Summer plans

Hello friends! The ministry at the Seaport church has kept Raquel and me busy, but it’s been a blessing to the the Lord at work. We had visitors a couple of months ago (a very rare occurance). Two sisters contacted me by phone, and later came to church that weekend. One of them comes from an evangelical church, and one of them is Catholic. But since that Sunday they have come almost every week, and they are always extremely attentive. They are hearing the Gospel on a consistent basis, and they always follow along in the Bibles we’ve given them. Please pray for their souls. We really hope to see them get saved and form a part of the body of our church.

Service at Seaport Baptist Church

Service at Seaport Baptist Church

Cleaning day at church

Cleaning day at church

Raquel passed her end-term Basque certification, and has made excellent progress. I married a very sharp cookie! She is now working again at the pharmacy where she was last year, so Basque classes are on pause for the summer. She’s made friends with a lot of the other students, so pray that she’ll be able to keep up those friendships and follow them up with Gospel-sharing opportunities.

I recently finished publishing a Basque-English version of the Christian childrens’ book God’s Extraordinary Home, written by Jonathan and Lorena Templeton. They are missionaries in a nearby province who are quite prolific in writing Christian literature for children. Now there’s a Spanish version, a bilingual Spanish-English version, and a Basque-English version. I’d recommend checking them out, especially if you know of a family with children who speak Spanish.

Children's book in Basque

Children’s book in Basque

As I write this, I’m preparing to leave for the States for a work trip. I’m grateful for the many ways the Lord is providing for Raquel and me. But this summer I will be returning to the US for a couple of months to work. I will be doing construction in Florida. It isn’t a decision Raquel and I made lightly, but we believe it’s what God wants me to do right now. We have some upcoming expenses that we can’t afford with the money we receive in ministry support. And while I teach English classes during the school year, this summer will the be only chance I have to go work like this. Right now Roy and Lou Ann Keiser are working with us at the Seaport church, but after this summer I will be the only pastor at of the church, so I won’t have the same flexibility. Please pray for us this summer, that the Lord would protect me as I work, and that he’d continue to provide for us so we can serve Him in Spain.

Thank you as always for your faithful prayers and support. We are so privileged to be part of the Lord’s plan for the Basque Country, and it is in large part thanks to you all.

God bless,
David & Raquel
Ps. 34:3

Coffee and cupcakes at church

Coffee and cupcakes at church

Pasajes, the view 100 yards from church

Pasajes, the view 100 yards from church

Seaport Baptist Church

Hello friends, thank you for your prayers!

The Basque Country has very few Bible-preaching churches. In our province of Gipuzkoa (which is a little smaller than the state of Rhode Island), there are 3 Baptist churches of like-minded belief. There is close fellowship among these churches. For the past 5 years, Roy and Lou Ann Keiser, veteran missionaries serving in Iglesia Bautista Bíblica del Puerto, Israel (the Spanish pastor of the Irun church) and I have been praying about the future leadership of the Puerto church as the Keisers neared retirement. They are now preparing to sell their home here and return to the United States, so Raquel and I have begun helping to lead the Puerto church ministry during the transition period. When they retire, I will stay behind as the only pastor of “Seaport Baptist Church.” It is in the outskirts of San Sebastian, the capital city of our province. We are still very involved in the Irun ministry, but our priority is now the spiritual growth of our new church family. Raquel and I are very excited about the responsibility we are taking on, so more than ever we ask for your prayers!

Preaching at our church

Preaching at our church

Raquel and me with Roy and Lou Ann Keiser

Raquel and me with Roy and Lou Ann Keiser

In addition to the two local church ministries, Raquel and I are really trying to make a difference in Spain in the areas of publishing music and books. God has gifted Raquel musically, and I’ve been able to learn a lot about book publication over quite a few years, and we believe there is a lot of work to be done to provide Christian music and books to believers in Spain. Most of the Christian material available in Spanish was produced with Latin American audiences in mind. And while Spanish is spoken in many different countries, there is a large cultural gap between these countries despite the shared language. Additionally, many books translated from English into Spanish have very poor editorial quality. There is a real need for more resources in native Spanish. For quite a few years now, I have helped Christian authors in America publish their books. This has been a secondary source of income for us. But now more and more I am focusing on material for Christians in Spain, where the need is much greater. In the last few months I’ve edited and published a book for a young Christian lady in the Irun church who compiled a book of devotional thoughts for women, and I’ve also been helping another missionary couple, Jonathan and Lorena Templeton, that is writing Gospel books for children. I’m also working with my father Andy to get his books published in Spanish.

Dinner with the Templeton family

Dinner with the Templeton family

Raquel and I are working on a couple of musical projects as well, hoping to get quality Christian music into the hearts of believers in Spain. We’re talking with other people here (who have better singing voices than I do!) about recording music in Spanish. We’ve of course been heavily involved with the church choir at Irun, and hope to see that ministry continue to grow.

Recent Easter cantata with the Irun church

Recent Easter cantata with the Irun church

When we joined the Keisers at the Puerto church at the beginning of the year, we decided that it would be best for Raquel to leave her job at the pharmacy in Irun. She wanted to be freer to give more of her time and energy to the added responsibility and ministry needs of the Puerto church. I have taken on some English classes in order to keep us economically stable, but we’re tremendously grateful to several individuals who have started supporting our ministry monthly. With their support we are able to stay on the field. We’re praying for additional support from churches, but I am so thankful we haven’t had to leave the field to do extensive raising of support. God is incredibly good at providing for His children!

Now that she is not working at the pharmacy, Raquel has signed up for intensive Basque classes! The people in the Basque country speak their own native language apart from Spanish. We both believe that the more we’re able to communicate in the Basque language, the more integrated we’ll be able to be in this unique culture. Please pray for Raquel, as Basque is a very complicated language to learn! She’s already had gospel opportunities through her classes, and we trust the Lord will keep providing more chances to share the good news.

Raquel studying for her Basque class
Raquel studying for her Basque class

Thank you for your faithful prayer for us. We are counting on it!

God bless, David & Raquel
Ps. 34:3