Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to you from the Contreras family in Spain.

May  the presence of Jesus Christ, who is Emmanuel, God with us, be ever real in your lives. 

December 2012

A more encouraging Be Strong event.  Though only 4 unsaved folks came to our September Be Strong event, we had about 20 unsaved folks for our November Be Strong event.  Those who came were contacts made through English classes and Astur Raptors football, the JV level tackle football team we started for the community.  In fact one player came with his brother, sister, parents, and grandparents.  Joseph explained the meaning of Thanksgiving Day in the USA, and then went on to explain the faith of Bible believers in European history who suffered persecution by both Catholic and Protestant state churches.  The theme of liberty of faith and conscience is a strong common ground for us and Spaniards in order to explain biblical principles of the Gospel. 

Many nodded their heads in agreement during the presentation.  One young man, Gonzalo, said the explanation was very good.  Another man, Jorge, the father of one of our football players, excitedly asked for Bible studies!  Pray for their salvation.  We are particularly encouraged to see how our Be Strong and Raptors football efforts in the community are bringing in unsaved folks to hear gospel presentations.

Answered prayer for our floor.  Not only is God providing through special gifts from you, our supporting churches, but also in unexpected ways. Three months ago we started the Astur Raptors JV level football team. 

In Spain, sports for teens are not provided by high schools, but rather by private clubs and the city provides fields.  One of the difficulties for our team was finding a practice field with locker rooms and lighting.  All the fields are maxed out with soccer and rugby teams.  We saw no solution until in a meeting in city hall, the city sports director mentioned a very nearby field that had been abandoned in the summer, and they gave it to us for exclusive use.  It has locker rooms, showers, lighting, bleachers, but also a lot of sand that needs to be removed.

This sand is an answer to prayer!  We need sand to mix with concrete for our floor.  Using the sand from our field will save us money!  Lord willing we will lay our floor in January.  This field is also a great place for out-door church activities like cookouts, games, and open air evangelistic meetings.

Missions at Iglesia Bautista Libertad.  Throughout the month of November our church members gave presentations of missionaries in southern Spain, Portugal, Ivory Coast, and Uruguay.  We are thankful to the Lord for their decision to not only pray, but also be involved financially with these different works around the world.  Please pray our church will continue to grow and mature.

Thank you again for your prayers and support.  May the Lord bless you this Christmas and New Year.