AWANA

This morning at church we officially ended our first year of AWANA.  We handed out diplomas to all of the clubbers and recognized the adults who participated.  It was a great first year of AWANA at the Iglesia Bautista de Coslada.  We especially want to thank the AWANA club from River Cities Community Church in Huntington, WV, for making it possible!  Thanks for your sacrificial blessing! 

Sunrise Service and Breakfast

We had a great sunrise service this year.  David Rivero, the pastor of the church in Alameda, gave a great devotional concerning the resurrection of Jesus.  After the service, everyone met at the church in Coslada for a breakfast of churros y porras. 

Easter 2011

Due to rain, this year´s fifth annual egg hunt was actually held after Easter.  Oh well, we still had a great time.  There were 25 kids in attendance and Tammy used resurrection eggs to give the Gospel.  Pray for God´s Word to work in the hearts of the kids who attended.  Thanks for your prayers! 

March 2011

Family Fun Night

This year in lieu of a Sweetheart Banquet we decided to do an activity for the entire family.  It was great.  We broke out a bunch of board games, played a few group games, ate hot dogs, and talked about the fact that each child is a unique creation and needs to have both his/her physical and spiritual needs met.  There were several unbelievers who attended and we are praying for God to work in their hearts! 

Our residency status….

Praise God for His faithfulness.  We now have permanent residency (which has to be renewed every five years J).  It was a 3 month process that lasted 10.  However, during that time God was faithful and taught us several important lessons.  Thanks to all of you who so faithfully prayed with us concerning this matter!   

Father´s Day picnic

In Spain, Father´s day is March 19^th.  This year we had a church picnic and fun day at a new park that has opened up in a neighboring city.  It was a great day of fellowship and fun which included boat rides, laser tag, and a zip line. 

MadreSabia (Mother Wise)

The Bible study for mothers spurred on spiritual growth and godly wisdom in about 10 ladies who now meet regularly to review the book again.  Tammy has also been invited to lead the study in a new church plant in a neighboring city.  Pray for wisdom in organizing this ministry and help from the Holy Spirit for leader and all participants.  This is a powerful tool for the Kingdom and we are so thankful for it!

Church Attendance in 2011

Since the beginning of the year we have had a variety of visitors.  Some who know the Lord, some who need the Lord, some new faces, and some who used to attend regularly… We are asking God to do a mighty work in our midst, strengthening believers and saving the lost.  Pray with us for the lost to be interested in the things of God and for believers to want to walk faithfully with Him.  One teen showed interest in attending a youth event with us this Saturday and bringing his brother and a friend.  Was he serious?  Will they come?  We pray they will and that God will work in their lives!

Youth Center

Many of you know it´s been our dream for years to open a youth center.  God opened the door and Saturday night a few weeks ago we broke out the ping pong table, opened the doors, and put out the chips and sodas.  We played ping pong, laughed and had a good time, wrapping up the evening with hot dogs.  (Not very creative with food lately, are we? smiley face) That´s the exciting news.  The hard part is that there were only 2 teens.  Pray for us to advertise the next one well and for the teens to be brave enough and interested enough to come!  One teen came and looked inside and then left, saying he´d be right back.  He didn´t come back but maybe next time he will.   We are praising God for…

o    God provided the funds to pay for our car repairs.  Thanks to all gave!!

o    Two new leaders were appointed in the church.

o    Our first youth activity!

Matters of prayer for the next few months…

o    Annual egg hunt in April (with gospel presentation)

o    Men´s and ladies´ Bible studies.

o    That we will continue to keep our eyes focused on the Lord and His will.

o    Andy and Lindsey Messmer, Brenda Andrus, the Hagues, and the Duryees are raising support to come to Spain.

o    Adam and Emily Byerly arrive July 26^th.

o    The possibility of using the church to open an activity center for youth.  We would like to purchase an air hockey table and video game equipment. 

o    Our support level – we are currently about $750/month under supported. 

Thanks so very much for standing with us in prayer.  Thanks also for your faithful support!  Keep praying!  God is working!

    

Fingerprints

We just back from doing fingerprints for our permanent residency.  Praising God!

Residency

 Residency Update.....

 We will cut right to the chase.... our seven month wait to hear if our residency would be renewed is OVER.  We received a letter today stating that we are going to be given permanent residency!  Thanks to all of you who have been, with us, consistently bringing this matter before the Lord.  Without a doubt, we can look back over the last seven months of uncertainty knowing that through it all God was working to increase our faith in Him... and that´s a GOOD thing!  Thanks again for tirelessly bringing this matter before the throne.  You have been an encouragement to us!   

January 2011

                                                   Christmas Program 2010

     So, what is your favorite part about Christmas?  It is a tough question to answer.  One of our favorite parts is the annual Christmas program that our church puts on.  This year it was celebrated with a concert of traditional Christmas carols - coffee house style.  What better way to enjoy a Christmas concert than sipping a hot drink and eating some delicious pastries.  We were excited to see about 40 in attendance of the which, at least 10 were non-believers.  We ended the night with a challenge from the Word focused on the theme – Of all the children born into this world, why do we continue talking about Jesus?  The main point of the message was – We continue to talk about Jesus because Jesus continues to changes lives.  Has He changed yours?  Pray with us that God will use His Word in the hearts of the non-believers who attended.

Our residency status….

     Please continue to pray with us about our residency status.  Back in October, the lawyer who is helping us went to Madrid to check on the status of our paperwork.  She was able to find out that the system is tremendously backed up, about six months behind to be exact.  However, our lawyer was assured that we would hear something within a month.  Well, that was over two months ago.  So, what began as a three month wait has now turned into seven.  However, we know that God is in control.  And, yes, even in matters of Spanish residency. 

                                                               AWANA

     Since October of this past year, our church has had an AWANA club.  It was exciting to see how God made this happen (and thanks to all who were a part of the process).  We have been averaging 13 in attendance.  Pray that God will us this outreach to put us in contact with new families.

Matters of prayer for the next few months…

o    Our car is currently in the shop with some possible major repairs.

o    Men´s and ladies´ Bible studies.

o    That we will continue to keep our eyes focused on the Lord and His will.

o    Adam and Emily Byerly, Andy and Lindsey Messmer, Brenda Andrus, and the Duryees are raising support to come to Spain.

o    The possibility of using the church to open an activity center for youth.  We would like to purchase an air hockey table and video game equipment. 

o    The young mother´s Bible study is going great!  They have two studies left.

o    Our residency issue is still not resolved. 

o    The insurance company is refusing to pay for the items stolen from the church back in July.  (We now have a lawyer who is going to help us.)

o    Our support level – we are currently about $600/month under supported. 

Thanks so very much for standing with us in prayer.  Thanks also for your faithful support!  Keep praying!  God is working!