Our Family

Our Family

30 noviembre 2007

Annual Leadership Conferences

We thank the Lord for blessing our church's 4th annual leadership conferences held last weekend. The theme was "Growing and Prevailing" from I Corinthians 15:58 - "Therefore, my beloved brethern, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding inthe work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." Bible messages and workshops were the order for the day, along with good Christian fellowship among our people and believers from Uruguay and Argentina. The main preacher was Pastor Ron Self, missionary to Argentina for over 25 years. Gabriel was among the workshop leaders, speaking on How to Have a Strong Youth Group. Our hearts were greatly blessed throughout the day by the challenges and encouragements to us as church leaders.

20 agosto 2007

3rd Anniversary Celebration/3er Aniversario del Anexo

We give thanks to the Lord for 3 years of existence in the Real de San Carlos. On Sunday, we celebrated our 3rd anniversary as our church's first annex. We began with a special program including testimonies, special music, and Pastor Perez preaching our Sunday morning message. The testimonies focused on changes that Christ has made in members' lives in areas of the Christian walk and testimony. The message was based in Revelation concerning the church at Ephesis and that we should not lose our first love, being Christ. We had 55 in attendance for our morning service, including a large group of neighborhood children which have been reached as a result of the work in this part of Colonia. At noontime we all enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, and lemonade, not to mention anniversary cake! We thank the Lord for not only a good number of souls that make up our 'congregation' in the Real, but the changes that He makes in us through His Word. Please continue to pray with us for spiritual growth for our little flock.

Damos gracias al Señor por 3 años de existencia en el Real de San Carlos. El domingo, nosotros celebramos nuestro 3er aniversario como primer anexo de nuestra iglesia. Empezamos con un programa especial incluyendo testimonios, música especial, y el Pastor Pérez predicando el mensaje. Los testimonios enfocaron en los cambios que Cristo ha hecho en las vidas de los miembros, especialmente la vida y testimonio de un Cristiano. La predicación fue basada en Apocalipsis sobre la iglesia en Éfeso, y que no debemos perder nuestro primer amor - siendo Cristo. Tuvimos 55 en asistencia para el culto de la mañana, incluyendo un grupo grande de niños del barrio que se han alcanzado como resultado de la obra en esta zona de Colonia. Al mediodía nosotros todos disfrutamos de hamburguesas, panchos, ensaladas, limonada, y también torta! Damos gracias al Señor no sólo por un buen número de almas, sino también por los cambios que Él nos efectua através de Su Palabra. Rogamos que siguen orando con nosotros por crecimiento espíritual en nuestro rebaño.

12 agosto 2007

Children's Day/Día del Niño

Today we had the privelege of celebrating Children's Day (national holiday) with the little ones at church. Both in El General (mother church) and El Real, we had a special program for all the children in attendance. We sang more children's songs than usual, listened to the message brought by Pastor Daniel, and then all the kids went outside to play. Despite the cold, about 25 children enjoyed "The Olympic Games" and won medals and prizes for their efforts. Later, they broke open two piñatas, and filled their pockets with all kinds of candy. We finished with a snack of pizza, desserts, and hot tea, with both the adults and the young people. We give thanks to the Lord for this great activity, and we continue to pray for the outreach to all children here in El Real.

Hoy tuvimos el privilegio de festejar el Día del Niño con los pequeños de nuestra iglesia. Tanto en el Real (el Anexo) como en el General, hicimos un programa dirigido a los niños. Cantamos mas coritos para niños, escuchamos el mensaje traido por Pastor Daniel, y después salieron los menores a jugar. A pesar del frio, aprox. 25 niños disfrutaron de "Los Juegos Olímpicos" y ganaron medallas y premios. Después rompieron 2 piñatas, y llenaron sus bolsillos con todo tipo de caramelos. Terminamos con una merienda de pizza y pasta frola y té caliente, junto con los mayores y niños. Gracias a Dios por esta hermosa actividad, y seguimos orando por el alcanze de los niños acá en El Real.

Baptisms in the River

Not only was this weekend an exciting one for us as a couple, but also for our church as a whole. We celebrated our 11th anninversary with cake on Saturday. And as we usually do, we had baptisms the same weekend. 14 new converts followed the Lord in believers' baptisms (in the river here in Colonia) on Sunday as the rest of the church (and some others) looked on. Gaby was able to baptize 8 of them, several youth and a few new Christians from the Annex in El Real. We were thrilled with the privilege of being part of this important step in their Christian lives. And we are even more excited about continuing to serve the Lord here in Colonia where He has placed us.

Kids' Activity

Saturday was a beautiful day both for its weather and for its activity. Near the church annex, we invited all the neighborhood children to join us for the afternoon. We had several sunday school teachers and helpers in charge of organized games. And we can't forget the trampoline! The Perezes graciously loaned us their giant trampoline - much to the kids' jumping pleasure. After a while of play time, we had songs and a Bible class for the 40 children in attendance. Many of them were new and we pray this will be an open door into their homes and the lives of these families here in the neighborhood. We finished the activity with cake and juice for everyone, before heading home.

4TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY 8/17/08

Incredible! Our church annex is praising the Lord for four wonderful years of existence. On Sunday, the 17th we celebrated our anniversary as a 'church' group. After a special service and church program, we enjoyed lunch together with the other pastors and staff families. What we have seen during the past years is much growth in the number of people, but more importantly spiritually. The Lord is blessing this church work, and we are extremely thankful for it.

New Record

Praise the Lord for record attendance in the Annex last Sunday! We are thankful for 60 people that decided to assemble in the Lord's house to worship Him. There was a good group of children as well since we had "The Olympic Games," a special activity of games specifically for them. Mark Perez had planned and set up all the races and competitions, and the kids loved the games. We are thankful for the great attendance, but at the same time we realize more and more the urgent need for our own church building. Please continue to pray for God's direction in finding and buying a property for our church annex.