Make your way straight in 2008

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness;
Prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted
 and every mountain and hill brought low;
the crooked places shall be made straight
and the rough places smooth;
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Dear Faithful Friends,

We send choice New Year’s greetings to your house. Our New Year’s prayer of faith for you is based on the sure hope of God’s Word, “that you will prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.” (II John 2) When the Apostle John wrote this scripture the church was under great persecution and in one of its darkest hours.

One may say; how could John have been so positive in the face of such chaotic opposition? It’s because he, like the Apostle Paul, could say, “I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”

Glory to God! This also is our word, our promise, and our declaration of victory over every force that tries to bewitch us, betray us, or beset us. Hallelujah!

New Year’s resolutions? Let the world play with them. Our resolve is Word based, God ordained, and walked out by us day by day, in a faith and love that has never failed nor ever can.

Our eternal increasing victory is not based on the world news nor the upcoming election, for our kingdom is not of this world system.

We are closer to heaven on earth than we’ve ever been and nothing can stop the Word of God from accomplishing what it is sent to do. The Lord Jesus Christ has prevailed. We shall prevail! He has overcome. We shall overcome!
Arise sons of God! Arise and prosper!

Ever Increasing Glory,

Calvin and Barbara

New Church in Satevó, Chihuahua

In this picture we are standing on the new church property in Satevó, Chihuahua. The town has donated the land. They have been working on it all year and finally have the paper work. Praise the Lord! The church has been having services on the patio of a local home. They will soon start on the foundation of their new building. During the year the local people have been donating some of the tin and lumber for the roof and some offerings have come in, but the task is large and there is plenty of opportunity for all of us to help too.
 
Calvin and I and Norman and Jeanne Gibson from Annville, PA just returned from a 10 day journey into Batopilas to take Christmas supplies and do the first 5 programs. The local church will do 6 more programs. We will tell you about the Christmas programs in the Christmas report. They were wonderful!

Luis and Micaela Maulas’ work in the Batopilas region continues to grow. They are making a positive impact, not only in the town of Batopilas but in the entire region. The mayor asked Luis to sit in on the city meetings as a spiritual leader and the middle and high schools have him speak to the students about important life issues.

They minister in a lot of smaller communities around Batopilas and host many Tarahumara people when they come to town. Some of them often walk 9 hours from their homes and spend Saturday and Sunday night so they can attend church. Luis and Miki feed and care for them. They continually empty their cabinets and closets giving away food and clothes and then the Lord fills them up again.