Dear Praying Friends,
Some may think the hardest part of deputation is the financial stress. At times, yes; however, the hardest part of deputation for my family and me is saying goodbye to new friends we make in each church we visit. It is a great blessing to travel the states, see great sites, and make new friends and wonderful memories everywhere we go. We are grateful God has put many amazing people in our path on our deputation travels.
In the months of February and March, we enjoyed visiting 12 churches. Out of the 12 churches, we had the opportunity to be a part of 2 missions conferences. We enjoyed a four-day conference at the Iglesia Bautista Sublime Gracia with Pastor Mario Arjona in Douglasville, Georgia. This was an exciting Spanish conference to be a part of. Pastor Arjona gave me the opportunity to teach several children’s classes each day, preach a couple of times in the men’s split sessions, and translate for the guest speaker. Pastor Arjona also gave my wife the opportunity to play the piano for some of the services and teach a ladies’ split session. Many other members of our team were also part of this conference. It was great to see them all doing well and spend of
few days of fellowship with them. I am thrilled that I get to work alongside such a wonderful team.
A few men from our team spent two weeks in Lima, Peru, at the beginning of February. The purpose of their visit was to look for property and to start the process to be a church legally recognized by the Peruvian government. This process normally takes several months, but thanks to a Peruvian national who is a member of our church in Indiana, they were able to file the paperwork and complete the process in several days. We praise God that the Iglesia Bautista Internacional is now registered. Praise the Lord!!
Another great miracle that happened recently was one of our team members, Mark and Sarah Rader, had their second baby, Paul Anthony. This is my wife’s and my newest nephew. We are blessed to have a new family and team member. We also celebrated Ezequiel Jr.’s 2nd birthday on March 18.
Our team leader and his family are planning to leave for Peru in mid-summer, along with a couple other team families. Please pray as the rest of our team is preparing to leave for Peru within the year. Also, we ask that you would please pray for our traveling safety.
We are looking forward to getting to our destination in Peru, but in the meantime we are looking to help the lost change their eternal destination. While visiting in Georgia, I prayed for God to lead me to those who were willing and ready to be saved. God led my soul-winning partner and me to the home of an adult man named Efrain. When Efrian came to the door, he graciously allowed me to share with him the plan of salvation. As I was witnessing to him, I noticed he was very attentive. After Efrian prayed and accepted Christ into his heart, his eyes were red, and he looked as if he was about to cry. Although he did not cry, I could tell he was moved by the Holy Spirit.
We would like to give a special thank you to the six churches that voted to take us on for support in February and March:
1. Trinity Baptist Church in Brandenton, Florida, Pastor Ron Jarvis
2. Gospel Light Baptist Church in Cottondale, Alabama, Pastor Steve Rimes
3. Landmark Baptist Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Pastor Mike Lamb
4. Iglesia Bautista Biblica el Faro in Haines City, Florida, Pastor José Armendáriz
5. Iglesia Bautista León de la Tribu de Judá in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Pastor Adán Pérez
6. Bethlehem Baptist Church in Old Fort, North Carolina, Pastor Charles Hughes
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our existing supporters and to these new supporting churches. We are grateful to be partners with you. My family and I pray for you, so please be sure to e-mail, text, or call us with any prayer request your church might have. May God bless you.
The Martinez Family
No comments:
Post a Comment