This week's blog post will be two weeks in one. It has been a very busy, but exciting time in so many areas of our ministry, life, seasons, etc. We have loved getting to be in MO this year and getting to enjoy the early snow falls. The kids are a little baffled as to why they still have to go to school when there is snow on the ground....we aren't in Kansas, I mean Memphis anymore Todo. We were able to share a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast with our Hispanic members and ministry staff at West End after Services a couple Sundays ago. It was so fun watching them eat a traditional American meal complete with turkey and dressing, all the fixings and a pumpkin pie! They commented that they did not know how to prepare pies or a turkey for that matter, and even the dressing was something new to their taste buds. So much fun! We were so thankful to get to know them a little better this week, to have some English speaking families join us for lunch to meet them, and to share our delicious food. We had invited a few other families to our meal, but they did not attend. Maybe one day... The snow was so beautiful! We had around 12" of powder perfect snowman building snow. The kids were overjoyed with their snowball fights, and it wasn't too cold outside to play in it. Memories were made for sure. Even Elias got in on the action and built his first snowman ever! This snow has slowed our door knocking program down just a schmidge, but we were able to contact 5-6 new families this week at our yearly Give Away Day at West End. This event was so well planned and organized with a ton of wonderful helpers doing so many things to make it run so smoothly. Gently used donations were accepted, they were all organized and folded, food boxes were prepared, money was donated for Schnucks gift cards, toys and baby items (diapers, wipes, baby food etc.), and invitations were given to local schools in the area to hand out to needy families. We were so excited to see around 55 families walk through our door Saturday morning (5 or so of those being Spanish speaking). They all left with bags full of clothes, shoes, toys, books, food, and lots of love. We are so thankful for all the hard work and effort the congregation at West End put into making this event such a success.
On a sad note, our lovely Aura has moved back to New York to be with her other daughter for a few months. We were sad to see her go, but we are thankful to have gotten to know her and hope to see her again soon. We are so excited to let you know that the ENTIRE family of one of our members came on Sunday. Their 19 year old son who hasn't been able to attend services yet all these months decided to come and worship with us. Our hearts were bursting when we saw him walk through those doors. We felt like we knew him already, although we had never met him in person. I am certain his parents were just as overjoyed to have their entire family in services together. God has been working through so many people to help this ministry be a success, and we see all your efforts and are so grateful for them. Thank you to everyone. May God bless you this Holiday season and we will be checking back in in a couple of weeks.
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If we could give one adjective to describe our week this week it would be...encouraging. Our week was filled with exciting evangelism, activities in the church and in other congregations, motivational sermons, meeting new friends, all while changing into a new beautiful new season. God is so very good. His creation can literally take your breath away. This photo was taken on our drive to visit the grandparents. Earlier in the week, we decided to hand out flyers near the Walmart off 94 in St. Charles. When you go to Walmart, around 7-9 p.m. the day before a holiday is to begin, you are bound to find said store bustling with people, and many of those were Hispanics (some of my fellow last minute shoppers). So what better way to get our flyers in the hands of these Hispanics than to use our lovely four sons (I mean four little humans saying "Invitamos a la Iglesia," who can resist?). Little man is still learning how to actually "give" away the flyer without shouting his pelican screams, warning them that the flyer is "MINE." Sigh, he needs work, but don't we all? The people were delighted, for the most part, to accept the invitations with a smile, and some even asked more details about the address and service times. Encouraging. Later on in the week, we were able to visit some of our usual stores where we needed to refill some of our flyers. What we are finding out about these stores, is that the people are beginning to recognize us, and they are familiar with our names, the work, and the church. One store clerk even mentioned that she was telling a customer about us, and our congregation. She was inviting people for us! Elias had even been asking them what prayers they needed, and some were willing to pray with us there on the spot. Encouraging.
We were also blessed two Sundays ago with getting the chance to meet the sweet brethren of Pacific church of Christ. They were interested in learning more about the new Hispanic work in St. Louis, and it was so great to get to worship along side them, and show them the great things that God is doing through this ministry. Encouraging. Also, last Sunday, Elias was able to give a report on our recent mission efforts in Honduras to the West End congregation. What a blessing it was to be able to share with them the fruits of their labor throughout the campaign. If you aren't familiar with our report on the trip, please see our previous blog post. Encouraging. I, Kristi, was able to meet so many wonderful women at the St. Peter's church of Christ ladies day 2018. These women were so encouraging to me as I spoke. They decorated the tables beautifully, and the food/take home gifts were delicious! Thank you so much to these ladies for taking a chance on me and asking me to speak. It was so nice to be amongst such Godly, hard working women. Encouraging. And finally, we were able to spend the final day of this week, fellowshipping with our brethren at the church of Christ in Foristell, MO. There was a hayride/ bonfire at my parents' house, and Elias and I were asked to be Judges for the chili cook-off. What a fun time we had! From the delicious food, to pumpkin bowling, to messy egg tosses, and lots of laughter. It is so wonderful to be amongst friends and fellow Christians. Encouraging. Thank you for your continued prayers. Today, Sunday, we were blessed to worship with all three of our families for an attendance of 11 people. Elias was able to encourage them so much by preparing a very appropriate and timely lesson on being pioneers of faith. Almost all of the Hispanic contacts we make in this ministry are first generation Christians, and they sometimes can see the path to Christianity difficult and heavy laden. But today, Elias was able to present to them through God's word a lesson of encouragement for today, and the potential future of their families. Encouraging. |
AuthorElias and Kristi Roque have been married for 9 years and during this time have planted/grown 4 congregations. They have 4 boys 7 and under working alongside them. Archives
April 2024
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