Hello friends! I mentioned in our last update that we were hoping to make a trip to the US this summer to raise additional support. Lord willing, we will be traveling to the States in the middle of August, and we plan to be there for two months. We are praying that the Lord will allow us to fill the stay with meetings in new churches. We have had a few churches show interest in having us come to present our ministry, so we’re looking forward to the chance to meet new friends and new ministry partners! I have an online calendar set up here and we’re gradually filling it up with meetings and trips.
This trip will be very different though in that this will be the first time I leave as the pastor of a church. Raquel and I don’t have any co-workers, so it makes leaving the field much more complicated. As difficult as it will be to be away from my church members for two months, we’re grateful that the two nearest independent Baptist churches in our area will be taking over services for us in the meantime. And praise the Lord for WhatsApp and live streaming technology which will allow us to stay in constant contact with our people!
One of the reasons that led us to plan this trip was the decision for Raquel to stop working at her pharmacy. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, as Raquel has a wonderful relationship with everyone there, but we decided it was necessary for her to step back some so we both wouldn’t be stretched quite as thin. We will both be able to spend more time doing the work of the ministry this way. We have no doubt God will replace the income she’ll leave behind in leaving her job. Thankfully I have so many people contacting me for English classes that I’m having to turn some down. But I’ll be teaching more students this next year than any previous year!
In related news, Raquel and I are expecting our 2nd child, due this December! We are ecstatic, and so of course is our church family! But please pray for Raquel as we’ll likely be doing a whole lot of driving during this trip, and she will be 7 months pregnant by the time we finish. Traveling can be very tiring under the best of circumstances, but we expect it will be more so with a hyperactive ball of energy and a pregnancy! We’re trusting the Lord to give strength and wisdom during our travels.
As for the church ministry, please pray for one of our believers who’s going through some especially difficult times here. His family is unsaved and he has a lot of complexities to deal with. Please pray as well for 3 other young believers who have recently joined the church. I’m doing weekly Bible studies with them, and they seem genuinely interested in spiritual growth.
Thank you so much for your prayers! We’re looking forward to seeing some of you this fall! And to finish, I’ll add here some of the information I’ve been sending to churches as we try to raise support. If you know of any churches that would be interested in having us visit, please let us know!
Ministry description video on Youtube
God bless, David
Ps. 34:3