The Baptist work here in Cristo Rey, Guatemala, is continuing strong in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our attendance has bottomed out and stabilized; therefore, it is now starting to increase, little by little, with the Lord’s help. I believe that we are seeing spiritual growth in our people, although we do see things that occasionally give us cause for concern, as Satan does to any church to try to bring them down. But we have God on our side to help us and to look to. Last Sunday we closed out our 3rd Annual Family Conference with about 80 in attendance! Overall we saw 24 people trust Christ out of this effort. To God be the glory for the great things He has done! Also, in May we had a successful Mother’s Day event here at the church as well. Thank you greatly for all your prayers for us here in Guatemala.
Legal Report
The land legalization process for our church is encountering difficulties. The difficulties have to do with crucial historical data that is missing from local government records. Please pray for this to be resolved so that this process can go through smoothly with the Lord’s help.
Victory Report
I know that God uses His willing, loving servants to help spread the cause of Christ. The following account is an example of why. There was a man who was sentenced and jailed in the same prison where our assistant pastor, Bro. Luis, is being held. He was assigned to the same prison ward as Bro. Luis. The two met during a free time in jail, and Bro. Luis curiously asked him, “What are you in here for?” The man replied back, “First-degree murder.” Bro. Luis then asked, “How many?” To which the man replied, “A bunch of people. I’ve killed ‘X’ number of people.” Bro. Luis then asked another question, “What weapon did you use?” “An ‘X’ semiautomatic—the best gun you’ll ever find!” he answered proudly, because he had the best. “Is it the best weapon in the world?” Bro. Luis asked. “Maybe, maybe not,” the man replied, “But it’s the best gun you can get here, though!” “I’ve got a better one than that.” Bro. Luis countered. The murderer looked at him, genuinely surprised, and curiously asked, “What is it?” Bro. Luis then pulled out his weapon—his Bible. He preached the Gospel of Jesus to this poor sinner, and the man immediately fell under conviction and began to weep bitterly. The infinitely powerful weapon of God’s Word broke through the hard, stony heart of a murderer as he received the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour.
We are very happy that God is using our brother there in prison. There will be another hearing on the 22nd of July. Please pray for Bro. Luis and for his lawyer, Erick Mazariegos. Also, pray especially for the comfort and love of God for the family, as their husband and loving father is in prison.
We are grateful for all the things God is doing here in our lives and in this church, which He has purchased with His own blood. We are grateful to you, our prayer partners, for standing with us through this time of trial and difficulty. To God be the glory! God bless you all.
Sincerely,
Angel Lopez
Guatemala
51 Saved
1 Baptized