Note: This update is available as a printable PDF here.
Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,
We pray that you have been having a great summer. Ours has been going well, including hosting a youth camp, building some kitchen cabinets, conducting women’s meetings, finishing our spring Bible school semester, and hosting our Advanced School of Ministry team meeting. Let’s talk about it!
Preaching in our church in Tulancingo
Youth Camp
In the month of May, we hosted a youth camp here on our property. You may know that Anna is serving as our youth leader, and she helped to organize this camp. We had a group of young people here for two nights and three days. The boys stayed in tents, while the girls slept upstairs in the loft of our lodge.
Some of our youth at the camp.
Besides all the fun activities and campfires that are typical at camps, we also had some wonderful ministry and worship times. Titled “The Awakening,” we explored themes such as identity, emotional health, living your dream, the gender crisis, and more. Our group of kids had a great time, and many were impressed by how they experienced God’s movement in their lives during our time together.
We pray that “The Awakening” will continue to have an impact on every aspect of these young people’s lives.
Women’s meetings
In June, Sara began a series of meetings for the women of our church and community called “Conversations.” Instead of just preaching to them, the idea has been to present themes as a panel of four people and simply have a conversation around the topic. On June 3, we hosted a ladies’ breakfast with catering service. With the theme “Abiding in Christ,” Sara, Anna, Adriana, and Zabdi discussed different aspects of how to remain connected to the Lord throughout our day and week.
A breakfast meeting with the women of our church
At the end of the meeting, Anna and some of the other young girls ministered to the women individually in prayer. It was amazing to see how the Lord touched several of them, bringing them into a new place of relationship and freedom.
The series of women’s meetings continues monthly. Pictured are some of the women enjoying refreshments after the meeting on July 7, 2023.
Bible School
Our spring semester concluded on June 19, with a special meeting in which Bill Brown ministered the Word to our students. We had about 120 students successfully complete their courses as many of them work toward a bachelor’s degree in theology.
Also, in May, we completed the recording of the second part of our Genesis course with Enrique Borja, our Bible teacher from Puebla. We recorded 24 classes in two days. That was an incredible marathon! After recording, I began developing the quizzes, exams, and forum discussions for the course. We’ll be offering the course in our fall semester, which will begin in August.
Advanced School of Ministry
We were privileged to host the Advanced School of Ministry team meeting here at our house. We had the entire team stay with us for three days of meetings and strategic planning.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this letter, Sara thought it would be best to have the kitchen in our lodge in order before the meeting, so I spent a couple of weeks in June building and installing the cabinets.
Most of our leadership group arrived on Wednesday morning and stayed through Friday evening. We hosted some of the team members, while others stayed in our neighbors’ cabins. We did the meetings and meals in our lodge, which was the perfect type of room for a planning meeting. A couple from our church did all the cooking and catering. What delicious and beautifully decorated plates of food they served!
We spent our time casting vision for the future of this ministry, working on team-building activities, and planning for the upcoming conferences. We had a good meeting!
Our Advanced School of Ministry team meeting
Thanks for your support!
While there is much more to share, these are the highlights of the last couple of months. We really appreciate your prayers and financial support. You are our partners in ministry, and we’re thankful for you!
What a blessing it is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ! We know that even in the midst of challenges and difficulties, God is good. He makes all things work together for the good of those who love and trust in Him.
David and Anna, recording a podcast
Missions Trips
As I mentioned in our last update, both Sara and Anna were about to go on missions trips in March. Anna was to head to northern California for a trip to the small town of Weaverville, CA, to do evangelism and help out in the local church. And Sara was going to be in Cuba. Both of the trips were to be at the same time.
About a week before their scheduled departure, Sara’s trip was postponed due to the political situation, and was rescheduled for the end of April. This actually turned out to be very good, both for me and for Sara. Sara had been a bit ill the weeks coming up to the trip dates, and I ended up coming down with COVID (for the second time) the weekend before she would have originally left, so we’re glad her trip was changed! Anna’s trip went as scheduled.
For Anna, it was a totally new experience to travel by herself to the U.S. from Mexico. However, since she has traveled extensively with us (even to Africa), she didn’t have any problem navigating airports to get to her destination. Anna spend a week there, split between some time in Redding, and then a long weekend in Weaverville, which is located up in the mountains. Anna was a big blessing for those she was able to serve, and the trip was also a great personal experience for her. As you may remember, she has studied for two years now online with BSSM, and this was an opportunity for her to connect in person with some of her classmates and also with the on campus school. When it was over, she was very glad to be home, but also very thankful for the experiences she had on the trip.
The time for Sara’s trip finally came at the end of April. She went as part of a group of female Mexican pastors (and pastors’ wives) who went to minister in a women’s conference. She spent the first few days in the capital city, then the following weekend in a small town near the center of the island. It was a difficult and hot trip, but many women responded in the conference and she and some other women were also able to encourage the pastors and leaders of another small congregation. She arrived home last Wednesday night.
A Note From Anna
Of all the places we could have gone to, this was the most unexpected, yet the most beautiful. It wasn’t about the crowds, or the lights, or the biggest church services, rather, it was about loving the person in front of us. Every time we served and blessed someone, we would get more blessed in return without even expecting it. The church reminded me of the Philippians – full of love, sacrifice, and devotion to God.
We saw people get healed, saved, and filled with the Spirit. Yet it wasn’t so much about the result as it was about the obedience. If we had one plan, it was this, “Pray and obey.”
We loved the church, the community, and served those from youngest to oldest. In the middle of it all we were all stretched, thrust forward, and grown. There were parts that were uncomfortable, but God met us in our weak points. I have been marked by these people and their passion for Jesus. In the words of Suki (our hostess for the weekend), “You are soldiers. Stand strong.”
To everyone who believed in me and invested in this journey both through prayer and financially, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Weaverville is under the momentum of heaven and we planted so many seeds that will one day bring about an incredible harvest. I have been marked as a person, and we have been marked as a team. Here’s to new adventures with Jesus!
Celebrating Our Children
We recently celebrated Children’s Day here in Mexico, and since it was on Sunday this year, we planned a celebration after church with some of our children. First, during the service, I preached about the value of children in God’s plan, which somehow runs contrary to today’s culture. Whereas in biblical times, children were always seen as a blessing, in many families today, they are seen as a burden or hindrance to the prosperity and freedom of the couple. We talked about how we should always see children as a gift from God and as a blessing. Afterward, we had the parents lay hands on their children and bless them.
Playing games with water guns
After the service, it was time for fun! Our volunteers set up an attractive party atmosphere for the children, complete with balloons, games, two inflatable bouncy houses, a kiddy pool and ice cream. It was a beautiful, warm sunny afternoon, and boy, did those kids have fun! The parents and grandparents also enjoyed themselves, as did the youth.
Painting rocks
Our church in Tulancingo is going forward in God’s strength. We have been enjoying great services under the presence of God and are believing for seasons of refreshing, revival, and growth. We have been placed in Tulancingo to bring streams of living water from heaven to our city and region, and we’re going forward with that vision, teaching, preaching, baptizing, and discipling those in our care.
Podcasts
During the last few months, Anna and I have been working on doing a podcast. We’ve been recording weekly episodes with themes based on Biblical teaching on subjects such as how to develop a relationship with God, spiritual gifts, hope and perseverance, friendships, personal finances, and many others. We have developed a format which is based on questions and answers, and we generally do the episodes as a discussion. Sara and others in our church have also participated in various episodes. We believe that the podcast will grow to become an effective means to influence many with the Gospel message, both within our church, our community, and in other geographical locations.
Online Bible School
We are currently about two-thirds of the way through our winter/spring semester with the online students. We have a great group, and most of our students are doing really well. We have students from all across the nation, and most of them are pastors and leaders in their local churches.
I’m especially thankful for all those who collaborate with us as course facilitators, content creators, and graphics designers. We have a great team!
Family
I’m happy to report that our entire family is doing well. Daniel and Elisa, in Vancouver, WA, have been married for just about two years now. Elisa works as the head of the music program at Portland Bible College, and Daniel is the music pastor at Mannahouse Church in Vancouver.
David Jeremiah continues his PhD studies at Texas A&M and works in the lab doing experiments. He has also had the opportunity to visit Upperroom Church in Dallas, on several occasions.
Anna just graduated from BSSM Second Year studies from Bethel Church in Redding, CA. We have seen so much personal and ministry growth in her over the last couple of years. She regularly teaches, leads worship and is also in charge of our youth ministry. Besides that, she is also my assistant, working almost daily on our Online Bible School as a content creator and course facilitator.
Prayer Requests
Please help us, as we pray for the following ministry needs:
Our Youth Camp which will be held at the end of May. Please pray for the preparations, for the young people who attend, for the presence of God in the meetings, and that there will be a lasting impact in the lives of all our young people.
For our Advanced School of Ministry planning meeting which will be held in June. Please pray that the Lord will lead us as we begin a new season with this ministry
Some of the youth after a service at our church
Thank You!
Sara and I are so thankful for your love, prayers, and financial support. We are a team. Those who pray and give are partners with those who go and preach, teach, and disciple.
Note: There is a PDF version of this update located here.
The Changing Seasons
Dear Friends, Family and Supporters,
Hello from warm and sunny Tulancingo. Just a month ago, it was close to freezing almost every night. Now, a few weeks later, we are coming up on the warmest season of the year for this region of Mexico, high in the mountains. We go from cold to hot, without much in between. April and May are normally the hottest months of the year, but by June, the temperature will drop again.
Another interesting thing about March here is that this is the month in which all the leaves fall off the oak trees. It’s warm, it’s almost spring, but the several dozen oaks we have on are property are shedding all their leaves. In April the oaks are bare, but by May all the leaves will have grown back.
Seasons mark the constant changes in nature each year, and every geographic location has it’s own seasons. In a similar way, God has ordained seasons and cycles for our lives, ministries, churches, and so many other things. As the Bible says, “He has made everything beautiful in his time…” (Ecc. 3:11).
We clearly see these seasons in our work and ministry. The year 2023 marks something new for our church family, and it is a bit different when we compare it to the last several years. I believe it is a new season of life and rebirth for our church family; its a time for renewal, a time for new vision, a time for new purposes.
Simple Church
As I shared in our last newsletter, in December we moved to our new location, which is across town from where we previously were located. We have now been doing our Sunday meetings there for just over three months. It has been a new adventure, and many in our congregation love our new location and atmosphere.
We have gone back to our roots – simple church and simple worship. One of the things that I believe the Lord put on our hearts as we made the move was to go back to simplicity in our church life. It is so easy to become entangled in church programs, schedules, a multitude of ministries, meetings, etc. All of these things may be good and produce great fruit. However, we feel that in this season of our church life, we need to focus on the basics and the simplicity of our relationship to the Lord Jesus. We are focusing on simple but deep worship using a small worship team, teaching, preaching and practicing the Word of God, and living lives that usher His presence into our daily interactions.
At the Advanced School of Ministry conference in Cuernavaca
The Advanced School of Ministry
In January, we celebrated our first in-person Advanced School of Ministry seminar in Cuernavaca since the pandemic. On this occasion, we had about 600 people attend in-person, plus another 200 online. Over 80% of those attending were pastors and leaders of certain departments in their churches.
We had great teaching, with two different guest speakers, each of which focused on different aspects of ministry. Mel Mullen, from Canada, focused on ministry within the local church, while Ian Green, from England, focused on transformation of society by bringing the Kingdom of Heaven out of the local church context and into the market place.
It was a great joy for me to work alongside of Ian Green, since I was his translator. He shared some very powerful yet challenging concepts with our group of pastors and leaders. So often we focus mainly on what goes on within church meetings. Ian challenged us to take a closer look at what the Kingdom of God is, and how we can partner with Him to bring heaven to earth. Part of that message includes how we see and practice evangelism and discipleship. Are we looking to bring people to church, or are we working to bring the church to where the people are at?
On the technical side, I was in charge of many aspects of the conference, such as registration, the editing and printing of the conference workbook, coordinating the live stream, setting up interviews with our guests, providing hosts for the online attendees, and coordinating times of personal ministry. Our daughter Anna did a great job training our online ministry team, and we received several reports of people who were really impacted by these additional sessions of personal online ministry.
Anna and Xenia, talking with our online audience.
It was a busy but really good conference. From the feedback we have received, we know that the 800+ pastors and leaders who attended received some really good teaching and ministry, and returned to their local churches refreshed and equipped with new tools to build their local churches.
Bible School
On February 15, we started the spring semester with our online Bible school with around 130 students. We have again added a couple of new courses – one on the book of Genesis, which we recorded in November, and another course based on the contents of the Advanced School of Ministry seminar. We continue to be blessed with a faithful team of course facilitators and content creators which help us make it all happen.
We also continue to press toward the goal of making this a full time online Bible School and the basis for a degree program. There are so many pastors, leaders and young people who are called to ministry, but can’t afford to move away from their towns, families and jobs to attend a Bible school. We are providing a way for many of them to further their education in a very practical way.
Interviewing Ian Green
Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray for us, especially in the following areas:
For both Sara and Anna, who will be going on mission trips in a couple of weeks. Anna will be going with a group from her school to minister in a small town in the U.S., and Sara will be going with a group of Mexicans to minister in a communist nation.
Please continue to pray for the leadership teams of the Advanced School of Ministry and the online Bible School, that we may be led by the Lord to make good decisions as to the future of these ministries and how to best build them.
Please continue to pray for our local church.
Thanks!
Once again we thank you for your love, notes of encouragement, Christmas cards, prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do it without you!
It’s once again a new year, and, although many things are just a continuation of what was happening at the end of last year, this is the time in which many people make new purposes and begin new projects. Most of what we’re doing this January is part of the plan that we’ve been developing over years and decades, but there are a couple of things that are new, or at least different.
Podcast
As many of you know, during the pandemic we did many online services and other ministry. Now that most things are getting back to normal, we have decided to use what we’ve learned about video and audio recording to start a podcast. This podcast is being hosted by Anna, and I’ll also be involved regularly.
In many ways the podcast will fill in the gap for those who have been following us online over the last several years. Now that we’re back to weekly church meetings, we are no longer doing weekly video online services, but our podcast will continue to reach some of the same people with Bible teaching in more of a conversational-style format. We published our first episode on January 1 and plan to release a new episode weekly. Our intention is to reach people with the Gospel and Biblical principals by having conversations and hosting interviews.
Our Local Church Family
We shared in our last update that we were about ready to move to our church property to start meetings there. We are happy to inform you that the first Sunday of December we had our first meeting there and have been hosting our regular weekly church meetings at our own facilities since then.
Preaching at our opening service
God has blessed us with 1,600m2 of land for our church. About half of that has been developed into a walled garden. Over the last year and a half we were able to build the wall around the perimeter, bathrooms, a couple of office spaces and a storage room. We are currently meeting under temporary tents, but work is being done on a more permanent large tent structure which will become our meeting place. We are especially thankful for those who have given toward this project!
Eventually, we hope to build an auditorium on part of the property. Right now, that area is fenced off, as it has been set apart for a future building.
Our people were excited about our new church home! We had a great turnout for our opening service and many positive comments about how nice the property looked. It was really quite a change from how the property was just a few months before, when everything was just dirt and construction materials. God has been so good to us!
A Christmas gathering with a couple of our small groups
Advanced School of Ministry
Most of my time during the last couple of months has been dedicated to the Advanced School of Ministry. We are currently working on putting together all the details for the conference in Cuernavaca, which will be held at the end of this month (January 23-26, 2023). This year we will be doing the conference both in-person and online, so there are some new challenges and details to take care of. I’ve been in contact with our team, the guest speakers and many others who will be involved. We’re currently training a small team to do personal online ministry for those who will be attending remotely and also working to make sure the online audience will feel just as welcome and well cared for as those who attend in person.
Recording For the Online Bible School
In November, we were privileged to have Pastor Enrique Borja here to record a course consisting of 24 lessons on the book of Genesis. Pastor Enrique was extremely efficient recording, and we were able to go through all the lessons in three days. That was a new record! He did a wonderful job and I feel he connected very well with the students through the recordings. His teaching was deep yet very applicable and he spoke to the students on a level that they will easily identify with. This new course will be released in February, with part two of the course to be recorded soon.
Pastor Enrique, recording for the online Bible School
Thanks!
Sara and I are so thankful for each one of you. Thanks for praying for us and supporting us in all we’re doing. It is such a joy to be able to count on you.
Note: You can download a PDF version of this update here.
Dear friends, family and supporters,
I’d like to share with you a little family and ministry update. I last wrote in August, and now it’s already November! Over the last few months many things have been happening.
Church Building Project
Our church building project is finally nearing the end of the first phase. It has been an incredible journey with many hurdles. However, we are about one month away from the end of the first phase of this project.
Part of the font of our building. This area will serve for some parking and as the entrance to the property.
We started out the project in July of 2021, with an architect who was in charge of the entire process. However, after finding several problems with the way the project was going, we decided to suspend building until we could correct these issues. We then hired another team of builders last March, and I asked Sara to be the supervisor of the project. She gladly took on this project, but soon we ran into problems with permits (as I mentioned in our last newsletter). This caused another delay of a couple of months. In August, the permit processes were finalized and we began construction once again.
The first phase of this project involves building the wall around the perimeter of the property, creating a parking lot, entrances, bathrooms, offices, a patio, an outdoor kitchen and a large garden. Within this garden we will be hosting our meetings under a tent on the patio especially designed for this purpose. We also already have the foundations in place for the general purpose building (auditorium), but we are leaving the rest of the construction of this building for a second phase.
Sara has been at the construction site almost every day, and has been in charge of buying materials and the general supervision of the project. She has done such a great job! She has been given a divine grace to negotiate prices and deal with the providers of the different materials needed. She has also done so well dealing with the masons and making sure everything is being built correctly.
Last week we finally had sod planted in the garden, and now we’re finishing some details, such as putting in doors and windows, flooring in the offices, etc.
The sod has been planted in the garden.
In the next few weeks we’ll be having the tent made and then moving in for our dedication service on the first Sunday in December. We are excited and full of anticipation to see what God is going to do in the lives of the people of Tulancingo as we take this next step. We are believing the Lord for radical encounters with Jesus and life transformation!
If you would like to help us pray for this project, we’d appreciate it. We need the Lord’s provision, especially for the tent. Please also continue to pray for the safety of the workers and that we can soon finish all the details.
Bible School and the Advanced School of Ministry
A couple of weeks ago I took a trip to the U.S. to meet with the people at Christian International, in Florida, to talk with them about our degree program which is offered through their school of ministry. For over 30 years now, our Mexican Advanced School of Ministry has been able to offer a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology, thanks to our connection with their school. I am now taking on the responsibility of the program here in Mexico, and needed to meet with them. I had a very profitable visit and enjoyed getting to know some of the staff at Christian International. They are happy with our plan to move the Advanced School of Ministry forward in the next several years and will continue to back our degree program.
We’re now preparing for the big conference which will be held at the end of January. I’m receiving material from our conference speakers from Mexico, translating material from our speakers from the U.K. and Canada, and preparing conference registration.
This year we’ll be doing the conference both online and in person. We plan to provide exclusive features to our online audience, including interviews with conference speakers, and personal online ministry. We’re excited about what God is going to do during this conference called “Generational Transformation”.
Sharing with a group of people at our house in September.
Family
Our family is doing well. As many of you may know, Daniel and Elisa live in Vancouver, WA, where they both work in ministry. Elisa is the head of the music department at Portland Bible College and Daniel is the music pastor of Mannahouse Church in Vancouver, Washington. David graduated in 2021 from Western Michigan University and is now doing a doctorate degree at Texas A&M.
Anna is here with us. She is studying online at BSSM and works almost full-time in ministry with the online Bible School doing curriculum development, social media, teaching and also doing youth and general ministry. It is an incredible honor and blessing to have her helping us with our church and online Bible School.
Our daughter, Anna.
Thanks!
Once again I want to thank all of you who so faithfully pray for us and support us. We appreciate each one of you so much!
Greetings from Tulancingo! It’s great to be in touch with you once again. God is so good and we’d love to take a few minutes to share with you some of the ways we’ve seen Him working in and through our lives during the last few weeks.
Celebrating 30 Years of Marriage
On June 12, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. What a privilege to be able to say that I married my first and only girlfriend, and that we have been honoring God and each other, loving and building a life together with the help of the Lord during the past 31 years (1 year of dating plus 30 years of marriage). I am so thankful for all the ways in which the Lord has blessed us and helped us throughout these years. What started out as a dream of sharing our lives together has become a reality, little by little. I am thankful for a wonderful wife and a loving family!
Our Church Construction Project
In our last newsletter, I mentioned that we had to take a short break from the construction project because of some issues with permits. We’re happy to report that everything is now in order again, and we are continuing with the construction.
In May, the state environmental inspectors came by and halted the work, supposedly because we needed an environmental impact permit, which we didn’t have. However, after much investigation and the help of several people, another arm of the state environmental agency determined that the permits are not applicable in our case. We are currently building walls around the property, a garden and an area of bathrooms/offices, and the permit is not required for this. We praise God that He helped us to get through all the “red tape” of bureaucracy so the work can continue.
We were making really good progress until May, and we are praying that we will still have time to finish the project during the next few months, before the rainy season is over.
In the mean time, we continue to have our church meetings in different locations including both weekly and monthly gatherings here at our home.
A Breakfast for the Ladies
Sara organized a wonderful breakfast and ministry time for some of the ladies of our church. After some delicious fruit, coffee and chilaquiles, Sara, Anna and some of the other young girls ministered to the group of women. Anna led worship and a personal ministry time, and Sara shared from the Bible.
Some of the women at the breakfast.
The tables were decorated so beautifully! Sara has become skilled at setting up the room, making her own floral arrangements and making everything look so nice. A few of the young men came to help me as waiters.
Sara, sharing the Word with the ladies.
God really touched several of the women, especially through the time of personal ministry. I believe that many of them could perceive how God is so good and has His eyes on each one individually. No matter what they may have gone through, He loves them and wants to reveal Himself to them through Jesus Christ!
Building the Online Bible School
The last couple of months I’ve been working full time on the Bible School. We finished another good semester in June with around 150 students concluding successfully.
Even before the spring semester ended, we started working on material for the fall semester. We are currently putting together two new courses. I’ve been updating the online platform with software and programming upgrades. And Anna and Stacey Brown have been recording new courses. Anna has also been translating and editing almost 400 pages of teaching manuals over the last few months. It’s amazing how much work it is to create these courses well. However, we’ve discovered throughout the years that it is a very worthwhile investment!
Anna, in front of the cameras, teaching her course.
So many students use our material, not just to learn the Bible and ministry principles for themselves, but also to train others. Our students include many pastors, youth leaders, cell group leaders and others. When we train leaders, entire churches receive the impact.
We’ve been designing a couple of the most recent courses to be useful especially for young people, those who work with young people (youth leaders) and to help disciple some of the young people. In June, Anna recorded a course consisting of 24 lessons on some of the most important topics in the Bible. Stacey Brown is currently in the process of recording 24 lessons on Bible principles for relationships, and I know these two courses will have an impact on the future generations.
One of our local youth gatherings
It’s been a good couple of months, and we’re believing God for greater things in the next few months – more of His presence, more of His power, deeper growth and more impact and Kingdom influence!
Thanks for reading!
There is so much to share, but these are some of the main things I wanted to share with you today.
Thanks so much for all you do for us. We’re so blessed to count on you as partners and friends.
Note: You can download a printable PDF version of this update here.
Hello, Friends, Family and Supporters!
Here’s the latest update for the Lonts in Mexico.
Children’s Day Celebration
Each year in Mexico we celebrate Children’s Day on April 30. This time, since it fell on a Saturday, we did our celebration together with our church service the following Sunday. We did special worship songs for the children with a choreography prepared by Anna and some of the other teenage girls, and then I had the opportunity to share a message especially for the children. It had been a while since I had taught young children, but, wow, did they enjoy hearing about David and Goliath from my perspective. I showed them how Goliath was a bully and David was the only one who stood up to him. It was so neat to see how they all got involved in the story.
After the service, we all had hotdogs, games, candy, and a special picture booth where the kids could dress up like detectives. It was a very fun day!
Celebrating Children’s Day with our church
Youth Camp
This past weekend we hosted a camp for our young people. Titled “The Match”, the purpose of this camp was to ignite the fire of God in the hearts and lives of our young people. Because of Covid-19, we hadn’t done a camp in several years, so it was the first youth camp for most of the kids.
Some of the girls at camp
Running from Friday to Sunday, we enjoyed some excellent times of worship, Bible studies, ministry time, games, practical workshops, fun, and of course, food!
We hosted the camp here by our house. The girls stayed upstairs in the loft of the recently-completed “lodge” and the boys stayed in tents. We did meals in tents outdoors, and our volunteers cooked in our outdoor kitchen. The teaching and worship sessions were held inside the lodge.
Anna, leading a workshop at camp
Our daughter Anna was in charge of the entire camp. She organized everything, led worship, taught a session, led a devotional time and also organized the workshop. We had several other volunteers who led sessions, cooked, organized games and helped out in other capacities. What a blessing to count on a wonderful team to make the load lighter! We were so impressed with the spirit of unity, the willingness to serve, and the servants’ hearts of our team of volunteers. We had one guy who served all day, went to rest for a few hours in the cabin during the afternoon, continued to serve all evening, then left for work at 2:00 AM (he works the night shift) and came back the next morning to continue to serve at the camp.
Playing games at camp
Here are some of the highlights of camp:
The most wonderful presence of the Lord we have ever experienced during a youth camp, right from the start on Friday evening.
An incredible sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to meet the needs of the kids. We saw several of the kids ministering to and praying for other kids, being led by the Spirit in what to say to them and how to pray for them.
Great times of worship. I was especially blessed to see how well Anna can lead the kids right into the presence of the Lord, and also how the young people responded with lifted hands, sometimes with tears, as they began to seek God.
The Lord changed hearts, attitudes and minds! We could literally see a difference in the faces as the Holy Spirit began to transform their hearts. A few of them came with apathy, perhaps not even wanting to be there, but by the following day they didn’t want to leave. It wasn’t just because they were having fun but because the way God had touched them!
Great times of teaching. Anna, Luis, Sara and I all shared short messages and Bible study times during the three days of the camp. The themes flowed together so well.
Several of out volunteers enjoying a meal together
Church building project
During the months of April and May we have made some good progress on our church’s building project. However, due to some government interference, we’ve had to take a short pause again on the project. We’ve been trying to do everything correctly in terms of permits, but the state environmental agency came to inspect and temporarily stopped the project (due mostly to corruption and bureaucracy between competing government agencies). Sara has had to go almost weekly (some weeks daily) to different government offices to try to get things straightened out. She’s doing a wonderful job making contact with different public authorities and using these contacts to get favor and the approval to continue with the project. We are believing the Lord for His help to get things moving forward soon again.
Part of the group at one of our recent Sunday outdoor services
In the mean time, we continue to meet in micro-churches, online and in-person here by our house outside the city. Many people enjoy coming to the outdoor meetings, some returning each week to meet with us in our own little micro-church, in which we all participate in the same online service together in several homes.
Online Bible School
We’re happy to report that our spring semester is almost finished. Our students have done well so far, most of them completing the courses that they are enrolled in. This week they’ll be having their partial and final exams, and then the semester will be over.
We constantly hear the good reports of our students and how the Lord has used the online school to help them prepare for ministry in their local churches. Many of the students are pastors, others are leaders, and still others serve in different areas of their churches. The online school is fulfilling its purpose of preparing servant-leaders for local churches.
As you may have heard, we’re in the process of expanding the course offerings and developing a full-time school and degree program. Although this is a lot of work, the Lord has provided a wonderful team of leaders and volunteers to help us in this process.
Thanks for all you do!
Sara and I would like to thank you for all you do to help us in ministry. We are so blessed to be able to count on you for your prayers, financial support, friendship and wise counsel. We especially thank those of you who reach out to us and respond via email to our newsletters. It really helps us to know that you are there for us, that you read these newsletters and are praying for us and our church.
Note: You can download a printable PDF version of this update here.
Dear Friends and Family,
So much has happened since I last wrote to you in January. I’d like to take a few minutes to share some of the highlights of what we’ve been up to during the last couple of months.
David and Sara Lont
Advanced School of Ministry
This year’s Advanced School of Ministry conference was different, but very good. Because of COVID restrictions, we did a live online conference, broadcast through both Zoom and YouTube. With the help of Carlos Marín and through Portland Bible College, we were able to access a Zoom account allowing several hundred people to connect at once. We also had over a hundred additional people and groups connect on YouTube.
Many pastors and leaders registered for the conference, and some groups of churches gathered in a single location to participate in the seminar using projectors in their auditoriums. Most people connected right from their homes, but it was especially fun to see church buildings full of leaders participating together.
On this occasion I didn’t teach personally, but we handled all the registrations, helped the general public, and took care of all the technical aspects of doing an online conference. Anna was especially helpful as the person in charge of the camera switching and bringing the correct speakers into focus at the right time. I spent many hours helping people without technical expertise getting registered and then, during the conference, taking care of the live broadcast and making sure everything went as planned.
Working on the technical aspects of the online conference
Our theme, “Transforma-T” (Be Transformed), was excellent, as we are living through times of great transformation. Our team was able to cover six different sessions during the two-day online event. One of the sessions even included a small group application of the concepts that were taught, using Zoom breakout rooms.
The majority of those who attended were pastors and leaders. One advantage of doing the seminar online was the fact that several pastors joined us online who had never been able to attend one of our conferences in person because of their jobs or distance to the conference. We had people across several time zones and even from different countries.
This conference was a huge blessing for many. We plan on continuing offering both in-person and online conferences in the future.
Worship Recording and Local Church
In February, we did another live worship recording in video and audio here in our living room. We’ve found these live session recordings to be very useful and effective to use during our microchurch meetings on Sundays.
Ricardo at one of our “micro-church” meetings. Ricardo and his family have been part of our church for several years. I met him some time ago at the local oil change shop and I had the opportunity to help win him for Christ there. He and his family have attended our church ever since.
Our church building project continues forward, but while our property is under construction, we have adopted a microchurch model. Small groups gather in homes for ministry on Sunday mornings using our online service, supplemented with personal ministry and prayer in each home. Of course, food and celebration are also on the agenda, so the microchurch setting allows for people to gather, eat and enjoy being together. Once each month we are gathering everyone together here outside our home for our celebration service.
Our Experience With COVID
Last month, after avoiding it for almost two years, we suddenly came down with COVID-19. It was very unexpected, as we had taken so many precautions throughout the pandemic. And now that there is so much optimism that the worst of things has passed, we somehow caught it!
Thankfully, none of us had any life-threatening symptoms, but all three of us got pretty sick. Anna fared better than Sara and me, but it took all of us about three weeks to recover. It’s only been a couple of weeks since we’ve been getting our energy back.
It was so beautiful to see how several people from our church cared for us and brought us meals. They would come by and drop hot meals off on our porch, and we’d say, “Hello!” quickly through the window, and then they’d leave. We are also so thankful to those who were praying for us during that time!
Online Bible School
In February we started our spring semester with the online Bible School. We were blessed to have Mark Simpson share live with our group as we began the semester. We’re offering nine different courses and have just under 180 students enrolled. This semester, we’re doing another new course, this time on the life of Moses.
We continue to develop new material as we’re working toward creating an entire online degree program. We’re very thankful for the positive impact we’ve been able to make on many pastors, leaders and churches through this Bible school.
Thanks for joining with us!
We are so thankful to you for partnering with us in ministry. We appreciate each one of you who takes interest in what we’re doing, prays for us, or helps us economically. We appreciate you so very much!
Happy New Year 2022! We pray that this year would be full of grace, provision, and the mercy and goodness of God for you and your family.
Everyone working on their computer on the porch.
Church building project
As some of you may know, this past fall we started on our church building project. We’ve had a nice piece of land for several years now, but hadn’t built on it yet due to uncertainty in terms of the development of the area. However, we were able to move ahead with this project and start developing the land.
Since the property was originally farmland, it was necessary to raise the level of the entire lot to protect it from flooding. We purchased many dump truck loads of fill to bring the level up to where it is now. Part of the wall around the perimeter has been built, offices and bathrooms are in the process of being built, and the foundation for the main auditorium (multipurpose room) has been laid.
An artist’s concept of what our church building may look like from the street when finished.
The next steps will be to finish the wall and office areas, complete the physical appearance of the front of the building, and plant the grass and garden areas.
We hope to have outdoor meetings in the large walled garden (about 8,000 square feet) after the rainy season starts. For the moment, it is too dry to be able to plant grass and the entire lot is brown dirt and dust. But once the rain comes, the plan is to plant grass, probably from rolls of sod.
Outdoor church meeting, January 9, 2022.
In the mean time, we continue to do online meetings, micro-church meetings, connect groups, and larger gatherings outside at our house. We’ve had a very positive experience with our gatherings here at our home over the last several months. Even though it is about a 1/2 hour drive for those who come, we’ve had a good turnout at every meeting. Our church family seems to really enjoy these simple outdoor gatherings and the times of fellowship, picnics and games after the services. And for those who can’t come for some reason, we offer the same service online simultaneously.
Online Bible School
In December we finished another successful semester of online classes with our group of Bible School students. We had around 170 students complete courses during the semester. I taught a group of students “Interpreting the Scriptures”, a course on Biblical hermeneutics. However, it was really our team of facilitators who invested time with the students and helped them to successfully complete their courses. We are very thankful for such a great team! At the end of the semester, Bill Brown ministered live to our students during the closing meeting. That was a real blessing and treat!
Now we are preparing for the Advanced School of Ministry conference, which will be held online using the Bible School platform, and then the next semester of courses will begin on February 15.
Our family
We are thankful for God’s provision and protection during the last couple of years. We credit Him with keeping us healthy and well. We’ve seen so many friends get sick and die of COVID, but so far, the Lord has protected us, and we believe He will continue to do so.
Our son David Jeremiah came to visit us for about three weeks during the Christmas season. We definitely enjoyed spending some time with him! Daniel and Elisa spent their Christmas in Washington state with Elisa’s family, but we got to say hello to them a few times using FaceTime. Anna is home with us, studying online, working with the online Bible School, helping with church and doing some youth ministry.
Youth meeting in December.
Sara has worked hard supervising the construction projects, purchasing materials, ministering to several women, and doing some of the one-on-one jobs of pastoring, such as calling people and showing them we care about them. She is very good at these tasks and it is such a blessing to have her support in these areas!
Prayer requests
Here are a few prayer requests for the next couple of months:
Please pray for continued protection and health for us and our church family.
We are thankful for several financial miracles that God has provided during the last several months. We praise God for these!
Please pray for wisdom and provision to continue to build our church, both spiritually and physically.
Please pray for the continued development of the online Bible School.
Thank you!
We thank God for each of you who pray for us and support us financially. You have a big part in what we do and we know God will richly reward you. Thank you so very much for believing in us and partnering together with us in ministry.
I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know how thankful we are this season. God has been so good to us! Our identity and destiny are found in Christ alone. He has graciously adopted us and welcomed us into His family, not only as servants, but as sons and daughters. He has given us countless opportunities to love and enjoy Him!
We are thankful for our local church. I think of all the families that have patiently endured this trying season of interruption and yet they faithfully continue on together with us as part of the local church. We’re thankful for the new levels of unity that we’ve seen at our most recent gatherings. It’s wonderful to see the enthusiasm with which many come to worship and hear God’s word in our meetings.
We’re thankful for the leaders God has placed in our lives, both those who lead under our direction as well as those in authority over us.
We’re thankful for health, for financial provision, and for spiritual prosperity.
We’re thankful for the Online Bible School and the team of people that make it run smoothly. It’s such a blessing to count on people who are so faithful and dedicated in their work.
But today I especially want to say that we are thankful for you, as part of our group of family, friends and supporters – those who know us, pray for us, and give into our lives and ministry. Thank you for giving so much to allow us the freedom to serve full time in the things of the Kingdom of God. Thank you for “sticking with us” during the pandemic, lockdowns, during the closings of many businesses and churches, and during the financial hardships. We are so very thankful that God has used you to pray for us, encourage us, and bless us financially through it all! God is so good, and yet you are also an extension of His goodness and faithfulness. Thank you!
We pray that you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving! May God bless you abundantly.
