Women's Retreat
February was a whirlwind and March is continuing in that same pattern! Among the many ministry opportunities that we have had over the last month, one very exciting event was a women's retreat that Amy spoke at in Des Moines Iowa. Amy and a good friend, Bethany Levitt, made the three hour drive across Iowa and even that drive was filled with excitement! When they were within about 10 miles of their final destination the car began to shake uncontrollably. They were able to come to a stop and found that three of the lug-nuts on the passenger side front wheel were gone, the other two were nearly undone and one of the threaded posts had even sheared completely off! They had been barreling down the freeway at 70 miles per hour and the wheel had nearly flown off! Thank the Lord He miraculously protected them! Our friend and brother Bill Gustoff was in the area and came to the rescue. Amy and Bethany made it to the camp safe and sound and just in time for Amy's first message! She had a great time and the Lord used her to encourage all of the sisters who attended...... We are grateful for a few of the brothers who fixed the wheel :)

Evangelism Team
I have officially started an evangelism team here in Dubuque Iowa! About ten of us have been going out into the universities and parks and stores to share the gospel with anything that moves..... and it has been awesome! The other day, when Bria and I were paired up she started a conversation with one of the shop owners in the mall. When the man said that he was from Ecuador we immediately started sharing about our south american connection and after talking for a few minutes I asked if he had any kind of religious background. When he said that both his parents were Christians.... I said: "What about you?" He said he never quite understood the gospel and that he had turned his back on God at a young age ..... so I took about 10 minutes and explained the main point of the Bible to him.... He listened very intently and with much interest. He then said: "There were some missionaries that came to my village in the jungle when I was little and preached this. My parents were the first converts" .... I said "What?! You grew up in the jungle?" He answered: "Yes, I'm actually from an indigenous group called the Quichuas. ..... What!? ..... I said: "Ima shuti kangi?" (What's your name?) He said: "Shuti kangi Umberto"..... "What?!! You know Quechua?" .... I said: "Just a few phrases.... but, by chance, have you ever heard of the Auca Indians?" He said: "Oh yes, they were the neighboring indigenous group.... very violent!" .... I said: "I can't believe this is happening to me!..... You and I are going to be good friends!" ..... since then we have been meeting together every other morning to examine the scriptures! It's exhilarating to participate in God's pre-ordained divine appointments! ..... If you don't understand the significance of this story go read the book "Through the Gates of Splendor" by Elizabet Elliot

Light Conference
Last week we held our first LIGHT conference here in Dubuque IA and it was spectacular! We had 40 brothers and sisters who came to the event (10 of whom stayed with us in our home). Brother Jonny Loveless taught "The story line of the Bible". Brother Nate Bramsen taught on discipleship and I taught on evangelism. It was an incredible time of worship and prayer and study as we sought the Lord together. The whole event culminated in everyone going out into the city to do personal evangelism. We all started with much fear and trepidation and then each one came back on cloud nine with great excitement and stories of how the Lord worked. The conference consisted of four packed days that basically went from 8 a.m till 8 p.m. Those that stayed in our house had the extra blessing of group bible reading and prayer in the early mornings and late evenings. We didn't sleep much but it was exciting to see the Lord work! The conference ended with everyone feeling very serious about taking the things we learned back to our churches to put it all into practice.


Youth Event
At the end of February I loaded up 10 young people from the area and we drove across the state to the "26 Below" youth conference at a camp near Des Moines. Brothers and sisters came from all over the place to worship the Lord together and learn from the scriptures. Brother Brady Collier was the main speaker as I and several others had more of a supporting role. It was great to focus on individuals while at the same time being able to preach a few times about the importance of discipleship. I hardly had time to eat or sleep as nearly every moment was taken up with the teaching or counseling or encouraging or engaging in some spiritual work with different individuals. The Lord really seemed to use the time invested in these young people and we are praying for lasting fruit.


Missions quote for the day by John Piper:
“The wisdom of God devised a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God while not compromising the righteousness of God.”