"HE BEHELD THE CITY..."

This morning Pastor Gerardo stepped inside the door of the police department, opened his Bible with the police officers present and prayed for God's blessing, favor and protection on the police and on each person in the city. As part of a new program, each Monday morning a pastor goes to the Nuevo Progreso police station where he prays. This was outstanding news for us. We heard a lot of good reports from Pastor Gerardo and his new friend and helper Mario Belmares when we arrived at the church on November 20. There have been spiritual advances in city government! Also, each and every Monday evening there is an outdoor church service in the city plaza. There someone preaches a sermon and there is prayer for the sick. The pastors take turns conducting these meetings. There are approximately 20,000 people who live in and around Nuevo Progreso, making this another great opportunity for outreach. We are beginning to see spiritual progress from our many years of work establishing the church in Nuevo Progreso! There was a lot of activity on the church grounds. Several pickup trucks were parked nearby and a large piece of machinery was in action. That day was a work day, with some chopping away brush and others working on the road. Saturday has also been declared a work day, with plans for many hands to beautify the grounds in preparation for several activities and large crowds in the future. Lloyd's primary goal and prayer had been to see this specific work done; so it was greatly encouraging that things were already in motion. There is much work to be done at the church. But the most important thing for us to remember is that Jesus weeps with compassion when he looks over cities around the world. "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it." Luke 19:41

The driver of this piece of heavy equipment donated an hour of work moving a large pile of earth to a place along the church lane.