Monday, June 28, 2010
Miriam Brenes, a member you can count on
Saturday, June 26, 2010
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.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Three meaningful activities
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.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
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.
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 (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.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, January 1, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, December 7, 2009
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.
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.
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