What a glorious truth! I hope you had a wonderful Easter and were able to spend time reflecting on all that Christ accomplished for our reconciliation on the cross and on the surety of our hope for the future sealed in His resurrection.
The month of March was pregnant with many joyous activities, not the least of which was the birth of Livier on Wednesday to expand the family of Willy, Isela and Lilian. All are doing well, so thanks for your prayers for her safe arrival and please continue to pray for Isela in her recuperation. Pray for me as well as I lead the ladies’ ministry until Isela rejoins us.
We held the first baptisms at the El Faro church on March 9th. There were eight candidates and all eight participated along with one rededication of his life to the Lord.
They each shared their testimony. Most shared verbally, but those who were too nervous wrote it out and had it read.
Each one was so happy to take this step of obedience and to give public testimony to their decision to follow Jesus.
It was a very emotional time and several of them had unsaved family and friends present to witness their baptism.
The joy carried over from Saturday to the Sunday morning service with the receipt of their baptismal certificates.
After that the certificates were handed out for the completion of the Level 1 training. Those who were not present will have the opportunity to receive theirs when we have another certificate ceremony after offering the course this and next Saturday. Please pray for Willy and I as we teach the course and for the lives of those who take it to be impacted.
All those who complete Level 1 will be invited to the Level 2 training that begins April 14th. Please pray for good attendance and that the spiritual disciplines that will be taught will be put into practice by each of them. Level 1 focused on membership and commitment while Level 2 focuses on spiritual maturity.
It has also been a joy to see the attendance increasing a little each week. I noticed how full the parking area was one Sunday and took more photos the following week because it was full. But you’d rather see the people, so I’m including a photo Willy snapped Easter Sunday while a group was at the front sharing their experiences from the Easter youth camp. There were over 70 youth and adults plus the children. A team joined us from the Mexicali church who led our worship two Sundays and ministered at the youth camp in between. I’m thrilled to share that the couple leading the team are seeking the Lord’s will to move to La Paz after the birth of their baby to minister in El Faro. They should be here before I leave and will be a tremendous support to Willy and the El Faro church. The three youth leaders who “inserted” themselves in the youth ministry just withdrew, so the new couple will be able to support the original leader and alleviate Willy and Isela who will be stepping into that role in the meantime. The youth who started the ministry will continue, so please keep our vibrant youth ministry in your prayers.
Being in nature always provides joy. I took an unsaved friend on a hike, and we were thrilled to unexpectedly see sea lions. Clicking on the photo will take you to a video of this active group. Can you spot all 15 of the sea lions?
Another day half of our small group enjoyed another hike. Three ladies weren’t able to join, but the other three along with their families enjoyed the hike (except the husband who slept in the car). This was both an evangelistic and a community-building event.
During one of those days, I saw a new bird. The red cap and white bib helped ID it as a Green-tailed Towhee. I was fortunate to get this not-so-good photo because it filled my card. I recently went back with another lady from church hoping to see the new bird again. I thought I saw the female, but it turned out to be another new bird – a female Blue Grosbeak. Now I want to see the male because he has all the blue from the name.
To balance out all that joy is my support-level situation. I received the disheartening news of another supporting church that will be closing and a supporter no longer able to contribute. On the bright side, a supporting church and another supporter are increasing their support, but there is still a sizeable shortfall. Please continue to pray for the Lord to meet the need. I look forward to sharing with you how He does it! My hope is to retire January 1, 2026, but my plans are in the Lord’s hands. Our last memory verse in the ladies’ group was appropriately Proverbs 16:3. This doesn’t mean that I will get what I want, but that I turn my plans over to the care of our sovereign God and trust Him to work it out.
The Mexicali church will be sending us a work team the end of this month. Please pray for the Lord to supply the necessary funds and that preparations be completed before they arrive. TEAM just announced the launch of their newly revamped and rebranded short-term missions program, TEAMtrek. Check it by clicking on the photo. TEAMtrek is a great avenue for someone you know to experience missions, discover their calling, and journey with Jesus!
On this joyous journey together,
Brenda
