“You took me to the next level in my walk,"

“You took me to the next level in my walk, in my relationship with Jesus and I can’t thank you enough!” These were the words of one of the inmates Wednesday evening as we met for the last time and again dug into God’s Word. Most of the other men echoed this same thankfulness and what a joy it was to see that the Holy Spirit has indeed, as promised, been at work in their lives. I also expressed my thanks to them for coming to this Bible study and making an opportunity for me to share what Jesus is teaching me. One of my challenges to them was, since you learn even more when you teach others, go and teach other men what Jesus is teaching you.

One of the men, originally from Mexico, has in the past shared a song in Spanish for us. This night he asked if he could share a song he had written in English (he doesn’t know how to read or write English). What a blessing as he sang to us of God’s constant love and working in our lives.

Christ in you, desiring a deep intimate relationship with you and wanting to be the source of every aspect of your life, was always the central focus of these studies. Pray with us that they will live in that truth.

I failed to mention in our last update of a little different opportunity for ministry that has come my way. We have mentioned getting involved as volunteers with Sangre de Cristo Hospice. Late last year I was asked to consider being on the board of directors for this amazing organization. They were interested in having some representation from the southern part of the area they cover. As I interviewed with 2 of the board members, they also expressed a desire for me to bring to the board the perspective of a missionary to this area. This is of importance, I believe, for several reasons. One of those is that we are in the process of searching for a new CEO. The founder and recently retired CEO was very strong on the importance of providing, when requested, spiritual care in addition to medical care. This is an area that could too easily be seen as not really necessary and a place to cut costs. Another aspect I want to explore is in meeting with people in this area to let them know about hospice care that is available to them. This will give me some more great opportunities to meet people, always looking for those open doors to plant seeds and to share the Gospel of Jesus.

It looks like we will be renting the building we mentioned in our last update. We will be looking for some folding chairs and tables to equip this building. We will be going to Alamogordo on Tuesday for Millicent Shyne’s memorial service. If any of you down there know of some chairs and tables that would be available we could bring the truck.



In Christ alone,

Bill & Mary

Prison closing- Buildings and Bible Studies-

Occasionally I will begin the Bible study at the prison by asking the men what their "take away" was from last week . This can sometimes be a less than encouraging moment, as I am always hoping that they heard something that the Holy Spirit used during the week to convict, grow or stretch them in their walk. One night one of the young men asked if he could use my marker and come to the white board. He told us that what he heard last week and was illustrating on the board had been impacting him all week. What a great joy to see the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in changing lives. It was particularly exciting to me as that same night I had learned that these Arizona inmates will be going back to Arizona in March. Having only been working with these guys for seven months my thoughts were that it hasn't been enough time of taking them into scripture to deepen their relationship with Jesus. I must be content to have the opportunity to plant some seeds.

With the loss of this contract with Arizona, this prison now has no contract with any other state to house their inmates. What that means is that the prison here in Walsenburg will be closing. This could be short term or…..? This means the loss of about 200 jobs in the area as well as other revenue generated by the prison. For a small community, this will have a very large impact. Doing a Bible study with the Colorado inmates and then the Arizona inmates has been an adventure that has been rewarding. With both groups I was blessed to have men that were desperately hungry to find the Source for a drastically changed life and to learn to allow (die to themselves) the Source, “Christ in you”, to flow from them.

Pray with us that these men who have found Jesus as their Savior, will run to Him as their only source when faced with every aspect of life.

Tuesday's Coffee and Chat have brought several new people to the mix of regulars-
A couple of weeks ago, during our Sunday evening fellowship/worship time we had a potluck dinner. We were blessed to have 2 new families join us for this time. We are planning to have potluck at least one Sunday a month as this makes it possible for these families to come.

Today we looked at a building in Aguilar to rent. There are not many in this little town that are in any condition to occupy. We are praying for a place where we can meet for Bible studies, Sunday worship/ fellowship, after school Bible club for children, and possibly a clothing and food bank. The building we looked at today will accommodate those needs. The couple that owns it are excited about this and offered to rent it to us for $300.00 per month and they will pay all utilities. This will give us a consistent place to meet eliminating being “bumped” by other groups. Pray with us that this is where God would have us.

Mary is planning on starting a women’s Bible study after meeting with several women on individual basis for some time. Please pray for wisdom as to material to use as this is a very diverse group with many different needs.

In Christ Alone

Bill and Mary

Look at Fun we had Today!!!

60 plus

Home Baked Goodies

25 bags filled with crayons, candy, pencils, and small toys bought over this past year on clearance-

Loaded up all the bags and most of the breads

Took them to Aguilar where we have our Coffee and Chat

and Bread Distribution-

received a
lot of Happy faces and Hugs!!

Couldn't ask for a better Christmas Gift!

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be Jesus to this needy community!


Now it's time to stoke this


Thaw this,

And set this-

for Christmas guest - between 10 and 15!!

Jonathan and David will not be here this Christmas (we have not had David home for the past 4 Christmases due to his job)
but
we are thankful that we can be family to those who are here who have no one near -

May you experience the true JOY of Christmas- Immanuel- God with us
This Christmas Season
and every day of the year!

Blessings
Bill and Mary

December Newsletter online

Merry Christmas!! You can read our December newsletter here- just click on the picture below and it will enlarge-

**We have had several responses to the need of a small tv with VCR- We now have one!! Thank you!

Chilly, Chili and lots more news!

To our praying family and friends,

I think I am past due on an update of what God is doing around here. So here we go.

We have now had 3 amazing Sunday worship times and Bible teaching at the Aguilar Community Center. The first Sunday we met at 9:30 a.m. and had freezing rain for weather. Ten of us Body parts attended. We decided to start meeting at 6:00 pm. So the 2nd Sunday with beautiful weather we had 9 attend. Yesterday evening with snow coming down there were 11 of us meeting to worship Him and dig into His Word. I am not yet convinced that we should pray for bad weather on Sunday.

Hey, remember me telling you that on Oct. 25 the historical society was going to use the Community Center for their annual chili dinner. Mary and I went to the chili dinner, and what a great time to get to meet some more new people. Well they had some chili left over and asked if we would like to have it for our meeting time. Our service last night started with 2 flavors of great homemade chili, salad, and cupcakes. Everyone that wanted more took some home. Whew, were we ever ready to praise our Savior. The singing time would have been great but I am not doing very good at picking out songs that the people know. I am going to try to convince them that we are following Ps.33:3. "Sing to Him a new song" We were thinking that some cd's with just music on them, to sing along with might be helpful. Any suggestions? We will also be looking for a white erase board. I often like for people to see what I am saying, making that visual connection.

Did I mention we have had snow? I just went and bought my 2nd snow shovel since moving here. I found another older couple today who needs someone to shovel their snow. The cup of coffee and great conversation afterward is a nice compensation. Oh and yes always a hug. Our neighbor Wendy calls these our "gumdrop" trees! They were drippin with snow!

It snowed last Wednesday. We got 9 inches in that storm. It was still snowing when I went into the prison for Bible study. I decided these Arizona boys are all from southern Arizona as only 5 braved the elements and would walk a couple hundred yards to the education building. It really turned out well as I believe it was all orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. One of the guys who is a very new believer had some questions and we were able to talk about them easily.

I still kinda get a kick out of some of the corrections officers here. They seem to question why I would show up on such a bad weather day. "Well you see I have to be here. No my boss doesn't make me, but Jesus compels me." "And you know some of these guys really look forward to this time."

You may remember this spring I had the privilege of turkey hunting with a great group of guys. Marvin Robbins aka "Boss gobbler" lead the "Training of the Twelve" on how to hunt turkey, how to call turkey, and how to BE a follower of Jesus. I had a great time being in the field with this big man of God who also happens to be one of the best turkey hunters/callers in the country. I got a call yesterday telling me that Marvin, while deer hunting, had had a heart attack and now stands in the presence of his Savior and Lord. Please pray for his wife,family, and many friends. This morning I was reading several of the Arizona outdoor blogs, all full of condolences, sorrow, and memories of Marvin. He touched many lives in the hunting/ conservation world with his passion for hunting and even more with his intense love of Jesus.

Update on my mom, she is going through radiation treatment the next several weeks. Please remember her in your prayers.

Thank you each one for being there for us!

In Christ Alone,
Bill & Mary

Sunday Services in Aguilar- They're on again!

To our praying and loving friends,


I want to update you on the moving towards having Sunday worship & Bible teaching in Aguilar.

On Monday, about 4:30pm we were heading out of Trinidad, CO with our camper in tow. It had been used for a hunting camp, 50 miles east of there, by the Fairs (fellow AMF missionaries and wonderful friends). I received a call from a brother in Christ who is on the Aguilar Town Board, telling me that they would be meeting at 6pm that evening. One of the items on the agenda was our use of the community center. That meant a very quick trip home, change clothes, and go down to Aguilar.

All that said, it was voted to let us rent the community center temporarily. So we will come together this Sunday and see what God desires to do. One question was " what happens when someone in the community needs to use the center on Sunday morning"? The mayor answered by stating that if we are paying rent then we would have use of it regardless. I sensed the Spirit tell me that that isn't how He wants to work in this time. I asked to address that question and told them that we wanted to be flexible and allow the community center to always be for the community. We could on those occasions meet at a different time or ? The next morning that was put to the test as the lady in charge of the historical society came to me at our coffee time and explained that she had forgot to reserve that center for Oct.25 for their annual chili dinner. "Pat you need to go ahead and plan your dinner for that Sunday". I believe that the light of Jesus is going to overwhelm this little community and possibly through times like this.

In all this we have had one of the little churches in town offer us the use of their building, if we don't mind meeting in the afternoon or evening. Several people from this church were at the town board meeting to support us.

He is worthy to be praised and thank you for your prayers.

Last night at the prison was a great time starting with getting to talk about Jesus and a relationship with Him to the CO (corrections officer) at the front desk, both when I came in and upon leaving. The time with the inmates was great too as we dig into what does an intimate relationship with Jesus look like. We spent some time talking about the incidences that 2 of the men had this week. Then we explored how those moments could have looked different and had an impact on those observing if Jesus had been the Source of the flow from them in everything said and done. I desire that so much for my life and it is stirring to watch as these men begin to grab a hold of this way of living and begin to desire it also. I encouraged these two men to make a positive impact for Jesus by going to those involved and asking for forgiveness.

Last week as the inmates were again thanking me for coming and giving to them of my time, I took the opportunity to tell them that it was possible only because of some very special people, our supporters. I asked them, as they pray to thank God for you and to pray for His blessings on you. Last night several came up to me and told me that they have been and will continue to pray for you. I hope knowing that just makes you feel blessed all the way down to your toes. You are having a great impact into the lives of people here in SE Colorado.

Seeking Him,
Bill & Mary

Sunday Services in Aguilar- Delay and more delays

To our praying friends,
Many of you are inquiring how Sunday services went in Aguilar. Well we got bumped from using the community center as someone else reserved it. So we were planning to start for sure this coming Sunday. That is until I got a call from the mayor today. She explained to me that we could rent the center but first she wants to have the town board approve it. This is after she had previously said that it would be alright for us to use it. Also until we get that approval I cannot use it for the Friday night mens Bible study. We have been doing the Bible study there since March. I was immediately reminded of Eph. 6:10-19.
Would you all be praying for a resolution to this. No doubt, God has a plan and He is not caught by surprise in all of this. Jesus is the Light and the darkness cannot overcome it.
At the Cross,
Bill & Mary