It's Been A Very Long While

One of the first pics of our move to LVNM

Hello everyone! I do not believe I have any followers on this page anymore, but it truly has been a very long time since I have posted last...2011 in fact. If you've read my "About" me blurb, you'll have seen that we are in Trinidad, CO, two years into pursuing the calling of Jesus Christ in preaching the Gospel and two children - Alayna and Kambrie. Well, since then a lot has changed. Here is a little rundown of how we are and where we've been and where we are now: 

 My wife Leola and I just celebrated 13 years of marriage on June 21st. It has been amazing! Very difficult at times, but very simply, amazing. In 2013, we were residing in Trinidad, CO still when in June of that year, my pastor came home from Bible Conference with some news we were not ready for. They were going to go back home in Las Vegas, NM and close the church in Trinidad. We were blindsided! How can someone called of God to preach just call it quits? But in reality, my Pastor was burned out, tired from spinning out trying to build the church in a town that really wasn't producing fruit from our efforts in evangelism. Because I KNEW I was called into Pastoral ministry, I was now left without a plan or direction in fulfilling that calling. But thank God for His grace, because my pastor talked to his pastor in Las Vegas, NM and with his blessing, we were invited to join them in Las Vegas to complete our journey in ministry. Now, this was a huge step for me. My wife on the other hand was ready to start packing! I had everything there in Trinidad: my friends, a great job, my oldest daughter. I thought I could survive the spiritual battlegrounds on my own. In truth, I was nowhere near spiritual stability. Somewhere between my last post here and that moment in June of 2013, I fell away from the path that God had laid for me. I wasn't completely backslidden, but I was close. I stopped praying, I stopped reading my bible, I lost the passion for evangelizing to people (and other things that were pulling me away). Why do any of that when I was so comfortable where I was at in my life? Leola and I were discussing the possibility of moving but I was stuck in my ways. I was ready to remain in Egypt while my wife was looking ahead to the Promised Land. She said, not in these exact words, "I am called to be a pastor's wife and I'm going to Las Vegas with or without you." 

 There it was! The goad I needed to make the change and in July of 2013 we moved. My boss hated losing me, my friends hated that we were moving, my daughter cried. But it was exactly what we needed. Remember when I said I stopped praying, studying and evangelizing? Moving to Las Vegas taught me to do those things again, but not in a gentle way. God broke me. I needed to be broken so that way He could put me back together the way He wanted me to be. But He broke me. A few months into our move there, I lost my job, my marriage suffered almost to the point of separation, we lost our car, cell phones were shut off, we were threatened with litigation because we couldn't afford rent, and (this was the most humbling of it all) sins were exposed. Secret sins. I hated being there. I resented God for all of the trials we went through. Why would He have us move only to bring us down? On top of all of that, I started hating my new pastor and the people in the church. They were so spiritual...happy...blessed, while I was not spiritual...not happy...not blessed. One day during a Sunday School lesson, a question was asked to the church. "What is the difference between the prayer of faith and the prayer of desperation?" Everyone gave their answers, which were all valid and applicable to the discussion, but deep down I knew the answer. I mean it was God speaking directly to me the answer. Up until that Sunday, my prayer life was a mess. "God, if you don't move in our situation RIGHT NOW, we are going to die out here. Why did You bring us here just to let us die?" But that Sunday, I raised me hand and I said, "the prayer of desperation is this: 'God if you don't move in our situation RIGHT NOW, we are going to die out here.' But the prayer of faith is opposite of this. It is praying, not knowing the outcome, but believing regardless of what is in front of us right now. It is, 'God, you know my situation is not good right now, but I trust you and I leave it in your hands.'" Right then is when everything began to change. 

 That next morning I went to prayer at the church and started to pray in faith. Well, I first repented of my unbelief and all the other junk that came with it, but I started praying in faith. Shortly after that I got a great job (I had been out of work for two months), we got a three bed, two bath apartment, and we were starting on the path to healing in our marriage. God really broke me, but I desperately needed to be broken. 

 Since that January in 2014, my wife and I have been saved and serving God for 13 years now, working on 14 now. We have welcomed into our home three more babies. Sofia was born in November 2014, Mateo came along in July 2017 and two years later on the same EXACT day, Zoe came into our lives in 2019. Ask me about those pregnancies one of these days...they were very difficult for my wife, but thank God for His healing! In September of 2017 during our annual Bible Conference in Las Vegas, my wife and I were announced as pioneer Pastor into Lamar, CO. We have been here building God's church for four years now, and having the time of my life doing it! We are still a small work here, but we are seeing people saved and locking in. God is so good! I do not deserve it, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to do what He has called me to do! 

 I hope to update this blog every so often, as often as I can to keep whoever comes across this page updated and encouraged. Please pray for us in Lamar, CO. We so appreciate it! By the way, if you need any prayer or would like us to pray for someone or anything, drop a comment down below. I will believe God along with you for a miracle in your situation! For now, God bless and thank you for stopping by!

God Is Great

Hello everyone. I know its been a while, but considering the circumstances, I think I am excused from blogging for a while. Hehe. Just a little update of how things are going in our lives.

My last post said that my dad was fourth on the regional list for a liver transplant. Well, that has come and gone, thank God. He was on the list for only 5 (or maybe less) weeks before he got the call. Six hours and many, many answered prayers later, I was told that my dad made it through with minimal complications. He had to go back into surgery two weeks after his transplant to fix some leaks on one of his major veins coming from his liver. But, he's doing fine and just as "dad" as usual. If I ever get the chance to meet the family of the young woman who decided to be an organ donor, I would like to tell them what a blessing she was to my family.

I found out that I have an overactive thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism as they say. The condition is where your thyroid makes hormones and those hormones increase the number of mitochondria in your cells, thereby raising your basal metabolic rate. This explains my excessive weight loss, fatigue and other symptoms. But...theres more. The doctors think my brain is missing a marker thats supposed to tell my thyroid to stop producing thyroxine. They think I may have whats called Graves' Disease. An autoimmune disease. Look it up.

Other than that, we are going great. Keep praying for us, as we all could use it. If you have any prayer requests, leave them in the comment box and we'll lift them up for you. Hope you all are going well. Here are some pics that you might like.

Remember: John 16:33 NKJV

 

4th on The List

Hello everyone. I just got a phone call from my dad to let us know that he got a phone call from the cancer center at C.U. Hospital. Bad news: it's cancer. Good news: out of 25 people on the transplant list, my dad is 4th. Praise God! So, this means that if the #1 guy (actually, the #1 guy is #25, my dad is #22) gets a new liver or something worse happens to him, the next person on the list gets one, then the next, and so on. It could be a matter of months for my dad. Let's just pray that it happens quickly.

Today is my dad's 50th birthday today. So he got some good news. We all did. Please keep praying for him and my family. I can see God moving in our prayers, so why doubt His power and stop praying?

Hope all is well in your where you're at! God bless.

Good News Among a Series of Bad

Hello everyone. I just thought I would put my thoughts and feelings down before I put up another mini sermon. I've been seeing a lot lately that there are many downfalls and hardships affecting us and those close to us. I do not know why this is happening all at once - although, I can only assume it's Satan trying his hardest to pull us away from the will of God - but I do know that it will only come more and more. Like labor pains of a mother getting ready to give birth to her child, so are the trials of this world: slow and unpredictable at first then faster and faster (albeit none less painful but more) until the fruition of the coming of Jesus.

I've said before that my dad has been diagnosed with cancer. He had to go through a biopsy the other day to give him the medical diagnosis of cancer before he can be put on the transplant list. He had complications after the surgery and, well, it was not good. My grandma went through cataract surgery the other day. My grandpa may have had a stroke. My other grandma had a heart attack and a mini stroke. The list goes on and on.

The good news is my dad made it through and was released from the hospital yesterday. My grandma recovered from her surgery. My grandpa did not have a stroke but the doctors suspected it was a symptom of his Alzheimer's disease. My other grandma pulled through and is regaining strength on her right side and is staying up all day now in spite of her 96 years. As far as the other things, God has really pulled us through and showed His awesome power.

Here is my conclusion: DO NOT DOUBT THE POWER OF PRAYER! By prayer my family was able to make it through their infirmities and troubles with minimal issues. By God answering our prayers, He has taught me an important lesson: that through our prayers we are building on our relationship with Him and as a result, the hardships that come our way are not all that bad anymore. Because He is guiding us through the fire!

Just to lighten the mood and show off little sister!

Revelation to The News No One Wants to Hear.

I found out the other day that my dad is sick. I don't have the liberty to tell what kind of illness he has, but it isn't the kind of illness that anyone wants to have. Now that I think about it, nobody wants to be sick, unless they are trying to get out of work!

When I found out that my dad is sick, I thought to myself, "well, he's got God on his side. He has nothing to worry about." As true as that is, I find myself as the one worrying. I was okay with him being sick. Now, I have this deep rooted feeling of despair, as if I may never see my dad again. I know that this feeling is not of God, but of the enemy. So what do I do? Who do I ask why?

I've racked my mind trying to figure out why and how but I cannot come up with an answer. Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (NIV). I must give up my burdens to achieve rest from my worrying. 

But that one question still remains: Why? No matter how hard I try, I will never wrap my mind around the infinite wisdom and understanding that is possessed by God. My pastor always says, "sometimes you have to serve God with a big question mark." Even though we ask "why God?" we must always know that He has our best interests in mind.

As I sit here trying to come up with verses that may offer up some explanation how my dad and I (and my family) can cope with this revelation, only one verse comes to me. I know that this is God speaking directly to me and my family. 2Corinthians 12:7-10 - "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me... Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am made strong."

I should rejoice in Christ Jesus knowing that He is greater than illness and any other affliction. In fact, I shouldn't be surprised that something like this is happening. 1 Peter 4:12-13 says, "Beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." I should count this as a blessing! My family and I are suffering for Christ's sake. [We] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us] (Philippians 4:13).

This is a testimony to all who are suffering with illness. May God bless you and give you the strength you need!