Celebrate God’s Good Work in the Church
Dawn and I enjoyed a wonderful time of celebration with our good friends, Pastor Ivan Casados, and his wife, Rocio this past Sunday. The church was celebrating its 10th anniversary. We helped Ivan and Rocio plant their church. There was a lot to celebrate. The church is called, Belen and it began 10 years ago, and we helped them build the church 7 years ago.
Our hearts were filled with joy as we participated and listened to all the wonderful testimonies of God’s mighty work. Many people have come to Christ through their outreach in the community. People who were enslaved to drugs and alcohol. Others had trouble in their marriages and with their families. The Lord came in and brought healing and restoration.
A Special Church for Our Family
One of the things that makes this church extra special for Dawn and me is that our whole family participated in helping start this church. Both of our sons, David and Jonathan came down when we built the church. Hannah visited the church with us and she ministered to the people. Hannah loved to pray for people. She loved to pray for healing and for the Lord’s comfort.
Ivan and Rocio have become very good friends of ours over the years as we’ve ministered alongside them. One sad, but special memory I have with Ivan is from when Hannah died. I called Ivan to tell him the news, and he started weeping. His tears and sorrow meant a lot to me. They were like the healing balm of Gilead for my soul. You can say that we’ve cried together as well as we’ve rejoiced together.
We met Pastor Ivan and Rocio not long after we moved to the San Diego-Tijuana border. God has given us some opportunities to travel together in Mexico, but we’ve mostly worked together in Tijuana. They are wonderful friends that we love, and we give thanks for them and for all that the Lord has done through them.
Transformed Lives
Dawn and I were talking to one of the women in the church that we’ve known since the church started. Her name is Veronica. She loves to share her faith, and the Lord has used her to see many people come to Christ. Yet, she has a son, Samuel who is a prodigal. Veronica told us that our daughter, Hannah prayed with Veronica a number of years ago for her son. She prayed that he would return to God. Hannah told Veronica that she believed God would work in Samuel’s heart and bring him back to Christ. Just recently Samuel started coming to church, and there is evidence of God’s wonderful redeeming work in his life. She was thankful and remembered with gratitude Hannah’s encouragement and prayers for her and her son. Praise Jesus!
God is so good! He is so faithful to work in families!
I’ve shared other wonderful testimonies from the ministry of Belen on other posts. One of my favorites is how A Taco Leads to Transformed Lives – you can read about it by clicking here…
Join us in Prayer
Join us in prayer for Pastor Ivan and Rocio as they lead the church. Pray for the Lord’s continued wonderful life-changing work through Belen.
Extend your hands to give to the needs in Mexico as we plant the seed of the gospel on the Border, the Baja and Beyond. This summer we are planning on building a new church in my parents, Ron & Virginia Diaso’s memory.
The situation on the Big Island is heartbreaking. I hope to write more about this in my next post. Since January of this year, prices have gone up for food and basic goods between 250 and 300 percent and it is projected to go as high as 500% this year. The cost of living has skyrocketed and there are no food supplies.
Give a donation today to the needs of the church and our familia. Your prayers and generosity will aid these families and the gospel in undeniable ways. Make a donation today by clicking on the link below!
In His Loving Grip, Dave
1 Comment
By rulookingforjesus
Great post
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