Hello everyone, thank you as always for your prayers for us. I apologize for how long it’s been since my last report. There’s a lot to talk about, and here are some highlights from a busy end of the year.
Soon after the war broke out, we learned of a group of special-needs orphans from Ukraine who had been brought to Spain. We’ve been involved in praying for and helping them throughout the year, and for Christmas, we organized a project where every child was “adopted” by a believer who committed to praying for them by name throughout the year. We prepared cards with some info and requests for each child, and we trust the Lord will work through the prayers of His people. We also prepared Christmas packages for each child with their favorite toys, and a note addressed to each one with the name of a person praying for them. Please pray with us for these kids, especially that those who are visiting them would be able to reach them with the Gospel.
After having to cancel it for the past two years, we finally had the 17th MTR (missionary teen retreat) at the Aierdi Farmhouse in December. I enjoyed helping with the teaching and getting to know new missionary teens from around Europe. Teens who grow up on the mission field experience many unique privileges and challenges, and the retreat was a blessing to everyone involved.
Another ministry that came back after a few years of hiatus was our evangelistic Christmas cantata. It’s exciting to see more and more of our church members getting involved in the choir ministry (we join the choir practices of the church in Irun). The week before Christmas we presented the cantata in the 3 independent Baptist churches of our province (Irun, Lazkao, and our church in Rentería). I was very happy that after many years of inviting him, one of my friends came with his wife and two children. This was the first time he’d ever come to church, so this was a very important first step for him.
Church attendance has been all over the place for the past month, as most of our church members (including my family) have dealt with illness this winter. I was quite sick for two weeks this January, and many others have had to deal with a very nasty flu season. However, our church services have been exciting as we’ve had several visiting families come recently. Pray with us for two new families who have joined the church (both with two children). Both families have recently come to Spain and have been looking for a doctrinally-focused church.
The last bit of news, though certainly not the least, is that our family continues to grow. Lord willing, in June, we’ll be having a baby boy. He’ll be the third child in three years, and we couldn’t be more grateful to the Lord!
The family keeps growing!
Thank you for your continued prayer for us, we certainly need it! God bless,
David
Ps. 34:3