www.RGVBaptist.com 5/15/2012 3:45:33 PM RSS Feed highlighting periodic updates from the Freeman Family in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Many times we add pictures to our updates which can only be viewed by clicking on the date link to the side of each update. http://www.RGVBaptist.com en Not a lot for today, but I wanted to primarily share a few photos with you. One big praise that I can pass along is that the mower we just purchased has been paid for. We give a big thanks for Heritage Baptist Church and Holly Hills Baptist Church for their generous financial support of this project. We actually have extra which we are putting towards getting the electrical service up and running on the property and some other site work. Speaking of the electrical, yesterday I hit a couple of bumps in the road in that process, but everything smoothed out today. If all continues on plan we should have power either Thursday or Friday of this week! This coming Sunday we start our """official""" youth ministry and are hoping this will spark additional interest among the young people to invite their friends to participate. Not a lot else to share, so please enjoy the photos! 5/15/2012 3:33:35 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=150 RGV_Update_150 A few updates. First, we are giving a special praise to God for a young boy that was saved after church this past Sunday night. We had a special service with a video entitled """The Burning Hell""" (was shown in Spanish). After service he and I spoke for a while and he made the decision to accept Christ as Savior!! Yesterday I spent the day shopping in town, obtaining a variety of supplies we need here on the property. The biggest purchase was a new riding mower to replace our dead push mower. After 3 years of cutting grass, often 3-5' tall, it finally gave up the ghost. Since the property has expanded to over 2 acres, we felt a riding mower was the best option. However, we had to buy """on faith""", since we lacked sufficient funds to pay for it all now. This is mentioned more in our prayer letter going out today. I also purchased the components for setting up a temporary electric pole on the new property so that we can begin to utilize it more. I'm hoping to get the brush cut back and that pole installed by the end of this week, as we have to have the entire property ready for a special service on June 9th. Otherwise, all is quiet around here. Below is a photo from a pineapple plant we planted almost 3 years ago. It's been growing steadily and this year, for the first time, it's producing a pineapple. Have a great day! 5/2/2012 10:16:56 AM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=149 RGV_Update_149 Good afternoon friends and family. Just a quick update. First, the photo below was taken today in our backyard. It's just a quick photo of Melissa and I as we prepare to celebrate our 18th anniversary tomorrow. We thank God for His manifold blessings over the years and look forward to many more together. In ministry news, we continue to make progress on physical things around the campus. This past week I finished the drywall in the bathrooms and managed to get the walls painted as well. This coming week I'm thinking I may be able to finish hanging the cement board and fiberglass backing for the showers. Next week I'm hoping to lay the floor and possible install the toilets/sinks. So, making steady progress. All the materials are on-site, so it's just a matter of having the time. Also this week I made some headway on the new property. I spent several hours on Saturday trimming grass along fences/etc and moving blocks out of flowerbeds (where they fell when the house collapsed). It's starting to look a lot better. We're going ahead with plans to purchase the riding mower, and hope to acquire it this coming week. We are still about $350 short on the funds, but it's a necessity so we're going to purchase it and trust in the Lord to provide. We'll be mentioning this again in our upcoming prayer letter. Assuming we acquire the mower we should be able to have most of the property cleared by the coming weekend. We're trying to get it all ready for graduations that are coming in about a month-and-a-half, which will be the first service we hold on the new property. We're anticipating 100-150 people for that service, so it will most definitely be an outside event. Well' hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll post some photos this coming week of the progress on all the work! 4/22/2012 3:47:21 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=148 RGV_Update_148 Didn't realize how long it had been since our last update, so I apologize. Things are basically the same around here, so not a lot to share. We've had some trials with a couple of folks in the church that we've had to work through, but we are relying on God's wisdom and guidance in those issues. We did lose two regular attenders, but also picked up 2, so we're about even. In the next week or so I'm expecting Bro. Ted DeHart to be around to help with getting electrical service on the new property so that we can use it even more. This past week I managed to destroy our lawn mower trying to cut the grass. It's just a little 21""" push mower and we've regularly had to use it to cut grass 3-4' tall, which is way over it's limitations. It's always done well (eventually), but this past week it finally gave up the ghost. We are currently trying to raise funds to purchase a riding mower. This will allow us to cut all 2.25 acres of grass regularly, once we have finally finished taming the remaining 3-4' grass on the new church property. If you are able to help with this that would be great, as we are still about $600 short on the purchase price. This past weekend we celebrated the resurrection of Christ with a special breakfast and service on Sunday morning. It was a good time by all. After service we took a new church photo, which is included below. Otherwise, not much to share, so have a great day! 4/11/2012 12:26:27 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=147 RGV_Update_147 Well, the camping trip went well. We didn't have as many youth as we expected, but those that came had a good time. For all of our visitors it was their first chance to camp out, so the new experience was really exciting for them. They learned how to setup tents, how to cook a hot dog over a campfire and were able to fall asleep looking at the stars! Sometimes in our modern world we take God's creation for granted, so it's good to step back and let it really sink in. Earlier this week I was praying and talking to God about the fact that we haven't seen any visitors at the church for quite a while. I was asking Him, if He would, to bring another visitor soon to help encourage us and to show that we are still on the right path. So, last night when I arrived home from the bus route there were two cars full of visitors sitting in the driveway waiting for church to start. All told we had 9 visitors last night!! Although He was not obligated to say YES, I'm thankful that my God, in His grace, decided to do just that!! I'll be following up with these folks, but it looks like they very well may continue to come, so that would be a blessing. And, finally, please pray with us as we search for a car for Braden. He'll be turning 18 in just a few months, and with his work schedule and looking at going to college next year we've decided it's about that time. We're hoping he'll find a good car that will last him for several years, but that won't break the bank in purchasing it. Your continued prayers on that front, and for all of our ministry efforts, are greatly appreciated. 3/15/2012 8:17:29 AM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=146 RGV_Update_146 Not a lot to share. Ministry wise, we haven't seen any numerical growth in a while, but are glad to at least not be losing any that we have! We have, however, seen some spiritual growth, which is equally important! This weekend we have a """camping trip""" and are looking forward to using the new property for our first """event""". Mowed for about 4 hours yesterday and was able to finish about 15-20% of the yard up there. I'm using a little push mower and the grass is about 3' tall, so this first mowing is going a little slower than future ones will (I hope). But, it is looking nice! In other news, we were able to (more or less) finish the roof on the house today. All the metal is on and the hip and ridge caps are on. Still need to do a little trim work around the chimney and install the caps on the front dormer, but other than that it's about done. Be glad to get that project behind me...especially as it's beginning to warm up. It was 97 today, and at that temperature sitting on a metal roof is not much fun! Until next time, God bless! 3/8/2012 5:40:34 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=145 RGV_Update_145 Well, the fair went well....and not so well. It went well in that we got to meet some new folks and were able to raise more funds than we expected given last minute changes to the weather. It went not so well in that the weather was really bad (cold and rainy), which had an impact on what we were able to do and which caused Saturday especially to be a really ugly day (weather wise) for most of the day. But, God was in control of it all and we trust that His purposes were still accomplished. This week it's back to normal and it's a welcome change. Today I'm meeting with the gentleman I hired to do the backhoe work on the new property. He's informed me he can't break the pool because it's too hard he's already broken 4 teeth on his backhoe. So, we're going to have to rent a jackhammer to do that work. Also working on getting a temporary pole set at the new property so we can have some power available. Not much else to share. Have a great day! 2/28/2012 9:37:18 AM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=144 RGV_Update_144 Please be in prayer for our ministry this week as we have an opportunity to participate in our third Starr County Youth Fair. Specifically, we'll be manning the booth from about 10a through 11p on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I'll be there the entire time and different folks from the church will be rotating in to help me. This year we're striving to accomplish two things. First, and foremost, we want to be a witness to the community and will be accomplishing that through tract distribution and talking 1-on-1 with folks as we have the opportunity. Second, we are going to be running a booth selling ice cream and drinks to help raise some additional funds for the church. We'd like you to pray alongside us that the Lord would bless this week and that we would see much fruit for our labor. 2/20/2012 2:32:59 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=143 RGV_Update_143 Today was a work day/fellowship on the new church property. Worked from morning up until about 1:30 and then enjoyed a good meal together. We managed to get quite a bit of work done, but there is still a LOT more left to go. Unfortunately the backhoe is still broken, so no progress on the pool. Lord willing they'll get that done next week. We've also made some progress on getting electricity. Found a load center and outlets that we should be able to tie into, so we just need to get a meter (about $25). Hopefully, that will be all we need. The husband of one of the ladies in the church is an electrician, and he's supposed to be coming to look it over soon. So, we may have power available for working and for other activities. So, that's a blessing. One piece of good/odd news. We had 1 visitor today (yes, it's odd having a visitor on a work day). He said he's planning to start coming to church """soon""". Hopefully, he will. His son is already coming regularly. So, that's a blessing! Enjoy the photos! 2/18/2012 5:01:35 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=142 RGV_Update_142 Got a little work done on the property today. The chimney has been knocked down, and the holes (should be) filled. They were working on breaking up the pool when I left, but they broke the backhoe before they broke the pool (after a LOT of beating on it), so he was working on the equipment. 2/15/2012 4:56:57 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=141 RGV_Update_141 Wanted to take a moment to share some photos from this past weekend's services. The folks at the church decided to have a surprise birthday party for me on Sunday evening. They brought in two delicious cakes, plus a variety of other food. It was a very nice gesture and is a reminder of how much they care for me and my family. In other news, we're going to be trying to accomplish some work on the new property this week, so please be in prayer that it goes well, and be looking for some photos later in the week! Have a great week. 2/14/2012 8:33:24 AM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=140 RGV_Update_140 Good evening friends and family! Wanted to share a few photos and give a brief update. Ministry is going good, no real changes. Looking forward to good services tomorrow though! Have a work day planned next Saturday to do some prep work on the new church property. We also managed to make some progress on the bathrooms in the church building. We finally plumbed in the showers, so now the sheetrock can be finished around those. My dad's been working on the mudding/tapping and has a first coat on most of it. We also got the water line laid for the main line coming in. The county moved our meter, but it's our responsibility to run the lines to connect to it. So, we had to trench and lay about 100' of pipe. It will help in the long run and also gave us a good opportunity to install a whole house filter. We've had ongoing problems with sediment and """stuff""" in the water which has gummed up a number of toilet valves and faucets. So, hopefully this will eliminate those problems. Otherwise, not a lot going on. Have a great evening. 2/11/2012 6:05:42 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=139 RGV_Update_139 Just a quick update to give you some photos from our teen service this evening. Everyone did a great job. Enjoy the photos! 1/29/2012 9:19:40 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=138 RGV_Update_138 Greetings this not-so-pretty southern Texas day. Been cloudy and a bit chilly all day (okay, hard to call 60's chilly, but we've been in the 80's recently). The plate sale this morning went well. We sold every single plate that was prepared (wound up with around 90), so that was a blessing. It proved to be a very profitable fundraiser and will help with ongoing expenses and activities in the church. It was a special blessing to see so many church folks turn out (we had about 15 present). They continue to embrace the idea that this is THEIR church and that we are not here to just """serve""" them. Also made some progress on the roof this past week. We have 3 sides """done""" as far as laying the metal, with one left to go. We are now at the point we are starting to put some of the caps on, and that is SLOW moving (mainly due to the slickness of the roof). We got a couple on yesterday, as you will see in the photos. Won't make any progress next week, but looking forward to possibly finishing up the following week. We'll see!! Otherwise, not much else to share. Have a great weekend! 1/28/2012 5:35:13 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=137 RGV_Update_137 Not much today. Things are moving along well with the church. We have a fundraiser this weekend selling """Chicken Plates""". It will be a large portion of grilled chicken, rice, beans, potato salad and bread. It's the typical South Texas fundraiser. We've already """pre-sold""" about 50 plates at $6 a plate and are hoping to sell another 50 on that day. In other news, I'm doing about the same with my """cold""". It's really just a persistent cough (about 3 months now). Went to the doctor today and he prescribed some nasal/allergy medicine, but Wal-Mart couldn't fill the prescription, so I have to wait until tomorrow. Also, we are making progress on the roof. One of the guys from the church has been helping, and it's allowed us to move faster. We've finished one side and 1/2 the front. We're still slowed by my schedule (church work does come first), but we'll finish eventually. And, finally, please be praying about visitors to church. We've spoken to and/or heard of a number of families that are without a church home that are considering visiting with us. We'd very much like to see them in regular fellowship with other believers and under a steady diet of healthy spiritual food! Nothing else for now. Have a great day (or days) until we """talk""" again. 1/24/2012 6:16:10 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=136 RGV_Update_136 A few updates this evening. First, and most importantly, please be in prayer for Melissa and her family. Her grandpa has been sick recently and she received a call just a short while ago saying they were taking him off dialysis and placing him in hospice. They given him 7-10 days. That's all the bad news we have today! In other news, the dedication of the new property went well last weekend and the people seemed to enjoy getting to visit it for the first time. We will continue to move forward with plans as the Lord allows. Also, on Sunday afternoon my dad arrived for his yearly visit. He'll be staying with us a couple of months and we look forward to that. Unfortunately for him (by fortunately for me) he's stuck helping me with the roof! I don't think he minds too much, but it sure is a lot of work. We're making steady progress, albeit it a tad slow. We're 1/2 way done with one side of the house out of four so still a lot to go. We're getting the hang of it, and I've only *almost* fell off the roof once! (That metal is pretty slick stuff) Other than that, not much to share. Have a great day! 1/11/2012 5:57:41 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=135 RGV_Update_135 Had a good fellowship outing with the church folks today as we went to Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. We had a total of 18 people in the event, including 3 visitors. I think everyone had a great time! Tomorrow after the morning service we are heading down to the new property to let the folks see it for the first time and also to have a special time of prayer to dedicate the property to the Lord. We look forward to that also. Otherwise, not much else going on! Have a great day. 1/7/2012 6:40:43 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=134 RGV_Update_134 Well, some good news and some good news and some good news to share with you. First, the good news. On Thursday I was able to go into McAllen and finish the closing on the new church property....so, it's officially ours! Now, just praying for the Lord's leading and blessing as we anticipate building a new facility on that property. Don't know when that may occur, but God does and we leave it in His very capable hands! Second, the good news. Yesterday I was able to finish the first step of the roof the underlay. After only about 3,000 square feet of underlay and 4,000 nails, it's done. Won't miss working on that! Next, I get to play with the metal and should be starting with that this week. And, finally, the good news. Last night we had our annual church new year's activity and had a great time together. We started with some snacks and a review of the church drama, which proved to be quite hilarious on camera. We also watched a good movie, enjoyed some fun games (only 1 game in the photos below) and of course a time of prayer to thank God for His blessings from 2011 and dedicate 2012 to His service. Looking forward to great things in this new year! 1/1/2012 10:41:16 AM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=133 RGV_Update_133 Just a couple quick updates. Things in the church are still going well. We have not been able to finish the closing on the land, but it will be soon. There was a hiccup due to our legal status as a nonprofit association that caused problems with the title company, but those were resolved yesterday. We may close today and if not it will be early next week. Tomorrow we are having our annual New Years' Eve activity and are looking forward to a good time together as a church family. In other news, we have begun a big repair project on our personal home, replacing the roof! The asphalt shingles are about 30 years old and are literally coming apart. The asphalt is just rolling off the roof and in many places there are holes all the way through the shingles themselves. Fortunately we haven't had any leaks yet (not sure how just going to give the credit to God on that one!), but we don't want to press our luck! So, I'm busy laying underlay and will be putting a new roof on over the coming weeks. It may take me a while, but I thank God for the physical ability to do the work! Not much else to share. 12/30/2011 8:26:47 AM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=132 RGV_Update_132 Just a couple quick updates. The teen drama went well on Saturday, although turnout by visitors was very low. The kids didn't seem to mind too much and everything went on as planned. Yesterday we had our annual Christmas dinner in the evening. We had a lot of good traditional Mexican food, and a lot of """other""" food too (Green Spaghetti, Baked Ziti, Chicken Alfredo, and more). We enjoyed all the food, but also all the fellowship both during the meal and also afterwards during the games and other activities. This coming weekend we will be celebrating Christmas Day as a church family and look forward to that time together. On Wednesday I am planning to be in McAllen to finally sign the papers on the land purchase! I guess that is a Christmas present to us!! Otherwise, things are going well. We are all getting over our colds and other illnesses and getting back to normal. Thanks for praying....keep it up! 12/19/2011 7:00:56 PM http://www.rgvbaptist.com/Updates_View.asp?UID=131 RGV_Update_131