PRAYER LETTERS
March / April 2015
Dear Friends in Christ, March / April 2015
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lor
d for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the ministry.
Susie and I are doing well and are enjoying good health. We thank the Lord for His many blessings in the ministry with the churches and Bible College. Susie’s little four year-old niece was having severe headaches and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It turned out to be benign, and they were able to remove it without causing any damage. PTL, another answer to prayer!
The Lord is blessing the churches, too. Several of the churches are doing canvassing campaigns and personally handing out thousands of invitations and tracts to their communities. These two months have seen over 28 souls trust Christ as their personal Savior! Also, a couple from the Trinity B.C. that surrendered to be missionaries, will be leaving for Cuernavaca in May with their three children to pastor a work there!
The Ambassador Baptist Bible College is doing well, and we are preparing for graduation on May 1st. Through the soul winning efforts of our students these two months, 60 souls trusted Christ! PTL! We thank the Lord for these churches that helped with extra offerings: Bible B.C. in Chicasha, OK for repairing two vehicles and Plantation B.C. in Plantation, FL for paying off the rest of the loan to repair the educational building roof.
Due to all the rain and mud and wear and tear, we need to re-gravel the roads around the youth camp and college campus, and we still need to buy a ‘0-turn’ mower for the fast growing grass that quickly overwhelms us. Please pray for these needs. God bless you all.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
January / February 2015
Dear Friends in Christ, January / February 2015
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Susie and I are doing well and seeing many blessings in the churches and Bible Institute. We have had a lot of rain for this time of the year, and the roads here are full of pot holes and mud. We received a great report on our 7 month old grandson James (with spina bifida). He is developing normally, and his brain and motor skills are excellent. Right now his calf muscles are weak, and he will need to wear braces from his feet to the upper part of the calf muscles when he is going to be standing, but he will be able to walk! PTL!
The Lord is blessing the churches, too. Friend Day was celebrated in several churches, and more than 44 souls have trusted Christ! PTL! And several new families have joined. There are more than 30 believers being disciple in the Trinity, Beacon, and García churches alone, and many others in the other churches as well. A married couple from our 2012 graduating class has a growing church in Cadereyta just 12 miles north of the Bible College and youth camp. In one year they have out grown there small building and are making plans to build on the lot next to their current building. Please pray for this work, the Mt. Sion Baptist Church.
The Ambassador Baptist Bible College is doing well, and we have a great group of dedicated students. They just returned from their missions trip to Zacatecas the end of February where they promoted the college and presented evangelistic skits to a group of over 50 pastors. Through their soul winning efforts these two months, 51 souls trusted Christ! PTL!
God bless you all.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2014
Dear Friends in Christ, November / December 2014
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support.
Susie and I are doing well and seeing many blessings in the churches and Bible Institute. We are so thankful that the violence toward the civilian population has calmed down, and people feel a little more at ease to travel, shop and visit. There is less extortion of businesses going on as well which helps the small business owner make a living for his or her family.
The Lord is blessing the churches, too. They are growing, winning souls, and discipling new believers. More than 32 souls have trusted Christ! PTL! Also, Susie’s Christmas Kids Offering for this year was tremendous. We deeply appreciate the following churches for their offerings: Bible B.C. in Chickasha, OK and First B.C. in Milford, DE. These offerings made it possible to buy candy and toys for about 400 hundred poor children and young teens in our churches. And thank you for the beautiful Christmas cards we received from many of you.
The Ambassador Baptist Bible College is doing well, and the school’s roof has been repaired with NO LEAKS! PTL! We have dry class rooms and no water dripping into our frijoles at lunch time! We thank these churches for their help:
Victory B.C. Cedar Park, TX, Twin Lakes Fellowship Cedar Park, TX, Southside B.C. Denison, TX, First B.C. Mesquite, TX, Grace B.C. San Antonio, TX, Fundamental B.C. Palmer, TX, and Trinity B.C. Big Spring, TX.
God bless you all.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
September / October 2014
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply
appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for us and the work in Mexico.
God continues to bless us in remarkable ways. Our two youngest grandchildren are doing very well after their first two months of life. In the next two months two of our sons (Jeremy and Justin) are moving to Corpus Christi, TX where another son Matthew already lives. WOW! We will soon have three of our four sons living in Southeast Texas. Seven of our eleven grandchildren will be just a few hours away from Monterrey PTL! He sure is good to us.
The Lord is blessing the churches, too. They are growing, winning souls, baptizing, and discipling new believers. More than 25 souls have trusted Christ, and nine have been baptized. The newest work, the Noriega Mission is doing well, and we hope to have a national pastor in January. Please remember Susie’s Christmas Kids Offering for this year. These offerings help buy candy and toys for Christmas for hundreds of poor Mexican children in our churches.
We had a wonderful convocation to kick off the new school year at the Ambassador Baptist Bible College with yours truly preaching to over 150 present. Several former students and other pastors and missionaries were present as well. We have 8 new students this year to add to the student body. PTL! New student enrollment had been down due to violence in our area. This is a sign of parents having more confidence to send their young people to us. May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
July / August 2014
Dear Friends in Christ, July / August 2014
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Remember our prayer request for our son Jeremy and Maria and their baby due in July? The baby is James Alexander and had been diagnosed with spina bifida. He was born in Washington D.C. on July 14th and weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. He has had two operations during his first month of life – the first one to close up the small area of spina bifida not enclosed on his lower back and the second one to insert a brain shunt to relieve fluid and pressure build up. He also has a catheter to help him completely empty his bladder. Please pray that these will be temporary. He is doing remarkably well and is at home now. He can move all his fingers and toes, arms and legs. PTL!
We also have a new grandson born to our son Justin and Amber in Marion, IN. He is Samuel Wayne born on July 24th and weighed 9 lbs. 4 oz. He had a mild case of jaundice but is at home and doing very well. Samuel is our 11th grandchild. These two fellows are cousins but could easily pass for brothers!
The new work in Mier Noriega is doing well and may have a young couple taking it over this Fall – graduates from our Bible College. We are gearing up for the new school year and the college’s convocation in September.
Also, several decisions were made during youth camp! PTL!
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
May / June 2014
Dear Friends in Christ, May / June 2014
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Remember our prayer request for our son Jeremy and Maria and their baby due in July? The baby is a boy (James Alexander) and had been diagnosed with spineabiphida. His spine had developed on the outside of his body, and the brain stem was not connected properly. He had water on the brain, clubbed feet, and was going to be totally paralyzed and totally dependent on his parents if he even survives the birth. The doctors suggested an abortion because of the severity of the deformities, but Jeremy and Maria rejected that and decided to accept the conditions of the baby as God decides.
We have wonderful news! The doctors are amazed that the baby no longer has water on the brain; his brain stem is intact; he no longer has clubbed feet; and his spine is almost totally enclosed within his body. God has been so wonderful to answer your prayers for this young couple. Thank you all so much!
We have had over 25 souls saved and 14 baptized since our last update. Mother’s Day was celebrated in several of the churches which saw many adult visitors. There were other professions of faith in Christ as well!
The new mission in Mier y Noriega is doing well as we are now meeting in a member’s home near the center of town. There are some wonderful possibilities for this work in a town with no evangelical church of any kind.
We had a wonderful Bible College graduation with 300 present and six graduating!
We have the summer challenges before us as we try to make some improvements to the dormitories and keep the grounds in good shape with the old mowers. Please remember to pray for this need to buy new mowers. God bless.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
March / April 2014
Dear Friends in Christ, March/April 2014
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Please pray for our son Jeremy and Maria’s baby due in July. The baby is a boy and has been diagnosed with spineabiphida. His spine has developed on the outside of his body, and the brain stem may not be connected properly. He has water on the brain, will be totally paralyzed, and totally dependent on his parents if he even survives the birth. The doctor suggested an abortion because of the severity of the deformities, but they have rejected that option. They cannot operate now to relocate the spine inside the body because of the proximity of the placenta to the cervix. They will try to operate after the delivery if the baby survives.
We have had over 18 souls saved and 11 baptized these two months. Childrens’ Day in April was celebrated in several of the churches which saw many adult visitors and children. There were other professions of faith in Christ as well!
BIG THANKS to Trinity B.C. in Abilene, TX for their offering to help us with the staff house roofs. We are able to re-plaster and paint the ceilings from the water and humidity damage from the leaking roofs.
The Bible Institute is doing well. The students’ evangelistic efforts saw 32 souls saved! The spring rains have caused the grass and weeds to grow very fast making it extremely difficult to keep everything mowed. We had to hire a rancher with his tractor and mower deck to cut the back 8 acres and some of the other acreage. With the grass, the ceiling repairs in both houses, and trying to get ready for graduation week April 27-May 2, we have a lot to do, but we are making progress, PTL!
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
January / February 2014
Dear Friends in Christ, January/February 2014
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Susie and I are doing well and praise the Lord for His blessings and protection. Susie has a lump on her left shoulder near her collar bone that is caused by rheumatoid arthritis and not cancer we were relieved to know. I had a good annual checkup and sonogram with the cardiologist and everything is fine.
The Lord blessed these past two months in the churches with over 49 souls saved and 8 baptized! Friend Day in February was a big day for several of the churches who saw many children and several parents trust Jesus for salvation. There are several Kids Clubs going on in church members’ homes meeting on Saturdays to try and reach other families with the Gospel.
Thank you to several of our churches for the Christmas love offerings and cards. We appreciate it very much. We also enjoy the birthday and anniversary cards as well as others that are for no special day but just to let us know that you are praying for us and that we are in your thoughts. God bless you for your time and efforts.
The Ambassador Baptist Bible College is doing well. We have a dedicated group of young people that are a blessing to teach and help prepare for future ministry opportunities. The Lord blessed their evangelistic efforts with 36 souls saved! PTL! They have been working hard trying to keep all the grass cut at the camp and college campus with just one small riding mower and two push mowers that we are constantly repairing. We need a big mower to cut the front 4 acres and a medium size tractor and pull behind mower deck to do the rough back 8 acres. Please pray with us about the $10,000 needed for this equipment.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
November / December 2013
Dear Friends in Christ, November/December 2013
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some of you knew about the passing of my step-dad in October. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for us and our family. Please continue to pray for my mom (87) who is doing well but continues to have deep sorrow during those tender moments especially through the holidays. Dad was saved (mom too), and he is in heaven with the Lord now.
The Lord blessed these past two months with over 93 souls saved and 21 baptized in the churches. As Mexico was celebrating Virgin of Guadalupe Day (Virgin Mary) on December 12th, many of our folks were out soul winning and turning others to faith in Christ!
BIG THANKS to several churches for Susie’s Christmas Kids’ Project: Serenity B.C. West Chester, OH; Plantation B.C. Plantation, FL; Suburban B.C. Moore, OK; Bible B.C. Chickasha, OK; First B.C. Milford, DE; and additional help toward damage to the Bible Institute education building roof by Trinity B.C. Denver City, TX.
We had a great time celebrating Christmas with the College students and staff before the Christmas break with Susie’s turkey dinner and gifts for all!
Susie’s Christmas Kids’ Project was a great blessing for over 300 children! She was able to buy candy and small gifts for at least 10 of the churches!
2013 saw 712 souls saved through our ministry. Thank you all for helping to make that possible! PTL!!! Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. God bless.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
September / October 2013
Dear Friends in Christ, September/October 2013
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
We have had over 18 souls saved and 11 baptized these two months. NOCHE MEXICANA, a special celebration in the churches for Mexican Independence Day on September 16, saw several visitors and other professions of faith in Christ as well!
BIG THANKS to several churches: Heatherridge B.C. of Tulsa, OK who is taking care of the project for Iglesia Bautista Faro (Beacon B.C.) who is rebuilding their roof damaged from a September hurricane; roof damage to both houses, our home and another staff house is being taken care of by Bible B.C. of Chickasha, OK, and damage to the Bible Institute education building is partially covered by First B. C. of Daleville, IN.
The Bible Institute convocation went well with about 250 present for the activities and welcoming the students’ return to classes as well as the 10 new students for this year.
Continue to pray for Mexico and the drug war problems. Our neighbor and a brother of a close friend were kidnapped recently, and a couple of car jackings have taken place near our youth camp and school campus. God bless you all. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie