Lots of prayer requests!
Hello everyone. Thank you as always for your faithful prayers and support. God has blessed so much this past year, and we’re so grateful for the part you’ve had in our ministry.
Here is this update in video form.
Music has always been a big part of my ministry in Spain. My grandfather, Flay Allen, taught me the dramatic effects that God-honoring music can have on a church. And when God brought me and my wife Raquel together, music was a part of the story. One of the first things we ever did together was sing in a special number together at the camp where we met! Raquel is very talented musically. In fact, she’s been directing all the music at her church in Gandia practically since she was a kid! This Christmas, she’s been busy directing a cantata at her church (once a month, we’d go down and hold a choir practice) as well as preparing for our own cantata here in Irun. We sang in Gandia on Christmas Day, and this Sunday we’ll be presenting our cantata here in Irun in the morning, and then at a nearby church again in the evening. It’ll be a big evangelistic outreach, so pray that it would have an impact for the Gospel!
Raquel leading the cantata in Gandia
Rehearsing for the play at church
I invest a lot of time preparing videos that I upload to our church YouTube channel. I upload messages, special music, and other activities from church. It’s a ministry for those who aren’t always able to make it to the services, but one of my primary reasons for putting in the effort is because of the people who find our church because of videos on YouTube. This spring, for example, a person subscribed to our videos and liked a couple of them. I saw that she worked at a nail salon here in Irun, and I told my soon-to-be wife about her. After we were married and she came to Irun to live, I found the nail salon and encouraged Raquel to get her nails done to see if she could meet whoever it was who had found us on YouTube (I figured Raquel getting her nails done would have a much more natural chance to talk than I would have had!). Sure enough, Raquel struck up a friendship with a girl there and invited her to church. Soon afterwards, she came with her husband and young daughter! As it turns out, the young lady had been saved years before in a Baptist church in Moldovia! Her husband isn’t saved though, and had never stepped in a church before coming to ours. Now they are very happily attending, and we’re praying for the salvation of her husband. Who would have thought that getting your nails done could be a great chance to give the Gospel!
The church in Gandia where Raquel’s father is the pastor has been facing big challenges recently. They have a wonderful church building that’s in a good location and has ample space. However, there have been problems with the neighbors who live right above the auditorium. This fall, the owner above them was doing some remodelling in the house and caused a leak in the roof. This in turn caused the ceiling of the church to get ruined with water damage, and to cave in in one section. The insurance companies involved have been very uncooperative, and to make a long story short, the church had to find another place to hold services. They lost the use of their building for two months. After weeks of waiting and putting in hours upon hours of work to fix the problems, they were able to return to their auditorium, only for the leaks to return after a week of intense rain. Now all the work has been undone, and they are once again in a barely-useable building. Please pray that the Lord would direct them moving forward. They are now praying and looking for a new church building, because they are tired of fighting the insurance companies. But this means a lot of expense and time for a very small church. We are helping them out as much as possible, but Gandia is 6 hours away from Irun, and we aren’t able to visit often to help.
Water damage
Preaching at Gandia
Repainting the walls
Lastly, please pray for Raquel and me as we make plans for 2017. We will be going to the States in the July to try to raise support. Raquel and I are both working, and we are grateful for God’s provision this far, but we are going to have to raise more financial support moving forward. We are supported at 25% of what I believe we need to minister here full-time. We are praying that God would connect us with the right churches and individuals in 2017 so we can return to Spain as soon as possible. Please pray for God’s continued provision here until we travel. We are confident the Lord will continue to provide as He always has, and we’re excited about His plans for the future.
We trust the Lord will keep using each of you in your own ministries around the world. God bless!
David & Raquel
Ps. 34:3
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