In our last blog entry, we told the story of a U-haul packed with furniture a very generous couple had donated to our ministry. We wanted to let you know about some fruit that became of that labor. We met Freddy, his family, and friends at his apartment that day. He had just moved into the area, his belongings were few, and his needs were great. They gladly accepted all of the furniture pieces we had left in the truck, and we gave them our invitations with our contact information on the back. Fast forward to Saturday, Freddy called Elias, and asked if he could use "his" truck to transport some more donations he was able to find. After explaining how the U-Haul was rented, Elias drove to Freddy's house, helped him rent a pick-up truck, and helped load and unload a couple couches and other household items. After they were finished returning the truck, Freddy wanted to thank Elias by feeding him a delicious Guatamalen soup complete with vegetables and chicken feet...yum...flavorful. During their dinner, Elias had an very inquisitive Bible study between Freddy and his wife. They had lots of questions, and they were pleasantly surprised that their questions could be answered using the Bible. They enjoyed it so much that they invited Elias back for another Bible study last Thursday. The study lasted 2 hours and they invited him to return again this Thursday. What a great contact we were able to find because of the generosity of one couple. Another big piece of news we wanted to share with you is that this past Sunday, we had our first Bilingual service in our Spanish room at West End. One Sunday a month, Elias is inviting four or so families from the English speaking congregation to come worship with us. Elias translates the prayers, we sing the same song but in two languages at one time, and the sermon is translated on paper for the English speakers. We then had a friends and family potluck meal following services. The love and joy that we all felt during and after worship services Sunday was so great. We were able to connect some families, and introduce some new friends to our members. We had a visiting couple from Lemay Ferry Church of Christ come as well. The husband is from Honduras and she grew up in Illinois. They have an adorable little son, and they traveled from around the Granite City area to be with us. The wife had been translating the sermons for her husband, and she speaks fluent Spanish. They had been told about our congregation, and said they finally decided it was time for the husband to worship in a language he understands. It was very nice getting to know them more over lunch, along with several of our English speaking brethren. We want to personally thank all of our supporters, in particular this week those that make it possible for us to have an evangelism fund. Without your contribution, we would have never been able to rent that U-Haul, to load up the donations, to meet Freddy and his wife, and to begin teaching them the truth. Thank you so much for your generosity. May God Bless The Roque Family
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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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