November Update

Trip to Costa Rica

As we handed our fat pile of documents to the lady from the Canadian consulate, her eyes bulged and she gasped, “Do you realize there is a fee per document?” I said yes. She continued, “I can’t charge you for these as separate documents. It would be too costly. I’ll charge you as if they were all one.” And with that, she took them away to be stamped and blessed us with a savings of a few hundred dollars! Pray that we will continue to find grace and favor in the eyes of all the people we still need to deal with, as we gather medical and police records and send everything to the Canadian embassy in Guatemala.

Not only did we finally finish with all the documentation we needed from Costa Rica, but we were also able to attend Robert’s niece’s wedding on November 5. Gloriana and Andre are following in her uncle’s footsteps: they, too, are called to be missionaries! Pray for God’s leading for their future.

The two-day bus ride there and back didn’t seem so long as we slept and watched movies. We had the added blessing of staying overnight with friends in Managua, Nicaragua. We actually took a day to sightsee with them, visiting a volcano and Granada, the oldest mainland city in the Americas. What a beautiful country! Thank you to all who were praying for our safety as we made this trip!

New Mountain Life

Back in the saddle in Siguatepeque, we continue to lead a Bible study Thursday nights for the new church plant and to share our faith whenever we have opportunity. Robert has met with Miguel, the young bank teller mentioned last month, who has shown great interest in end times events and what he must do to be prepared. Continue to pray for God to draw him to Himself. Also, one of the ladies at the study, Luris, expressed concern for her husband, who is disillusioned with church and is not attending anywhere. Pray for Daniel as we befriend him and encourage him in his walk with God.

Robert attended the monthly pastors’ association meeting, offering our services in leadership training. They invited us to participate in a pastoral family retreat where we ate and played table games together. Pray for guidance and favor as we seek to encourage these undertrained pastors and help build up their churches.

As we recently celebrated Thanksgiving with our missionary friends here, we remembered how blessed we are to have YOU as our partners in prayer. We thank God for your friendship and the privilege to serve Him together. As we close in on the Christmas season, may God bless you and your family with peace and unity! As you reflect on His coming as a babe, may you sense His presence and experience His love daily.

Thankful for His goodness and grace,

Robert, Roxanne, David, and Julianna

Septiembre - Octubre, 2011

Nuevo Hogar, Nuevo Enfoque

Siguatepeque nos está resultando bastante diferente de San Pedro Sula. Aquí la cosa es más evangelismo y discipulado. Nos han pedido que ayudemos con una nueva iglesia recién fundada, dirigiendo un estudio bíblico hogareño e integrándonos al equipo de liderazgo inicial. Además, en la iglesia donde nos hemos estado congregando, de apenas un año, pronto estaremos ayudando a atender una nueva cafetería que la iglesia está por inaugurar, con el fin de alcanzar a jóvenes estudiantes de la ciudad. Dios está abriendo nuevas puertas…

Nuevos Amigos, Nuevas Oportunidades

Estando Roberto frente a la ventanilla del banco una mañana, el cajero notó el título del libro cristiano que portaba y le comentó que le parecía interesante. Ambos acordaron sentarse a charlar sobre tema pronto, luego de las horas laborales del joven. Ora para que Dios le conceda sabiduría y perspicacia a Roberto, y que sea usado para impactar la vida de este joven con el evangelio de Cristo.

Otro día en un pequeño café, Roberto inició una conversación con Katarina, una joven alemana y maestra de escuela, y la invitó a la iglesia. Luego se la ha encontrado varias veces en la ciudad y ella le ha mencionado que le gustaría visitar la congregación, pero ha estado muy ocupada los fines de semana. La hemos invitado a que venga con nuestra familia algún día a comer pescado frito al lago y ella mostró interés en ello. Ora por esta nueva amiga, que Dios nos use para guiarla hacia él.

David llevó su bicicleta a arreglar al taller e invitó a los dos adolescentes norteamericanos que laboraban allí a la iglesia. Ambos jóvenes han estado asistiendo a todas las actividades de la iglesia. Chuke y Dialo son estudiantes en una escuela de los Bahai, pero han mostrado gran interés en lo que están aprendiendo de la Biblia. Ora para que ambos puedan llegar a conocer el Camino, la Verdad y la Vida.

Nuevo Alcance, Nuevas Oraciones

Cuando Roberto y otros líderes de la nueva iglesia hogareña fueron, puerta a puerta, a visitar a los vecinos y ofrecerles orar por cualquier necesidad, la gente estaba muy dispuesta a que eleváramos plegarias por ellos ante el Trono de la Gracia. Una joven pidió oración por su amiga que está contemplando el suicidio. Una señora pidió orar por su hijo que ha sufrido una parálisis facial. Otros solicitaron nuestras plegarias por salud o esposos inconversos. Ora por nosotros, conforme alcanzamos a los vecinos con el amor de Cristo, para que sean atraídos a él.

Nuevas Necesidades de Fondos

Hemos tenido muchos gastos extraordinarios en los últimos dos meses. Nuestros viejos carros han ocupado varios arreglos mayores. El trámite de residencia canadiense ha requerido costosas autenticaciones y viajes a Canadá y Costa Rica. Tuvimos que sacar un pequeño préstamo del banco, para lograr enfrentar nuestros gastos familiares normales. Si puedes ayudarnos con una ofrenda por vez única, necesitamos recaudar un total de US$4,000 en el transcurso del siguiente mes. Desde norteamérica, puedes enviarla a nombre de la misión, a una de las direcciones en la columna derecha de este blog, indicando que es para los misioneros de FEDEMEC: Roberto y Roxana Grego. En Costa Rica, puedes contactar a FEDEMEC directamente al correo: federicoservicios@racsa.co.cr para conocer las opciones de envío de la ofrenda. Ellos te enviarán un recibo. ¡De antemano te agradecemos por tu apoyo económico y en oración!

Sirviendo a Dios con alegría,

Roberto, Roxana, David y Julianna

The Grego Gazette, October 2011

New Home, New Focus

Siguatepeque looks quite different from San Pedro Sula. It’s all about evangelism and discipleship. We’ve been asked to help with one new church plant by leading a home Bible study and being part of the initial leadership. Then, in the church we have been attending, which is only a year old, we will be helping to operate the coffee shop which the church is starting as a means of reaching out to the youth in the community. God is opening new doors…

New Friends, New Opportunities

As Robert stood at the bank counter, the teller noticed his Christian book and said it looked interesting. They plan to sit down over coffee after work hours to talk about it. Pray for wisdom and insight for Robert, that God would use him to touch this young man’s life for Christ.

Another day, Robert struck up a conversation with Katarina, a young German school teacher in a coffee shop, and invited her to church. He has run into her several times in town and she has mentioned that she wants to attend church but has had several busy weekends. We invited her to come with our family to eat fried fish by the lake one day and she is eager to do so. Pray as we seek to befriend her, that God will use us to lead her to Himself.

David took his bike in to be fixed and invited the two American teenagers that he met there to church. They’ve been coming out to all the church activities since then. Chuke and Dialo go to a Bahai school but have shown great interest in what they are learning from the Bible. Pray that they may come to know the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

New Outreach, New Prayers

As Robert and other leaders from the new church plant went door to door asking the neighbors if there were any needs we could pray for, the people were eager to have us lift up their prayer requests before the Throne of Grace. One young lady asked for prayer for her friend who is considering suicide. An older lady asked for healing for her son who suffered partial paralysis in his face. Others requested prayer for health issues or unsaved spouses. Pray for us as we reach out to the neighbors with the love of Christ, that they will be drawn to Him.

New Funding Needs

We have had a number of extraordinary expenses in the last two months. Our two old cars have needed several major repairs. The Canadian residency paperwork has meant costly authentications and travel to Costa Rica and Canada. We’ve had to take out a small, short term bank loan just to cover our normal living expenses. If you could help us with a one time gift, we need to raise a total of about US$4,000 over the next month. You can send it to our mission, at one of the addresses found on the right hand column of this blog. They will mail you a tax receipt. We greatly appreciate it!

Serving Him with gladness,

Robert, Roxanne, David, and Julianna