heart and bring him to a point of repentance. The meetings in Madrid were a blessing. I preached on Saturday, but being able to spend time in prayer and fellowship with other men in the ministry was a special blessing. I preached a message about Jehu, the only king of Israel that really seemed to want to follow the Lord. I looked at his mission, his motivation and his methods. He did not follow the Lord whole-heartedly in those three areas. But those are the same areas that we need to examine in our own lives.

On Sunday morning we stayed in Alcalá and I preached there in the church. Back in Petrer, Lorenzo and Ana Maria met with Maria Eugenia and Sergio. I had recorded a sermon for them, so they spent some time in prayer and praise and then listened to the sermon. They all said that the service had gone very well. On Sunday afternoon, Maribel and I traveled back to Petrer, and in the evening we met together for a special time. It turns out that Lorenzo's boss decided that he did not have work for Lorenzo after only two weeks of being here. This was a huge blow to them, as you can imagine. But they are determined to trust in the Lord.

November 6-12

On Saturday we ate lunch with a family in Alicante. Then in the evening we participated in the special anniversary service in Alicante. Lorenzo and I played another duet. On Sunday I preached about Christ as the good Shepherd. I compared it to Psalm 23 from the week before: here the shepherd not only protects and guides, but also he knows the sheep and is known by them. This relational aspect (intimate) is what makes this figure so special. We can enjoy a personal relationship with Christ.

October 30-November 5

We had a few holidays this week, so it was not a "normal" week. Lorenzo and Ana Maria finished their move on Wednesday. I picked them up in Alicante with the rest of their things left over from the move on Saturday and brought them up to Elda. It is exciting for us to see them living here. The Lord is good! On Wednesday night we had a few other friends over with kids the same age as ours. It was like a huge slumber party for kids and adults. The kids had a ball, and we grown ups enjoyed the time as well. We watched two Christian movies with them and were able to go out for a picnic up on the mountain.

There are special meetings in Alicante this month for the 20th anniversary of the church. On Saturday night they had a concert of sacred music. Lorenzo and I played a duet (baritone-trombone). It was a blessing to see the young people from Elche and Alicante participate in the music. Yesterday here in Petrer we celebrated the Lord's table. We had one slight interruption. On her way to church, Maria Eugenia met a girl who asked her about her Bible. So she brought her to church! She seems to be on rather heavy medication, and she kept asking if she could talk to me throughout communion. Finally, when it was time to partake of the elements, I took her aside and talked with her. Please pray that the Lord will do a work in Maricarmen's life. We had a special speaker for our worship service. Ruben Pineda is the Mexican gentleman that I have mentioned a few times in the past. He came here to work on a doctorate in Biology two years ago. He and his family were very faithful in the church during their year here. He is now back to present the first stage of his research. So we asked him to come up and spend the day with us and preach. He spoke about Peter's walking on water, encouraging us to trust the Lord even when we find ourselves in difficult situations.

October 23-29

On Saturday we helped Lorenzo and Ana Maria with their move. They are renting a flat about a 5 minutes' walk from our house. The flat is very nice and has good size rooms. The place they were living in Alicante had a very small living room/dining room. It was impossible to do Bible studies there, but this place can comfortably accommodate more people. I trust that some day we will be able to have a Bible study at their house. It was also a busy weekend because Maria Eugenia had to go to Torrevieja to be with her daughter who will be operated on. She left Sergio with us for a few days. The Lord is working here to put together the beginnings of a congregation. We are excited to see how the Lord will continue to build on this core.
On Sunday I preached another message in my series of Christ's "I am" teachings. This Sunday we began to look at Christ as the Shepherd. To set the background, we looked at Psalm 23. There we find that Jehovah God is our shepherd because he supplies our needs, leads us and protects us. These points of comparison are important then in the way Jesus uses the image of the shepherd. We had good attendance because besides our normal group we had the Abellan family visiting with us from Elche. It was a wonderful weekend spent with God's people.

October 16-22

One of the big highlights this week was the renewal of vows by a couple in Alicante who celebrated 45 years of marriage. They asked if we could organize a "wedding" for them to renew their vows before family and friends. It was a blessing from the beginning to see their desire to be a testimony to many of their unsaved friends, and there were many first time visitors at church on Saturday night for the ceremony. They asked me to preach the message, so I preached about marriage and presented the gospel. One unsaved man commented that he was interested in reading more of the Bible. It was a beautiful evening to celebrate with this couple.
We had a good service this week. We had two families from Alicante come up to encourage us this weekend. I preached another sermon in my series about Christ's "I am" teachings. This week I spoke about the fact that Christ is the gate to the sheepfold. We have been practicing every Sunday for a Christmas cantata that we will be singing in along with the Elche and Alicante churches. I was especially happy that this week Maria Eugenia asked if she could sing as well. It is great that she is getting involved!

October 9-15

We were able to spend some time passing out tracts this weekend. Some of the young people from Alicante came up and helped out as well. It was, however, one of the hardest evenings I have ever experienced. In the past, if people have not been open, they have at least not been closed and hostile. Many have been very friendly, but that is not what we experienced the other night! I thought it was just where I was, but when we got back to the house, everyone seemed a bit rattled. But we were able to give the gospel to a few, and we continue to pray for the Lord to work in hearts. Sergio and I had our Bible study this week. David sat in on it too. I am pleased with Sergio's attitude in the studies. He seems to be learning. He claims to be saved, but I know that he has not had a lot of teaching. Lorenzo and Ana Maria put down a deposit for an apartment here. They will be moving in two weeks. It is wonderful to see how God continues to open doors for them.

Our service yesterday morning went very well. I preached my second sermon in the "I am" series. I spoke from John 9 about Christ as the light of the world. He illumines us (John 1.9) and then sends us out into the world to be light! After the sermon we had a short discussion time which went well. And there was a good spirit of participation as well.

October 1-8

This week I continued my Bible study with Sergio. Lorenzo and Ana Maria came up on Friday evening again and spent hours walking around town looking for an apartment to rent. At the end of the morning on Saturday, they finally found a place they liked that fits into their budget! Everything seems to be set for them to make the move at the end of the month. Saturday was a busy day for us. I caught the early bus down to Elche for a mens' prayer breakfast, and Maribel took the kids to Alicante for the children's club (after David's first soccer game!). In the afternoon we were able to have some nice family time together with Lorenzo's family as well.

Yesterday I began a new series of sermons. I will be preaching through the 7 "I am" statements in John's gospel. In the morning I preached about Christ as the Way, the only, true path to life. In the evening we went down to Elche for choir practice and the service. There I preached about John 8 when Jesus told the pharisees, "before Abraham was, I am." I made a strong emphasis on the gospel, as well as applying the passage to believers. After the service I found out that one of the ladies had brought a visitor who just left the Jehovah's witnesses. It was his first time in church! I know that God obviously worked to put that passage on my heart for that special occasion!

David's soccer game on Saturday morning was his first game with the team. He was thrilled with the game, but especially happy because he was able to score a goal!

Bible Institute meal

Bible Institute meal
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

These are the students from Bible Institute who came to our house for a meal to kick off the new year of classes.

9 years in Spain!

IMG_0831.JPG
Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

This is my family on the day, nine years ago when we moved to Spain. I feel a bit like Jacob. We came almost empty handed and the Lord has blessed us in so many ways that it is impossible to number them all.

September 24-30

This past week I began a Bible study with Sergio, the 12 year-old son of Maríá Eugenia. I was not too sure if he was very excited about the study, but his mother mentioned that he made some positive comments about the study to her! I want to take advantage of this situation, and work with him as much as we can. He has been coming over to our house several times a week to play with the kids.

This weekend was an exciting time for our little body of believers. Lorenzo and Ana María have been praying about moving here. Lorenzo made a few phone calls several weeks ago, but it seemed that nobody needed workers. Then, last week he got a call from a different business. They told him that they had heard a lot of good things about him and wanted him to come for an interview. At first he wondered if we had given someone his phone number, but it was obviously the Lord's doing! He went for the interview on Saturday morning, and it looks like he will start work here just as soon as he can bring his family up. They are hoping that by the end of the month of October they can be living up here. It is such a blessing to see their faith and how God is working out one detail after another.

On Sunday morning I finished up my series on Ecclesiastes. The sermon was a general overview of the book and all of the lessons we have been learning throughout this series. Unfortunately, Maria Eugenia was not able to be there, but we were able to go and spend several hours with her in her home on Sunday afternoon. We had a good time of prayer with her. Her situation with her husband continues to be difficult, but she is trusting in the Lord to bring her through.

September 18-24

We are starting to fall into the schedule of the academic year which means that we are ready to start up another year of Bible Institute. On Friday we invited all the students from last year and those signed up for this year to our house for a party. It was a blessing to see some new students this year. I was especially pleased to be able to announce three students who have finished their second certificate of Bible studies. They have completed more than 350 hours of studies. This year Mike Dodgens will be teaching counseling, Dennis Flower will be teaching Church History, and then I will finish out the year with the second year of NT Introduction.

Yesterday we had a good service here in Petrer. Lorenzo and Ana Maria were up, and Maria Eugenia came. She didn't bring her son Sergio with her. I want to start having Bible studies with Sergio. He has just started high school here and could use some good encouragement. I preached another message in my series on Ecclesiastes. I preached from chapter 11 about giving liberally and industriousness. I made the application to our personal witness. We need to work hard at giving the gospel to all we can. We are looking forward to some new evangelistic efforts this month as a church, but I want individuals to feel the importance of witnessing too.

September 10-17

The big activity of this week was my trip up to northern Spain to teach an intensive Bible institute on the book of Ezekiel. In the end, Maribel and the kids had to stay home, so I rode the bus up. The Lord gave me a good weekend as I shared the teaching from this special book with the believers there. I taught five sessions all day Saturday on the book. Many commented that they were looking forward to reading the book again, now that they understood it a little bit better. On Sunday I preached once again from Ezekiel in the church in Beasain, and then in the evening I caught the bus back home. The weekend was also very special because of the times of fellowship with the Bonikowskies and other missionaries there.

Here in Petrer, the service went very well, too. I invited Josué Cerdán from the church in Alicante to come up and preach. Lorenzo and Ana María were here, as well as Maria Eugenia and her son Sergio. But it turns out that my sister and brother-in-law came as well as Josué's parents and brother. In all, there almost 20 people at the service, by far the biggest attendance we have ever had!

On Friday when I called Maribel, she informed me that they had had a huge hail storm. When I got home, they showed me some of the balls of ice which they had stored in the freezer to show me. They were by far the largest hail stones I had ever seen. Unfortunately it did some damage to our gutters, as well as the car.

Dedication

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Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

We invited the church in Alicante to some up to Petrer to participate in a special service of dedication for the work here.

baptismal service

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Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

Here is a picture from our baptismal service on Saturday night.

August 27-September 9

The last two weeks came to a climax on Sunday morning. Let me explain. Two weeks ago, after our Sunday morning service, Lorenzo talked to me again about baptism. He and Ana Maria had asked about the subject before, but at that moment I was not in any position to do more than take them through several passages to explain to them what Biblical baptism is all about. Now, however, with their ever increasing commitment to the work here in Petrer, I felt that it was the time for them to be baptised. We were able to coordinate it with an event that I had wanted to have for some time. We invited the entire church from Alicante to come up on Saturday night. Lorenzo and Ana Maria gave their testimonies, and then I had the privilege of baptising them before more than 35 people. Then we had a special service of dedication for the work here. Jose Bernabeu preached a message, and then Flay Allen led a time of prayer for God's blessing upon the work. On Sunday morning in our service, Lorenzo and Ana Maria participated in the Lord's supper for the first time (and our first time here in Petrer). Maria Eugenia was able to come with her son. Maribel's aunt and uncle (both unsaved) even visited us that morning and witnessed our communion service. We praise the Lord for these experiences. These are special days as we hold these intimate services with this tiny body of believers in whom the Lord is working.

Last week Mike Dodgens came up one evening, and we were able to spend some time out in a park witnessing. We continued our survey about the Bible, and once again the Lord opened doors for us to share the gospel very clearly. I was particularly excited about some of these very personal conversations now that we live here. In fact, the other day, Maribel noticed two older ladies who walked by our house, stopped, and pointed. I suspect that they were two ladies I spoke with in the park. I mentioned that we were meeting with believers in our house, and that seemed to catch their attention. In a culture where the church is so cold and formalistic, many seem surprised by something as natural as true believers meeting together in a house to worship the Lord together. We pray that God would continue to work in hearts and raise up true believers who worship Him in spirit and in truth.

August 20-26

This week we went up to a family camp in Guadalajara. The kids really enjoyed the time with other children, and it was a blessing for us to share with other Christians. The theme of the week was placing your eyes on Jesus. I taught one of the morning classes on the theme of dealing with disillusion. I appreciated the opportunity to preach, but most of all, I needed that study for myself! There have been several situations which have been difficult for me to take. I worked from the passage about Elijah in 1 Kings 19 to talk about how the vision of faith can carry us through those low moments when it seems like nothing makes sense.

Our service this morning went well. Lorenzo and Ana María were here, along with Luciana, a lady who worked with them when they lived in Gandía. I preached from Ecclesiastes 7 about the balance in life that a correct attitude towards the Lord brings. In the evening we attended the service in Alicante. Lorenzo and I rode the bus down since we did not all fit in the car. It was a blessing to be able to talk with him more. He feels very clearly that God wants them to serve here in Petrer and help us begin this work. They are continuing to look for a house and work in this area. He also told me that they would like to be baptized. We have talked before about this topic, but now seems to be the right time. Lord willing we will be having a baptismal service sometime within the next two weeks!

Heart Surgery

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Originally uploaded by David_B_Bell

This is one day after open heart surgery to replace a valve and a section of the aorta.

A Heart Story of God's Love

In January, 2007 I went to see my cardiologist for a routine visit. For the last several years, I have been ever six months so that he can monitor the degeneration of my congenital heart valve problem. My visit in January was not much different other times. As on previous occasions, he informed me that my condition was slightly worse than the last visit, but he asked me to have an ultrasound at the hospital to get a second opinion and to be able to make more precise measurements of the valve and the aorta. The hospital called me to schedule the appointment for March 15th.

Thursday, March 15th began like any other day. At noon I went in to the hospital for the ultrasound. The actual ultrasound was very normal; however, when the doctor finished, he turned to me and told me point blank that I was in pretty bad shape. The diameter of my aorta was within the risk zone. It had been stretched to the point that it was in danger of rupture. He told me that I needed surgery soon. The following morning, my heart specialist called me at home to let me know that he was going to be talking to the surgeons that morning and would try to schedule the surgery for as soon as possible. I assumed that there would be a significant amount of time between the diagnosis and the surgery, but he suggested that it would be best to have the surgery within a month's time. He sent me immediately to begin all of the tests that would be necessary before the operation and scheduled me to talk to the surgeon two weeks from that Friday. The next two weeks were very difficult weeks. We had just purchased a house in Petrer and were trying to paint so that we could move over the Easter holiday. All of the sudden, all of our planning came to a screeching halt. But until I talked to the surgeon to find out the date that he was planning on, I didn't want to tell everybody.

Finally, Friday, March 30 rolled around. I was ready to talk to my surgeon. I had downloaded and watched a live video of the operation that I would be having. I had done some reading up about the surgery and the recovery and was ready with all of my questions. What I was not ready for was the date! My doctor, complaining that he had not received the results of my CAT scans yet, turned to the nurse and asked, "How am I supposed to operate on Monday if I don't even have the CAT scans yet?" I reluctantly asked him which Monday he was talking about, and he informed me that he was talking about that Monday, in three days. He sat down with us and explained the procedure to us and all of the risks involved. A bypass, he told us, was a bit easier: the heart would be stopped for 15 to 30 minutes. A normal valve replacement would mean stopping the heart between 30 minutes and one hour. But since they had to replace the section of my aorta which had been stretched (and that involved fooling with the coronary arteries), my heart would be stopped anywhere from one hour to an hour and a half. There was always a danger that for some reason my heart would not start back up or that some of the other organs could shut down since the heart was not functioning. My only thought was that I was completely in the Lord's hands. The surgeon was very confident about his part of the surgery. The major risk was out of man's hands. And so they then scheduled me to come in on Sunday morning. I managed to get permission to sing in the Easter cantata at church on Sunday morning as long as I made it to the hospital by 1:00. So I spent my Sunday morning in church and Sunday afternoon preparing for open heart surgery. I wrote two letters to my wife, only one of which would be read. But I wanted to be prepared for the worst. And the Lord gave me a peace about what would happen the next day. I did not feel an absolute confidence that I would come through the surgery without problems. But I was ready to accept whatever the Lord had in store for me. Psalm 23:5 was a great comfort to me: I could count on God's presence, even in the valley of the shadow of death.

Nearly Perfect Surgery

Monday, April 2 began early with all the preparations for surgery. By 8:30 I was in the operating room with the anesthesiologist. My next memory was a strange sensation that I couldn't open my eyes or breath. And then I opened my eyes and saw my wife and my surgeon (and a student of mine who works in post-op). The doctor later informed me that my heart was stopped for 71 minutes while they worked on the valve and the aorta. They found that the portion of the aorta that was stretched out was above the coronaries so they were able to save some time and not have to re-implant the coronaries in the synthetic aorta. Everything had gone better than planned. Monday and Tuesday were full of discomfort and, at times, pain. The worst part was probably the severed sternum. Any movement in my upper body, including breathing, was painful. After slightly more than 24 hours, they moved me back up to a normal room to continue my recovery there. By the following day, my doctor got me out of bed for the first time, and I took my first steps. Everything was exhausting at that point. I remember feeling completely worn out after eating a bowl of soup. Sleeping was complicated by the fact that I had to lie on my back, and the plasticized mattress cover made me to sweat a lot. But every test I had seemed to indicate that I was experiencing a better-than-normal recovery. On Saturday, my surgeon offered to let me go home one day early, but I decided to stay the full week and go home after they had changed my bandages the next morning. When I arrived home on Sunday afternoon, I felt decent. It was just nice to be back home after what had seemed (at that time) like a long time in the hospital.

On Monday afternoon we learned that Vicente, a dear man from our congregation, had gone home to be with the Lord that morning. Maribel and I ended up going to the funeral home that afternoon and plans were made for the funeral the following morning. And so, on Tuesday, a week and a day after my surgery, I stood up before a group of mostly unsaved family and friends and preached a funeral message. But for as much as people told me that I looked great, I did not feel great. Every night that week I woke up in a cold sweat. And my temperature was almost constantly slightly higher than normal. However, my doctor had told me that a low fever was normal, especially in younger patients. He had told me not to worry about it as long as it was not a high fever. Finally, after nine days at home, my temperature started to rise, so we returned to the hospital for what I assumed would be a little bit of blood work.

Complications

I realized how wrong I was when the nurse brought me my pajamas, the uniform I would wear every day for the next 51 days! A new doctor explained to me how serious my situation was. The fact that there was no apparent reason for the fever which I had been experiencing over the last week and a half led them to assume that I had an infection in my blood stream which was attacking the new heart valve, and since the valve was made of non-organic material, the body was not defending it. I began an aggressive antibiotic treatment immediately, and over the next few days the doctors began to eliminate other possible causes for my fever. During one of the tests, the same doctor who had seen me just a month earlier when all of this began examined my new valve with an ultrasound, and then asked me a question which really surprised me. "Did they tell you that your valve has a slight leak?" Of course they hadn't told me anything like that. When I went home everything was in perfect shape. "Well," he continued, "you've got a leak now, and there appear to be small nodules on the valve's outer ring." My surgeon came to visit me immediately when he received the results. It was the worst possible news. The nodules appeared to be the encrustation of the infection, and the leak meant that something had already destroyed enough of the valve that there was a slight flow of blood around the valve instead of through it. Everything was still pretty sketchy, but they had the first solid evidence for a plausible cause for my fever. At that point I was still upset about the thought of having to spend more time in the hospital, and I feared that this might mean I would have to spend all six weeks that the antibiotic treatment would take. The surgeon, however, informed me that there was little to no hope that the antibiotics would do anything to kill the infection that was already attacking the valve. Since it had already encrusted itself on the valve, the antibiotics would not be effective. The only solution was to repeat the operation. The following day, another doctor discovered an abnormality in my right eye. The diagnosis was that microscopic pieces from the valve had flowed through the blood stream and formed a clot in the tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye. When my doctor came to see me on Wednesday, he was no longer tentative. I had an endocarditis, and the only solution was to operate. He had already cleared a slot for me the following Thursday in the operating room and was ready to perform the surgery again. I asked him if there was not another option, but he told me that it was the only way. What was more, he informed me that this operation was much more complicated and dangerous than the first. In that operation, they had been dealing with a strong heart with a valve problem. Now, however, they would be operating on a heart that had just been through major trauma, with the added complication that the area around the valve had been under attack by a virus. The risk factor was now six times higher. And if we waited any longer it could jump to double that.

That was a very low moment for us. It was very hard to understand why God had allowed me to come through the first surgery just to go through it all again. At that moment, some 25 days after open heart surgery, I felt that I did not have the strength to go through it again. I was sure that if I had to go back into the operating room, I would not come out alive. I told a friend that night, that I saw only two options for myself: I could get bitter at God for allowing me to go through a situation that was really unfair, or I could accept this too as part of his "good and perfect" plan for my life (James 1:17). I knew the second was the only option that could really help me, but it was strangely difficult to accept. I also had to realize that when I gave my life to the Lord years ago, submitting myself to His will, it was not just for that which I approved of. My surrender was for whatever God wanted to do with my life. And now, if He had a purpose in taking me to heaven "early", even though it seemed that it would have been easier in the first operation, I had to accept that as part of His plan. Maribel and I cried and claimed the victory. We knew once again that we were in the Lord's hands.
God's doings

But that is when things started to change! Friday I suffered through another ultrasound, this time from inside the esophagus (yes, swallowing that wand was not comfortable). The same doctor who had done my other two ultrasounds spent 15 minutes examining the valve from every possible angle (even from within the stomach looking back up toward the heart) and finally gave the verdict: no infection. I almost skipped back to my room (even though I was far from being able to skip, physically speaking!). And then came my surgeon with the best news: no operation! God had answered our prayers. Just two days before, my surgeon had assured me that surgery was the only option; the same man was now standing in front of me, telling me that I no longer needed the operation. The slight leak was still there, but it was not a problem as long as the infection was not continuing to eat away at the valve.

The only bad news was that I would have to finish out the six week antibiotic treatment that I had already started. But compared to going through the surgery again, six weeks in the hospital was nothing. In fact, there was even the possibility that I could go home and finish my antibiotics at home. As the weeks dragged on, however, and I could not go home because of a conflict between the antibiotics and the anticoagulant, it became harder and harder for me to stay in the hospital. One of the most difficult things was when the kids came to visit and I began to realize that after spending so much time away from them, I was no longer the same part of their lives that I had always been. I felt like I was just a person they visited, but I was no longer their daddy. But the hospital was full of other opportunities for me. I was able to read quite a bit, and the Lord gave me many opportunities to be a witness and a testimony for Him.

Coming Down the Final Stretch

Finally, Wednesday May 30th came when I received my last antibiotic treatment through the i.v. All that was left at that point was for the oral anticoagulant I had been taking for weeks (the one that was canceled out by the antibiotics) to start taking effect so that they could unplug me from the anticoagulant i.v. My doctor promised me that I would be home by the weekend. But it did not happen. On Sunday, however, my levels were slightly better so they disconnected me for two hours and let me leave the hospital with Maribel and the kids. But after two hours I was back and hooked up again. But that time was so special. I cannot describe the emotions I felt to wear something other than pajamas, feel the sun on my skin again, and best of all, spend time with my family outside of the hospital! Back in the hospital though time kept dragging on. And then came the big scare again. On Wednesday night I felt my temperature rising. It was the first time I had had a fever since late April when the antibiotics had kicked in and controlled the fever that had returned me to the hospital. That night I lay in my bed shivering and thinking about what this would mean. Many days when my doctor had come to see me, she had asked me if I had had a fever. That could be the sign that the infection had hidden somewhere in my body, and now it was back. That night I cried again as I prayed to the Lord. Could it be that I would still have to face that surgery? When my doctor came to see me in the morning, I asked if this meant more time in the hospital and more antibiotics. "No," she told me. "If the antibiotics didn't kill it before, they won't work now." But the Lord did not leave me in that valley for long. As it turned out, it seemed to be an infection of the i.v. They moved the i.v. to the other arm, and the fever never returned. In fact, on Thursday June 7th, my anticoagulant levels came into range and they sent me home.

Conclusion

"Why did all this happen to you?" is a question that some have asked (and perhaps many have thought). And to be truthful, I asked it as well. All I can say is that God is much greater than we are. We tend to think in terms of a single purpose, but of course God can control a much greater area than we can imagine. I suspect that God did not have one single purpose in this whole situation. Rather, God was doing multiple things in many lives. I know in my own life He did many things. There is nothing like having to face death to remind us how to live. There were also lessons of faith and surrender. I was reminded like never before that my life was not my own. And I was tested, as I had not been in years, about whether or not I would accept God's will no matter what. God gave me the opportunity to witness to many people through this situation. I even had many special opportunities with believers. Several church people opened up to me about problems, and I was able to give Biblical counsel from my hospital bed. But I know that God has done and is doing things that are beyond what I can even imagine. All I can say is that God is truly good, and I praise Him for His infinite love that never abandoned me.

David Bell, Petrer, Spain 2007

August 19

We have been living here in Petrer for a month and a half. There have been so many things to do to get settled and to prepare for the ministry that the Lord has called us to. We have had services here at the house during this time, and we praise the Lord for the wonderful times of worship and fellowship. Lorenzo and Ana María have come up every week from Alicante and are hoping to be able to move here sometime before the end of the year. We have had several other visitors from the Alicante church that have encouraged us greatly by their visit. We continue to work with María Eugenia, a lady we met here. Her situation, however, has gone through a rather drastic change. She and her unsaved husband came over last month and spent the morning with us. Everything looked very encouraging. That evening, however, he informed her that he wants a divorce. She has been to several of our Sunday services and come by the house a number of times to talk. But if the situation continues as it is, she will probably end up moving away from Petrer. We continue to pray for her and trust that the Lord will work His will out.

At the end of July, I went up to Guadalajara to speak in a youth camp. The Lord gave me to opportunity to share with the teens some messages from the book of Ecclesiastes. I felt a special freedom as I spoke, and the Lord moved hearts. It was truly a special opportunity to see the Lord work. This coming week we will be headed back up to camp for a week of family camp. Then, Lord willing, we will be headed up north to visit a former neighbor of ours. Felisa came to services in Alicante on several occasions, so we trust that this visit will give new opportunities for witness.

We have been preparing several projects for this new ministry in Petrer. One is the legal organization of an association through which we will be able to organize various aspects of the ministry such as open bank accounts, rent buildings, print literature, etc. We are also working to prepare an evangelistic website to back all of the tracts that we will be handing out.

Finally, preparation is on for an Intensive Bible Institute in the Basque region of Spain. Lord willing, the second week of September we will be headed up that way to give a series of lectures on the book of Ezekiel. We trust that the Lord will use these messages to touch hearts and encourage believers.