And the Lord added to their number... (Acts 2.47)
One of the Monteros is back! This is Luis. We thought we had lost him. It is just that he was obligated to work on Sundays, and at night during the week. He was moved to another position in the company, with a more convenient schedule. Luis is a great young man with a very sensitive heart.We had one more baptism in April, a lady who lived in the States for several years. She moved back to Heredia and lives with one of her adult children. She has been very faithful. A young lady we baptized back in March has also stayed faithful. I mention this because it is the result of the Lord working through Milady, one of the most mature young ladies here. As soon as I baptized her, I asked Milady to take care of the new convert, to make sure that she continued to study the Scriptures. This shows that we still care for the person after he or she is baptized. Milady has been faithful to the request and keeps going once a week with her sister Andrea to see the new convert. Sometimes transportation was an issue, so my brother Roberto got involved when this was needed. Roxana and I keep doing this with people who are already members because we understand that grounding others in the faith is a process that takes time and patience.
The most important result is the transformation occurring in people's lives. A lot of people are being blessed with more meaningful lives. People are learning to develop relationships where they help one another according to the "one another passages" of the New Testament. Working with people can also be a source of much disappointment and heartache, but we keep our eyes on the Lord, remembering that we haven't resisted to the point of shedding our blood (Hebrews 12.4).
A goal in view
The goal of planting a new church in a nearby town is still in view. For this goal to be accomplished a local leadership has to be in place. This local leadership has to be able to function in my absence. Ideally, there will be no need for my presence in Heredia. This goal is being accomplished little by little as the local members grow and mature and take on responsibilities.
As of today, the treasury is the responsibility of a committee under the direction of Daniel Delgado. The facilities are being kept by another committee under the direction of Randall Sanchez. The benevolence is under a duo of ladies: Damaris García and Noris Milanes. The organization of the worship services is the responsibility of Roberto Ulate. Norberto Ross is a musician by profession, so he is in charge of those who lead the singing. Damaris leads the ladies meeting on Thursday morning. The children ministry is still under the leadership of Roxana, but she is sharing this with Raquel Urquilla.
The Lord is sending workers into His harvest field!
A brother from Dominican Republic is in the process of moving his family to Costa Rica. His name is Mateo Martínez. He has been with us since the end of last year. Heredia is home to many outsourcing companies that provide services to powerful transnationals, and Mateo was brought from his country to serve as a senior engineer in charge of production of certain parts for the IPad and the IPhone. Mateo grew up in the church. His father is an elder in one of the largest churches of Christ in Santo Domingo, the capital of Dominican Republic. His wife and one daughter already came to check out the country. We are praying that they will make a decision soon. If they get to stay, we would love to consider him to be one of the elders here. Mateo has won the hearts of the members here. He has given us a testimony of good fruits. His love for the Lord and for people is evident. Plus, he is very talented and very well trained in teaching, so we asked him to be in charge of the Sunday School teaching for adults. He has been doing this in the last two months. He has training in counseling for couples and keeps a web page with articles for couples. Isn't the Lord great? He blesses us with able servants and workers for His harvest. We realize now that this is an answer to our prayers asking Him to send workers into His harvest field.
HCP still active
We still have the group called HCP (Men with Purpose in Spanish). There are five of us who hardly ever miss a meeting. We meet on Mondays from 8 pm through 10 or 10:30. This group has become a source of support and growth for me. Roberto, Norberto, Álvaro, Luis and I get together and talk and pray about the things we are struggling with as husbands, as parents, as individuals (character flaws), etc. First, we sit in a circle, then we comment on a key passage, after this we share personal stuff, and finally each one of us prays for the one next to our right, and go around doing this until the circle is completed. This really keeps us from spiritual danger and it actually helps us grow and develop our character as Christian men (the promise of Ephesians 4.16). This is not the only source of support. We have also developed close friendships during the week as we call one another and get together in pairs for a cup of coffee. We make sure that we have at least one of these personal encounters a week.
