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News from the Mencia family - AIMers to Puerto Rico
Greetings from Ponce! November has been our busiest month to date in Puerto Rico...The first Saturday in November, the Mencia family had the privilege of ministering to the church of Aguadilla during a missions service. It was a time filled with song and worship; in the end, one young man was filled with the Holy Ghost and a young lady was restored. There's one more candidate for water baptism in Jesus' name!
Earlier that day, I met a few neighborhood kids and I kindly invited them to church; I still remember their faces and names. I was reminded of Bro. Howell's recent article (08/11), 'He Sees The Faces;' one-half of the present world population is under age 25. There has never been a time like the present to impact, influence, and reach our young people...Within and without.
The next day, Bro. Jesus Davila and his family were celebrating thirty years of pastorate in Ponce. Several members and the Davila daughters organized a 'surprise party' for the Davilas. As one can imagine, the service was filled with emotion, memories, and words of appreciation. The following Thursday, my wife had the privilege of ministering to the people of Ponce; her message was entitled, 'Dios Nos Eligio Para Brillar' (God Chose Us To Shine). Whatever we go through, we must be a beacon of hope to others and let His light shine through us...
On Sunday, November 13, Bro. JR Black, field superintendent, ministered to the church of Ponce...His message, 'Una Cosa' (One Thing), emphathized the need to seek the Lord and fulfill His purpose for our lives. There was a good move of the Holy Ghost during the altar call. The following Saturday, I was approved by the district board of Puerto Rico for local licensing; my wife and I were honored and humbled. In fact, Bro. Alfredo Lopez, district superintendent, remembered preaching in La Casa de Mi Padre (Pastor Larry Romero) in Vista, CA and he also remembered staying in my parents' home in the Dominican Republic when he was invited to minister there. It's a small world after all...
Later that evening, Bro. Roberto Santana, a young minister from Carolina (PR), was the main speaker during an 'open air' street service on the corner of one of the toughest housing projects in Ponce. We literally took the Gospel 'to the streets'; some listened, some aked or called for prayer, and others just walked by as we handed out church tracts; yet, there was a calming and peaceful presence felt. To God is the glory!
Later that evening, Bro. Roberto Santana, a young minister from Carolina (PR), was the main speaker during an 'open air' street service on the corner of one of the toughest housing projects in Ponce. We literally took the Gospel 'to the streets'; some listened, some aked or called for prayer, and others just walked by as we handed out church tracts; yet, there was a calming and peaceful presence felt. To God is the glory!
Two days after Thanksgiving Day, Tabernaculo de Fe in Aguas Buenas (Pastor Gary Landaw) was celebrating 24 years of existence. Several pastors and ministers were present at this joyous occasion; the main speaker was Bro. Alfredo Lopez, district superintendent of Puerto Rico. His message, entitled 'Quieres Ser Sano?' (Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?), stressed the urgency to reach out to those in need of a savior and conversely those in need must desire to 'be made whole'.
On Monday, November 28, Pastor Jesus Davila (Ponce) and several of the brethren made the trip to Salinas (a neighboring city) to the home of a new convert to hold a home Bible study in an attempt to establish a preaching point in that city. Thank you Jesus! We hope all of you had a blessed and memorable Thanksgiving day together with family and friends. Thanks again for your prayers and support.
God bless you,
The Mencia Family
She Didn’t Leave Like She Came
by
Jarvis Munn,
AIM, Ghana
Saturday, July 9th 2011 was a day that will not soon be erased from my memory. Sis Carter, Rev Albert Awuku, and I attended a joint service in Zua, in the Upper East Region of Northern Ghana.
There were 188 in attendance. All were there to meet with the Lord, and receive the blessing that He had in store for them.
When we first arrived there was an elderly lady sitting along the side of the church. This lady had a sizable lump on her neck, almost as if it was in her throat, and it was comparable in size to that of a softball. Service continued, and after the Word of God had been delivered, the offer was made for those to come forth in need of the Holy Ghost and of healing. Almost the entire congregation came forward, expecting great things from God.
Great things certainly came. There were thirty filled with the Holy Ghost, and thirty-four claimed their healing. For this one particular lady, healing was extremely evident. After prayer for healing, she reached out, and the lump began to shrink. It shrank and shrank for the remainder of the service until we were to leave and it was virtually unnoticeable. God had without a doubt touched this lady with His mighty healing virtue, and we praise Him for that.
This woman did not leave that service the same way she had arrived.
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~AIM Report from Fabio Mencia - Madrid, Spain - April/May 2011
Dear Brethren,
Greetings from Madrid! It’s springtime in Spain and what better way to start the season than with wedding bells? The blessed couple, who were baptized last month, was wed on the first Saturday in April. It was the first of three ceremonies this month! Two days later, my family and I started our first home Bible Study in Madrid! The family, a husband, wife, and their young son, opened the door to their home; most importantly, they opened the door to their hearts. The wife’s brother also joined in on the study. Thank you Jesus!On Friday, the 8th, my wife held a 'Pentecostal Fashions Display' with the young/single ladies of Tabernaculo de Vida. Basically, it was a workshop showcasing different hairdos, dress, and accessories. The message was clear and simple; our youth can dress modestly and nicely, uphold holiness standards, and be a beacon of hope and truth to the world’s fashions and styles. We held this activity twice at our home church (La Casa de Mi Padre/Pastor Larry Romero) and it proved successful.
That same evening, I had the privilege of accompanying one of our small group members to a clinic in Madrid; we were visiting his ailing uncle. After a short reading of the Scriptures, we laid hands on his uncle; we believe he was touched and he definitely appeared broken and contrite, as he was moved to tears. We will believe in God for complete healing and a visit to church and/or the start of a Bible study!
On Easter Sunday, the English-speaking service held their anniversary service; the main speaker was Bro. William Markham. Actually, Bro. Markham was with us the entire day, from leadership training early that morning and during two of the Spanish-speaking services held in the main sanctuary. He truly blessed us with anointed teaching and preaching; his messages were both inspirational and moving. Bro. Markham will be with us for the remainder of the week; it should be good!
It’s been five weeks since work started at the site of the future national Bible institute of Spain. A lot of progress has taken place as it begins to take shape; total completion is scheduled for the month of September. A job of this magnitude will obviously take time and effort and is being done in phases. Spain will be joining Scotland as the only two countries in the region of Europe with a full-time national Bible institute; to God is the glory! Time has flown by as we enter our fifth month in Spain!
As always, we covet your prayers!
God bless you,
Fabio Mencia
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~AIM Report from Fabio Mencia - Madrid, Spain - Mar./April 2011
Dear Brethren,
Greetings from Madrid! March was off to a running start for Tabernaculo de Vida! On that first Saturday, my oldest daughter and I joined a group of over twenty brethren from the evangelism department for an afternoon of distributing church tracts. We went to the “Sol” section of Madrid, the heart of the city. It brought back childhood memories of New York City’s Time Square; so many people, so many souls.
The next day was truly an exhibit of international cuisine as brethren from several nations displayed their native dishes in what is known as "Platos Tipicos". That same Sunday, a local Bible quizzing tournament was held throughout all three services at TDV.
On Wednesday the 9th, a team of seven pastors and six wives arrived from the Western District. The group was headed by Bro. Donald O'Keefe, the WD foreign missions director. Bro. Jerry Powell, promotion director, also made the trip.
The pastors and their wives were a blessing and inspiration to us; we hope their short stay in Spain was a blessing to them as well. If I’m not mistaken, seventeen (the number was actually 24 at last count before we left Spain) received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and two were baptized in Jesus’ name during their visit. On a personal note, it was to good see Bro. Joel Buxton and his wife, former youth leaders in section 1 (San Diego). They are now pastoring in Carson City, Nevada. Bro. and Sis. Gerald Buxton, Bro. Joel Buxton's grandparents, also made the trip to Spain.
On Saturday (the 12th), my wife and I led our first small group session in Madrid. TDV holds small group gatherings every Saturday of the month, except for the first; that's their day off. Small group ministry has vastly contributed to TDV's church growth; presently, there are more than fifty active small groups and counting. Fortunately for us, we're very familiar with this type of ministry because our home church (La Casa de Mi Padre) is a cellular church itself.
On March 21, demolition/remodel work officially began at the site of the future national Bible Institute, a long anticipated and desired vision. It will take several months to complete the remodeling of the current building. However, when it's all done, it will hold full-time students as well as the national church offices; thus expanding the vision of reaching the country of Spain and beyond.
On March 26, it was "Friend Day" at TDV; a special day dedicated to small groups and a great way to reach out to the masses. There was good food, fun, and fellowship! As I finish up this update, my wife is working with a young lady from TDV’s youth department to work on a youth activity scheduled for next month. Finally, we have a home Bible study planned in the very near future. The couple, like me, are native New Yorkers and are descendants of the Dominican Republic. We hope to keep you updated!
As always, we covet your prayers.
God bless you,
Fabio Mencia
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~AIM Report from Fabio Mencia - Madrid, Spain - Feb./Mar. 2011
Greetings from Madrid! The first weekend in February was an exciting one! On Saturday, I joined a group of over twenty brethren from Tabernaculo de Vida's evangelism department for an afternoon of distributing church tracts. What I thought was an easy one thousand invitations, I would later be told that nearly three thousand were handed out. Thank you Jesus!Sunday, however, wouldn't be outdone! It was "Missions Sunday"; Bro. Sones cast the vision of expanding and supporting the national work. Between all four services held that day, a great amount was pledged on a monthly basis. This, without a doubt, will help the mobilizing and planting of new works on a national level. To God is the glory!
The following Thursday (10th), Bro. Israel Ramos, a preacher visiting from Venezuela, blessed TDV with a message entitled, "Te tengo una respuesta Satanas!” which translated means, "I have an answer for you Satan!" It was a powerful message indeed. The next day, the youth department held the annual "Friendship Dinner"; a night of great food, fun, and fellowship!
On the last Thursday of the month, Bro. Sones began a series from the book of Esther. His first teaching was entitled, “Esther-The Invisible Providence of God”, a very encouraging and inspiring teaching. On the last Saturday of the month, it was cleanup day at TDV. I believe there will be nine pastors from the Western District visiting Spain in the month of March; I'm sure there will be times of great rejoicing and celebration during their visit!
As always, we covet your prayers!
God bless you,
Fabio Mencia
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So We Continue...
Tervitused Jeesuse nimi! (Greetings in Jesus Name!)
With two months behind us and only one more ahead of us here in Tallinn, Nannette and I have taken a close look at what we have gained thus far from our experience. We want to share with you in this newsletter just a snippet of those experiences.
Most missionaries who are coming into a new country say that the first year must be dedicated to becoming familiar with the people, the culture and customs, the history and the language. We have condensed a lot of this into the past two months. The great thing for us is that much of what we have learned here will help us tremendously when we return next year to Latvia. The Baltic States have many threads of commonality that make this 'training' period even more productive to the future of 'Faith Journey'. Added on top of that are the experiences we are getting in facilitating Home Friendship groups, integrating prayer walks into our routine, and working through the challenges of living in an unfamiliar country. All of these combined have made this first leg of our journey invaluable.
We have found that regardless of the differences (whether real or perceived) in language, culture or even customs, there are still many people throughout the world that are looking for something to fill the emptiness that they find within themselves. Over the past few weeks God has opened doors for the Turner's to reconnect with many people who have been involved with the church here in Tallinn over the past few years. We are believing that God is going to draw many of these people back and that they will become an integral part of the foundational work being done here in Tallinn.
As we begin to wind down this portion of our Faith Journey travels, planning is already underway for our next project. As we have mentioned, we will be returning in 2011 to Latvia, Estonia's Baltic neighbor to the south. We are very excited about what will be taking place in this country. We will be sharing many of these plans with you in the next few months. In the meantime we ask that you keep the entire Eastern European region in your prayers. There is an awesome feeling of expectation here that God is getting ready to open the floodgates of revival in the immediate future.
Täname partneriks koos meiega! (Thank you for partnering with us!)
You Tube Channel
Website
Bookmark our website, and keep up with our travels there. We will be continually updating our photos. We also are maintaining a blog that chronicles some of the highlights of our Tallinn journey. If you haven't checked out some of our recent entries we encourage you to do so as we feel that God has given us some good thoughts to share with you there as well. Please feel free to comment on our blog posts, and sign our guestbook!
Monthly Support
We ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us in this Faith Journey. Even though this portion of our journey is nearing completion, it is not too early to begin building the budget that we will need for our upcoming year-long assignment in Latvia and the surrounding countries. Please check out the support page on our website or e-mail us for further information on how you too can be involved! Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Prayer Needs
With the impending return to the States, we have several needs that we are asking you, our partners to pray with us about. The next few months will be filled with opportunity! There will be numerous open dates in our ministry calendar to fill. Please help us pray that God will open the doors and speak to pastors regarding this need.
Our journey to Latvia will encompass a year, and that means that a significant budget must be raised before we depart. Please pray that God will speak to pastors, friends, family and contacts regarding their part to help fulfill this pressing need.
Lastly, please pray for safety as we travel. Not only for the travels back home, but also once we are on the road again.
You can also keep up with our 'Faith Journey' on a 'real-time' basis by connecting with us on Facebook. We are listed under the name 'Faith Journey.' We look forward to seeing you there!
Our mailing address is:
Faith Journey
525 Presswick Lane
Saint Charles, Missouri 63303
More information about Doug and Nannette Elkins:
Accident? Coincidence? We don’t think so. Doug and Nannette celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in 2009. It has been a wonderful journey and to say God has been good is an understatement at best.
Along the way we were blessed with three sons, Kyle, Kristopher and Korey, they made our life complete. Then in 2002 we were blessed again when Kyle married Rachel Mynheir and we found out what it was like to have a girl in the family!
The journey became even more interesting in December, 2009, when God opened a door with such certainty that we knew we were on the right path.
The wonderful thing about a Faith Journey is you don’t travel alone!
We are blessed with wonderful family, friends, pastors and churches who have encouraged us and supported us along the way. Today is no different, we will go with God’s blessing and a network of people who will pray for us and help make us strong.
Doug started his career with the FAA as an Air Traffic Controller and we were busy and involved in our home church in Bloomington. But the hunger never left to do more so in 2001 we sold our home and moved to Cincinnati to pastor. Doug took early retirement from the FAA and still the fire burned on.
The last five years we have been in NW Missouri pastoring while God was preparing us even when we didn’t know it.
**NOTE! None of the above information was posted at the request of Bro. and Sis. Elkins
