Update on Abdías

Dearest Readers who have been praying,

Abdías came through the surgery just fine. We are praising the Lord for His care over him, and that he is on the road to recovery.

A big THANK YOU to all who have been praying. Please continue to pray as he recovers.

I will update you again soon.

Please Pray!

Dear Readers,

I would like to introduce you to an Indian young man in our church who was saved about 6 years ago. Abdías López came to the boys' home here from the village of Chalchihuitan.

An Indian man whom Dad won to the Lord in the early 80's (Sebastian Gómez), who now pastors in the village of Chalchihuitan, knew Abdías and sent him to live here in the boys' home.

Abdías, the young man on the left with the guitar

Abdías was saved soon after he arrived, and grew steadily in his Christian life. He went through the Bible Institute here, graduated in 2009, and is faithfully serving in many areas of the church. He has been a great blessing to our church, as well as to our family.

Abdías is the third from the left, in Bro. Sebastian's church

In the month of August, Abdías began having kidney trouble and his condition has steadily grown more seriously. Tomorrow he is to have surgery in the near-by Capitol city of our state.

Would you please take a few moments throughout your day to pray for this 23-year-old young man? He is young and desires to serve the Lord with his life. Please pray that the Lord would give his doctors special wisdom during the surgery and throughout his treatments and recovery.

I will try to give you a regular update.

Thank you, Dear Readers, for praying.

A Token For Good

"Shew me a token for good:...because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me."
Psalm 86:17

So have you ever asked the Lord to do something special JUST for you, that you know He did, JUST to show you that He loves you?

I have. Many, many times.

And many, many times He has answered with such sweet blessings that I know were direct answers to my requests.

Little ol' me. Can you imagine that our wonderful God Who's glory the Heavens declare, cares enough about me to move specific people and circumstances to remind me of His love for ME?!

It overwhelms me. Every time.

So I want to tell you about something VERY special that God has done for me (and for many hundreds of other people, for sure!) to show that He loves me so much.

He has brought my oldest brother, Tom, and his wonderful family to our town to serve as missionaries. They arrived in November to begin a Baptist radio ministry that (Lord willing) will reach to dozens (if not hundreds) of surrounding villages and towns. (Go on over and read Mona's blog...Mi Casa Es Su Casa.)

The months of November and December were (for us) such busy months! I am so ashamed that I am just now writing about their arrival.

When Tom and his family arrived, they hit the ground running, and began at once plunging right into the work.

What a blessing it has been to have them here! Not only the FUN of having (more) family close by, but the blessing of having more workers in the church....a growth of sweet young ladies in my Sunday School class...new, fresh ideas for different activities among the ladies.

Yes, indeed, God has personally blessed me. In these past 2 months, He has given me spiritual encouragement; I have been challenged to do more for Him; and He has given me a renewed purpose and commitment in my child training, as I have watched Tom and Mona with their children.

God has brought them for such a time as this...to say, "I love you. I did this JUST for you!"

Thank you, Tom and Mona, (and all you sweet, sweet Sloan children) for being SUCH an encouragement! I love you, each and every one!

Tom and his children singing on Thanksgiving Day

"I'm Saved!"

On Saturday, January 7, our Little Deborah Jolene accepted Jesus in her heart!

She had been asking questions for a while, and I believe she was under conviction;
and we praise the Lord for saving her, and for freely giving salvation to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and all who call upon His name.

She wanted to be baptized the next day. She called her Uncle Tommy on the phone (he is fulfilling pastoral duties, as Philip and Liz are in the States now) and said, "Uncle Tommy, I'm saved. Can you baptize me?"

After the morning service yesterday, she bravely stepped into the (freezing!) baptismal waters and followed the Lord in believers' baptism.

We are rejoicing with the angels in Heaven over this lost sinner who has repented.

Rejoice with us!

And thank you to all who have been praying with us for our
Little Debbie Jolene!

A Little Boy's Pockets

I see him get out of bed; he comes to me and gives me a hug. I want to snuggle just a bit, but he’s off. Off to play…ride his bike, play on the rope swing outside; off to feed the rabbits. He usually comes inside only if he wants a drink or when he gets hungry.

And I pray for him throughout the day. “Lord, keep him safe today. Put your angels of protection around him. Protect him from harm and from evil. Protect his mind and his heart from sin.”

At the end of the day, he puts his jammies on and he hardly has the energy to brush his teeth. This little ball of energy goes, goes, goes all day long. Always ready to give a smile…such a sweet boy. He’s a helper to his Mama.

“Don’t forget to put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket,” I remind him.

The next morning, I’m sorting the laundry, ready to put them in the wash. I remember to check his pockets. Marbles I find one morning. A coloring page he folded and put into his pocket I find the next morning. I found Play-dough one morning….(I’m SO glad I checked his pockets!)

Then one morning, I check his pockets and I find Gospel tracts. Yes, he’d been out the day before handing out Gospel tracts. “Mommy!” he shouted, excitedly when he came in. “Someone got saved!” How he loves going out to share the Gospel! This little boy of mine, saved for 11 months now, so enthusiastic about the things of the Lord.

And I smile. I bow my head right there in front of the washing machine…and I thank the Lord for my boy. My Little Andrew Jonathan.

Today is his birthday. He's eight years old today!

(A very dear friend to our family found out that our Little Andrew
wanted a violin, and they sent a very nice one to him!)

Happy Birthday, My Little Man!
I can’t wait to see what God has for you this year!

“Lord, please fulfill Your purpose in his life! Use his life to bring honor and glory to Your holy name.”

My Favorite Things

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

I love Christmas. I love the happiness and joy that seems to be in the air. I love the Christmas carols playing in the CD player. I love counting down the days 'til Christmas with my children.

But all year 'round, there are certain things that I always enjoy, special things that always bring a smile to my face. Wanna know what they are?

My husband playing his guitar

Early morning fog

Hanging out clean laundry

Little arms around my neck

That first cup of coffee in the morning

Late night talks with my husband

The memories made in the "Missionary Mansion" in Decatur, Texas

The smell of camphor trees ("alcanfor" in Spanish)...large trees which surrounded our childhood home

And.....Your encouraging comments!!!!

What are some of your favorite things?

I'd love to hear about them!

Have a wonderful day, Dear Friends, enjoying your favorite things!

Christmas Banquet: In The Hands Of The Potter

~~To all my dear friends who prayed for our Christmas Banquet:

THANK YOU!~~

The work is the Lord's, and only He knows how He dealt in the heart of each person present;

but His working was evident in several who attended.

All the hours and hours of prayer, planning, hard work; and the sacrificial giving by people in our church and by many around the world paid off. The Lord really blessed!

The decorations were beautiful (again, great job, Liz!); the songs sung were so beautiful and spoke to our hearts; the childrens' special was so darling. But most of all we rejoice at how God worked on the hearts of the lost ladies who were there.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the "First Ladies" of our town and surrounding towns were our special guests; this year, we also invited military wives and honored them. (Remember: The main purpose for these Banquets is to share the Gospel with unsaved ladies.)

Our special speaker was Bro. James Merlo, a pastor of a Spanish work in Oklahoma. The Lord used him to preach a salvation message that was so easily understood. We praise the Lord for using Bro. Merlo's message.

There were a total of 89 ladies present, many of whom were there for the first time. 8 ladies were saved, 2 of whom were military wives, and 2 former mayors' daughters.

It is really difficult to describe in words (and even through the pictures) how wonderful everything was. But I know that a lot of you were praying, and we thank you.

We are already planning next year's Banquet. You can begin to pray even now (with us) as we begin to save for and plan for the Banquet to be held on November 16, 2012!!!

Eleven of Mom's 34 grandchildren singing "In My Father's House"

{Stewart, Paul, Samuel, Kenneth, Joshua, Andrew,

Gabriela, Sophia, Deborah, Jacquelyn, and Olivia}

*That night, 5 of Mom's 8 children (plus spouses and a total of 18 grandchildren) were present.

That was so special!*

My oldest brother, Tom, and his family were able to attend the Banquet!

Here his children (Joanna, Karla, Lydia and Hank) are singing.

Bro. James Merlo

We were blessed by the children of an orphanage

who sang (a treat we get to enjoy every year!)

Carlos and Yara Ruiz have done a fantastic

job with these children!

My heart is blessed every time!

Tom and Philip singing "Down From His Glory"

Honoring the First Ladies present

Singing "Bendice A México"

The military wives being honored.

Each one received a Bible. And two of them were saved.

My beautiful Mother.

I am so thankful she has a burden and a

vision to see these ladies saved!