Let me just say, it has truly been a month of change. On September 1st after one yea
r and seven months of living in Palma, I moved back to Santa Ponsa. I moved in with my friend Jimmy Schuarte, who was ordained into Pastoral Ministry with me back in June. Due to various reasons including financial, God provided a place for me once again to live. Jimmy and I look forward in continuing to grow together as Assistant Pastors to Raf.Two days later, Raf and I met with Pau. There are only two Christian churches involved with the prison. Pau is the coordinator for one of them. The prison previously had 800 inmates, and now is at 2,500 inmates. There are 14 modules with 150 or more per Module. The two churches who are involved have only a couple people who go faithfully on a weekly basis.
On September 5th, we had a farewell party for PJ & Nell. These two you have read about in my past newsletters and seen in my old slide shows. They were the hosts of the Home Bible Study I taught in Palma. October would have been 2 years we had this study. They truly became friends as time went on. Together we journeyed through the book of Revelation, testimony month, topical studies, and marriage studies. They were nights filled with laughter, fun, fellowship, worship, praise reports, prayer requests, Bible studies, and of course great food. Lots of great memories.
On Thursday September 10th, Raf and I went to the prison for the first time. We joined Benjamin & Francisco, who have been going for years. This ministry was definite
ly worth the wait! In other words, the juice was definitely worth the squeeze. This process began a long time ago. We turned in all the papers on September 1, 2008 and now one year later we were finally in. I already have so many stories to tell. One comes to mind involving a gypsy. This gentleman had physical heart problems as well as family problems. At the end of the study, we all formed a circle around the man with the prisoners to pray for him. While Raf prayed, I felt my hand shaking. I looked up while the man was convulsively sobbing. Raf then leaned up his head on his and then we all hugged him. It was also the first time I taught while Raf interpreted for me. Afterwards, he just kept thanking us for the Bible study and prayer. I thought to myself, "this is what it is all about." This was Missions and ministry. Raf and I left on cloud nine...Rick & Monica, the
other key couple of the Home Group in Palma wanted to continue the ministry. They then decided to open their home and become the new hosts in the Mallorquin town of Genova. On Friday September 18th, we resumed the Bible Study. I am going to be teaching the Pastoral Epistles(1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus). I can so relate to these two pastors who were mentored by Paul the Apostle. Simply because they were both young. Timothy in the city of Ephesus,Greece and Titus on the island of Crete. Island ministry is Biblical!:)Fall Semester has also started with a new batch of students. For the student trip, we took them to Palma and had a great time. I will be teaching Ecclesiastes for the third time and Missions for the fifth time. I am truly looking forward to the semester ahead with these students. I hope and pray as well that my classes continue to get better with every passing semester.
On a practical note, I picked up my renewed visa ID card. Praise God as He continues to give me favor with the Spanish Government. I would also ask that you keep one of our staff members in prayer. Marcus Costello left for 3 months with his wife Elyse to go back to SoCal. His father is having major health problems. Thank you so much!
There is so much that happened this month. I will continue in next month's newsletter to elaborate. There will also be more prison stories to share as well as some names to pray for. Raf and I currently go twice a week. Be blessed!
By His Grace,
Eric
