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With Doña Luisa in the Yucatan 1997. Her family helped to establish |
A Dominican Jail to a Jail in Portsmouth
As Pastor Tony invited the inmates to step forward if they were ready to follow Jesus, I had a message pressing on my heart. A number of men had stepped forward, but many were unmoved. Back then, in 1993, my Spanish was limited, but I could not hold back. I asked Pastor Tony if I could say something to the inmates in this Dominican Jail. He nodded. In broken Spanish I warned them of the pride present in all of us and of the danger of letting pride prevent them from admitting that they need a Savior. It communicated at least to two, as they stepped forward. It was the first time I had ever publicly invited someone to receive Christ. Joy was present as Pastor Tony ministered to them and led them to call on Jesus!
This memory came back to me last Monday night on my way home from the Portsmouth Jail. I work with Chaplain Gary Tingwald of Southeastern Correctional Ministries. It was a very good night in the jail as the groups of men that gathered to pray, hear the Word and fellowship together were bigger than normal. We shared the story of Jesus' humble entry, how his birth announcements went to the lowly shepherds and a conversation about what Savior means from Luke 2. I asked if there were any among them who wanted to welcome Jesus as Savior and live a new life in and through Him. Two men raised their hands. I asked them to come near and through the bars of the jail, I spoke to them more intensely about repentance and faith. After they prayed some of the other guys clapped with joy for them. I will be meeting with them again next week. Please pray for these two and certainly the whole ministry at the Portsmouth Jail.
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| With a Mayan family in front of their home |
‘Go and make disciples of all nations . . .’ Matthew 28:19a
These early ministry experiences in Latin America were formative for me. Now a big circle is about to be completed! Eileen and I spent the summer of 1997 in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico with Youth with a Mission [YWAM]. It was an incredible summer serving with our Mexican brothers and sisters in Christ. In 2000, our family began growing with children and Eileen was no longer able to travel on mission trips. I continued to go to places like Haiti, Mexico (Chiapas), Jamaica and Nicaragua. I see a tremendous value in cross cultural exchanges and overseas partnerships in the Gospel. Eileen and I are traveling with our children to Nicaragua for 20 days in January. We are very excited about the trip and our children share the excitement. We are more intentional about training them as disciples and teaching Spanish to them. Our trip has a fourfold purpose: 1) To continue our partnerships with our amigos and churches there. 2) To establish new partnerships which include the Evangelical Methodist Church in Nicaragua which is a budding movement: www.iglesiametodistanicaragua.com/ and Casa Esperanza [Hope House] a ministry helping women and children out of prostitution: www.houseofhopenicaragua.com/ 3) To plan and map out a mission trip for Spring Break of 2011 (March 13 – 20) with Virginia Wesleyan College students and others. 4) To immerse our children in Nicaraguan culture and Español.
Eileen and I have talked for a number of years about a mission trip for the whole family. We wanted the children to be old enough to be able to serve and we think we are there. We also want our children to see the two-thirds world (as many of us like to call it). Seeing the poverty in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, will be a powerful experience for our children; especially as they see the joy of the believers who have so little materially compared to us. We have a lot to learn from them. We ask for your prayers as we travel from January 3 – 23.
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| Church in the Yucatan, Mexico 1997 - Eileen front left |
Our financial support continues to grow. We are at 65% of our budget. The Board of Directors approved the budget earlier this year making my compensation equal to what I received in my last year as pastor. This takes into account my part-time Chaplain’s salary at Virginia Wesleyan College. So we only need to raise ½ of my salary and housing. If you would like to be a financial partner with me through Life in His Name click here: Life in His Name Support
In Jesus’ great love,
In Jesus’ great love,
Greg
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