Saturday, September 15, 2007

July – September 2007 Newsletter

Prince and Gina’s Praise Report from Spain
July – September 2007
Dear Prayer Partners,

May God’s peace and joy be with you all! It seems like I just unpacked from out last trip to the USA, but it’s actually been almost six months of Spirit filled activity since we were last Stateside. So as Gina and I pack our bags once again in preparation for a missions conference in Southern California we have a bit of time to reflect on all that God has been doing here in Cáceres.
Praying In The Street
The other day I was in my study preparing Bible studies and my Sunday sermon outlines when I heard the horrible screech of car tires and a crash followed by a woman’s loud cries…clearly not the signal of something good. I rushed outside and found a car in the middle of a crosswalk with a smashed windshield and damaged grill. I also saw a woman bloodied and prone in the street about fifteen yards away. I rushed to her side and, to my utter dismay, found that she was clearly in shock and at least six months pregnant. The screams were those of a witness.
Kneeling in the street as a crowd gathered, I began to pray while checking to stop any hemorrhaging I could. Men in the neighborhood kept a clear circle around me as I prayed for her and comforted her soul with God’s Word. What pleasantly surprised me was that the people of our neighborhood supported me in my efforts!
Later I found her in the hospital and discovered that she was a Rumanian immigrant named Felicia. The glorious miracle that even the hospital staff commented on was that they found NO BROKEN BONES AND HER BABY IS PERFECTLY FINE!!! Praise God!
Personal Invitation From The Catholic Bishop
I recently received a phone call from Miguel Angel, the Catholic priest who has befriended us. It was to inform me that the Dioceses of Cáceres-Coria was to ordain a new bishop and he wanted to personally invite and meet with us. I notified the other Evangelical pastors and missionaries in the area and took them with me to the event.


When we approached the 1000 year old cathedral, in the [more than] 2500 years old section of our beautiful city, one of the bishop’s entourage recognized me and hailed me by saying, “Sir, you’re the Protestant priest aren’t you?” Understanding what he meant to say I acknowledged in the affirmative. He separated me from the crowd and directed me to enter the path set apart for the bishop’s grand entrance. I had to explain that I was accompanied by my wife and other ministers that should also be allowed to enter with me.
We were seated in a special section along with the city dignitaries and in front of the TV cameras and the multitude of Catholic faithful. The Bishop publicly gave us a warm welcome and called us his friends.
Now I don’t need a Catholic bishop to feel my worth; that comes from my identification in Christ. But what it did no was to open the doors of the hearts of the people to whom we desire to reach for Christ in this city! Hundreds of people we see and greet everyday on the streets are beginning to cast aside their apprehensions and open their hearts to receive us – thus opening the door of their hearts to receive the life changing message of the Gospel (John 13:20).
Summer Crusade
In July, a short term missions group from Zoe Christian Fellowship of Whittier came for a week to do street evangelism. The team was a true blessing as more than a thousand people received Gospel literature and many more saw the street presentations of the Gospel!

As a result of the contacts made we have had several new families and individuals come to the church. Last week we baptized two new converts and there are others in preparation for baptism as they confirm their confessions of faith. Photos of the even are found on our blogsite.



These are photos of the Zoe - Antioch Missions short term team, lead by Minister Tony Dunn, sharing the Gospel on the streets of Cáceres while crowds of Spaniards listen and receive Gospel literature.


The crowd of Believers and non Believers that gathered to withness our baptismas service September 8th, 2007.





We praise God for the work that His Holy Spirit is doing in the hearts of the Spaniards. This is such a tremendous change from the spiritual condition of the country 20 years ago. We are not yet seeing revival or a massive spiritual awakening, but we believe with all of our hearts that it IS coming!










Cell (or Life) Groups
One of the greatest challenges for many churches is the consolidation of new Believers and first time visitors. We too have had to really tighten up our efforts to consolidate all of the new people that the Lord brings our way. The best way for us to do this is to train and commission cell group leaders and launch new life groups. In the last few months we have been able to launch our first such groups. We praise God for we are seeing fruit of these consolidation and discipleship tools. I also thank God for those who have taken our discipleship efforts to hearts and have accepted the call to commission to reach other souls for Christ and His Kingdom. At present we have five active and successful life groups.
Ministerial Center
We finally received the call from the bank to go and sign the final paperwork to receive the keys to the new Ministerial Centre! We would have signed the papers last week but we have made arrangements to do so upon our return from the United States.
Once we get the keys we still have numerous important details to fix and install before we can move in. Here they don’t give you your flats or houses with the kitchen, bathroom utilities or other details installed. Anything that people might change according to their own tastes they just let you do it from the beginning. This means that we are going to have to spend about 15,000 euros to condition the house and install at least the most basic elements before we can move in. Some of this we have been able to save up in anticipation and some we will just add to the mortgage loan.
So Praise God, after almost three years we will be able to move in by late early November!
Once Again, You’ve Been A Big Blessing!
Finally, thank you so much for all of your prayers and loving support of our ministry and may God continue to bless you for your generosity! You are a matchless BLESSING to our lives and the lives of countless others that you help us to reach for Christ! We love and deeply appreciate you all!
H.M.S.,
Dr. & Mrs. Prince M. Parker