Elim España Newsletter January 2021

Greetings in Jesus’ name from Andalucía

We thank the Lord for you, for your prayers, support and encouragement. The world is reeling from the virus that is causing so much devastation and hardship throughout the world, so like you we are fixing our eyes on the Lord as we step into this new year. We live each day one at a time and face the challenges in that day. There are so many needs and only God can help in so many situations, however we are trying to take our place and do what we can in Him. We have all experienced the challenges from last year, and all of us here in Europe are living within the restrictions within our society, therefore one of our challenges is to work out how to live the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

I am so thankful for Howard's ability to learn how to use the technology available to us so we can feed our folks spiritually in their own homes and now live stream our in-person meetings for those who cannot or prefer not to attend.

We are limited in how many folks can be in our building and have established a robust system of sanitisation and socially distance all chairs at 2 metres. It is great to be able to gather together to worship and fellowship even with everyone wearing masks. We have an air purifier with a hepa filter which adds to the wellbeing of everyone.

We have 2 meetings of 1hour each on a Sunday, one in English and one in Spanish led by our daughter and husband, Pastor Lucy and Bruno. Please continue to pray for Lucy, Bruno and their children Lilia aged 5 and Joel aged 2, for strength, inspiration by the Holy Spirit, wisdom and provision of good health and finance as they have a shop to support themselves.

Lilia says she loves Jesus in her heart and was extremely concerned for the wellbeing of Jesus as she knows he ascended in the clouds and wanted to go on a plane to check he had food and wasn't lonely. Now she understands that Jesus is in heaven with His Father and angels. She ´s known by her friends at school as the Jesus healer because she prays for anyone who needs Jesus ´ help and healing and they get better, she ´s a great ambassador for Christ aged 5.

We continue to reach out and share the word of God via the media. Howard continues to broadcast his weekly Radio Programme 2Revs An Hour (although he ´s been 1 Rev for years) on a local radio station and via the internet much further, and continues to produce a weekly TV Programme which is broadcast via the Gospel Channel. All this and more is available on our website @ www.elimfamilyfellowship.com if you fancy a look.

HELPING THE HUNGRY

On Boxing Day and the following Saturday our church together with the Spanish Evangelical Church in our town were able to collect food at a supermarket to help our Aid Programme here. This is the first time the council has given permission to Evangelical Churches to do this.

As in so many other places people have lost jobs and can’t find another one and now, they have exhausted what they had and some have not received social benefits or not enough to last a month and are experiencing hardship. To choose between paying the rent and bills or providing food for their children is very difficult and praise God with the assistance from the Elim Relief Aid we are able to help some. Thank you to all who give, your generosity means the difference between eating or not.

We face each day knowing that nothing is impossible for God and in faith we will continue to reach out, we pray for the success of taking the gospel to those who are lost, and that we can help those who know the Lord as their Saviour but have wandered away to re-establish their relationship with Him. Masks and social distancing make this a bigger challenge, but nothing is impossible with Jesus. We are always asking for His help and strategy of how to do.

We see that one of the blessings from 2020 is that the disciples of Jesus have had to learn to grow in Jesus as they have not been able to just attend praise meetings, prayer meetings, bible studies etc but they have had to learn to take responsibility for their walk with the Lord. I hope and pray that as we all mature and keep our eyes fixed on the Lord we will see good fruit, fruit that will last.

We can ´t plan much for this year, so as I have already said, we just take each day as it comes. We know how difficult it can be to motivate ourselves as the months pass by and this calls for us to dig deep into our faith and your support is so essential to us, on those days when it feels dark and impossible it helps us to feel less alone as we plough new ground. There are days when all we can do is stand firm in the face of disappointment and discouragement, but together with you we will not give ground and we will see our Lord ´s victory. Jesus never said it would be easy. Together, united in our love for the Lord and for His plan for Spain, He will command the blessing.

Although Christians meet together in groups in different towns, we are all one in Christ and it is always a privilege to be able to come alongside and help brothers and sisters. During this pandemic we have been able to walk with a small group of Christians with a large problem in another town, we have been seeking answers and although the answer isn ´t what we wanted we are sure it ´s right for now and maybe in the future we shall see a new Elim church planted there as the Lord brings us someone to take the pastoral role. One big difficulty we do have is a lack of workers. The Lord is calling His children to serve Him, and we definitely need many to come here to help us in the Lord ´s work. The town I have been speaking about, now has no International Church which is such a sad thing to have to say.

It is an honour for Sue and I to lead the Elim work throughout Spain as President and Secretary of the Federation. We have seen the movement grow and new churches being planted, especially in the North. God is on the move in Spain and we now have eight pastors and we accepted seven ministers in training at the last conference.

We pray that as you face the day where you are, you will be continually strengthened, refilled with the Holy Spirit and encouraged to do great and mighty exploits in His name. Let us know what ´s happening with you.

ELIM IN SPAIN

Our vision is not just here in Benalmadena but for the salvation of this country of Spain. Howard and I still have the privilege of serving on the Consejo of Elim here in Spain. We are four people, Pastor Sammy (Treasurer), Pastor Howard (President), Pastora Susan (Secretary) and Pastor Yimi. We are serving, united, to see this country won for Christ. It has been so encouraging this last year to see how our folks who are training towards future ordination as pastors have been reaching out and establishing new church groups. God is building His church and we see in Catalonia how even a pandemic can ´t stop Him. We have seen more churches established here in 2020 than ever before and we must pray these groups continue and the workers experience Gods peace and grace. This is all to the glory of God. https://youtu.be/_S3ZgxNJHjY

OUR PLANS- “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

• We shall see the forward movement of Jesus ´ church in Spain as we learn to change how we ´do church ´. That the Holy Spirit will help us to be open and responsive to His leading and we will teach and train new leaders to carry the Lords work forward in faith even when it looks impossible.
• We trust God will touch the hearts of His servants and bring them here to work with us.
• We will show the love of God to those who know Him and those who don ´t.
• We shall make disciples who will carry and share the gospel at every opportunity as the Lord opens doors and makes a way.
• We hope that this year as the folks in church are learning they are the church and it ´s not the building; that the name of Jesus will be lifted throughout this land.

We hope to move forward with our House of Judah building project in Guaro, it ´s been on hold for quite a while due to lockdowns, workers and weather. If you haven ´t seen much about this, you can see where we are by going to https://youtu.be/JPONV1zKnQM

Briefly, the vision is to establish a place to encounter the peace and rest of the Lord in the midst of the Andalucian countryside. A place where we can praise Him in His presence, therefore we will continue to restore the small house that is there and establish an area for camping or accommodation in wooden cabins.

We hope that the virus will be brought under control and people will again be able to resume work not forgetting their testimony of what God has done for them.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and catch up a little on what is happening here. I can ´t stress enough how your support is essential to us. We appreciate all you do for us, this is the time to continue to go forward in Cristo, to see the signs and wonders as He works with us in our efforts. May you be strengthened by His grace, and may you experience His peace in these days of turmoil. You are special. You are needed and you are wanted. Together we make a great team. Let us know what ´s happening where you are.

LOVE AND BLESSINGS FROM
SUE AND HOWARD
Benalmadena in Andalucía, Spain.

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