Its July here, and another great month to be here involved in the ministry at Emmanuel Baptist Church. What a whirlwind of activities.
We kicked the month off by clearing out the church closet in the back of the church, and knocking the wall out, extending the church building and adding space for about 15 more seats. We are experiencing rapid growth in our church, and its amazing to see these additional seats filled every Sunday!
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| Pastor/Missionary Adam Fridenstine Taking the first swing. |
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Students, staff, and church members worked hard to knock the
wall down in record time! |
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| Showing them how its done! |
We followed that by taking the 4th off from school and spending it with other missionary families from around the country and a few of their family members who were here visiting from the U.S. It was so nice to be surrounded by red white and blue decor, food, and friends and to celebrated the freedoms that we have as Americans, no matter where we are. What a delight to fellowship with old friends and make new ones! God Bless America!
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| Amazing dessert spread for the 4th. Red White and Blue! |
Because it is summer time and there is no school in the U.S. right now, its the perfect time to have additional college classes here for us! Bro. Lester arrived from Lancaster, California and Pastor Lester from Georgia (Bro. Lester's father) came for a visit as well, and was able to preach to us on Sunday. Its been a great experience to share with them a little bit more of this beautiful country and its people. Things certainly pick up when WCBC classes are going, as there are usually around 20 people that come in from around the country and Honduras to further their Bible knowledge, and college education. It is oh so fun to see them learn and grow!
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| Pastor Lester preaching |
Also here this month for a missions trip were members from a Korean church in Los Angeles. It was great to have the opportunity to see the students interact with them, and to show them what God is doing here at Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel. They were able to go soulwinning/door knocking with us, as well as help us host a teen activity with many visitors, and a great message/challenge afterwards. What a blessing to have them here with us!
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| Nathan Kang from Los Angeles with some of the 8th grade boys. |
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| Starting the event off right with food! |
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| Followed by games... |
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| games..... |
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| More games..... |
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| fun time with everyone, even the pastor.... |
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| .....and the preaching! Great night! |
I am fortunate to live in a neighborhood with a lot of kids and I have been able to befriend a lot of them. Word gets around after a bit...one thing leads to another...and before you know it, they are coming over one after the other. Its been fun to have some of my students in my home this month, teaching them how to play some games, swap cultural differences, and even teach them how to make some yummy treats. What a delight and honor it is to be able to invest in young people. Please pray that they will return. I take comfort in knowing that they feel they are welcome to spend time with me, rather than on the streets.
I have been encouraging more and more of my students from school to attend the church (unlike some private christian schools these kids are not required) and this month has seen Douglas, one of my 9th graders, come and visit. Praise the Lord!
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Pastor and 9th grader, Douglas, attending church
with us for the first time! |
650 boxes filled with gifts for our school students, church kids, and teachers alike have arrived! Additionally, we received around 300 Bibles with them! We got them from customs in the pouring down rain, but with the help of about 15 people, moved and packed it into our garage in about 30 minutes. After we opened the boxes of Bibles, we discovered that in spite of the downpour, only the boxes had gotten wet, but the Bibles were untouched. Isn't God good?
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Students, church members and Pastor Lester and I,
ready to unload boxes! |
The number of church members that are making time in their schedules to come door knocking with us has steadily increased. What a great joy its been to watch teens and adults alike come and join with us as we invite others in the beautiful city of Cojutepeque to church, and to Christ.
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| The Barrera family during weekly soul winning, inviting people to church! |
Growing up, I've only had a dog once when I was really young. Fortunately, we have a small back yard with a little garden. . .just enough space for our new rabbit Pepicito! This should be interesting!
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| Pepicito! |
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