Alex Gulart

Second Update of the year!

2010-07-23T13:23:00.000-03:00

Here we are again; this is our second update of the year! God has been so faithful. We have many things to share about what God is doing in Uruguay and in our lives. Thank you so much for all your prayers, your love and your support.

CIMA 2010

CIMA is a mission’s oriented international conference that took place in Cordoba, Argentina, with more than 2200 young people from all over South America.

The purpose of the conference was to introduce young people to missions and help them see how they can get involved. In January a group of nearly 20 people left Montevideo, Uruguay to participate in the CIMA conference. Our group included a few individuals from other countries. Alex had the opportunity to serve as a volunteer in a number of areas of the conference. We really enjoyed our time there; we prayed for unreached people groups, and countries; and we met young Christians from different places and missionaries serving with different organizations. We had the chance to hear wonderful speakers and attend great workshops. The quality of the conference and the organization were really amazing!

Experimenta Perú

Experimenta means “experiment missions.” It is a short term mission trip after CIMA. Around 700 people went to different parts of the world, especially in South America. We went to Peru not just as part of the team, but as leaders. It was one of the most adventures times of our life (if not the most), but more importantly, it was an incredible time of seeing God work in and through our lives. Sometimes God needs to break us in order to form us more into his likeness. Deltha was involved with kids, and Alex was involved with teenagers. He also had the opportunity to preach twice in the local church that was hosting us. We did evangelism, and we work with the local believers.

A little BIG problem…

We passed through the dessert of Chile for 3 hours in order to get to immigration. We were in the middle of nowhere at 16500 feet of altitude. Mical, a 16 year old, was a part of our team. She came to us and said that she was not allowed to go into Chile because she is a minor and that the papers that her parents had completed were not correct. WHAT? We cannot describe what we felt in that moment and all the thoughts that went through our minds. After hours (literally hours) of talking with the authorities it was evident that they would not let Mical pass over the border. We were convinced that this teenager could not stay alone in immigration nor return to Argentina alone. We decided to let the team continue on to Peru, while we made sure Mical was safely in Argentina with another team. After a great adventure for over one week of learning to lean more on God and not on our own strength, we were reunited with our team in Peru.

Youth Camp in Bolivia

Talo Vergara (serving in Bolivia with Grace Ministries International) invited us to be the main speakers of the Grace Camp in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It was a real blessing for us to share with young people God´s Word. One of the things that we really enjoyed was to divide the whole group in guys and girls, so Deltha talk to the girls and Alex talk to the guys. The title of the camp was “Searching for treasures en Heaven” and we looked at the life of Moses as an example of this. The 3 main messages were “knowing God”, Trusting in God” and “Cooperating with God”.

Greek

Last week we started taking Biblical Greek classes. We had been praying for a Greek teacher for long time and God has heard our prayers. We give thanks to the Lord for Henry Clary and his family, which God is using to bless our lives and ministries. The classes are in our church and for free. There are 9 people taking the class. Thanks be to God for this blessing.

Theological Seminary

We are in our second year of the seminary, the subjects for this semester are: Missions, Ephesians, Cults and Religions, Leadership, Hermeneutic, Religious Background of Latin-America, Pedagogy, and Church Planting.

Cell Group

The cell group that is hosted in our home recently multiplied and now there is another group meeting in the house of another brother of the church. We currently have 5 cell groups in the church.

Cross Concept

As we told you before, we are working with the youth group (18 to 25 years) in the church. We call this youth group “Cross Concept”. The idea of having a name is just because it’s cool and helps them to identify with the group. We want to emphasize the Cross, and to teach them that the Cross is more than a concept. We have a blog that you can visit: www.conceptocruz.blogspot.com (it´s in Spanish), and we also have facebook. Last week we met for a time of prayer each day at 7am. Every day we had at least 7 people. We focused on different topics and then we prayed for a revival in our lives and in Uruguay.

AWANA

Since March Deltha has begun as the new director of the kid’s ministry. She is so excited that new kids are coming to the church. She also is content with the leaders that are working in the ministry with her.

Thanks be to God for one more year of life. God is good!

The biggest blessing of all…

Crispy (Christian) is Alex´s Brother. After 2 years of wandering he is walking with the Lord again. It´s incredible to see how much God has worked in Crispy in just a few weeks. Alex said “it feels like I have recovered a brother”. Crispy was even one of the young people who came to pray in the morning. Thank you Lord!

Prayer Request

Please join us in prayer.

- For Christian (Alex´s brother): that God continues strengthen him in his faith especially to resist the darts of the enemy.
- For the youth group (Cross Concept): for spiritual hunger for holiness, and more love for God´s love.
- For the kids of AWANA Club: pray that they will get to Know Christ as their personal Lord and that their families will come to Jesus through them.
- For our studies in the seminary and Greek.
- For more monthly support.
- For our relationship with Jesus. We don’t want to forget that in the middle of these activities we must sit at the feet of Jesus to hear His Word.

Thank you so much for reading this letter and for your prayers. Thank you for being part of this adventure of following God. God bless you and let’s keep in contact!

Alex y Deltha Gulart

Lo prometido es deuda, acá esta nuestro segundo informe del año!
Es muchísimo lo que tenemos para contarles, y de verdad les damos muchas gracias por sus oraciones y apoyo. Vivimos una gran aventura con Dios. El nos corrigió, moldeo, se mostro fiel y nos desafío!

CIMA 2010

CIMA es un congreso internacional organizado por CEC (Centro de Entrenamiento Cristiano) que se hace en Córdoba, Argentina cada tres años, reuniendo a más de 2200 jóvenes de todas partes del mundo, en su mayoría de Sudamérica.
El enfoque del congreso es impactar a los jóvenes con la realidad de misiones, llevándolos a tomar un mayor compromiso con Dios.
CIMA cuenta con excelentes oradores, talleristas, y músicos. La organización es todo un ejemplo a seguir. Y la calidad del evento es excelente!

Alex lidero el grupo de uruguayos (20) que fueron desde diferentes iglesias a CIMA. Pasamos un tiempo formidable, donde conocimos a muchos cristianos jóvenes comprometidos a seguir a Cristo hasta lo último de la tierra, oramos por diferentes tribus y grupos étnicos que un no han escuchado del amor de Dios, renovamos nuestra pasión por Dios y por los que aun no lo conocen, disfrutamos de alabar a Dios junto a jóvenes de otras nacionalidades (nos recordó nuestro tiempo en el barco) y escuchamos la Palabra de Dios, fue una gran bendición!

Experimenta Perú

Experimenta es la parte practica de CIMA. Una vez terminado el congreso alrededor de 700 jóvenes fuimos a algún lugar del mundo a hacer misiones. Algunos de los lugares donde fueron equipos son Japón, Alemania/Austria, Senegal, Perú, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brasil, entre otros.

Nosotros como ustedes bien saben fuimos a Perú. Trabajamos con niños (Deltha) y adolescentes (Alex) de un barrio muy carenciado. Tuvimos la oportunidad (Alex) de predicar 2 domingos en una iglesia bautista en Arequipa, hicimos evangelismo y motivamos a los hermanos de la iglesia a seguir sirviendo a nuestro Señor.

De camino por el desierto de Chile

Para llegar a Perú tuvimos que cruzar el desierto de Atacama, donde llegamos a estar a 5000 metros de altura sobre el nivel del mar. El dolor de cabeza era increíble, y muchos nos sentíamos mal, pero lo peor aún estaba por venir.

En nuestra delegación viajaba Mical, una adolescente de 16 años. Ella se acerco a nosotros y nos dijo que no la dejaban entrar a Chile porque era menor. Nos pusimos a orar, fuimos a hablar pero nada se podía hacer, el permiso de menor que ella tenía no le permitía entrar en Chile. Ahí arranco nuestra odisea… nos quedamos con ella para no dejarla sola y tuvimos que pasar una noche en el medio del desierto ya que no había ningún lugar donde pasar la noche, ni que comer, a todo esto le sumamos el dolor de cabeza de la altura. De ahí fuimos a Jujuy (Argentina) y tuvimos que pasar 2 noches, y luego fuimos a Perú pero esta vez por Bolivia.

Campamento en Bolivia

Talo Vergara (misionero de Grace Ministries International en Bolivia) nos invito al campamento de verano para jóvenes que se realiza cada año en Santa Cruz.

Para nosotros fue toda una bendición compartir con los jóvenes de las iglesias bolivianas, en especial cuando nos dividimos para hablarles por separado a los hombres (Alex) y a las chicas (Deltha). El tema del campamento fue “Buscando tesoros en el cielo” y el personaje que estudiamos fue Moisés. Los tres mensajes del campamento fueron “Conociendo a Dios” “Confiando en Dios” y Cooperando con Dios”

Fue un tiempo muy especial donde Dios trabajó en nuestras vidas, y también nos uso, aprendimos una vez más sobre su fidelidad y su cuidado, y recordamos una vez mas que servir a Dios es todo una gran aventura.

Griego

Esta semana arrancamos con clases de griego bíblico. Dios ha contestado nuestras oraciones y anhelos. Por muchos años hemos buscado la oportunidad de estudiar griego pero no había sido posible.

Dios proveyó de un profesor llamado Henry Clary. Henry es misionero junto a su familia aquí en Uruguay, tiene un doctorado en Nuevo Testamento y una gran persona.

Nos sentimos muy bendecidos, ya que poco a poco nos vamos capacitando más y más parea servir a nuestro Señor.

Seminario

Estamos cursando nuestro segundo cuatrimestre en el seminario. Las materias que tenemos son: Misiones transculturales, Efesios, Sectas y Religiones, Liderazgo, Hermenéutica, Realidad religiosa latinoamericana, Pedagogía y Plantación de Iglesias.

Célula

La célula que funciona en nuestra casa se multiplico! Parte de nuestro grupo se fue con un hermano a su casa para comenzar allí otra célula. Los dos grupos siguen creciendo gracias a Dios! Gloria a Dios!

Concepto Cruz

Como les contamos estamos trabajando con los jóvenes de 18 a 25 años. A este grupo le pusimos por nombre “Concepto Cruz”, la idea de ponerle nombre es porque creemos que puede ayudar a darle identidad al grupo. Le nombre es para enfatizar que el centro de nuestras vidas debe de ser la cruz de Cristo, y queremos que entiendan que la cruz es mucho mas que un concepto.

Gracias a Dios el grupo arranco con mucha fuerza, esperamos que siga así. Si queres conocer un poco mas sobre este ministerio podes visitar nuestro blog: www.conceptocruz.blogspot.com y hacerte amigo nuestro en Facebook.

Como bendición especial queremos contar que esta semana que paso nos reunimos todos los días a las 7 de la mañana a orar por diferentes aspectos de la vida cristiana, y gracias a Dios cada día tuvimos no menos de 7 jóvenes que vinieron a orar y leer la Palabra de Dios.

OANSA

OANSA es el ministerio con niños que tenemos en la iglesia, este año Deltha quedo a cargo de este ministerio, y gracias a Dios también va muy bien.

La más grande de todas las bendiciones

Crispy (Christian) el hermano menor de Alex ha regresado al camino del Señor! Después de casi 2 años de estar apartado de los caminos, él ha decidido volver a caminar junto al Señor y hace un mes que está asistiendo al grupo de jóvenes y a la iglesia. Incluso es uno de los jóvenes que ha venido en las mañanas para orar. Gracias a todos los que han estado orando por el!

Pedidos de oración

Por favor les pedimos que nos acompañen en oración:

- Por Crispy (hermano de Alex) para que siga firme creciendo en su relación con Dios. Por fortaleza ante las tentaciones del enemigo, y para que vuelva a servir al Señor con pasión como lo hizo antes.
- Por el grupo de jóvenes (Concepto Cruz) para que mas jóvenes conozcan a Cristo y se entreguen a El. Sabiduría, creatividad y amor para trabajar con los jóvenes que Dios nos esta dando.
- Por los niños de OANSA, para que ellos puedan conocer a Jesús como Señor y Salvador, para que se enamoren de la Palabra de Dios desde pequeños.
- Por nuestros estudios tanto del seminario como de griego.
- Por nuestro sustento económico mensual.
- Por nuestra relación con Dios, para que a pesar de tantas actividades podamos “tirarnos a los pies de Jesús a escuchar Su palabra” como lo hizo María.

Muchas gracias por acompañarnos en esta linda aventura de servir al Señor y gracias por ser parte de nuestras vidas.

Dios los bendiga y seguimos en contacto!!!

Alex & Deltha Gulart

God is an Awesome God!

2010-03-23T16:15:00.000-03:00

Hi dear friends and brothers and sisters in the faith. We hope that when you receive this letter, you are well and enjoying God`s blessings.

We want to thank you for your support, your prayers and your love, in addition to sharing with you something of what God is doing in Uruguay and in our lives.

Please forgive us for not having sent out our prayer letter/update this past year as often as previously. Without wishing to make excuses, we assure you that we have been very busy and it was quite difficult to adjust to our new life style of living. We will try to do better this year!!!

Theological Studies

We thank God that we got though our first year in the seminary with excellent grades. The subjects we took were: New Testament Introduction, Old Testament Introduction, Systematic Theology, Pedagogy, Inductive Methodology, Evangelism, Research and Writing, Worship, Homiletic, Faithful Stewardship, Missions, and Spiritual Living. As you can see, we had a good variety of content. We both enjoyed the studies in spite of the hard work involved.

Youth Group

This group commenced in March, and we have grown from nobody to usually about ten every Saturday. It isn´t a easy task, since they are not all consistent in attending meetings nor in they walk with the Lord, but we are trusting that with God’s help we will see a change in they lives.
Some are beginning to do Bible studies and seem to be growing spiritually. We are confident that our work will not be in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58)

Children

This work is vey different! We are using the AWANA program, which helps us to reach out the families by means of the children, and the work team with which we are working believes that a special emphasis should be applied to this ministry. Deltha teaches the 9 and 10 years old and gets more and more involve in the ministry.

Cell Group

Every Wednesday at 7pm we have a Bible study in our home, with the aim of reaching new people for Christ. We started in May and now we have a group of 15, more than a half of whom have never attended a Christian church. In March, we plan to multiply into 2 groups, one in our house y the other in the house of another member of the church.

Mission trip

A group of 8 members in their late teens and early twenties will be going in the middle of January to a youth conference in Cordoba, Argentina. With a big focused in missions. After the conference, will be going for two weeks to different places in South America to get practice in missionary work. We (Deltha & Alex) are going to Puno, Peru, working with the “Aimaras”. Others are going to places in Peru, Chile and Argentina. From Puno, we are going to share and teach in a youth camp in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Uruguayan papers

God willing, in the next few days Deltha will get the document she needs to stay in Uruguay. Alejandra, a Mexican we met onboard the ship (Logos 2), has been a great help in obtaining the document we needed from Mexico. Thank you Ale!!!

Thanksgiving

We are grateful to God for His help and care during of our first year of marriage. Both of us has questions and concerns, but we have probed that God is worthy of our confident in Him.

A special blessing

God allowed Deltha to return to his beautiful country of Mexico to spend both, Christmas and her birthday with her family. We had though for sometime that it was necessary that she visited her family, but we didn’t know how it would be possible. However, the Lord made it possible, and for that we are thankful to Him.
One again, many thanks for you support, love, prayers and friendship. God has blessed us through you! May you also know the blessing of God in your life!

Much Latin love, Deltha & Alex

Just Married!

2009-03-19T10:08:00.003-03:00

We hope that you are doing well and blessed by our Lord. This is our first prayer letter/update that we write as a couple. The purpose of the letter is to share with you what God is doing in our lives, and the ways that He is using us, always because of His grace. This is a good way to keep in touch with many of you and to pray for one another.

Just Married:

Thanks be to God for His provision, and thank you for all your prayers. The 10th of January we were married in Queretaro, Mexico. We shared that day with friends, family, and brothers and sisters. On January 12th we travelled to Uruguay. The 14th of January we had our civil wedding in Uruguay, and on January 16th we were married in Grace Bible Church of Uruguay in Montevideo. It was a special time where we could see God’s provision for us. Words cannot describe how grateful we are. God is SO gracious!

Honey Moon

God blessed us so much with a beautiful Honey Moon. We thought we would just spend a few days near Montevideo, but God had something else in mind. It was a great surprise when we ended up in Chile and Argentina. We met many nice people that blessed us so much. We still do not understand how we got there, but what we do understand is that our God is huge and He is full of Grace, Mercy, and Love!

Youth Camp in Argentina!

After our Honey Moon, we went to a Youth Camp in San Luis, Argentina. We received the invitation a few months before our wedding. So we prayed and God led us to say “yes”, as it really was His will. We spent a great time there preaching, teaching and counseling. The people were very kind to us. Through them we experienced God’s love.

Home Sweet Home

We give thanks to God for the house that He allowed us to rent. It is a small apartment, but it is nice. It is also very close to the church where we are serving, just four blocks away.

Full Time Ministry

Since February 2009 we have been working full time in the church (http://ibguruguay.blogspot.com). Alex’s main ministry is with the youth group (18-25years old). The idea is to be like a pastor for them, not just somebody that teaches them on Saturdays. Alex will be preaching as well every third Sunday at the church. Deltha’s main ministry will be with the AWANA Club, which is an awesome program for kids (6-12 years old) and she will be involve with the worship team as well. In the near future we will hosting a cell group (Bible Study) in our home and will be preparing to lead it as well. As you can imagine, we will be really busy!

Young People’s Kick-off

Last weekend we had a youth camp with the young adults of our church; it was the first activity of the year. We had 10 from our group (18-25 years old) and 7 from Young adults (26 to 35). We studied the book of Jonah and Psalm 139. We were excited that some new young adults joined us who have never even touched a Bible. Personally, we are blessed that Alex’s brother, Crispy, participated in the camp and we believe this a step towards recommitment in his walk with the Lord. It was a good time!

Theological Seminary

Praise the Lord that we were accepted at the Baptist Theological Seminary, and will be studying there for 4 years (Deltha at least 2 years). We praise the Lord for His provision; GMI (Grace Ministries International) is paying the whole cost of our studies so we can have better preparation for present and future ministry.

You can pray with us!

1-Giving thanks:

-For His provision for our 2 weddings
-For the wonderful Honey Moon that God surprised us with.
-For the possibility to study in a Theological Seminary.
-For the privilege to serve God in Full Time Ministry.
-For the Wonderful reality of being married.

2-Interceding for us

-For monthly support
-For Deltha’s adaptation to Uruguayan culture (which is very different to Mexican)
-For Deltha’s paperwork to obtain Uruguayan citizenship.
-For wisdom in our ministries.
-For our relationship with the Lord.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our update/prayer letter, and for all your prayers, support, love and encouragement. May God bless you so much!
Please send us your mailing list so we can send you our printed prayer letter a couple times a year.

Latin Love,
Alex y Deltha Gulart

Hola queridos amigos,

Esperamos que al recibir esta carta se encuentren muy bien y bendecidos por Dios. Es la primera carta que escribimos juntos como pareja. El propósito de esta carta es compartir con ustedes lo que Dios está haciendo en nuestras vidas, como nos está usando y también consideramos que es un buen medio para estar en contacto, orando unos por otros.

Recién casados:

Gracias a la gran provisión de Dios y a muchas oraciones, el pasado 10 de enero tuvimos nuestra boda en México, delante de muchos amigos, familiares, hermanos y por sobre todas las cosas delante de Dios, dimos el “SI”. El 14 de marzo, recién llegados a Uruguay nos casamos por Civil, y el 16 de enero ya que nadie de Uruguay pudo ir a México, nos casamos por iglesia en Montevideo. Fueron momentos increíbles y únicos, que nunca olvidaremos. Damos gracias a Dios por su hermosa provisión y a tantos hermanos que oraron por nosotros y nos ayudaron haciendo posible esta enorme bendición.

Luna de Miel

Dios que no escatima bendiciones para Sus hijos os regalo una hermosa Luna de Miel. Cuando nosotros vimos los recursos que teníamos pensamos en solo unos días libres en algún lugar cercano. Grande fue nuestra sorpresa cuando nos vimos en Chile y en Argentina. No nos alcanzarían 10 cartas para contar como se dio todo y como Dios nos bendijo, pero pasamos 3 semanas espectaculares donde aparte de conocer lugares hermosos y personas muy interesantes, también vimos la mano de Dios obrando y proveyendo, Dios fue muy bueno con nosotros, lo sigue siendo y siempre lo será.

Campamento de adolescentes en Argentina

Nuestra Luna de Miel se completo con un campamento de adolescentes en San Luis, Argentina. Recibimos la invitación para participar hace unos meses y después de orar entendimos que era la voluntad de Dios aceptar la invitación. Solo podemos concluir en que realmente fue la voluntad de Dios. Fue una gran bendición participar, pasamos un tiempo maravilloso y la gente que conocimos nos bendijo muchísimo. Alex estuvo a cargo de los mensajes y también fue invitado a predicar 2 veces en la iglesia que organizaba el campamento.

Hogar Dulce hogar!

Damos gracias a Dios por proveernos de una casa para vivir. Estamos alquilando un pequeño apartamento a 4 cuadras de la iglesia, y a 45 minutos del seminario teológico. Si bien es muy chica es un lugar muy acogedor, y está en buen estado.

Ministerio a Tiempo Completo en la Iglesia

Desde febrero estamos trabajando a tiempo completo en la iglesia. Alex está encargado de los jóvenes de 18 a 25 años. La idea es pastorear a este grupo de jóvenes y no solo preparar una clase para el sábado, esto incluye visitas, estudios bíblicos, discipulados, y un seguimiento del progreso en Cristo.
Alex también se encarga de predicar un domingo cada 2, y de organizar el culto dominical. En el caso de Deltha, ella trabaja con niños en un club llamado OANSA (Obreros Aprobados No Se Avergüenzan) donde también funciona un comedor y con el grupo de alabanza. En nuestra casa también funcionara una célula (un estudio bíblico hogareño). Así que como pueden darse cuenta estaremos muy ocupados, pero disfrutando mucho de servir a nuestro Señor quien dio Su vida por nosotros.
Con el grupo de jóvenes arrancamos el año con un campamento, estudiamos el libro de Jonás y el salmo 139 y fueron un total de 17 jóvenes (10 de mi grupo y 7 del grupo de 26 años en adelante)

Seminario Teológico

Gracias a Dios fuimos aceptados en el Seminario Teológico Bautista y estaremos estudiando ahí por 4 años hasta terminar la carrera de Teología Pastoral, por lo menos en el caso de Alex esa es la idea, quizás Deltha haga solo 2 años, pero todo depende de Dios (y de los bebes que pudieran llegar, jeje) También damos gracias a Dios por su provisión en este tema, ya que GMI (Grace Ministries International) está cubriendo económicamente todos nuestros estudios!

Puedes orar junto a nosotros:

1-Dando gracias a Dios

-Por su Provisión para realizar ambas bodas
-Por la luna de Miel maravillosa y sorprendente que nos permitió vivir.
-Por la posibilidad de capacitarnos en el seminario Teológico.
-Por darnos el privilegio de servirle a tiempo completo.
-Y por la maravillosa realidad de estar casados.

2-Intercediendo por nosotros

-Por apoyo económico mensual
-Por la adaptación de Deltha a la cultura uruguaya (muy diferente a la mexicana)
-Por la ciudadanía uruguaya de Deltha (estamos en tramites)
-Y por sabiduría para trabajar en la obra en la forma que Dios quiere.

Muchas gracias por tomar el tiempo de leer este informe y de estar orando por nosotros. Reconocemos que Dios los usa de gran manera, y que cada oración, e-mail, ofrenda y palabras de cariño que proviene de ustedes.
Dios los bendiga muchísimo y nos alegraría recibir noticias de ustedes.

Con Cariño,
Alex y Deltha Gulart

Five weeks with Deltha in Uruguay!!!

2008-10-22T15:49:00.004-02:00

It´s a pleasure to write you a new update of what God is doing in my life and around the world. Thanks be to God I am doing really well, trusting Him in all and serving Him full time.

In my last update I shared about my time in Bolivia, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. Since I came back to Uruguay I have been working full time in my church. So let me share with you some of the activities that God allowed me to participate in.

The Good Samaritan Meal

The “Good Samaritan Meal” is an evangelistic event where we serve the poor. It´s a wonderful opportunity to serve the community and to show God´s love to them.
We made personal invitations and some posters as publicity to invite people, we prepared a really tasty meal (winter style), and the church hosted about 75-80 people. All of them were so happy, some of them eating 2, 3 or even 4 plates of food. A few even had the opportunity to bring food to their homes. After the dessert we gave them clothes and provided free blood pressure testing. We also shared the gospel with them through literature and personal chats. Since then some of them are coming during the week to have their blood pressure checked and also a married couple is assisting the Sunday service. Praise the Lord for the wonderful day and the awesome opportunity to serve Him!

Visiting other churches

God is continuing to give me opportunities to share in a variety of congregations from different denominations. Last month a preached about missions in a church in their Sunday service, and this coming month I am going to visit two youth groups where I will share about Jesus´s Grace.

Young Adult´s Ministry

I was always involved in the Young Adult´s Ministry in our church through sharing messages and participating in different activities, but now it will be a little bit different. Gusty has been the leader for the past 11 years. In the last few months we have been working together as leaders of this group with the purpose of me taking full leadership of this ministry at this point in time. During these past months he has been helping me through the transition. It is a big challenge, but I trust that God will help me and guide me. I´m exited to see what God has in store for us as we look forward to expanding the ministry.

Waiting for this blessing for so long…

After 7 month of waiting to see her again, Deltha arrives in Uruguay right after leaving the Logos Hope ship. She came for 5 weeks and it truly was a blessing. She is looking as beautiful as always, even more than before. During our time together it was obvious to both of us that our committment to serve the Lord together continues to grow strong.
She met my family, country and church. My family loves her very much, and they have a wonderful relationship. The same is true with the church. Deltha really likes Uruguay but the cultural shock was inevitable (and so funny): the food, kisses on the cheek with everybody, and the late hour we eat supper were some of the ingredients that surprised her. We talked a lot, we visited diferent places, we watch some movies, we studied the Word of God and we started to plan our wedding. It was a great blessing. Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy!

Pre-Marital Counseling Course

Gusty, one of our pastors, provided us with a pre-marital counseling course that was a great blessing in preparation for our marriage. We met twice a week, a total of 9 lessons with different topics about married life. It was so helpful for us to talk about the different aspects of marriage from the light of God´s word as well as learning from different experiences of Christian couples.

The future

After a lot of prayer and so many options, we are convince that Uruguay is the right place for us to serve as missionaries. God knows that we wanted to serve overseas and not in Uruguay or Mexico, but we feel God´s call to this part of the world. We are committed to serving the Lord full time in the church as well as studing in the Baptist Seminary for the next 4 years. We believe that God is calling us to serve him full time in Christian ministry rather than working in a secular job. We know that this period of time in our life is not just about serving and working, or studying and learning about the Bible, but it will also be a time where God will be working in us and in our marriage. Our wedding will be in January in Mexico, and we want to have a simple ceremony in the church of Uruguay as well.

Prayer request:

1- For a place to live (We need to rent something cheap and near of the church.)
2- For monthly support (We don´t have any yet.)
3- For God´s provision for all the details of our wedding.
4- For our faith, that we will trust God in every moment.
5- That God will be glorified in everything that we are doing.

Thank you so much for all your prayers, support, and encouragment.
Please keep in contact. I would love to hear from you .
God bless you so much.
With latin love, Alex

Ahora en Español!!!

Es un gusto estar escribiendo un nuevo informe de lo que Dios esta haciendo en mi vida y en la vida de muchas personas.
Gracias a Dios me encuentro muy bien, caminando con El Señor y sirviéndole a tiempo completo.
En mi último informe hace un par de meses, les contaba sobre mi tiempo en Bolivia, Puerto Rico y Costa Rica, desde ese entonces he permanecido en Uruguay sirviendo en mi iglesia local. Aquí les paso a compartir algunas actividades en las cuales Dios me permitió servir.

Comida Samaritana

La comida samaritana es un almuerzo para personas de muy bajos recursos de la ciudad de Montevideo, especialmente cerca de la iglesia. Los principales propósitos son evangelizar y servir a los más necesitados.
Hicimos invitaciones personales y también algunos carteles para invitar a la gente, se preparo una rica comida estilo invierno y se preparo la iglesia para albergar a las personas. Recibimos un poco más de 75-80 personas, todas quedaron muy contentas por lo rico de la comida y la mayoría de ellos comió más de una vez y muchos llevaron comida a sus seres queridos. Después del postre se les regalo ropa en muy buen estado a cada uno de ellos y se les compartió el evangelio con literatura y charlas personales y se les tomo la presión gratis a aquellos que lo necesitaran.
Algunas de esas personas nos visitan regularmente entre la semana para tomarse la presión gratuitamente y un matrimonio empezó a congregarse desde ese dia.
Alabado sea Dios por el hermoso día que hizo y por la oportunidad de compartir Su hermoso evangelio!

Visitas a otras iglesias

Dios me esta dando la oportunidad de compartir en diferentes iglesias de diferentes denominaciones. El mes pasado predique en un iglesia sobre misiones en un servicio dominical y este mes entrante tendré el privilegio de compartir en 2 grupos de jóvenes.

Jóvenes

Si bien siempre he estado involucrado con el grupo de jóvenes a través de mensajes y actividades, esta vez será un poco diferente ya que estaré quedando como líder del mismo. Gusty quien lo ha liderado por 11 años y que hoy en día es uno de los pastores de la iglesia me ha estado ayudando en esta transición. Desde este mes en adelante estaré liderando todo el ministerio de jóvenes, esto es un desafío muy grande pero que entiendo que viene de la mano de Dios y estoy deseoso de ver lo que El va a hacer.

La mas esperada de las bendiciones!

Después de 7 meses de espera mis ojos la volvieron a ver. Deltha, al terminar su tiempo a bordo del barco Logos Hope vino a Uruguay por 5 semanas, y fue verdaderamente una bendición. Ella sigue tan hermosa como siempre y hasta me animaría a decir que más que antes, nuestro amor sigue intacto y nuestras ganas de estar juntos cada vez son más.
En estas 5 semanas ella conoció a mi familia y se llevaron muy bien, conoció a mi iglesia en la cual se sintió muy cómoda y conoció mi hermoso país que le gusto mucho y que le dio un lindo choque cultural. La comida, los horarios y los besos en las mejillas a los desconocidos fueron algunos de los ingredientes que la sorprendieron.
Hablamos muchísimo, paseamos por varios lugares, estudiamos la Biblia juntos, miramos películas y empezamos a planear nuestra boda en Enero.
Fue una verdadera bendición que solo Dios hizo posible. Gracias Padre!

Curso Pre-Matrimonial

Uno de los pastores de mi iglesia (Gusty) compartió con nosotros un curso pre-matrimonial que fue una total bendición. Tuvimos 2 clases por semana, que llegaron a un total de 9 clases formales más algunas salidas con Gusty y su esposa Lorena.
Fue muy lindo tratar ciertos temas con un matrimonio cristiano desde la luz de las Escrituras. Tanto Deltha como yo coincidimos en lo mucho que nos ha ayudado este curso y lo mucho que nos ha bendecido.

El futuro

Después de mucho orar y de muchas opciones, junto a Deltha estamos convencidos de que Uruguay es nuestro próximo campo misionero. Solo Dios sabe que realmente nosotros no queríamos quedarnos ni en Uruguay ni en México, pero sentimos que Dios nos ha llamado a estar aquí por un tiempo y servirle mientras El trabaja en nuestras vidas, nos prepara para el próximo paso y nos ayuda en los primeros pasos del matrimonio.
Tenemos un compromiso de 4 años en Uruguay junto a mi iglesia local. La idea es que tanto Deltha como yo trabajemos a tiempo completo en la iglesia, no en trabajos seculares, y al mismo tiempo estaríamos estudiando en el Seminario Teológico Bautista de Montevideo. Nuestra boda será, Dios mediante, en Enero 2009 en México, y una pequeña ceremonia también en la iglesia de Montevideo.

Pedidos de oración:

1- Por una lugar donde vivir (con un alquiler barato y cerca de la iglesia)
2- Por sustento mensual (aun no tenemos nada de sustento mensual)
3- Para que Dios provea para los gastos que tenemos que enfrentar.
4- Para que sigamos confiando en Dios aun en estos tiempos de nervios.
5- Para que en todo sea Dios glorificado.

Muchas gracias por sus oraciones, apoyo, amor y ánimo.
No dejen de mandar algún mail que siempre es bienvenido.
Dios los bendiga mucho.
Con cariño, Alex…

God's Grace in Action!!!

2008-08-13T14:18:00.017-03:00

I really want to thank God for the wonderful opportunity to serve in Bolivia, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. GMI (Grace Ministries International) invited me to go to these countries and serve God. Once again I can say that God’s grace is sufficient for me.

Bolivia

I arrived in Santa Cruz at 4am after almost 3 days in a bus, and at 8am I was teaching Christian Education in a high school. This is how I started this crazy trip with God!
It was my third visit to this country and I spent three weeks sharing about Jesus.
I stayed at Talo’s house. He is a missionary with GMI (Grace Ministries International)
and we have known each other since we were kids because we are from the same neighborhood. He is one of the people that shared Christ with me. This is why it was a really special time for me.

You cannot accept Christ as Savior if you do not accept Him as Lord!

I met with 4 young people in Bolivia for a Bible Study and we talked about having a real commitment with God and the cost of living a life for Christ. I also met with a Dance Team and I had the wonderful opportunity of teaching them some steps and dance techniques that I learned in the past in the artist world, and of course we studied the Bible together. I shared in youth groups about God’s Grace and our responsibility towards missions. I also taught in a High School (where the big majority is not Christian) 3 or 4 times per week. I shared 2 or 3 times with each class. God gave me the wonderful opportunity of sharing openly that we need to follow Christ and not just to believe in Him, and it’s a commitment with a very high cost. Some of them (Praise the Lord) showed some interest in getting to know more about Jesus and to start going to a Bible Church.

Puerto Rico “The Charming Island”

For sure this is one of the most beautiful countries that I ever been to, but not just because of the wonderful places it is, but because of the awesome people that live there.
The people are so warm there (the weather too) and they made me feel like I was at home. They are so hospitable and nice. God provided people that became my family; I don’t have words to express what I feel about all my new friends and family from Puerto Rico.

Regarding ministry, I have to confess that it was the busiest month of my life, but one of the best. I really enjoy it! The main purpose of my visit was to preach at “Caribe Camp” which is a Summer Camp. We had three weeks and each week was for a different age group (9-12, 4-8, and 13-16). I shared the first week and the third week; however, the second week the little kids had a different program. The topic of the camp was “The fruit of the Spirit.” The organizers gave me a lot of freedom in sharing. Beside the messages in the camp, God gave the awesome opportunity of share in youth groups, Sunday services and I was even invited to preach in a youth conference. God’s Grace in Action!

Costa Rica

In “the land always green” I had the nice opportunity of preaching in a church from the same denomination that I come from. I also shared my testimony in a youth evangelistic activity. Even though I spent just one week in Costa Rica, it was an awesome time and I met a lot of cool people!

Future

At the moment I’m working full time with my church in Uruguay; my main ministry is with the young adult group and preaching some Sundays. I also will have many other opportunities to serve the Lord here in Uruguay. I am working with a wonderful leadership team: my two pastors (and best friends), and two missionaries from USA. We work 8 hours a day and 6 days a week, my day off is on Wednesday.

On 12th of September, God willing, Deltha will be arriving in Uruguay. She will spend 1 month here meeting my family, church and friends, and we are going to do our pre marriage course with one of my pastors. And of course we will try to do as much as possible for our wedding preparation in Mexico in January!

Would you like to pray for me?

• For my relationship with the Lord, that I continue knowing Him more and more and make Him known.
• Monthly support since the work in the church is voluntary
• For God’s provision for the wedding and plane tickets.
• For God’s leading in all the decisions that we need to make about the wedding and our future.
• For my time with Deltha in Uruguay, that it will be a great blessing!

Thank you so much for all your prayers, support, and love. Thank you for taking the time to read this update and may God bless you so much! Let’s keep in touch!
With Hugs and Kisses from Latin America,
Alex…

Español

Doy gracias a Dios por la hermosa oportunidad que me dio de viajar y servirlo en Bolivia, Puerto Rico y Costa Rica de la mano de GMI (Grace Ministries International), quienes me invitaron a esta nueva aventura en el servicio a Dios. Ellos se encargaron de todos los detalles que hicieron posible que sirviera en estos países. Gracias a Dios por ellos y por tanta Gracia en mi vida!

Bolivia

Después de 2 días y medio en bus, arribé a Santa Cruz de la Sierra a las 4 de la mañana, a las 8 de la mañana ya estaba en una escuela secundaria enseñando clases de educación cristiana. Así empezó esta nueva aventura de la mano de Dios.
Fue mi tercera visita a Bolivia, estuve ahí por 3 semanas y Dios fue muy bueno al permitirme compartir Su Gracia con tantas personas.
Ahí en Bolivia me quede en la casa de Talo Vergara, el es misionero con GMI, con el nos conocemos de toda la vida ya que crecimos en el mismo barrio. El es hermano de Gusty uno de los pastores de la iglesia en Uruguay, y ellos son las personas que me guiaron a los pies de Cristo, por lo cual mi tiempo en Bolivia fue muy especial no solo por el ministerio sino por la amistad que me une con Talo.

No se puede aceptar a Jesús como Salvador, sino se le acepta como Señor!

Me reuní con 4 jóvenes con los cuales estudiamos a través de la Biblia el compromiso que requiere seguir a Cristo y el alto costo del mismo. Con un grupo de coreografía pude compartir no solo la Biblia, sino también enseñarles algunos pasos y técnicas de danza que aun recuerdo de mí pasado en el rubro artístico.
También compartí en grupos de jóvenes sobre la Gracia de Dios y nuestra responsabilidad frente a las misiones mundiales.

Enseñe en un colegio (donde la mayoría aun no son cristianos) 3 o 4 veces por semana todas la mañanas, y uno de los días doble horario. Con la mayoría de los cursos pude compartir 3 veces. Dios me dio la oportunidad de compartir abiertamente que a Jesús hay que seguirlo y no solo creer en El, y que seguirlo tiene un costo y muchas veces muy alto. Algunos de ellos mostraron interés en empezar a asistir a una Iglesia Biblica y conocer más a Este Judío que dijo ser Dios.

Puerto Rico “La isla del encanto”

Indiscutiblemente es uno de los países que más he disfrutado, no solo por sus hermosos paisajes sino por su hermosa gente. Me encanto la amabilidad de su gente y la alegría que tienen, son muy hospitalarios y tienen muy buena onda.
Dios me proveyó de personas que me trataron como un verdadero hijo, no tengo palabras para agradecer a Dios por mi nueva familia boricua y por todo lo que me bendijeron.
En cuanto al ministerio tengo que reconocer que fue uno de los meses mas ocupados de mi vida, pero sin duda uno de los mejores.
La principal razón de mi visita fue predicar en un campamento cristiano de tres semanas de duración (una semana por edad, la primera de 9-12, la segunda de 4 a 8 y la tercera de 13 a 16 años)

El tema del campamento fue “Los frutos del Espíritu”, y los organizadores me dieron mucha libertad en cuanto a lo que compartir en cuanto al tema.

Además de predicar en el campamento, Dios me bendijo con la posibilidad de compartir en reuniones de jóvenes, reuniones dominicales y hasta en una radio a la cual visite 5 veces. Todos los fines de semana fui invitado a compartir a jóvenes y adultos, e incluso me invitaron a participar de una conferencia de jóvenes. Una vez mas la Gracia de Dios en acción, y repito uno de los meses mas ocupados de mi vida, pero uno de los mejores!

Costa Rica

En “la tierra siempre verde” tuve la linda oportunidad de predicar en una iglesia de la misma denominación que mi iglesia local en Uruguay, también compartir mi testimonio en una actividad de jóvenes. También conocí a gente muy buena onda y divertida!

Futuro

Ahora ya estoy en Uruguay trabajando a tiempo completo con mi iglesia, mi principal trabajo será con los jóvenes, aunque también estaré predicando algunos domingos entre muchas otras cosas y ministerios. En la iglesia estoy trabajando junto a mis dos pastores, y dos misioneras de EEUU, es un hermoso equipo de trabajado! Trabajamos 8 horas por día (de 9 a 5) y tenemos un día libre (el mío es el miércoles).

A fines de setiembre estará llegando (Dios mediante) mi hermosa futura esposa Deltha, la cual se quedara un mes por tierras Charrúas. Estaremos haciendo un curso prematrimonial y ultimando detalles para la boda en Enero.

¿Tu gustaría orar por mi?

• Por mi relación con Dios, para conocerlo mas día a día y darlo a conocer!
• Por sustento económico mensual ya que mi trabajo en el ministerio es voluntario.
• Por provisión de Dios para llevar a cavo el casamiento y para los pasajes de Deltha desde Uruguay a México y para los pasajes para la boda en México.
• Para que Dios nos guíe en todas las decisiones que tenemos que tomar respecto a la boda y a nuestro futuro.
• Por el tiempo junto a Deltha en Uruguay, que sea de gran bendición y edificación!

Muchas gracias por todo tu apoyo, oraciones, amor y ánimo. Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de leer esta carta y de contactarte conmigo. Dios te bendiga mucho!
Con mucho cariño, Alex…

After 2 months in Uruguay!!!

2008-06-06T13:15:00.008-03:00

I hope that you are doing well, and enjoying God’s blessings in your life.
I’m very well thanks be to God! , This is my first prayer letter since I came back home.
First of all I want to thank you for all your support, emails and love during this time. At the same time I want to apologize for not answering many emails, but I don’t have internet access at my house, and that makes everything a bit more complicated.

A big welcome and a birthday party

I arrived in Montevideo on April 16th, and my family and friends were waiting for me in the airport, my grandma couldn’t stop kissing me as she was crying (she is almost 80 years old). Two days after, it was my birthday and I received a really nice surprise, my church and family organized me a party at church (with burgers yeah!)

Re-entry

Coming back home after the ship experience could be really traumatic, even for some people it gets to be really hard. But, thanks God I didn’t have any problem. God really blessed me with a wonderful church, a nice family, and very good friends.
Probably the hardest thing is to be separated from Deltha, but still God is really helping us!

Rest Ministry!

In my first three weeks in Uruguay I been involved in “rest ministry”, my church didn’t allowed me to do anything, they wanted me to rest, and that is what I did! I spent a lot of time with my family and friends, just talking and eating (as a good “Gordo” Latino!)

Active ministry!!!

After these 3 weeks I did a presentation at my church about my time on board, and since then, I didn’t stop at all, preaching on Sundays, working with the youth group and working full time at my church (8 hours a day, 6 days a week).

Last moment: NEWS!!!

I’m writing this prayer letter from Bolivia, I will spend here about a month doing discipleship, teaching, evangelism, preaching and working with youth. After Bolivia God’s willing I’m going to Puerto Rico to do almost the same, plus I will be preaching in a camp for teenagers. After these two months I will return home to work full time in my church.

Prayer requests:

1- For my spiritual life, I want to be more like Jesus everyday, and more sensitive to His voice.
2- For the ministry, that God uses me with His power and grace, and as a consequence many will draw closer to Him.
3- For finances that will allow me to work full time in ministry, and for my wedding with Deltha (mi chica latina).
4- For my travels, that God protects me on the road and in everything when I travel from one place to another.

Thank you so much for your support and love, please keep in contact!
With Love,
God bless you,

Alex…

Español

Espero que al recibir esta carta se encuentren muy bien y disfrutando de las bendiciones de nuestro hermoso Dios en sus vidas.
Yo gracias a El me encuentro muy bien y muy contento, esta es mi primera carta desde que llegué a mi hermoso Montevideo junto a mi familia e iglesia.
Antes que nada les quiero dar gracias por sus oraciones, y por sus mails, eso realmente ha sido de gran animo y ayuda en mi regreso a Uruguay.
Por otro lado les pido disculpas por mi falta de comunicación, se que no he escrito lo suficiente o respondido muchos mails, pero en mi casa no tengo Internet por lo cual es un tanto complicado.

Bienvenida y cumpleaños!

Arribé en el aeropuerto el 16 de abril, y allí me estaban esperando mi familia y mis mejores amigos, fue muy lindo volver a mi país y reencontrarme con mi padres, con mi hermano, mi abuela que no paraba de llorar, mis mejores amigos, caminar por las calles que me vieron crecer, y comer carne uruguaya!
Dos días después fue mi cumpleaños, yo esperaba solo que algunas personas me visitaran en casa, pero en vez de eso me hicieron una fiesta sorpresa en la iglesia junto a todos los hermanos, fue muy lindo.

Re-entry

Re-entry es la expresión que se usa en el barco para denominar la experiencia de volver a nuestra cultura y a la vida “normal” fuera de la locura del barco. Como se imaginaran la vida en el barco es toda una aventura y es muy intensa, para nada rutinaria y muy interesante, es por eso que antes de salir nos preparamos para volver a entrar a nuestras culturas y “vidas normales”, para mucha gente este paso es realmente muy difícil, pero gracias a Dios para mi fue toda una bendición y en ningún momento me fue difícil adaptarme a no estar en el barco, Dios me ha ayudado mucho y también mi familia, mi iglesia y mis amigos.

Los primeros días…

Las tres primeras semanas fueron exclusivamente de descanso, en la iglesia no me permitieron hacer nada, ellos me mandaron a descansar y pasar tiempo con la familia, y fue lo que hice. Fue una gran bendición pasar horas comiendo y hablando con mis padres, con mi hermano, y con mis amigos.

Ahora si, ministerio!

Pasadas tres semanas, hice una presentación de mi tiempo fuera de Uruguay en mi iglesia, y de ahí en mas no he tenido un solo fin de semana libre, entre predicas de domingo y reuniones de jóvenes los sábados Dios me ha permitido estar ocupado en el ministerio.
Luego de esas 3 semanas comencé a trabajar a tiempo completo en mi iglesia local, ahí cumplo un horario de 8 horas diarias 6 días a la semana. Estaré trabajando en el ministerio de jóvenes, predicando algunos domingos y organizando ciertas actividades, más allá de ciertas tareas del día a día en una iglesia.

Noticia de ultimo momento!!!

Al escribir esta carta me encuentro viajando rumbo a Bolivia, donde pasare todo un mes dando discipulados, predicando, hablando a jóvenes, entrenando en evangelismo entre otras actividades. Al finalizar este mes, estaré yendo para Puerto Rico donde también estaré sirviendo al Señor por un mes, ahí además del ministerio ya mencionado, estaré participando de un campamento para adolescentes donde se me ha dado la oportunidad de predicar. Al finalizar estos 2 meses regresare a las tareas de la iglesia, Dios mediante.

Pedidos de oración:

1- Por mi vida espiritual, para que cada día sea más parecido a Cristo y sensible a Su voz.
2- Por el ministerio, para que Dios me use para comunicar Vida a muchos.
3- Por finanzas, para que Dios provea sustento mensual para seguir trabajando a tiempo completo y para el casamiento en enero junto a mi hermosa Deltha.
4- Por mi tiempo viajando, que Dios me cuide mientras voy de un lado otro.

Muchas gracias por tu apoyo y ayuda, por favor seguí en contacto!
Con mucho cariño, y que Dios te bendiga,

Alex…

Moctezuma Revenge!

2008-04-23T17:01:00.002-03:00

Who was Moctezuma? To most foreigners, Moctezuma is just some Aztec emperor with the dubious distinction of having the diarrhea that tourists in Mexico sometimes get from drinking the local water named after him ("Moctezuma's revenge", La Venganza de Moctezuma). When it happens to the unlucky ones, the presence is unmistakable. The technical definition is the passage of at least three unformed stools in a 24-hour period together with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fecal urgency or the passage of blood or mucous. The disease usually lasts 3 to 5 days and is caused by exposure to virus and bacteria to which our bodies are unaccustomed, the principal agent being Escherichia coli That was my welcome sign to Tacoland (Mexico)!

With Deltha's family:

Thank God and all your prayers; my time with Deltha's parents was a great blessing. They took me around to beautiful places, we talked a lot, and I officially asked them for Deltha's hand (before we got engaged I called them by phone). They of course agreed!
I studied the Bible with her mother, I talked about boxing with her father, and I laughed with her sister!
Deltha's mother organized a family meeting to introduce me to the rest of the family. It was the first time in my life that I felt like an animal in the zoo (lol), uncles and aunts were looking at me and asking questions about salary and jobs… so I told them: "I involve in my Father's business"
Deltha's parents are really cool people; our time together was a real blessing!
The last day with them, I kissed her dad in the Uruguayan way, he liked!

Christian Camp!

I participate in a christian camp. I got the chance of preaching 3 times and share my testimony. I got the opportunity as well to see some ex Logos 2 friends (Nadia who was organizing the camp, Menhi and Hugo), we did some dramas and enjoy been together again and sharing what God is doing in our lives.

6 people accept Christ!

When I went to visit Paco and Nina (Deltha's uncle and aunt) they invited me to go to some Bible studies, and sharing the Roman Road, 6 people accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord!

Preaching in churches

I preached in three different churches, the first one after the camp was the church of Deltha's mother, the second one was a church that supports Deltha's monthly, and the third one was in Deltha's church and I shared in English in an American church the last Sunday as well.

Coming back Home!

I'm leaving today (Tuesday 15th) to Uruguay, I really want to see me family, friends and church after 2 years and 4 months.
On Friday 18th its going to be my birthday N` 25 God willing, and its going to be the first one after three years (one in Bolivia, another one in Antigua, and the last one in Croatia)
In my time in Uruguay I will continue working full time for God (in the less evangelize country in Latino America) and preparing the wedding for January 10th.

Would you like to pray for me?

1- For my re-entry in Uruguay after a long time away.
2- Wisdom for the future. With Deltha we are praying for our next step in missions. Monthly support. So I can continue working full time for God.
4- For my relationship with the Lord and ministry in Uruguay.

I thank you so much for your time and God bless you! Thank you for all your support, love and prayers.

Alex <><

The longest travel of my life!

2008-03-14T17:03:00.006-02:00

…tears were running from my eyes while I was looking at Deltha for last time in the airport of Hamburg until we will see each other again.
Many times I turned back to see her for the ‘last time” for a few months. I cannot explain how I felt while I was walking to my “check in.” Even leaving Uruguay wasn’t that hard.
I was leaving behind my best two years of my life, the most difficult ones, my home, my new family, my friends, my ministry and the love of my life! I was about to the take a flight to God’s dreams for my life, to another adventure with my Savior. I didn’t know what I would face, but one thing I did know, that trusting God and walking with Him everything was going to be alright. How did I know? Well, He gave His life for me; I think I can trust Him, no?

Florida

Florida was my first stop in the USA. Sally & Arnie Selfors hosted me in their house. They are the missionaries who planted my home church in Montevideo. It has been a blessing for me to see how they continue serving God with all their hearts.

In Florida I participated in a missions conference. I spoke in the Sunday school, and in different activities like AWANA (for kids), youth groups and home meetings.
The church has a ministry with Latinos, and they gave the beautiful opportunities to share with them in the language of my heart.

Welcome to Coldland!

As soon I got out of the airport of Grand Rapids, Michigan I was in shock! The first thing that I saw was a “mountain” of snow, a little different with the weather in Florida….
One day the temperature reached -30`c (Yeah minus thirty Celsius!!!) WOW… Welcome to Coldland!

Here in Michigan, I visited 4 different churches with missions conferences. I had the chance to share about what God is doing around the world, what He is doing in my life and what He can do with normal people who follow Him.
I shared as well in different opportunities like prayer breakfasts, AWANA clubs, youth groups, Sunday schools, etc. I met a lot of people in the churches and many missionaries.
One of the best opportunities was at Grace Bible College. I spoke in the missions conference at this college. The title of the conference was “Suffering for Christ.”
The conference was really good; we even had a simulacrum of persecution where I was one of the terrorists stopping the worship service in the college, and besides that was really fun, the message behind was powerful and truthful.

Remembering old times…

God gave me the possibility of coming back to Marlette, a small town where I took a youth work training almost 4 years ago. I visited some of my friends there, and was a great blessing, some of these people are real friends, people that impacted my life, I have their support, love and prayers.

Highway stories…

When I was coming back from Marlette to Grand Rapids by bus, I started to share the gospel with people around me, and God who is always good gave the opportunity to share the gospel in a clear and simple way.
One lady in the bus said: “I never saw it (the gospel) from that perspective.” Another lady who was listening asked: “Could you explain me more about true repentance?” “ Ohh, sure I can,” I replied!
God is good and He is giving us many opportunities, the people are hungry, now is time to do our part!

Next “PORT”

March 18th I will be arriving in Mexico where I will participate in a Christian camp for teenagers and in a missions night.
The topic of the camp is “deceiving voices” and is organized by Nadia Colin a friend from Logos 2.
But of course the main purpose is to meet Deltha’s family, her church and her country!

Prayer request:

1- For my relationship with God, that I can continue growing in Him, trusting Him, resting in Him.
2- That God uses me in Mexico and that many people can come to His feet, especially Deltha’s father.
3- For finances for the daily basics and for my wedding while I continue working full time for God.
4- For Deltha and for me that God help us to be separate and together at the same time!

Thank you so much for your time, for your support, love, prayers and e-mails.
Thank you for being part of what God is doing in my life and through my life.
It’s all about Him and His Grace!
God bless you,
Alex…

My last prayer letter from the ship…

2008-02-01T14:38:00.000-02:00

Here I am in my last days of my commitment with OM and the ships, after 2 years with OM Uruguay and 2 years with OM ships, now it’s time to sail into another adventure with God.

God, it’s all about God!

Almost 3 years ago, God guided me to join OM ships, He used His written Word, the Bible, and I still remember that moment very well!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” 1Corinthians 2:9

God has put in people’s heart to support me to come to the ship. My parents, my church and my best friends are some of the people that God used to make it possible. God provided each cent and dollar that I needed to come to the ship.
It’s all about God.

As soon as I arrived on the ship God showed me that it is not about my plans but about His plans, He is wiser than me, smarter than me, so I decided to stay one year longer than the original plan. The ship never went to Uruguay as it was supposed to and my life never would be the same.

Since the beginning God showed me that everything that I lived before, everything that I will live, everything that I am and everything that I am not is because of His grace.
I thought that God would bring me here to save the world, but He brings me here to serve the world, a little bit different. It’s all about God.

I specially remember one thing during this two years… every time that I came closer to God, every time that I came to know Him better, every time that I served Him, He showed how much I still need to change to become like Him, and how much I need to give up from me to receive from Him. I learned that if you don’t see any darkness in you, probably you are not seeing your life at the light of God’s Grace.

God brought me here to work in my life, to change me, to mold me, and for showing Himself as the Savior that He is, personal, powerful and loving. He uses all kind of circumstances, blessing, difficulties, problems, suffering, His Word and more…
It’s all about God!

But God that is so good, in this process of making me like Jesus, He uses me to share the gospel with others. He allows me to share my testimony, to preach in English and Spanish, to do dramas, to dance, to do sports, to go to hospitals, prisons, elderly homes, orphanages, schools, be an MC, drug addicts centers, to be in Muslims countries with persecution, poor countries, rich countries, He allows me to teach in Bible Studies, etc.

He allows me to be in countries with just 150 believers or even 25 believers in the whole country, I have been in countries that are just open after many years of communism. I have the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with homosexuals, Nazis, prostitutes, Muslims, Hindus, orthodox, and with people that practice witchcraft and the list continues…

God has giving me friends to have fun but also to seek His face, friends that make my time on board a blessing. God allow me show my gifts and discover more about my passion, call and talents.

God loved me, took care of me, if I would be God I will quit with Alex really soon. I failed many times, but God’s Grace is always there to lift me up, for His name’s sake. It’s all about God!

God provides for every need, not just for my needs but also He allows me to have a lot of blessings!

Only when you leave everything for God, you are able to receive everything from Him! I was so stupid for a long time, fighting for my dreams and living for my glory, as soon I start to live for God’s Glory, He gave the desires of my heart. Please, don’t be stupid (Somebody needs to say it!)

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Mathew 6:22

And last but not least, God gave the most beautiful of all blessings, gifts and dreams. He gave me my best friend and girlfriend Deltha. The girl of my dreams, the one for which I was praying, my fiancé. She is the most beautiful blessing and I’m not scared of sounding not spiritual! She crushes in my heart and we promise to unite our life with the main purpose of give Glory to God. It’s all about God!

Thank you to each one of you!

God used many of you to provide for my monthly support, without your contribution I would not be here. Thank you for all your financial support!
Thank you to all of you that prayed for me. “When a man works, a man works, but when a man prays, God works.” Everything that God did through “me” was actually through your prayers!
Thank you for you e-mails and love for me!
And a special thank to my family and church in Montevideo, Uruguay, they are a great support and I’m so blessed because of them!

Next Steps…

Praise the Lord I got the American VISA and the tickets to go there. I am leaving the 8th of February to attend some missions conferences and speak in many churches (including one for Latinos and one college) in USA and after almost two months there (Florida and Michigan). I am going to Mexico to participate in a camp for teenagers and of course to visit Deltha’s family. Before my birthday N* 25 (18th of April) I’m planning to arrive in Uruguay and continue working full time for God with my local church until I get married with Deltha (January 2009) and step out again into missions overseas!
I know that God is in control and He can change our plans in any time, but this is what I understand that God is leading me.

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Psalms 115:1

It’s all about Jesus and His Grace for us! It’s not about us!

Thank you so much for all your love, prayers and support during this two years, this is not the end of missions for me, it’s just the beginning. No turning back, no turning back…
God bless you and let’s keep in touch!

Alex…

We got engaged!!!

2008-01-05T00:05:00.000-02:00

We want to share with you that in the first day of the year, a few minutes
alter 0:00 Deltha said “YES”, after exchanging the rings we promised to one
another to get married in January 2009, God willing!!

… I prepared a place on the ship for dinner, with nice decorations, not too
many lights, a girl playing the violin, Mexican quesadillas, desert, South
African wine and dressing smart to propose to the love of my life.

After talking to her father and family, after talking to my family, pastor,
friends and even ship’s leaders and receiving their approval, everything was
ready for the great occasion.

She dressed in all black, honestly I never saw someone as beautiful as Deltha
that night. That night I thanked God for His creation! She was just expecting
a New Year’s Eve dinner; she didn’t have a clue of what the night had in
store for her.

After the classical toast of midnight, I gave her a book that I wrote when we
were just friends; these lines are a witness of our love and friendship, and our
walk seeking God’s Will.

We want to thank you for all your support and prayers, especially regarding
our life partner. We are convinced that this is the right decision, in the right
time, and the most important thing… the right person.

Two people rescued from the price of sin (death) promise to walk together
with the purpose of giving glory and joy to the One that saved them. Sharing
the message of Grace that changed their lives in every situation, every
opportunity, everywhere, every moment... with every person.

The decision that we have made to respect, love, wait for each other, and
one day become ONE is what we call ENGAGEMENT!

We got engaged, the rest is up to God.

Praise God for His Mercy and Grace, praise the Lord for His love. The Lord is
good. To Him be the glory, honor and praise!

Thank you for being part of our lives, thanks to be God for your lives.
God bless you!

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return of their work”
Ecclesiastes 4:9

Con amor Deltha y Alex…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

2007-12-17T06:05:00.000-03:00

Hi dear friends, I hope that you are very well and close to our Lord Jesus.
I’m very well thanks to God, learning about Him and from Him which is really different.

Logos 2... Logos Hope!!!

After a long time and many prayers, the Logos Hope is here in Germany. Logos 2 the ship that God use as an instrument to bring me to Him, and that God use to change and impact many lives is closed, empty and dark. What is going to happened with the Logos 2?
Only God knows! Logos Hope is three times bigger and with the capacity for 500 people.
My new cabin is really small and I share with my best friends on board, people call us “Mafia Latina” (Evis from Guatemala, Israel from Spain and Mateus, Brazil).

Bible Study in Spanish

Every morning at 7:00 I lead a Bible Study with a group of 6 – 8 people in Spanish. It’s really nice to see how they are growing in their faith and commitment with God. Now we are studying the book of Romans and the next week, God willing, we are going to study “Dispensations” which is one of my favorite topics!

Evangeslism

In these last weeks that I have on board of the Logos Hope, I will be here in Kiel, Germany. I will continue being in charge of the evangelism, which is not just to share the gospel with non Christians but to motivate Christians to see evangelism not as an activity but as a life Style. I will be preaching in some churches and probably on board as well. Many evangelistic activities are going to take place because of Jesus’ birthday.

Would you like to pray with me?

1- For God’s wisdom when I teach in the mornings.
2- For the people that have already talked to us and heard the gospel, and for the ones that will hear it through us.
3- God’s help to administrate my time in these last weeks, that God will continue using my life to save others.
4- For support for the tickets to the USA and especially for the American visa.

God bless you so much, thanks for the time that you took to read this. Thank you so much for all your support, help and prayers.
Alex…

Jesus Loves Nazis!

2007-11-11T15:39:00.000-03:00

Dear brothers and sisters,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read what God is doing in me and through me.
Thank you so much for all your support and friendship, I could not do it without you!

He doesn’t love me, He cannot love me!

Was Friday night and I was with Deltha and another lady from Mexico called Sigrid giving evangelistic tracts away and sharing about Christ in the streets of Kiel.
Was cold, really cold, I really didn’t want to go out, but it is not about what I feel but about convictions.
I gave a flyer to a big huge guy, when he saw the paper and realized that was about God he gave it back to me.
He said: - this is not for me!
-“Jesus loves you”
- “No, he doesn’t love me”, he answered.
- Yes, Jesus loves you a lot.
- No, He cannot love me
- He can and He loves you (I insisted)
- No, you don’t know, you don’t understand, he cannot love me.
-Yes He can and He loves to the point that He died for you.
-No, no, you don’t understand, he cannot love me, I am a Nazi, He doesn’t love me, He cannot love me, I’m a Nazi, a Nazi, do you know what it means?, I’m a Nazi.
- Well, let me tell you, Jesus loves you, He loves Nazis, He loved Adolf Hitler and He loves you!
- (silence)
- Jesus loves you and me too!

Question: which gospel are we preaching that people think that God loves just “good” people?

The saddest story: The vampire and the mouse…

Was Saturday night and I heard the saddest story I ever heard.
I was with Deltha sharing the gospel in the streets after an open air.
We started to talk to a young lady dressed all in black, and a really particular make up.

We spoke for more than one hour with her. She said that she is a vampire and she drinks blood from her best friend and her own blood. As you can imagine she told us many more things… that we knew already, her father disappeared, the relationship with her mother is not good at all and she doesn’t know who God is, she cannot feel him.
We asked her: what are you living for? She answered: I’m living for my mouse, my pet and friend
Do you know that there is somebody that loves you unconditionally?
- Yes, my mouse, when I’m sad I speak with him and he listens to me.
- Can he talk back to you?
- No, but he knows that I’m sad and he plays with his nose in my cheek. He is the only one that loves me.

Deltha and me we had to hold back our tears.
In my walk with Jesus I heard a lot of stories and some of them very sad. I heard stories (when I was in prison ministry in Uruguay) of people killing each other, prostitution, gays crying in the nights, unfaithfulness in marriages, but to listen a 14 years old lady saying that the only thing that she lives for is her mouse, and that the only “person” in this world that loves her is her mouse, is the saddest story that I ever heard.
She said that the only love that she knows is the one from her mouse to her. Sad!
When we told her about God’s love for her she asked:
- Can God love somebody that dresses all in black with this make up and piercing?
- Yes, God loves you.

We gave her a gospel of John and she promised to come to visit the ship.

Question: Which gospel are we preaching that people think that they need to dress in certain color?

Frutos Latinos

Two girls from Ecuador came to visit the ship and we were talking especially about God.
They said: “we believe in Jesus and we know about the salvation in Christ, but we never gave our lives to Him”.
We talked for almost one hour and I asked them is there anything that is stopping them from the gift that God has? – No, they answered.
-Would you like to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior of your lives?
-Yes
That afternoon Soraya and Vicky gave their lives to Jesus and now they are sure that they will spend the eternity in His presence.
We are going to start a Bible study with them and their friends.

Question: Is that the beginning of the first Christian church in Kiel for Spanish speakers?

About my future:

My commitment with the ship ends on February the 8th 2008. Thanks be to God I was invited to a missions conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a period of one month.
And I will have the chance to discuss personally the possibility of studying theology there in the near future.
I would love to participate in the conferences, not just because of the experience that I will get there but because of the unique opportunity to share all what God has done in my life and to motivate them to live for Him, with Him and go into missions.
As you can imagine, I cannot do it alone, I need God’s provision and He opening the doors for me to go. One door is the money for the plane tickets and for the VISA, and this is exactly the second door that needs to be opened, the visa for the United States.
I want to invite you to pray about it; maybe you can be an instrument of God’s provision in my life.

Prayer requests:

1- For the people of Kiel, that they may accept God’s Grace.
2- For the Latinos- those who are accepting Christ and for the Bible Study in Spanish.
3- For Support for the plane tickets and for the VISA for the United States.

Thank you so much for all your love, and support, thankyou especially for all your prayers. God bless you and let’s keep in contact!

Alex <><

1 year and 8 months in an adventure with God!

2007-10-30T18:38:00.000-03:00

I cannot believe that more than 1 year and 8 months is the time that I’ve been on board in this adventure with God; I still remember when I was praying for God to open the doors and come to the ship.
Today I’m in awe of God’s wonders and amazed by His grace, I cannot believe all the things that I’ve lived, I’m living and I will live with my Heavenly Father.

“But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”
1 Corinthians. 2:9

Here there are some of the blessings that God gave me in these past months:

A dream comes true

For one month I’ve been in charge of the evangelism department of the ship which is a great privilege and a big responsibility. If you know me just a bit you know that for me it is totally a dream!
I’m really thankful to leaders of the Logos 2 for trusting in me. I really want to give my best to God so the gospel can reach every person in our path.
My job is not just to share the gospel but to motivate others to do it, the idea is to see in people’s minds evangelism not just as an activity but as a lifestyle.
The responsibility is huge but the privilege is even bigger!

Latinoamérica para Cristo!!!

The north of Germany is a really difficult place in terms of sharing the Gospel.
We going to spend a couple months here in Kiel until the Logos Hope arrives and is ready to sail.
Of course nobody will kill us, but it is still so hard just to get in contact with people, their hearts are really hard and they don’t want to even listen to us.
But not everything is “negative.” There are a good number of Latinos living here in Kiel, and we can see how God is working among them.
We meet people in the street and we invite them to eat, the reason we give is that they can spend time with the rest of the Latinos on board.
A few days ago, Jacqueline came to visit us, she is from Mexico. She said that she wasn’t a Christian but that she believes in the Bible and in the God of the Bible (which was a good beginning). She told us that she is assisting a Bible Study but she doesn’t understand anything. So I asked her, what are you studying about? And she said about the tabernacle in Hebrews.
I had the chance of sharing with her from Genesis to Revelations, the whole gospel, she was really interested, and we talked for more than 2 hours.
When I explained to her the problem of sin, she asked me: how can I be right with God? After that I explained to her more about the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and she asked me: how can I accept the sacrifice of Christ and wash away my sins? WOW!!! Incredible!
I was just in shock; it was one of the best moments of my life in terms of evangelism. Of course she gave her life to Christ and was forgiven of all her sins. I really thank God for allowing me to see this soul coming to His feet.

The most beautiful blessing

This is one of the most beautiful moments of my life, first of all because all the things that He is doing in my life and all the things that He is allowing me to be part of in ministry.
But I have to confess that the most beautiful of all the blessings in almost two years is my best friend and girlfriend Deltha.
Deltha is a beautiful Mexican lady that loves God with all her heart, and wants to serve Him with her whole life in missions for the rest of her days.
Of course I cannot give you all the reasons why I chose to be with her, but I can tell you that was a decision made in the Lord with His guidance and wisdom, and I’m convinced that she is the person that will walk with me the rest of my life.

Would you like to pray for me?

1- For God’s guidance, wisdom, humility and ideas for my new job on the ship, and that everything that I do brings Glory to His name.
2- That God touches the hearts of the people of Kiel, and many will come to know him as Lord and Savior. Pray that God continues helping me with German so I can communicate with the people with more freedom.
3- For my relationship with Deltha, that God will be the center of our relationship always, that He helps us to share His Grace with everybody, wisdom for the decisions about the future, and that our relationship will give Glory to God always.

Thank you so much for taking the time and read this prayer letter. Thank you so much for your support, help, love, prayers and encouragement.
God bless you!
Alex… <><