Dear Praying Friends,
"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7). We have nothing to fear but fear itself. I was reminded of these words of Franklin Roosevelt during this weekend's epidemic scare that reverberated though Mexico City as the entire metropolis shut down, from the masses in the Catholic churches to even several Baptist churches. The series I am teaching on the book of Revelation in Sunday School happened to fall this Sunday on the seven vial of God's wrath with its plagues and seemed to add to the apocalyptic atmosphere as I stood before the members of our church donning surgical masks as a precaution against the swine influenza menacing the city.
In the evening I received a phone call of a preacher fiend of mine who had to shut down his church as a result of one of their members falling victims to the deadly strain. In spite of it all, God blessed tremendously our Kid's Day. Having passed out 9,000 flyers inviting people to our church, how could we close our doors to the lost and Christians who would brave the threats of disease in spite of the government's warning to not even attend the few religious services still open to the public?
We were so surprised at how many attended. In the morning I had no idea what to expect as I prayed not so much for a good attendance, but claimed the promise of God in Psalm 91 that he would protect us from the noisome pestilence that walketh in darkness. I was encouraged in my devotions as I read the words of Paul on the ship tossed by Euroclydon, "I believed God, that it shall be even as it was told me." Some pastors here might say that I was reckless and irresponsible, tempting God to bear us up in his angel's hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone; but we were not jumping off a temple, but obediently assembling ourselves in the temple and completing the Great Commission.
In all, 166 attended the services. Ninety-seven were first-time visitors. It was the second highest attendance in our church's history. We had 88 adults and 78 children. Many were Christians whose church doors had closed. but were looking for a church that still would be open on the Lord's Day. Four adults were saved and one woman received assurance of her salvation. Twenty-one children professed their faith in Christ.
It was exciting to hear the testimonies of our people in the evening. Rosario and Gaspar spoke how they were so concerned and careful to make sure the children they dealt with understood the gospel and made genuine decisions to accept Christ. Rosario spoke of Leslie, a little girl whose mother we buried just a few weeks before. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Now I'll be able to see my mother some day." Yolanda spoke of how she had been praying for her nephew Andres to be saved and how that he was saved in children's church. She also gave testimony of Cecilia who received assurance of her salvation. She had the idea that she needed to be saved several times; but with tears streamed down her face as she realized that the life God gave is eternal and that she is eternally saved.
Alma, a drug addict invited by a Christian neighbor concerned for her soul, trusted Christ; and her unsaved husband, himself an addict, invited me to come to their home anytime. Maria, Yolanda's sister, gave a testimony of Gabriela, who after her salvation, told Maria that she came to church full of fears but was leaving with a sense of peace. It was exciting to see our people work for Christ. We had more participation in passing out flyers than ever before. We had planned on passing out 5,000; but after having run out of on Tuesday; we had another 4,000 printed and passed them all out
It was also an encouragement to see so many of our people willing to come and work Sunday ministering to others in spite of the inward fears and doing it enthusiastically. Kid's Day is a wonderful opportunity for people who usually do not have a responsibility in the church to do things that they have never done before. It certainly was a test of faith for our people, but the majority passed the test as we had a non-visitor attendance of 69 in spite of more than a dozen otherwise faithful members staying home. This day certainly separated the "men from the boys", the faithful from the fearful, and, perhaps, even the sheep from the goats; but for the majority of our people, it was the test of faith that I am sure strengthened them spiritually and encouraged them to do more for the Lord.
Thank you so much for praying for this day as I know God heard you and answered in a marvelous way.
Sincerely,
Clint Rardin |
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