We are so excited to give you the next update for the Hispanic ministry here in St. Louis. We are so thankful to our supporters for taking the time to read this blog, for your constant prayers and encouragement, and for your general interest in this ministry. It means the world to us. The boys are learning so much here too as they help us start this congregation, and here is a photo of Noah leading singing in our "Young Leaders Devotional" before our evening worship. Eli and Noah look forward to every last Sunday of the month where they get to practice leading singing, preaching, and more. The young men do such a great job and we are thankful to the elders and deacons for taking time to invest in the future leaders of the church. These past two weeks have been packed with getting to know new Spanish-speaking friends from various countries. One of the families that are visiting our worship services are driving from Granite City, IL. They are orginally from Mexico, and they have been struggling to find a sound congregation that worships in Spanish. They mentioned to us that they are ready to be attending worship regularly again, and they are focusing on getting their teenage children to learn about the Bible. They admitted that they were easily influenced by the world and its temptations of staying home on Sunday morning, and their children know very little about the Bible because of it. They even mentioned about driving out on Sunday morning as well so that their teenagers can have their teen class in English. This couple is starving for the Word of God and they had so many questions. Elias and I were able to invite them over one Friday for a "American" meal including apple pie, and they were also able to study the Bible. It was a great evening, and they returned to worship with us Sunday evening. This couple also found our congregation through Facebook. Facebook, although it has its downfalls, is a huge tool for us to reach the Hispanic community. The majority of them have a cell phone with social media, and they check it regularly. The St. Louis Hispanics group page lets Elias post at least twice a week in their group to invite people and put a scriptural message. It was also through this group that Elias was able to meet Oscar and Sandra from Honduras. After some counceling back and forth, they decided to attend worship about a month ago, and have been regular ever since. They are from Honduras, and we love talking about all the beautiful places we mutally know, and of course the delicious food. Sandra surprised us while we were camping for a couple days over fall break with a delicious Honduran beef stew. She drove 45 minutes just to bring it to us, but we are glad we chose to camp nearby just in case anyone needed us. FUE MUY DELICIOSO. Abel especially loved putting his rice in the broth. And... we save the most exciting news for last. This past Sunday we had our record attendance of 25! This included only Spanish speaking people. We had a total of 6 families!!! Since it was the last Sunday of the month, they had decided to have a potluck full of dishes from other countries. We had Mexican Mole, Rice and beans from the Domincan Republic, and homemade tortillas from Honduras, American corn bread, and tres leches for dessert. It was so wonderful to have everyone gathered together for a meal and fellowship. We ask for your prayers for these 6 families especially, that they continue to worship with us on Sundays, that their hearts can be opened to obeying the Gospel, and for those that are already baptized to grow in their spiritual walk. We ask for prayers for us as well. That we may have the right words, and do the right things to bring these people to Christ.
Sidenote: Elias is soooo much better, no doubt thanks to your vervent prayers. He is still coughing every now and then, but he was able to preach his sermon Sunday without much problem.
3 Comments
Nancy Rathkamp
10/30/2019 08:26:49 am
God bless you and your work! We love you!
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Ansley
10/30/2019 06:12:15 pm
Yay!! Such good news! Continued prayers! 🥰
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Lisa
10/30/2019 07:31:38 pm
God is good! You are such good and faithful servants - love and prayers.
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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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