Misión Montana Vista: Montgomery Family Newsletter March- July 2007

 

“Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” 2 Cor. 2:14

 

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ,

            Howdy from El Paso!  I hope this letter finds you blessed and encouraged.  As always, things here have been a bit hectic, but just as Paul wrote “thanks be to God.” Here are some of the ways that God has been spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of him here in El Paso lately.

            In March we were blessed with the opportunity for our young people to fellowship with the youth group from the Montwood congregation here. Our two groups sweated and huffed up to the top of the largest mountain here in El Paso (well . . .MOST of the youth made it to the top after a 4 ½  mile hike up!).  Unfortunately I was one that didn’t quite make it because I got to help the little guys like Bethany (who, by the way made it up 2 ½ miles up by herself).  It was a blessing for our kids to make friends with other Christians in the area and spend some time enjoying God’s creation. In a youth group made up of 3 families, being with other teens is really a boost!

            Also in March we had a day of “spring cleaning” or as it was called around here “limpieza general.” Members of the church here invited friends and neighbors to come to the building and receive cleaning supplies. Of course I took the opportunity to give a brief lesson about how God can clean up their lives from the effects of sin. We literally had standing room only in our building, so we feel it was a big success. At very least new individuals were inside the building and were blessed with some physical help. For that we already give thanks to God. We will see what fruit comes from it as time goes by through new contacts made that evening.

            God has also added to the number of the saints here in Montana Vista. Rodolfo Sepulveda was baptized into Christ on March 31.  Being the son of Francisco and Gloria, a couple that’s been with us for some time, he had already been around but had not obeyed the gospel. He is a great young man, and God is continuing to show His power through Rodolfo. I hope that you too will rejoice with us and the angels in heaven over this good news. Please also pray for his spiritual growth and development over the weeks and months ahead.

            Summertime, as always, is a very busy blessing for us here. We were again able to go to Pine Springs Summer Camp thanks to the brethren in Hobbs (THANK YOU). We took 5 campers and several adult staff members. It was a wonderful week of fellowship, worship and growth for everyone involved.  After returning from camp we had a couple of weeks to get prepared for a group from the Jefferson Street congregation in Hobbs, NM who came to put on a VBS for us. WOW! The time they were with us was truly a blessing from God! Being a preacher I am never really satisfied with numbers, but I must say that I was pleased with the size of the groups that came to VBS from the neighborhood. We had 24 the first night, 36 and 28 the following two evenings. While those may not sound like huge numbers, what really encouraged me was the fact that over 50% came from families that had never visited with us before and/or do not regularly attend anywhere. So I see a possibility for the gospel to spread into new families. I do covet your prayers for all those involved in the VBS. I also want to thank again the group from Hobbs. I do hope that you were blessed as much as we were by your presence.  Four days after the group from Hobbs left, a group of young people from the Chisholm Trail congregation in Duncan, Oklahoma, came our way for about a week. While here, they were an absolute delight. They did everything from cleaning up yards and painting a porch for one of our widows to helping us immensely with the pantry we use for the dispensa.  I was really impressed with how quickly they knocked out the work. Besides all the physical help they were, God really used them to benefit the spiritual well-being of our youth. As I mentioned earlier, seeing other Christian teens really gives a shot in the arm to our small group of kids. I tried to put the two groups together as much as possible, and, in the end, I believe both groups benefited from it.  One activity they did together was to take cupcakes to the kids who visited the VBS the previous week. The purpose was to let the kids from VBS know that we care about them, to keep contact with them, and to meet the parents so that we could invite them to get to know the Lord with us. We will only have to wait and see just how the Lord used all of these activities. We still covet your prayers for Alicia’s health.  Bethany is doing great (and getting ready to start school next month—pray for Alicia’s and my sanity as we prepare to let our little baby go to school).  We love and thank God for all of you in the Lord. Grace and peace in Christ,

Kevin, Alicia and Bethany Montgomery