August 2005
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“Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee...Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD…Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children…” Psalm 128:1-6.

He’s here at last! Anders Kirt Mellberg. He arrived on August 29 at 2:46 PM, weighed 9 lbs. 4.2 ozs., and measured 21 inches! He’s a big, strong and healthy young man, a true blessing from heaven; and already, in only one day, he has brought immeasurable joy to our family. There is a growing collection of pictures on the web, click here and here to see them. Jeremy and Jessica are apprehensive, yet excited about the opportunity that awaits them to instruct, guide and set an example for this gift to them from our Father, and we all ask for your prayers that Anders Kirt will grow to fulfill the divine purpose for which he was fearfully and wonderfully made.

It is exhilarating to become a grandmother, a heady feeling I never imagined for myself. A week ago Sunday, as I sat in the Tepic church listening to Pastor Martín give the message God had laid on his heart comparing how God had supernaturally made order from disorder in the creation of the universe with how God had supernaturally brought order from the potential disorder of Martín’s own life, I was mesmerized with the thought that, “This child we once knew, Martín, has become a man of God. God directs his paths and is using him to pastor a flock and lead them to allow God to bring order out of the chaos that sin has produced in their lives without Christ.” Then, miracle of miracles, I was privileged to witness the birth of three spiritual grandchildren as they came forward at Martin’s invitation to yield themselves to receive Christ’s forgiveness of their sins and become children of God. How blessed I am to have been privileged to see my “children’s children.”

Please pray with us as we prepare to celebrate on October 2, the 14th anniversary of the Tepic church. We are planning to make it a “Special Invitation” day in which each church member will invite at least one guest. Our theme will be “Peace—Not As the World Gives.” We will focus on presenting Christ to our visitors who are searching for that unexplainable peace. The theme will also serve to remind us all that in spite of the trials and tests that we have experienced this past year, we have found perfect peace in Him.

As Kirt always concluded our prayer updates, I reiterate, “We are forever grateful for your love and care that allows us to be here sharing God’s love.”

Love,

Debbie

Yesterday, Martín, Erén, Jonatán, David and I went along with Chris and Elizabeth Robertson and their two kids, Joshua and Ashley to Ixtlán del Rio to meet with some believers from Ixtlán who are interested in having Chris and Elizabeth begin working with them to reach their friends and neighbors.
Ixtlán is about an hour from Tepic on the road to Guadalajara. Chris and Elizabeth, missionary interns who have been working with us for the year, and their kids have been living in our house since March, and they are working to find a suitable house in Ixtlán into which to move in order to begin their work in Ixtlán. They have a lot of work ahead of them, and we are committed to help them through the preliminaries of getting started. It won’t be easy; in human terms, it’s actually impossible. They will need lots of prayer, emotional, and physical support