Misión Montana Vista
Montgomery Family Newsletter, January/February/March
2005
January through March has
indeed been a whirlwind. I looked up
and realized it had been three months since my last newsletter! Besides all of
the regular activities, here are some of the highlights of the last few months:
On January 21, Ruby,
one of our youth here, decided to commit herself to the Lord in Baptism. Some members of her family were urging her
to wait until a Sunday so that more people could attend, but she decided that
she must obey God, and do it as soon as possible. It is great seeing these
young people with such conviction to obey Christ! She has certainly set a great
example for the rest of us.
The youth were also
able to attend a local youth rally in February. They got to know other kids in the area, listen to youth classes
and sermons, and enjoy a concert by Acappella.
Also, our kids were exposed to a Bible bowl for the first time. We were
unable to participate this year because we learned about it too late, but we do
hope to be involved with it next year, Lord willing. I think overall everyone
went home energized and encouraged!
Sunday, February 27,
was an exciting day for the church in Montana Vista. We were able to celebrate the wedding of Pedro and Veronica
Armendariz. God really used this in so
many ways. First of all, I got better
acquainted with both Vero and Pedro and built some long-lasting bonds of
friendship. They both really want to please God as they begin life in this new
relationship. Hopefully they soon will be obeying the gospel as well. God also
was able to use them as an example for other family members. Vero’s sister is also considering marriage
and the possibility of obeying the gospel soon thereafter. Vero’s father asked me to consider
performing a 25th anniversary ceremony for him and his wife. In addition, because of the wedding we also
had some guests that had never come to services before there. We performed the
wedding following services on Sunday so we had standing room only for services
that morning! I’m sure we’ll see even more fruit with time. God never ceases to amaze me how he can take
any aspect of our lives and do
amazing and wonderful things! Please
join with me in thanking God for Pedro and Vero, as well as all those affected
by their marriage.
On the first Friday of
March we had the opportunity of helping over 35 people with clothing donated by
many of you. We were able to take care
of some physical necessities of the people here, which, I believe, made an
impression. More importantly we were
able to spend some time studying from God’s Word with these individuals about
the importance of spiritual matters as well. Only the Lord knows the results of
these activities. The clothing really gave us a second blessing because we were
able to share some with other brethren in Clint, TX (another small town on the
edge of El Paso). They too will be able to use it for evangelistic purposes and
caring for some of the brethren in need there.
If they have any left, it will be used in Juarez. So the giving keeps on
going! I can’t help but see a parallel between this situation and what the
Gentile churches did for the poor in Jerusalem in the first century. Thank all
of you for your help. God has truly
been glorified, several times over!
In March we have
finally begun having small group studies during the week for the church
members. We would like these to be
times of sharing, and because it is terribly difficult to translate emotions,
we decided to have different small groups based upon language. We are very excited about the possibilities
of these studies both for the maturation of the Christians as well as evangelistic
growth. I believe these groups will be
an important step to the development of the church here as a whole. Please keep
us in your prayers as we embark in this new area.
In April, the church
here in Montana Vista moved locations.
Almost since the church’s inception here we had been using a 4 bedroom
house to have services and all the other activities here. It has served its
purpose well and God has certainly blessed us here. We only moved a mile or so from our current location, but the new
location is much more visible. We’ve
been on a small side-street. The new location will be on the main thoroughfare
in Montana Vista. For those of you familiar with the area, we’ll be located on
Montana Avenue. I truly believe that this move will be greatly helpful in
becoming more established in the area. We can only wait to see the great things
God will do in the weeks and months to come! PLEASE keep these new changes in
your prayers as well.
On a personal note,
the Montgomery family is doing relatively well. Bethany is running 100 miles/hour and talking up a storm
(unfortunately her storms are sometimes a mixture of two languages which gets
VERY difficult to understand). As some
of you are aware, Alicia has been struggling with her health since the begging
of the year. She has been very limited
in what she can do and has had very low energy levels. After much deliberation, she decided to spend
a couple of weeks with her parents in Hobbs, NM, so that they could help watch
Bethany and give her the much needed time to rest. Needless to say it was a very quiet house for two weeks here in
El Paso. Since her return she has been
visiting with a doctor that has studied her illness, and we are monitoring her
activities closely. She is still quite limited on what she can do, but thankfully
we are seeing slow but gradual improvement.
We appreciate the love and concern many of you have already expressed
through cards, hugs, and prayers, and we ask that you please continue praying
for her.
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of
you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel form the
first day until now.” Phil. 1:3-4
May God richly bless and keep you all until we meet again.
Kevin, Alicia and Bethany Montgomery
El Paso, Texas