Tim and Christa Simmons Prayer Letter: Planting Gospel Seeds

“We’re with a Baptist church,” I replied hesitantly, expecting her not to be interested any longer. Our family was inviting people to church, and I had just given a lady an invitation, when she asked me that question. With an inquisitive look she responded, “So you’re not with a Catholic church?” I confirmed to her that we weren’t. With a smile on her face, she replied that she was glad to hear that. This experience a few weeks ago shows me that there are people searching for the truth, and I pray that they will hear the truth of the Gospel.

Planting Gospel Seeds

We’ve been going soul winning as a family near our apartment building. Our kids have been doing a good job helping us pass out the invitations. People, for the most part, have been willing to take an invitation and even thank us for it. The pastor of a church plant in an area called Piedras Blancas organized a Saturday to canvass the area around the church. Four of us were able to pass out about 250 invitations. This is a poorer area, so most people have guard dogs to help scare away criminals. I nearly got bit several times as I put invitations in mailboxes, which is legal here, or attached them to a fence. We are thankful for the seeds being planted. Please pray for souls to be saved and for people to come to church as a result.

Resurrection Services

We enjoyed our first Resurrection Sunday here! We started the day with a 6:00 sunrise service. We went to the roof and read Luke 22 & 23 as the first rays of sun were becoming visible on the horizon. We had to be quiet on the roof because we didn’t want to disturb the neighbors in the apartments around us. We then went back down for the rest of the service. Afterwards, we had our normal service in Piedras Blancas. Christa and a few other ladies made chocolate eggs and sock bunnies to give out to the kids there. Many kids were told about the special day the week before, so there were many kids who came for the first time. Praise the Lord for several professions of faith at that church and others as well! That evening, we had the regular 6:00 service in the main church, where Christa and I enjoyed the opportunity to sing “Calvary’s Blood” during that service. I’m glad we serve a risen Saviour!

Two Survey Trips

We were able to take two short survey trips just outside of Montevideo. One trip was to a neighborhood directly north of the city known as Puntas de Manga. I was amazed how close the homes were to each other and also to the street. We had to drive very carefully to avoid hitting dogs or people. The other trip was to a neighborhood known as Paso de Carrasco northeast of our city. I thought there was a lot of potential for a church plant there. Based on our research, we did not see any Baptist churches in either place. Please pray for the Gospel to be preached in those areas, churches to be planted, and wisdom for how we should be involved.
Thank you for your prayers and support.