UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS
The call from Pastor Carlos Chacon, one of our pastors in Costa Rica, took us by surprise. He invited us to a conference called "Communities that transform communities" to take place there at the end of March. Insisting that Robert attend, he offered to pay his expenses. With firm conviction that Roxanne should also go, we quickly found missionary friends to look after our kids and others to cover her costs. Our friends Pastor Saul and his wife, Claudia, were able to come with us, thanks to a member of their church paying their way. What an great weekend!! We were all very blessed and thank God for the time of refreshing and insight. At the end of April Pastor Carlos visited us and Pastor Saul, bringing with him some other pastor friends from Tegucigalpa. We took him to preach at the church in Choloma and Cofradía as well as to minister to Pastor Manuel and Loli of our church plant in Rivera Hernandez. Another glorious, refreshing weekend, touched by God!
The crowd gathered beneath the tents on the empty lot which is now Pastor Saul's new congregation. Robert preached one Sunday night early April and the response was exhilarating. Many were broken as they recommitted their lives to Christ. Robert has also enjoyed teaching his Hermeneutics classes on Fridays at the Bible institute in the church of Choloma.
Two years ago on April 20th, the little church "Iglesia de Amor" was born. As we celebrated our church plant's second anniversary, there was great excitement in the air. Roxanne shared from the Word, reflecting on what God has done to bring us this far and to trust in His faithfulness to complete the work in us. Robert taught the congregation a song based on Phil. 1:6. We watched slides of different events that have taken place in the church over the last two years, including the most recent baptism. Afterwards, we distributed the baptism certificates to the 26 freshly baptized believers, including some who had given their lives to Christ at our Christmas musical! Praise God with us for His goodness and faithfulness to the church in Rivera Hernandez. Our prayer is that it will become a pillar of hope and strength in that very needy shanty town.
THE MIRACLE OF RIVERA HERNANDEZ!
A couple of weeks ago some of the youth, including Pastor Manuel's children, were waiting outside the church building after the Sunday evening service, while he locked up. Suddenly, a gang of 15 youth opened fire on them from the corner, emptying complete rounds of their AK-47s and M16s. Upon hearing the bullets bouncing off the metal monkey bars, our youth dropped to the ground to protect themselves, where the shower of projectiles now impacted the dirt road, spraying dirt into their faces. The gang thought they had killed them all and ran away. But the Celestial Army had already been deployed at lightning speed to shield these children! To the glory and praise of our Almighty, loving, Heavenly Father, not one of them were even scratched by those bullets! Later we found out that the gang was looking to kill a certain person whom they thought was among the kids on the playground in front of the church, and decided to just mow them all down, not realizing they were greatly mistaken! The hundreds of empty shells on the dirt road lay as a powerful witness to the umbrella of protection provided that day by our Lord's heavenly host. May the miracle that occurred that day be a testimony to the whole community of the great and mighty God we serve! Please continue to pray, also, for continued protection for all of us who work at and attend the church in Rivera Hernandez.
FURLOUGH & FRIENDS
As we write this, we are in Canada to take part in Roxanne's sister's wedding at the beginning of June and will visit supporting churches here and in Pittsburgh. This first week we have enjoyed time with family and friends, with a special visit with a friend and his family from college that Roxanne hasn't seen in 25 years! What a blessing! We will be gone until mid-July so please pray for us for safety in our travels. Robert finished up another Master's course and is thankful for the break while on our furlough, to just spend time with family and friends. Roxanne will be finished with most of the kids' schooling with just a little to do on the road.
May our Father in Heaven refresh your family with His rich blessings!
The Grego family
