Rony Ruiz and his family visited our church one Sunday night. When I read his Visitor Card the next day, he wrote down that he was invited by Jesus. I was curious to hear the rest of his story, so later in the week I went to visit him. When I asked him how he found out about our church, he shared with me one of the most amazing testimonies I have ever heard. He told me that he and his wife attended a Pentecostal church. After several years, they found within themselves a desire to grow spiritually. So, they started reading their Bible and asking their pastor about some differences they had found between what he was preaching and the Bible. Some of those contradictions were speaking in tongues, women preachers, and salvation by grace through faith. However, they were saddened when the pastor told them that no matter what they found in the Bible, he was not going to change what he believed. He then ran them out of church. One day while they were studying their Bible, they realized they were not saved. That is when they decided to put their faith and trust in Christ alone for salvation. While they were looking for a church to attend, Rony was talking to a friend about his newfound faith and desire to study the Word of God. His friend told him that he should look for a Baptist church because they dedicate more time to preaching and teaching the Bible than to music and emotional dramas. However, they did not know where to find a Baptist church . . . until one day when they drove in front of our church building and saw our sign. They wrote down our service times and visited the next Sunday. So many times, we pray for God to work in the lives of people and get discouraged because we don’t see God moving right away. When we don’t see immediate results, we doubt the power of God to change lives today. Rony is a testimony to the fact that God was working and answering our prayers—although we didn’t find out about it until three years later.
Thank you so much for praying for Marvin Yos and Lighthouse Baptist Church, the church he started this year in Parramos. The church already has 30 faithful members and has seen several families come to Christ. Please continue to pray for their financial needs and for the Lord to open the eyes of the lost to the truth of the Gospel.
This year we had 60 mothers attend our Mother’s Day Banquet, with 20 of them being visitors. We are very thankful to Tammie Gonzalez for coming, despite some very difficult circumstances, to be a blessing to our ladies. It was exciting for me, as a pastor, to see how everyone pitched in to make this banquet a great success. It reminds me of Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
I would like to thank First Baptist Church of North Port, Florida, for the offering they sent us to help with our building project. We still have a few more footings to dig before we buy the steel structure, which is the most expensive part of the project. Lord willing, we will have all the footings done this year. We are very grateful to all of you who have helped to make this project a reality.
His for souls,
Daniel and Misty Wilder, Lydia, Charity, Emily, Hannah, Serenity and ?
