Ministerios Bautistas Fundamentales

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Archived updates from June, 2006 - August, 2009

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12/31/2009 1:47:11 PM

We hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas. Ours was very nice, but now it is time to get back to work! A few things for you today. First, Braden and I arrived back home yesterday after spending 4 days with the youth from Iglesia Bautista Betania. We travelled with them to a youth retreat in Houston, Texas. I can't say that everything went smoothly, but we did have an overall good time, and the teens received a benefit from the experience. The bus operated perfectly. This is actually the longest trip I have personally driven the bus on (about 14 hours round trip). There are a lot of photos in this update of that event, and I trust you will enjoy them. Tonight we will be going with our church into Edinburg, Texas for a combined New Years Eve service with another church there. Last night we had an "interesting" experience. A man from church showed up at our home around 10:00-10:30 last night. He entered the gate between the house and the garage and then proceeded to knock on the kitchen door....and even tried to open it. Of course, Bo went crazy barking which was a very good thing. I went to the door to find out who it was and when I discovered it was him I went out to talk with him....and accidentally set off the house alarm in the process. Once we got that straight and I was able to talk with him I discovered that he was there looking for money, as he was returning from Reynosa, Mexico, and needed gas.....or so the story goes (I'm not convinced). He also talked with me for about 15 minutes about the church. He was really pressing for me to leave the church in Roma and start a new church. He was also giving me some "information" that I might now know about the church to help convince me. He didn't. It certainly didn't help any that he was obviously drunk (slurred speach, trouble walking/standing, bloodshot eyes and a certain aroma). I'm not sure what all will come of the situation with him, but do ask your continued prayers. We were glad he came LAST night, as that was the first night I was back from this trip. If he had come with Melissa home alone she would have had to call the police, which just makes for a bad situation. Not much more to say at the moment....just got a lot of work to do, and little time to do it, so I'm going to go get started!

Our traditional "Sorry Tournament" that we play every Christmas Eve. We usually play 5-6 rounds, with the winners receiving varying amounts of CHOCOLATE!		More of the tournament.
Bo wants to say HI!		Another shot of Bo, watching the tournament.
Melissa's winter scene which was setup in the living room.		Waiting at Iglesia Bautista Betania in Mission, Texas, for more folks to arrive and to finish loading the bus.
Loading suitcases in the back.		Most of the luggage is loaded and ready to go!
We had a full bus 14 passenger seats and 15 passengers. Hmmm....I feel sorry for the one sitting on the folding seat in the back!		Iglesia Bautista Libertad in Houston, Texas was the host church for this retreat.
More of IBL in Houston. It is a very large Hispanic church.		A few buses lined up outside, waiting for the kids to be dismissed for the afternoon activity.
Part of the foyer at IBL.		A different section of the foyer at IBL, showing just some of the missionaries that they support.
1/2 of A small dining hall at the church.		Part of the sanctuary at IBL. There are 4 sections of pews running across the sanctuary. In this photo you see about 1.5 of these sections!
The speaker is kneeling to pray as he closes this particular message. You can also see the speakers in the background which were used as decorations for the theme LISTEN UP!		The host pastor, Rogelio Carrizales.
Another view of the sanctuary.		And yet another view, this time showing the right-most section of pews.
Sound booth at IBL.		One of their church buses.
A long line of buses and vans waiting to be dismissed for the afternoon activity. There were about 325 kids in attendance for this retreat.		Another view of the buses.
Our kids at the first afternoon activity: Bowling, Video Games and Laser Tag.		More of the kids at the activity.
More of the kids at the activity.		More of the kids at the activity.
More of the kids at the activity.		More of the kids at the activity.
More of the kids at the activity.		More of the kids at the activity.
More of the kids at the activity.		More of the kids at the activity.
More of the kids at the activity.		The gymnasium at IBL.
More of the gymnasium at IBL.		More of the gymnasium at IBL.
More of the gymnasium at IBL.		More of the gymnasium at IBL.
More of the gymnasium at IBL.		More of the gymnasium at IBL.
More of the gymnasium at IBL.		More of the gymnasium at IBL.
More of the gymnasium at IBL.		Our kids getting ready for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
More of our kids getting ready for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.		More of our kids getting ready for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
More of our kids getting ready for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.		More of our kids getting ready for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
The tournament is in process!		The tournament is in process!
Pastor Noe Mendoza and Youth Pastor Noe Mendoza from Iglesia Bautist Betania.		Bro. Jeremy arrived the second night, flying in from a trip to California to visit family there. He is greeting all of his teens.