Lost Sheep Ministries News January, 2016 San Marcos, Nicaragua

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1 Lost Sheep Ministries News January, 2016 San Marcos, Nicaragua The Great Commission: Matthew 28: is a commission for all Christians to GO, make Disciples, and teach them to OBEY all that Jesus has commanded us. LSM is dedicated to evangelizing the lost and making Disciples of Christ that make Disciples of Christ according to II Timothy 2:2. Words from Pastor Bob: I will be accompanied by Jimmy Stanfield and Kevin Sutherland for our first International mission trip of We will be spending a ten day return trip to Nicaragua with plans to minister to the men and women in the Hodera (Addiction Recovery Center) south of Managua. Of course we expect to have opportunities to minister in local churches as well. Pastor Bob Saturday, 16 January 2016: Carol drove Jimmy, Kevin and me to the airport early Saturday morning to board a 9:30 a.m. flight to Managua. PROBLEM: the plane is over booked and we probably won t get on. As we began to pray to get on this flight I am reminded of the three locations where the most prayer to God goes up in U.S. The hospital surgical waiting rooms (patients & family members/friends), court rooms (defendants & family members/friends), and of course air ports (standby passengers). I had made arrangements for Miguel Lopez to pick us up at the Managua airport with his truck to carry our luggage and I will rent a car. I arrived at 12:30 noon and met Miguel and told him he could go home because I needed to wait for Jimmy and Kevin to arrive on a later flight. Now begins my 12 hour wait at the airport. I saw they were on the 9:30 PM flight. Whew, they ARE coming. Two boxes are missing. We left the airport at 2:30 AM. and began our one hour journey to San Marcos. I had no idea where the hotel was. I did, however, have the name and location. When we got to San Marcos I asked a young man on the streets if he would call the hotel number for me and ask the location. He did and jumped in the car with us and led us to the hotel. We finally got to bed at 4 AM on Sunday morning! Thank you Lord for travelling mercies and getting us here safely. Sunday, 17 January: We had a good day today. We started this morning at the 10 AM service at Iglesia La Roca. Pastor Jairel Sanchez was not there. Not a problem as this church knows me well. Wonderful service and Jimmy and I shared powerful messages from God. We then went to visit Margarita, an old friend. She has made mission trips with me and is indeed a woman of God. We went back to the hotel to rest. This is really a very nice hotel that I found online. I met the manager whose name is Sandra. She speaks very good English. Page 1 of 5

2 The caretaker is Mariana and her daughter is Ruth. We visited and while visiting with them I shared a little about my ministry here in Nicaragua over the past 20 years now. This naturally led to a gospel presentation and before I laid down for my nap there was Sandra, Mariana and Ruth on their knees praying to receive Christ as their Savior. If you want to be a soul winner, tell lost people about Jesus Christ. I look forward to preparing and presenting their spiritual birth certificates. We attended Palabra de Vida church from 4:00 to 6:30 PM. This is the first church I visiting back in The services at Palabra de Vida are outstanding. Their praise dance team and music team knock it out of the park each Sunday. Many folks greeted and hugged me as I have found favor in this church. At 7:00 PM we travelled to the Hodera (drug & alcohol recovery center). Our plans were to show a movie. We had a problem with equipment so Jimmy & I shared from the Word. We will be ministering here all week. We brought cold soda and pan (bread rolls made by Margarita) for the men. Tuesday 8 AM: Yesterday we had an awesome day at the Hodera. We still can t get the projector to work. So Jimmy, Kevin & I shared in the morning session. Sandra from the hotel joined us mid-morning. She shared that she had been born again on Sunday. She is only one day old in the Lord and sharing her testimony. That s how it should be. Before I got to share in the morning Jimmy opened our first session with the men followed by Kevin. Kevin preached on the Ten Commandments, how we can t keep them, and how they reveal our need for a Savior. He closed his message with an altar call and thirteen men come forward to pray with him to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Wow, I was amazed, happy, and a little bit upset (not really). I want to catch all the fish. I must say watching Kevin catch those fish was like watching my children when they were young and my grandchildren catch fish. It s so exciting and rewarding. At the evening service we set up a large screen TV and showed the movie The Ride. I then gave an invitation and I had the privilege to lead another group of men to the Lord. Tomorrow we will begin a series of Bible Study lessons to build the men up in their faith. On Saturday, we will have a baptism service and party. Sandra will help me tomorrow by preparing the Spiritual Birth Certificates for these men as well as the Baptism certificates. I am looking forward to this time of ministry because of the opportunity to invest in the lives of these men. It reminds me of the work at Bay Area Recovery Center in Dickinson, Texas each Monday night which results directly from a visit to this Hodera about four years ago. Page 2 of 5

3 Mariana and daughter received their spiritual birth certificates. Oscar, Kedvin & Isaias from La Roca church in Jinptepe arrived to provide praise and testify at the Hodera. This is Pastor Rudy Palacios church: A dynamic church that meets in an old theater of about 400 seats and it stays full. They have three services: One at 5 AM. (yep), one at 10 AM (more my style) and one at 5 PM. They have a dynamic youth group which we will speak to on Saturday night and then again on Sunday we will speak at the 10 AM service. Thank you Jesus. Thursday 21 January. We have presented Bible lessons on Who Am I in Christ (my position in Christ) and How to Know the Will of God. We have watched the movies The Ride and The Climb. We will continue to meet each morning and evening until Saturday when we will share the Lord s Supper with these new converts. Lsai Ramos (19), Kedvin Vanegas (21), and Oscar Chavez (22) returned to share praise and worship with the men. What joy was in my heart as I watched these three young men represent Jesus Christ with such enthusiasm and fervor. We treated them to lunch and then gave them the funds to travel each day to continue to share with the men. The men at the Hodera love to sing and this trio of worship leaders give them that opportunity. I continue to be blessed by my church, Citymark in League City, TX, 21 days of prayer and fasting now day 11. Jimmy has joined with me so it is a bit easier only have to watch Kevin eat (and boy can he EAT) than having to watch both Jimmy and Kevin eat. On Friday we showed the movies Something to Sing About in the morning and The Story of Jesus for Children in the evening services. I am watching these men bloom before my eyes. In the afternoon we purchased the drinks, ice, ice cream, cakes and other snacks for the Celebration on Saturday. Kevin, Jimmy and I have really bonded with these men. Celebration day was yesterday. We shared the goodies with the men. They loved the cake and ice cream. I had a lottery drawing for the DVD movies and calendars. I had enough (but of course) for each man to win a prize. The first 8 called had the opportunity to select a movie. After the 8 movies were gone each man won a calendar. Sandra from the hotel came as well as Glen & Lynne Schweitzer from Jinotepe. They are born again Jews who lead the Matthew 25 Ministry. Page 3 of 5

4 I presented the Spiritual Birth Certificates and explained Baptism to the men again. We then went outside to the little pool and Kevin, Jimmy & I baptized I believe 25 men. Then we travelled back to the hotel and I experienced a first time event for my life. I baptized Sandra and Marianna in the tub in the bathroom of our room. You go God! They preferred not to be baptized at the Hodera but wanted to be baptized. Why can t we use the tub? Sandra asked me. Okay why not? So we filled the tub with water and I did my first baptism in a bathroom tub. We then went back inside and had a time of sharing. Glen and Lynne shared their testimonies. Then several of the men did also. How wonderful to witness and hear of the mighty deeds of God in the lives of these men. One week ago they had no hope. Now they are REJOICING filled with hope because they received God s forgiveness and the wonderful gift of eternal life. Folks I get to watch these men turn from buds to beautiful flowers as the Holy Spirit changed them right before my eyes. I am humbled and honored to be a servant, saint, soldier, priest, and ambassador for my Lord Jesus Christ! We left with tears streaming down our face both us and the men. Big hugs! Eternal friendships. There is still more hours left in the day. We travelled to Jinotepe to share with the teens at La Roca. Glen & Lynne came and Lynne translated for me. I was really prayed up for this meeting. I am experiencing young people around the world really committing their lives to Christ and impacting their schools and communities. Jimmy estimated there were more than 200 in attendance. He could be right because every time I have shared there that was about the size of those in attendance I preached from John 15:5 and Matthew 4:19. "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing". Approximately 58 youth came forward and bowed to receive Christ into their lives Page 4 of 5

5 Is Jesus abiding in you? Are you abiding in Jesus? Show me your fruit. No fruit? You re not abiding in Jesus and He s not abiding in you. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Are you fishing? If you re not fishing YOU'RE NOT FOLLOWING! Will you go for God? I want to bestow unction of the Holy Spirit on all who will come and commit and receive this unction of the Holy Spirit on your lives? Heaven came down and glory filled my soul as I watched the attendee's stream down the aisles to receive this blessing from the Holy Spirit. I prayed asking the Holy Spirit to impart divine spiritual influence on their lives. It was truly a divine moment as our Holy Spirit rained down on these dear ones. They all made an oral commitment to Believe God, Trust God, and Obey God. They cried out Here Am I Lord SEND me! I m drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup runneth over! I finished with Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then said I, Here am I; send me. I gave an invitation to come forward to receive forgiveness, healing, deliverance, be healed emotionally, physically, spiritually, receive a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. The altar was flooded and Jimmy, Kevin and I prayed for and anointed all of them with oil. They were up there on their knees for almost 30 minutes and then I closed with them shouting to the Lord here am I SEND me! Following the service, we went to lunch at Tip Top and I asked a 21 year old to join us. Her name is Cynthia. The Holy Spirit placed on my heart to give her these 2 verses: Isaiah 6:8 and Habakkuk 1:5. She shared her testimony with us at Tip Top and I was so blessed that I asked her if I could record it for our Celebrate Recovery group at CItymark Church in League City, TX. She agreed and I have it and I intend to post it on Facebook also. To summarize our week in Nicaragua: Church services, Five Salvations, Thirty Six Baptisms, Thirty Two Bibles distributed, 100 Calendars 60 Movies 10 Evangelism & Discipleship training every day, everywhere! We spent about 40 hours at the Hodera sharing Christ and Bible Lessons Monday thru Saturday. I thank God for His PROVISION. Each time we Go, it is the best trip until the next! Recommended Reading: The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons. Gabe Lyons is optimistic that Christianity's best days are yet to come. His best-selling book, UnChristian, revealed the pervasiveness of our culture's growing disregard for Christians. Now, in The Next Christians, Lyons shows how a new wave of believers is turning the tide by bringing the truth of the Gospel to bear on our changing, secular society. Tax Deductable Donations to LSM: Lost Sheep Ministries is a 501(c) non-profit organization. Donations may be made to LSM, 2951 Marina Bay Drive, Suite , League City, TX We are seeking funds to travel, equip, and commission others to take the Gospel of Christ to all nations. This monthly newsletter will be distributed by only. addresses may be removed or added to distribution by notifying John Overton at dotnjohn@comcast.net. Note: All of our Newsletters and Power point presentations along with student manuals are available free from our web: Page 5 of 5