Joshua 24:15 says, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” I pray that when you receive this letter you are doing well, along with your family and loved ones. My family and I are doing well and would like to thank you so much for being a part of this ministry here in Puerto Rico.
Let me start out by saying that we’ve had a very busy summer. One of our church ladies called me and asked if I could pray for her son who was in the hospital. Since my wife and I were headed that way, we paid a visit to Nito, who had suffered a minor heart attack. When we arrived at the hospital, Nito was glad that we had visited him. Before leaving, I asked him if he knew for sure he was on his way to Heaven, to which he replied that he was not sure. I immediately was able to share the Gospel with him, and Nito was so glad to get saved. As soon as Nito got out of the hospital, he surprised me by attending church with his wife. Please pray for Nito to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism and start discipleship.
Our Vacation Bible School was a blessing. We usually have groups that come from the U.S. to help with VBS, but this year our church did it. Many children and teens attended the entire week, and I’m thankful for those that were saved. It was a huge blessing to see our church workers serving the next generation. On a sad note, there was a car accident in front of our church the last day of Vacation Bible School. We thank God that no one was injured; however, damage was done to our entrance fence. Please pray that we can repair the fence and also finish the fence on the back side of our property.
We had several guest preachers come and be a blessing to us. Bro. Julio and several men from Revival Baptist Church in Florida were with us. The group comes every year and does a great job soul winning and ministering to the Puerto Rican people. We also had Pastor Dani Motta and his family with us. Pastor Motta grew up in our church and now serves as the Spanish Pastor at Liberty Baptist Church of Durham, North Carolina.
I was able to attend two funerals in the U.S. of two great men who impacted my life greatly. First was Pastor Danny Ortiz Sr., the father of my dear friend, Pastor Danny Ortiz from Lewisville, Texas, and the other was Bro. Darrell Moore. Bro. Moore was very instrumental in my life. He knocked on my door and invited me to church for “Goldfish Sunday” when I was six years old. He was my bus worker and bus captain and a mentor. I thank God for Heaven.
It was a true blessing to be invited to the Puerto Rico Senate to receive a Father’s Day Recognition. The document mentioned Jesus Christ, and they thanked me for being an example. When I thanked them for the recognition, they thanked me for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my community. I was truly humbled to receive this recognition from the Senate Vice President of Puerto Rico.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Please pray for our church growth and its ministries.
• Please pray for more laborers.
• Please pray for a group coming from Harvest Baptist Church in Hagerstown, Maryland, to help with Iglesia Biblica Bautista in Humacao.
• Please continue to pray for our daughter’s health. Test results came back, and we are working on the right treatment. The doctor ordered many more tests as she tries to get to the root cause. In the meantime, our daughter is slowly improving, and we are very thankful to all who are praying.
May God continue to bless you as you serve Him faithfully. Thank you very much for your love, prayers, and faithful support and for holding the ropes. WE LOVE YOU AND PRAY FOR YOU! God bless you!
In Christ,
Luis M. Martinez
