January 2010

I. Assembly Measures




Total attendance to the Sunday PM service is actually higher because we count only those who didn’t come in the morning.

Due to recent additions of Christians moving their membership to the Heredia church, the total number now includes 102 adults, 17 teenagers, and 23 children (142 members). The difference between the average attendance and the total in the list is due to the irregular attendance of some (142-107=35). Some of them haven’t come for quite a while, and others skip a lot. Sometimes we are tempted to strike their names out, but then we hesitate, because eventually they would show up. We are working on a database to be able to distribute names and phone numbers to those members who would be interested in restoring this difficult sector of the membership.

Combined contribution (AM + PM) for the month was $1943,24. Expenses went up to $1104,61.

II. Study Measures




Visitors in the Northwest Bible study include three men who have become regular. Only one of them attends church though. Work with these men includes long hours of counseling and dealing with marriage and family problems. Other visitors include the non-baptized children of the host family. Roxana and I are presently working with one of the daughters in this family, helping her struggle with personal issues (she is a child from a previous marriage). On top of this she had to quit college and take a job. Then she was fired after the three months trial period, and just recently another company hired her. We are having special sessions with her to help her feel loved and appreciated. We also encourage her to accept responsibility for her own life and help her understand that life doesn’t have to be easy.

Visitors in the Northeast Bible study include two men who have become regular attendants to the Sunday pm service. Their wives are members of the church. The fact that their husbands are attending tells a lot about their testimony. There are about three families involved in this Bible Study group.

III. Miscellaneous Narrative

We continued to have meetings on Wednesdays from 6:00 am to 7:00 am. There were between 5 and 7 men. During this month we were able to get two more men involved. We decided to call this group Men with Problems. We are praying for one another and helping one another with personal, marriage, and family problems. I am excited about being able to help these men; we need them to be doing really well spiritually, if we are ever going to have leaders in the church.

Part of December and the whole of January is when students have their “Summer School Break.” This congregation devotes one day to celebrate with the children. So Roxana and two of the girls gave of themselves to prepare a party for the children. 22 children and 22 adults attended. It was the day for their “piñata.” It was quite a bit of work. I am sure the children appreciated it.

Bob and Marion Marlow, and Geoff Casella were here four days and three nights. It was a great opportunity for the local church, my family, and I to renew our friendship with our sponsoring congregation. Without their support and oversight we would be seriously limited to continue with this work. It was encouraging to have them come and see for themselves the work they are sponsoring. We had the opportunity to exchange our points of view about mission work. Bob taught the Northwest Bible Study. Geoff was able to teach eight of the men who meet on Saturday evening. Thank you Bob, Marion and Geoff for coming to Costa Rica to see how we were doing. Your visit was very important for us here. Support without oversight would not be as meaningful.

December 2009 Report

December 2009

I. Assembly Measures



The numbers are actually higher than expected. In previous years, total attendance would go down to 75 in December, due to many families taking school vacation.

I shared the preaching responsibilities with three brothers during the month. One of them is Andrés Hernánez, 24, an engineer. After his message, seven people came forward asking for prayers, and Andrés was able to minister to them without my assistance. Andrés is one of the leaders of the Youth Group.

Contribution for the month was $1433,76. Expenses went up to $2.287,73.



Auxiliadora, already mentioned in previous reports, passed way on December 30th. When her name was first brought up to our attention, we were told that this could happen anytime. Her sister, a member of the church in Managua, Nicaragua, called Damaris Astorga to let her know about Auxiliadora living in Heredia, and needing Bible studies. Her sister was afraid that she would die without having met the Lord. Damaris in turn called me, and soon she was studying with us and attending the Sunday evening worship services. Before she was baptized she was instrumental in the baptism of three ladies, two of which are still faithful (see more about Auxiliadora in the August, 2009 report).

III. Miscellaneous Narrative

We continue to have meetings on Wednesdays at 6:00 a.m. The last time we had this meeting, there were 4 men. During these meetings we are now praying for our spiritual needs (Hebrew 3:12, 13). These meetings are very effective to help us stay focused on our spiritual growth.

The meetings on Saturdays at 5 p.m. when we study “The Measure of a Man” (the 20 biblical requirements for elders), have been attracting up to 15 men. During the last month we paid special attention to assuming responsibilities like visiting the sick (James 5:14, 15). So, a special effort was made to coordinate these visits, and many blessings were enjoyed as the people visited were encouraged and responded with thanksgiving and faithfulness.

The Youth Group had a Camp activity of three days in La Fortuna, near the Arenal Volcano. 22 members from Heredia and 6 from La Fortuna attended. Raquel Ulate coordinated the activity, and carried it out with Andrés Hernández, Rebeca Ulate, and Julio Torrentes, the other Youth Group leaders.

November 2009

I. Assembly Measures



A new record of total attendance was reached on November 8. The unusual number of 37 visitors includes two families from other congregations that have placed membership with us. Other visitors are members from other congregations who wanted to worship with us on that day.

The attendance on Sunday evening continues to be significant. The lowest number was 15 members on November 29. These were members who did not attend in the morning. If they had done so, it would have been very difficult to handle such a crowd. So the decision of having two services continues to be a good idea.

The low number on November 22 is unusual. I don’t have an explanation. It happens now and then.

Total contribution: $2017,58. Total expenses: $1862,98.

II. Study Measures

November 2009
Cell Group Members Visitors
Northeast 20 3
Northwest 12 2
Heredia Church of Christ 15 2

The downtown group didn’t meet during this month. Some of the participants had problems with immigration, and moved to another location. Their attendance to church has suffered too. One of the ladies separated from her unbelieving husband. They have two children and it hurts to see them hurting.

The Northwest group has met for a year and a half already. Some family members continue to need more Bible study to be able to make a decision. Two men who are friends of Roberto Ulate continue to participate with interest. One of my neighbors is becoming regular in the attendance to this Bible Study.


III. Miscellaneous Narrative

There was one baptism on November 15. A young Nicaraguan immigrant was in a bus on his way to Costa Rica. Next to him sat Hamlet, a brother from a church in Managua, who was coming to attend the 25th Iberian American Lectures (see next paragraph). This brother preached the gospel to the young immigrant, who happened to be a resident in Heredia. So, when the lectures were over, this brother came to worship with us, and we let him baptize the immigrant. The Youth Group has reached out to the young convert. The brother from Nicaragua has called us to make sure we are taking care of him.

I was invited to speak at the Iberian American Lectures. The church in Sabanilla hosted them. More than 100 brethren from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world attended. They were here for one week. I was able to fellowship with Carlos Ingles, Bammel missionary in Colombia, who was here for the Lectures. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the work we are involved in.

Bruno Valle, preacher in Managua, Nicaragua, a close friend of mine, was in Heredia for three days. He preached for us on November 15th. Bruno is a great speaker and lecturer. His presentations both at the Iberian American Lectures and at the church in Heredia were outstanding. He really knows how to present lessons about the love and the power of God. We spent lots of time together, and were able to influence one another in the Lord. He really challenged me to pray more and have more faith in the power of God. Bruno and I are close friends because back in the 90’s he and I were self-supported preachers at the Hatillo congregation for about 4 years.

Walter Jones was diagnosed with leukemia on November 1st. Walter just turned 84 this year. The doctor saw the blood tests and said that due to his age, he only had three months to live, if no treatment was given. The following day he had to be given a transfusion because his hemoglobin count was too low. Other numbers were too high. So, the doctor prescribed a moderate dose of chemo pills. He was due for new tests two weeks later, and the numbers turned out more favorable. We are really excited about Walter, and about the way he feels. He is improving little by little. This recovery has really impacted the church, and we are all excited because the Lord has been listening to our prayers.

September and October 2009

I Assembly Measures

Total attendance to Sunday worship services continues to be a key record to analyze growth. The Sunday totals from the first Sunday of February to the last Sunday of October, are shown in the graphic below. The high numbers in weeks 26 and 27 include 23 visitors from Cedar Hill, Texas. It is very evident that when we had only one service on Sunday, it was difficult to have more than 100 people. Now that we have two services, we are consistently above this mark. The low number in week 24 is due to a school break, when many members were out of town.





There is always a high number of visitors. We don’t seem to have enough workers to reach out to all of them. This seems to be a problem with most congregations. Congregations that succeed reaching out to the lost are those where a large number of members grow spiritually to take on this responsibility

There are 133 names in the list of members (including children). However, only 97 of them could be considered “regular.” 5 members have said their present job on Sunday keeps them from attending. 16 are “irregular.” 5 are “occasional.” They rarely come to church. 10 seem to have quit altogether. So there are 36 people who could use some shepherding. Again, we don’t seem to have enough workers for such a task. Elders are sorely needed.

Regarding elders, we continue to have the Saturday afternoon classes for men. There is an average of 16 men attending. We are studying the requirements for elders. We still have 10 more requirements to study.

II Study Measures

The Downtown Bible Study produced one baptism. This is Auxiliadora, a lady who has been very effective leading others to Christ, even before she was baptized. The Northeast Bible Study produced another baptism. This is a 15 year old girl, the daughter of one of the leaders of the church. This is the only Bible study where I am not involved.

August 2009 Monthly Report

Assembly Measures

The attendance numbers for the first two Sundays of August include the 23 visitors from the Cedar Hill church (see report below). I have to credit Roberto Ulate for collecting this data on a list of members I give him every Sunday.

Fig. 1 Sunday afternoon service (August 30th, 2009)

In the last Sunday afternoon service of the month, on August 30th, there were 23 people attending. 19 of these were people who didn’t come in the morning. In other words, this is how many seats were released in the morning. Now we don’t see so many people seating outside, on the sidewalk in the morning. However, the greatest benefit is a higher overall attendance. The highest attendance reached when services were not divided into two services was 115 on May 10, 2009. Now that we have two services, our attendance is steadily rising and the highest so far is 119 on August 30th. This is overall attendance to at least one Sunday service. In other words we are not adding 23 to the morning attendance, we are adding 19 to the morning attendance, because 4 people who came to the second service, had come to the morning service. I guess the decision of having two services is beginning to pay off —it is not so crowded in the morning, and we are reaching out to more people.

Total collection of offering was $2.313,49. Total expenses during the same period went up to $2.219,50. This figure includes extra remodeling expenses, first payment of the video beam, and attention given to group from Cedar Hill. The balance at the end of August is $1.727,00.

Fig. 2. Part of group from Cedar Hill preparing to go campaigning

As I had mentioned in the July report, a group of 23 members of the Cedar Hill church, Texas, were welcomed in our homes and church during the first 10 days of August. Ron McClung, former missionary to Costa Rica, led them. Ron had contacted me with the idea of bringing a group to give us a hand with evangelism and marriage counseling. Within our philosophy of mission (theirs and ours) it is contemplated that missionaries stay in the homes of members of the local church, and not in hotels. So, the homes of Roberto Ulate, Walter Jones, Damaris Astorga, Miriam Brenes, and mine, were blessed by having them most of those 10 days (they made a two day trip to La Fortuna).
The group handed out fliers in Heredia and the Campus of Universidad Nacional. The fliers offered an invitation to have a personal Bible study in English or Spanish. More than 20 new contacts were made as people called in response to the invitation, and came to the church building during most of the days that the group was in town. They came for Bible study and fellowship. The names and phone numbers of these contacts were assigned to local members, and we are hoping that some of them will continue to accept Bible studies.
Also, a movie called “Fireproof” was shown on Sunday night after the evening service on August 2nd. This movie tells the story of a marriage that was saved by the Lord. More than 100 people, mostly visitors, attended that night. Then, on the following three nights, Ron presented a series of lessons for couples. Close to 100 people attended each night. Ron’s Spanish was perfect for the presentations, as he knows most of the Costa Rican idioms. As a result of this series, several of the husbands who are not members, did come and now materials are being provided with the hope of raising their interest in the Lord’s help for their marriages.
Matt Helm, the Youth minister of the Cedar Hill church, preached on that Sunday afternoon, and several people came forward. Later in the month, Roberto and I studied with three of the ladies who came forward that night and they have already been baptized. Auxiliadora, a lady about whom I reported in July, had contacted these ladies. Roberto and I are now studying with two of the husbands in the new downtown group (see narrative on study measures).
I have to credit Roxana Ulate for handling all the logistics related to the visiting group from Cedar Hill. Roxana was my assistant. She did a great job, making all the phone calls, writing emails, arranging for meals, organizing transportation, etc. I don’t think I would have been able to handle so many loose ends. She kept me updated with stuff and continually reminded me of things.


Study Measures

The people contacted by Auxiliadora became a group Bible study that meets on Sunday night after the evening service in downtown Heredia. We have had three sessions. There have been 3 baptisms. Auxiliadora herself is still struggling with the decision. It is ironic that the people she invited have already become members, and she hasn’t. She is struggling with serious heart disease and diabetes. Robin Worsham, a medical doctor, and Garrin Elwell, a girl, from the Cedar Hill group, visited Auxiliadora and encouraged her a lot.
Damaris Astorga is reaching out to one wife who is not a member. She has had several Bible studies with her. This is the wife of Eduardo, someone Walter had reached out to along with Freddy Astorga. Walter tells me this was the last person Freddy baptized. Also, Andrés Hernández and Mindy are reaching out to Adonis, Roberto and Noris’s son. Andrés and Mindy are leaders of the Youth Group, and have taken the initiative of bringing Bible studies to this teenager.
A Leadership Training Series was started. We are studying Gene Getz' The Measure of a Man. This book was a gift given to Walter Jones by Mike Montalvo. The sessions meet on Saturday at 5:30 pm. We had the attendance of 17 men to the first session and 16 men to the second session. Gene Getz’ book is great for Christian men. Each chapter is devoted to one of the requirements for elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. We are covering a different requirement in each session. There is interest. At least 16 of the men are participating. Roberto and I now have the opportunity to influence more directly this group of men.
The recently baptized man whom I had reported in July as having fallen away made it back! We hope he has done so for good. Roberto and I continue to meet every Wednesday morning for an hour and sometimes for more than an hour for prayer and encouragement.

July 2009 Report

Assembly measures:


The month of July is atypical. It is the month when the public school system has a break of two weeks between semesters. This year, however, was extended to three weeks due to the swine flu scare. Many members use this time to take a family vacation. Many families were gone out of town. So, this explains the decrease in attendance with respect to June 09.

My brother Roberto and I went on with the “elder training program.” We continued to have our weekly prayer for ourselves, for members who requested prayers for specific needs, for analysis of the membership, etc. It has been a great time for growth, reflection, and development of sensitivity to the members’ needs. Roberto and I draw strength from one another as we pray for our own needs, and build up one another spiritually.

The “Facilities Committee” carried out their remodeling project. It cost close to 1.500 dollars. They remodeled the kitchen, the restrooms, and repaired the auditorium. A day of work was called and more than 10 responded with great energy. A lot of overdue cleaning was carried out and many minor repairs were done. I wish I had a “before” and an “after” picture to show you the difference!

The amount of people coming to Sunday evening services fluctuates between 7 and 10. This are members who don’t come in the morning, so we are talking about that number of spaces being released for the morning services.

Study Measures:


The Southeast group hasn’t gone on due to lack of leadership. The brother in charge has been slacking in attendance himself, due to personal problems. We are helping him recover spiritually. There is hope for his full restoration. The brothers and sisters who used to meet are interested in continuing to have this meeting, but the workers are few.

Another group we didn’t continue is the Southwest group. This is a family we had been meeting with. They are attending normally. The visitors, however, did not show interest, so we decided to move on to study with other people. Another group Bible study could be started somewhere else. Again, the workers continue to be few, and this is a situation we will continue to have until enough workers are trained.

Some people didn’t continue to study with us. The ex-congressman lost interest because he got back with the woman he was divorcing. So, his emotional needs are being met that way, and his friendship with us is not that important to him now. A man who was baptized recently has not come back due to the same reason! I can’t believe how easily a young Christian gives up his salvation for a relationship that hurts him.

The Lord is giving us more people to study with. There is a group of 5 Nicaraguans we started studying with, and soon we will hear about baptisms from that group. This group was contacted by Auxiliadora, a lady from Nicaragua, whose Christian sister wrote to us asking us to reach out to her. Auxiliadora is suffering from a serious heart condition (physically), she continues to study with us.

On July 31st a group of 23 members of the Cedar Hills church was welcomed in our homes and church. They would be working for 10 days in our midst, trying to make contacts and do evangelistic work. More about this in the August, 2009 report.

Sunday morning and Sunday evening (July 12th, 2009)

Today was the first Sunday when were able to implement the two services plan. 82 people attended in the morning, and 18 attended at night. There were 10 members who did not attend the morning services and were part of the 18 people who attended at night. So there were 8 of us repeating at night. This means that there was more room in the morning.

Overal attendance went down to 92 people (we were having well above 100 people attending every Sunday morning). This is due to a school break between semesters, and half of the absentees are gone out of town for vacation. We hope that by having more room in the morning services, this will encourage growth in the morning.

With 82 attending, the morning service still presented overcrowded conditions. It was still kind of hot, and some babies were crying.

Some people who came in the morning were concerned that we now have a divided church. They said they were going to miss the people who were coming only at night. So I asked them to write a note to those who would come at night. 5 members wrote beautiful notes to those coming at night. There were expressions like this: "We miss you, we hope that meeting at different times will not divide us, we thank you for leaving room in the morning services to accomodate more visitors, etc." The people at night were moved when I read the notes written to them.

"Eldering our way to the eldership"

Roberto my brother and I got together for prayer on Wednesday morning from 6 am to 7:30 am. It was very meaningful to go over the whole list of 126 members and 12 people who are being contacted. 30 people didn't come. Some of these do not come regularly. 18 people had submitted requests for prayers on their behalf. We kept remembering Matthew 9:36-38:

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

The workers are really few. The task is greater than us. We truly need to depend on the Lord.

Roberto and I handed the prayer request slips back to them who had submitted, along with a note of encouragement, a Scripture, and reassurance that their request had been presented to the Lord, and asking them to let us know of changes of their situation. For some of them this was very encouraging, and really lifted their spirits up. For us, it was a privilege, and we felt greatly encouraged by the fact that we are doing this pastoring work. When I was commenting to one of the US people visiting Barva about this, I told him that "we are eldering our way to the eldership."

Campaign in Barva (July 7th and 8th, 2009)

A few members from the Heredia church supported a campaign carried out by the Barva church. Barva is a town just North of Heredia. Joaquín Rojas is the preacher there. Supported by churches from Tennessee, Joaquín welcomes a group of North Americans once a year to do evangelistic work with the local church. Minor Perez, from Calle Blancos preached on the 7th to 135 people present, and Diego Rojas preached on the 8th to 157 people present.

On the second night Roberto Ulate brought 5 people we are studying with. Roberto picked them up and took them back home. This brother has been such a great support to me and the church in Heredia.

Campaign in Grecia (July 6th, 2009)

My brother Roberto, a friend of us, and I went to Grecia last evening. Grecia is a town of the province of Alajuela. I had been invited to preach for a Gospel Meeting. There were close to 100 people present.

After I finished preaching, three came forward asking for prayers of deliverance and forgiveness. Our friend, the excongressman came forward among those three! My brother Roberto and I were so excited to see this response from him. God's Word is really powerful! He, of course, was not prepared for a decision yet, but it just confirmed that the Bible studies are helping him well.

It was a great opportunity to renew our friendship with Teodoro, the local preacher, Ivan his brother and song leader of the night. Ronald, Lalo, Nidia, Ana, Julio, Élida, Gerzom, Roberto, Ricardo and many others whose names I should have written. The ladies had supper prepared for us. It was very refreshing when the three of us sat at the table along with Ronald, a local brother, who led the prayer for the blessing.

We also had the opportunity to spend some time with brother Larry Watson, elder of the Paragould Church of Christ in Arkansas. Brother Watson and the congregation behind him have been supporting this work for more than ten years. They are the main force behind the Jenny Sue camping facility between Sarchí and Grecia. It is with great sacrifice from him and his family that brother Watson has been able to start this work and they are the ones keeping it. It was very encouraging to spend this time with brother Watson, as we discussed some issues related to the work in Paragould and the work in Heredia. He gave us some insight about what pastors do to take care of the sheep. He explained that they are a congregation of 600 members, that there are 6 elders, and each of them is responsible for praying for a share of 100 members. They also handle prayer requests from members.

The Gospel Meeting itself was very encouraging. The singing was led by brother Ivan. He came across very stately, and was able to lead us in inspiring singing. Then I was asked to present my lesson. The main text was Psalms 121:1, 2. I used the idea of help from the Lord coming in the form of righteousness, and stressed the need for us to develop an attitude of hungering and thirsting for righteousness (Matthew 5.6). This needed attitude is developed when we understand that we don't have righteousness, that we are not righteous, that there is no difference between sinner and sinner (Romans 3.22). I had to explain that "no difference" means that God judges not only the actions, He judges the thoughts in our hearts, and if we are honest, we must accept that we are just as guilty as the "chief of sinners," (1 Timothy 1.15, NASB). Then I went on to talk about Romans 3.9, 10, and 3.21-26. Our help from the Lord comes in the form of righteousness through Jesus carrying the burden of our sins on the cross (2 Corinthians 5.21). Finally, I explained how this help from the Lord is what Jesus calls the Gospel, which he commanded to be preached and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved (Mark 16.16).

June 2009 Report

Assembly Measures
(Click on the table for a clearer image)

There was one baptism this month. This is a 23 year old girl, a baby sitter, who was reached out by the group from Guararí, the Nicaraguan ghetto, that meets on Sunday evening. The people around her were very supportive and kept giving her a great example of commitment and dedication, so this made it easy for her to make a decision. No pressure whatsoever was exerted, it was just the pure gospel being taught to her personally that convinced her. The good thing is that she continues to study with us every Thursday morning, because she starts working at 11 a. m. So, this is keeping her faithful.

My brother Roberto and I started the “elder training program.” With God’s help, this is what we are doing: We are asking the church members to submit petitions for prayer, with their names and their specific needs. Then Roberto and I meet on Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. During the meeting we go over the whole list of 120 members, discuss a little bit about them, and then make a separate list of those who missed services. Then we alternate praying for each member who missed services and each member who submitted a petition. After the prayer, we select at least one family to be visited during the week. During the visit we explain that we are there because we feel a responsibility to care for them spiritually, we are there to listen to them and hear about their needs, and then pray for them.

This is proving to be great encouragement for members who had slacked in their attendance, and a great opportunity for us to be trained to be elders. Once Roberto and I feel that we have enough training in doing this “shepherding work,” we may split and each one of us will take another potential elder to be trained the same way. We have done this during the last two weeks and are very excited about the results.

According to the plan originally submitted to Bammel, I had thought about installing elders by the year 2014. This is because I was thinking in terms of setting up a program by which some men would be trained with lessons on theological subjects, during a period of one or two years. After looking more closely to Jesus’ method of training, my vision has changed. I see Jesus doing the actual job along with the trainees. God is full of surprises; he may surprise us with elders long before that year. This doesn’t mean the formal classes will not be taught. We may set up Saturday mornings for such classes, but we don’t have enough would be elders yet. I am thinking in terms of ten men.

We are still meeting in the same place. A “Facilities Committee” of 5 members was elected and prayed for before the church in June. 3 ladies and 2 single adults make it up. This was a goal for the third quarter of this year. The need for better facilities obligated us to carry it out during the second quarter. So, we applied the principles of Acts 6. The church selected seven members of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we put in charge of the facilities task, so that we the leaders could devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word, because it is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to worry about the facilities (paraphrase of Acts 6:2-4). The members selected were Miriam Brenes de Hernández, Carmen Bonilla, Noris Milanés de Ulate, Michael Chacón, and Isaac Montero. They are working on the option of moving the eastern wall to make more room, and already have a proposal to be presented to us.

We finally acquired a video beam. Andrés Hernández, one of the single adults in charge of the Youth Group, had offered to use his credit card to buy it, and 33 working members committed themselves to pay for it in a period of 12 weeks, which is the maximum to pay for it free of interest. Andrés led the initiative by presenting a plan for each of those members paying close to 4 dollars each Sunday, on top of the regular contribution. So, I already presented the first two lessons with videos and slides support!

Study Measures
Cell Group Members/Visitors
Northeast 15-19/ 1-2
Southeast n.d./ n.d
Northwest 9-12 /1-2
Southwest 5-9/ 1-2
Heredia Church of Christ 14-19 / 1-2

My brother Roberto and I have had three Bible studies with a man who used to be a congressman. He was looking for Roberto to divorce him of his sixth wife. Apparently, this man’s life has gotten very complicated, and now he wants to settle down. He seems to be very sincere in his desire to study the Scriptures with us. He lives in a mansion, so we go to his mansion once a week, and have become friends of him. He loves us and we love him. This man may prove to be a key member because, being a politician and a businessman, he has connections to important strata of the Heredia population.

There are 10 people we are having Bible Study with, either in group or individually.

On Saturday, June 13, my brother Roberto and I drove to Guápiles as I was invited to preach that night for the gospel meeting they hold every year in that location. Guápiles is across the mountains, an hour and a half to the North of Heredia. I preached on Saturday evening and on Sunday evening. Also, I translated for the English speaking Sunday School teacher and the preacher. There were more than one hundred people on Sunday morning and close to one hundred in the evenings. I was able to spend time with my brother Roberto and his son Joshua. I also spent time with brother Tom Brandon an elder from a church in, Alabama. Roberto was very interested in getting to know from Tom about the work of elders in the States.

The ladies who meet on Thursday morning, have been using their meeting time to split in two groups to visit other ladies. This week they went and visited members who had been discouraged by family situations. Roxana, Mirna, Socorro, Noris, and Damaris are leading these efforts. They are reaching out to ladies in their homes, and creating a lot of good will. They organized one baby shower for a young lady who lost her husband after ten months of marriage. She was pregnant and has been working as a waitress in a small restaurant. Thankfully she lives with her grandma. The ladies were able to provide her with lots of gifts. One lady gave her a cash gift. 40 ladies came to the event at Roberto’s home. Noris, his wife, taught the lesson.

Midweek Bible Study (June 18th, 2009)

21 attended this Bible study. These include 3 children and one teenager. Bible Study centered on the question from Romans 8.31: "If God is for us, who is against us?"The main idea was that God is willing to give us all things along with Jesus. We talked about what "all things" by using Phillippians 4 and Matthew 6:33.

Personal Bible Study (Wednesday, Jun2 17)

A personal Bible Study that had been announced for Monday, June 15, was postponed to Wednesday, June 17. The person we studied with was an ex-congressman. At first, when I was using my Bible, he would not be really interested. So, I asked him if he had a Bible himself. He was very quick to answer that he had a Bible his mother had inherited to him. So he went right away and got it. This changed the tone of the Bible study, because this time he was very interested in reading the passages. We centered on Hebrew 9 and 10, where it talks about Christ's sacrifice having been carried out once and for all. A lot of emphasis was made on the the power of the blood of Christ to cleanse our consciences from sin. I stressed this a lot because, being a Catholic, this man needs to understand the difference between the teaching of the Bible, and the teachings of the Vatican.