I pray this letter finds you well. It sure feels great to be back in Honduras. We have spent our time catching up on and reconnecting with our people. The church has done well, for the most part; but a church definitely needs a pastor. For example, one of our most faithful couples was doing great when we left, but now they seem to be going through a hard time in their marriage. Also, one of our most faithful teenagers was diagnosed with depression by a psychiatrist and is under medication. Please pray for these situations; that God will give us wisdom to help.
One of the blessings we got while we were in the States was that our home church voted to give us $8,500 to finish paying off our property. We are in the process of finishing up the paperwork. Soon the property will be officially owned by the church. There was a time when owning such a beautiful piece of property seemed impossible, but thank God for His provision for us!
Also, we are busy making plans to start construction on our temple. Landmark Baptist Church from Parkersburg, West Virginia, gave us $2,000; and a personal friend gave us $500 toward the construction of the church building. It will cost about $50,000 to build our church, but we are going to start and trust God to provide as we go. If you would like to help us with this project, please do so.
God continues to bless our soul-winning efforts. We have seen 13 visitors come to our services in the first three weeks of January. A couple that had visited our church a few times before has been coming faithfully. I started discipleship classes with them. Rafael and his wife Kelly are excited about the Lord. During our last class, Rafael asked me about tithing since he wants to start giving to the church.
Our family is doing fine. We just found an oncologist to attend to my wife so that she can continue taking some follow-up medication now that she is done with chemotherapy.
Thanks for your prayers and financial support. May God bless you and use you.
Truly,
Osmin Gutierrez