June-July-August 2010

If you want to see the raw numbers, please click on the following link:
http://carlosulatecostarica.blogspot.com/p/statistics.html

Please put up with the configuration of the tables. It is difficult for me to create tables in HTML language. Also, you may notice the contribution figures are not posted yet.  The treasurer hasn't been able to give the file with the figures, because he was in El Salvador for more than two weeks in August. His name is Daniel Delgado. By the way, there are news regarding this dear brother. He had been dating a girl from a church in San Salvador, and he just married her. That was the reason for his trip to El Salvador. Daniel works for a local bank, and goes to college on the weekends.

The last three months have been a period of growth.  Some people were added to the fellowship. Two ladies were baptized: Lizeth and Ofelia. This is the result of the work of committed ladies who are evangelizing because it is just natural for them to do so. Two new men have become members. We have studied with them and decided that they were scripturally baptized. They consider it a blessing to have found a New Testament church. They are Claudio and Guillermo.  They are also the result of the natural outreach done by committed men.  One more lady immigrated from Nicaragua and she is a faithful member. We need to count Raquel, Daniel's new wife from el Salvador. Claudio is a stable family man.  He just retired from teaching in the Public School System at 52 years of age. We just hope that his wife and children will follow him, because this could help him become a leader in the church. Guillermo is a retired college professor, very committed and mature spiritually. He reaches out to me personally, and he has a lot of respect for what we are doing.

I have a list of 95 adults, 13 teens, and 27 children, a total of 135 members. To this we must add a steady attendance of at least 15 visitors.  However, there are about 25 adult members  who are very irregular in their attendance. Actually, some visitors are more committed than these adults. Also, some families struggle to be able to make it to services.  This is due to them living a little bit too far and not having a vehicle. So, we don't see them at the services all the time, but they are relatively faithful.  Some members have been falling in the habit of not worshipping at the AM service, because they think it is possible to do it at the PM service. However, when it is time for them to start leaving home to be at church at 5 pm, it is raining so heavily that they just miss services altogether (So they tell me).

The NE Bible Study Group merged with the Midweek service in the church building. So, attendance to the Midweek service rose from an average of 13 to an average of 22. The leaders of the NE Group explained that they did not have time to prepare the lessons due to personal situations with work and family.

The Support Group for men continues to attract an average of 6 men.  This group includes Roberto, Norberto, and Carlos Brenes.  These three men are being built up and they are really maturing spiritually.  This is the result of their involvenment in a group where the truth is spoken in love and growth is received from the Head through the joints as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:15, 16).

The Youth Group has an attendance of 18. Roxana and I have had to get involved, because it has been difficult for the young leaders to carry such a responsibility.  They are young adults who are working and going to college at the same time.  So, we are helping with the teaching, and it has been very rewardint to see some young ones turning around from the world to Jesus.

The Singing Lessons group did not continue to meet. Too much rain in the afternoons discouraged some.  For other it was too long to be there from 3 pm for the Youth Group, and then stay two more hours for the singing lessons. Norberto appreciates the relief because it was too heavy on him too.  He attends all Bible studies during the week, and is helping with the Youth Group, but he Sunday PM service.

Our oldest daughter, Raquel, got married to her highschool sweetheart, Michael, after 7 years of going steady and having graduated from higschool. Michael happens to be one of our song leaders. The nest in begining to get empty. You may see the pictures in our Facebook wall.

Life between the AM and the PM service

Norberto Ross taking a break between the AM and PM services

Norberto Ross, music professor and church member, takes a break between the AM and the PM service, after lunch at the Ulates.  Norberto was expected to lead the singing for the first time at the evening service on July 18th, so we had him come home and spend the afternoon with us. We do have access to a common neighborhood area, where it is nice for a hammock and a well deserved "siesta" if the weather allows, of course, because it is raining too much these days. Norberto is a friend of Roberto, my brother. They have known each other for the last 12 years. We had asked Roberto to contact Norberto earlier this year because we needed a music professor to help us improve the singing. It was our intention to pay Norberto, and he had even figured out what his fees would be. When Norberto finally came and spent one Saturday afternoon with us, it was love at first sight between him and the church. So, forget charging us for the music lessons. He began attending immediately to most of the activities, and was baptized on February 21st. Roberto's changes in his life inspired Norberto to join us in our followship of Jesus. The fellowship with Norberto, and his participation in the Support Group for Men has proved effective in helping him become a faithful Christian. He led the singing at the evening service on July 18. It was the first time in many years we had a professional musician doing this in a church in Heredia. So, the picture doesn't represent Norberto's real life. He is the senior music professor at the Saint Jude School in Santa Ana, where they built a music classroom designed by him where he spends 42 hours a week teaching kids.

While pizza was being baked

There are special days in the life of a missionary. Yesterday was one of them. Norberto drove me to the Mitsubishi dealer to see if we could a find a part for my car.  It turned out that they didn't have it. The trip was to include a visit to his former mechanic who has his shop nearby, and a visit to meet María Elena, the mother of Norberto's daughter.  The visit to the mechanic was very helpful, as we were able to make a decission on the autopart (will have to look for it overseas). The visit to María Elena was the most exciting part of the trip. She turned out to be a wonderful woman, someone who had grown up in Cuba, listening to her Dad reading the Bible to her. Time was short, it was 5 pm and we were supposed to drive all the way across the valley to be in Heredia before 7:30 pm, for the Midweek service. She has a pizza shop next to her house. So she offered to prepare a large pizza for Norberto and I to take home. We had less than 30 minutes. While the pizza was being baked, we stroke up a spiritual conversation of a high caliber. It was evident that she understood key concepts of Christianity, which proves that God's Word doesn't return to Him empty as stated in Isaiah 55.11. When the pizza was ready, it was difficult for Norberto and I to part with María Elena. She had a profound Bible question: Why did the Lord put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden? I had to promise her that we would get back very soon to help her with this and many more spiritual concerns. We made it back on time for the Midweek Bible Study in Heredia, where 24 people were waiting for us!  Guess what the Ulate family and Norberto had for supper?

Miriam Brenes, a member you can count on

Miriam Brenes is a charter member of this congregation. She owns a couple of small clothing stores for ladies, and helps her family run other businesses,so she is a very busy woman. She was one of the first converts when the church began in Barva, a small town North from Heredia. She was instrumental in moving the meeting location from this town to downtown Heredia, as she had a business here.  She lent the church a location on the second floor of a small building she rents for her business. In spite of being so busy, she finds time for her spiritual growth and it has paid off. The Lord used her to bring her three adult children to Him. Her husband has been attending faithfully for the last two years. Just recently, the Lord used her to restore a sister in law and a niece to fellowship. Two of the people her children and niece are dating have also been baptized and two more are already visiting and receiving Bible study. The Lord has truly made changes in her life, and He is using her to influence family members and friends. She and I agree on the importance of using our own lives as a testimony of what the Lord can do to change others. People need to see the results of the Lord's work in our lives for them to want to explore God's answers to their problems. It is very encouraging to count on Miriam as a faithful member whose life is an effective witness to family and friends.

Roxana and Ester Ulate in the Sunday School babies room

Roxana helps with organizing the Sunday School teachers.  Ester loves babies, she is special with them.  The babies are Lindsay, daughter of Fabián and member Vanessa, and Benjamin, son of members Jorge and María Eugenia.  They were born within the last 365 days.  Other babies born this year are Omar Gabriel and Sergio Andrés. They were already added to the list of members. The babies classroom just got painted and decorated. William Polio painted it, and the girls did the decoration.  The Sunday School hour goes from 9 to 9:45 am.

Three meaningful activities

Today's activities included the meeting of the Youth Group, the Singing Lessons, and the Men's Support Group for men. It was a great afternoon and evening.  Roberto Ulate was an instrument in God's hands to teach the youth groups from Coronado and Heredia (See http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24767&id=100000105372981&l=39ea10f6d1)
Norberto Ross, our musical director, was moved by the response from the group of singers to his rehearsal instructions.  Then, in the Support Group for men (formerly known as "Men with Problems") there were eight of us, sharing about the great things God has done in our lives.  A man who had heard about this group, through Roberto Ulate, came to the meeting and was encouraged.  He worshipped with us the next day.

April 2010 (Figures)

April 2010 (Narrative)

The Northeast group didn’t meet during the month of April. They tell me most of the participants had problems attending because of increased load of work. This group, however has one man coming to church every Sunday. Two of the participants are busy studying two teenagers who are children of members.
The Northwest group continues to meet at Roberto’s home. One visitor from my neighborhood continues to attend with me. These days that I don’t have a vehicle, he gives me a ride to that event every Friday at 8:30 pm. He is very gifted and has very mature views of the Bible message. However, he hasn’t considered attending to services yet.
The support group for men continues to meet. During this month we had a great time as we were able to pray for one another to learn to be used by God in ministry. Most of the men who meet are in charge of either teaching or leading in some way or another. The fact that a brother prays for another to be able to lead or teach God’s people is a quite a boost to his confidence in presenting a lesson, as we learn to trust on Him for the results.
We are experiencing a great deal of fellowship, and through this ministry other men are being influenced, and studied with. We now have single men in the group, and a couple of divorcees who are struggling with loneliness. So the group is very important for them, and they appreciate very much the encouragement they receive from others.
The group we call “Singing Lessons” continues to meet with Norberto Ross, our music professor. Norberto says that he studied a capella choral music in college and never used it until he became a Christian. Now he is seeing the purpose God had for him studying this type of music.
The leadership training group that met on Saturdays to study the qualifications of elders is no longer meeting as we were able to finish this study.

March 2010 Assembly Figures

March 2010 (Narrative)

The last Sunday of the month is the beginning of what they call Holy Week. Most activities in Costa Rica come to a halt during that week, especially school. Many people take a week out and go out of town. So, this explains the low attendance of members on the last Sunday.

The high attendance of visitors on the last Sunday of the month is due to the visit paid by the Tejarcillos church as commented on the Miscellaneous section of this report.

Attendance on the first Sunday of the month is quite a record. I was gone to preach somewhere else, though. Those who were present tell me that the brethren who took my place did a great job. Carlos Brenes preached and Roberto Ulate taught Adults Sunday School. Someone even mentioned that I could be left out of the job.

Total expenses went up to $1069,58 during the month of March.

March 2010 Study Figures

March 2010 (Miscellaneous)

As I had mentioned, I was invited to preach at another church on the first Sunday of the month. There 34 attending, including 23 adults and 11 children. The brethren from Tejarcillos invited me to share with them. Tejarcillos happens to have a very high rate of crime. The church there is made up by people who were members at Hatillo. So, a few of them remember me because I was their preacher in Hatillo. Then the members of the Tejarcillo church decided to pay us a visit in Heredia. So, they rented a bus and 40 of them came to the Sunday evening service on March, 28.

February 2010

Visitors include a family of four who are members of the church in Nicaragua. They also include a family of four that is being reached out to, and four men who are coming consistently. A couple from a nearby church is considering placing membership with us.

School resumed during the second week of the month. This usually affects attendance.
Combined contribution (AM + PM) for the month was $1430,99. Expenses went up to $1160,80.

A 14-year-old girl was baptized on February 2nd. She is the result of God’s work through the Northwest Bible Study. She is a young girl who emigrated last year with her mother from Cuba. Her mother is also studying with us. Instrumental in this conversion was my daughter Ester who reached out in a significant way to this girl and helped her feel at home with the rest of the members.

A 47-year-old man was baptized on February 21st. He is also from Cuba, but he has lived in Costa Rica during the last 15 years. This man happens to be a music professor in a Heredia high school. We are looking forward to his contribution to improve our singing. Even before he was baptized we had asked him to teach us music lessons to improve our singing (see video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSHmQS0haeM) We continue to do this on Saturday at 5:00 pm, before the Leadership Training session. This baptism is also a result of God’s work through the Northwest Bible Study.

A 50-year-old Costa Rican woman was baptized on February 28th. She is the result of God’s work through the efforts on three ladies led by Damaris García (widow of Freddy Astorga). It is great to see members of the church learning to do evangelistic work.

The three people baptized are now being grounded in the faith by the same people who brought them to the Lord. We continue to reach out to them so that their needs continue to be met.

The group “Men with Problems” continues to meet every week. There was an average of 6 men present. We created a support net by means of our cell phones. We keep in touch during the week to ask for prayer during times of need. Prayers are answered as we see the Lord’s peace that transcends all understanding guarding our hearts and thoughts in such times, when otherwise we might have lost our sobriety. Now we are working on ways to implement the following teaching:

“… speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4.15, 16)

We are learning to work as individual parts that are joined and held together. The goal for this growth is stated in verse 13 as “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” So, when we get together we speak the truth in love, and truly help one another towards that goal.  Only people who truly attain "the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" or are truly making progress towards that goal, can actually inspire others to want to listen to the gospel and become members of His church.

During the days of Walter’s departure, Michael Montalvo, Bammel’s Connecting minister, has been here, and it was exciting to find out that we are essentially doing the same things as ministers (we are essentially obeying the same Master). It was great to get to share a little bit about the work and how we felt.

We also had the visit of David Jones, the youngest of Walter's sons.  His participation in the funeral services was moving, everybody was touched by his remarks regarding how much Walter had influenced him to give him direction in his life.  David made a significant contribution to this work out of his appreciation for this ministry in which Walter was involved so highly.  He also helped Myrna get her vehicle situation solved and took care of her online banking.