“I am counting on you to help me” were the words of Juan one day before he was to be released from jail. Those words made me squirm because they sounded as if I was going to be in the pickle jar if things didn’t turn out right. Sure enough, Juan called me the following morning but with the news that he found work standing outside a mall holding a sign for 5 hours for $40. I picked him up after his work and Juan immediately offered me the $40 that he had earned. I told him to save it for rent or food. I drove him to Eduardo’s house, a church member who said would take him in. The following morning Juan got on a bus to go to Bellingham to report to his parole officer. That was the last we saw of Juan. I kicked myself later for not taking that $40. At the same time, Juan someday has to learn to take care of himself. I prayed for Juan. He had made a commitment to Jesus in the jail. Two weeks later Juan shows up at the door of Eduardo and asked to be given another chance. Pray for Juan as he tries to make a new life.
“Brother Jose, could you come over to our house, my husband has a lot of pain and wouldn’t go to the hospital.” He had had a pain in his abdomen for a week and had not eaten in several days. After assessing the situation, I took Manuel to the Emergency Room and after an 8 hour wait he had his appendix taken out. It is not uncommon for people to ask me about medical issues because they do not trust doctors. Earlier this same week, Manuel had sort of a seizure while driving through Seattle on the freeway with his family of 8 in the car. The car swerved into the adjacent lane but with God’s help the passenger in the front seat managed to pull the car over. Manuel was incapable of driving home. The wife can’t drive so the 16 year drove home. He had never driven on the freeway before. My wife Nellie has enrolled the 16 year old in driver’s training and we are transporting him to his classes every night for the month of December.
It has been so much fun watching the Amor Viviente Church in Lynden grow. There is an excitement that is contagious. Two children were baptized last month, we participated in the Lynden Christmas Parade and new people are coming nearly every Sunday. Many people are coming to know Jesus for the first time and many others are renewing their commitment to the Savior. I thank God that these people are not coming from other churches. I praise God for the many people who teach Sunday school, GEMS, Cadets, as well as help lead worship etc. This is a joint effort.
In the past couple of months, we have had several new people start attending our Vida Nueva Church. God is working his wonders among his people. Continue to pray and financially support this work of God.