Period covered: November 22, 2010 through April 30, 2011
Bayamón, Puerto Rico church of Christ. April, 2011
Attendance for April 17, 2011 was 130.
Bayamón, Puerto Rico church of Christ. April, 2011
George Rieckhoff preaches. I find his well-prepared sermons often have unusual points of view and applications. Several men of the congregation take turns preaching.
-Francisco I. Madero, Coahuila, México. Three young people converted. Nov. 23, 2010. “I write to inform you the publication of literature has not been in vain. Three young people have obeyed the Lord and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins. We are carrying out house-to-house evangelism using the tracts ‘Are You Prepared to Meet God’ and ‘The Church Established by Christ.’ They have been a great blessing.” Fernando Dávila.
-Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. March 23, 2011. On this date, we received a call from Bro. Ozuma, of the Dominican Republic, telling us that a Pentecostal preacher and twelve more had been baptized recently. He attributes these conversions to literature prepared by us, as well as to their own follow-up work. According to Bro. Ozuma, the preacher converted has much influence in fifteen Pentecostal churches, and expects many more Pentecostals will follow his example.
Church of Christ, Rosario, Argentina. March 13, 2011.
-Rosario, Argentina. We have received an e-mail picture from the Rosario, Argentina church showing 26 meeting there. As previously reported, materials from our Internet site have contributed substantially to the growth of this congregation, according to calls and e-mails from brethren spearheading the work.
Internet fruits
-Carolina, Puerto Rico. Two baptized. March 20, 2011. Gladys, and her daughter, Jazmín, were baptized in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Contacts through our Internet site, they have been visiting the downtown Carolina church since December of last year.
-Federal Way, Washington. December, 2010. Ramón Romero baptized. A contact through our Internet site, Ramón Romero was baptized, Dec. 5, 2010, in the Federal Way, Washington (state) church of Christ (about 300 members). He called to give us the news. Ramón is 49 years old, married and the father of five. He had been a deacon in the Pentecostal Universal Church of God (about 200 attending), there in Washington, and was told he was in line to be a pastor. Having studied our materials for months, he informed the pastor and other leaders he could not accept their offer and wished to renounce his position. That he did, beginning to attend the English-speaking church in Federal Way. We could not locate a Spanish-speaking congregation in the area. His wife is still attending the Pentecostal church. One of their children is married to the daughter of the pastor. Perhaps many do not know, as I did not until investigating the matter, that the famous “rapture” doctrine wildly proclaimed by Pentecostals was actually first taught by Spanish and Chilean priests of the Roman Catholic Church. Ramón Romero’s Internet search on the names of those priests, which he initially found in a Wikipedia (Internet encyclopedia) article, brought up our own article on the history of the “rapture” doctrine, and from there he studied other subjects on our site. In April, Ramón called to tell me he would be making a trip to his native Mexico, where he would give one of his kidneys to a brother in the flesh in danger of dying if he did not receive a transplant.
-Bogotá, Colombia. Nov. 28, 2010. “Greetings and blessings. I reviewed your material for biblical orientation on the Web www.editoriallapaz.org. I think it fabulous. Thank God for your commitment and work.” Marcos Aguilera, Systems Engineer
-Oaxaca, México. New work begun. Jan. 10, 2011. “Two months ago, we made an important decision: We are now meeting independently, renouncing denominationalism. In actuality, we are several brethren who are spreading the doctrine of Christ.” Josué. We have been in contact with this man previously. Not finding a congregation nearby, he and those who agree with him have started one where they live.
-Nueva Rosita, Coahuila, México. April 2, 2011. “Hello, beloved brethren. I am pleased to have found your Web site. Through it, I discovered that my church and I are not the only ones to whom the Holy Spirit has revealed his Word. I want to tell you that finding you has been a great blessing and I would like for us to be in contact, for we are a church that listens to, and is guided by, the Holy Spirit. In these difficult times, it is necessary to pay attention to the voice of God. We want to share what God has given to us and we want to learn from you.” Aurora de la Rosa Zamora signs this e-mail as a woman “pastor,” on behalf of the Ministers of the New Testament Church. Interesting name for a church. It is encouraging to see some Pentecostal-type churches making efforts to follow the New Testament. Obviously, this one has yet to arrive. We are awaiting Aurora’s reply to the e-mail we sent her.
-San Fernando, Buenos Aires, Argentina. April 7, 2011. E-mail. Silvia Salas states she would like to attend a congregation.
-Altharetta, GA. April 14, 2011. Call from Hugo Meléndez. Originally from Honduras, Mr. Meléndez, now living in Georgia, became a Pentecostal in Los Angeles. Someone recommended our site to him, and he stated it had helped him “very much.” He was especially enthusiastic about the illustrated commentary “Revelation: Analysis of the Prophecies and Visions” available on the site, using words like “amazing, fascinating, excellent.” Hugo requested materials, and we sent some. He meets with a small church where he lives.
-Place unknown. April 14, 2011. “Very good studies… exceedingly interesting.” “Hello. May God continue to bless you. I just want to tell you I have been studying some of your studies on your Internet site and have found them very interesting, exceedingly interesting. Very good studies. It is evident the church of Christ has the Holy Spirit, for the studies are based on the Bible, and not like in other places where they say God speaks to them in dreams, but those dreams are not in agreement with the Bible. Thanks to God for guiding me to this Internet site, which is of the true church of Christ founded by our Lord Jesus Christ…” Rubén Saucedo. We ask promising contacts like Rubén where they live, offering to help them find the nearest congregation.
-Constanza, Dominican Republic. April 18, 2011. Churches download materials to use in teaching. “I have been a member of the church of Christ for seventeen years. Two years ago, I found your Internet site. It has been a great blessing for all the Christian community in Constanza, Dominican Republic. I have made copies of several of the materials, distributing them among some members. A lot of these materials are studied in the congregations. I know some go on your Page to learn or criticize, and the Bible truth causes pain to others, but many of us are comforted by being in possession of true doctrine…” Nathanael Pérez.
-Ibague, Tolima, Colombia. April 26, 2011. “I liked your Page a lot, and want to know if some church which has this sound doctrine meets in the city of Ibague. Thank you very much.” Juan Quintana. We sent Juan information on a number of congregations in Colombia.
-Bogotá, Colombia. April 28, 2011. “I would like to know if you could guide me to a congregation in Bogotá which follows sound doctrine. I am interested in attending and getting to know one.” Carolina Cagueñas. There are several congregations in Bogotá.
-Cochabamba, Bolivia. Feb. 4, 2011. Internet convert desires to work full time and start a new congregation. Yobán Álvarez writes: “How are you, dear brother? As for me, I and happy, and thankful to you for all the material I found on your Web site. (I think I printed all of it, and studied all of it too.) I hope you remember me. Last year, I sent an inquiry to you to find out if there was a church of Christ in Bolivia.” Yes, I did remember Yobán Álvarez. We put brethren in Bolivia in contact with him, and he quickly obeyed the gospel. If Yobán did download and study all the material on our site, that alone would be quite an accomplishment, since there must be at least the equivalent of 4,300 letter-size pages of material on the site! This man went on, as he explains in his lengthy e-mail, to prepare himself with the help of our materials and local evangelists, to help in the work of the church. He expressed a strong desire to work full-time, especially among the poorer population, and start a new congregation where converts could attend. We suggested some steps he might take toward that end.
-Saltillo, Coahuila, México. Feb. 9, 2011. “My brother in Christ, my sincere prayer is that God will bless your life in a very special way. I continually consult the Web page of Editorial La Paz to obtain teaching material for my brethren in Christ. Congratulations on the vast production of material. How much it does help those of us who love the sound doctrine of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Saúl Paredes Morales. We have sent materials to Saúl through a contact he has in Texas.
-Antón, Cocle, Panamá. Feb. 12, 2011. “Thanks for answering me. I am an evangelical Christian, but none of those churches where I have attended is governed closely by the New Testament. Sadly, I see they take from the Old Testament what is convenient for them, for example, tithes. They also have women pastors, though women should not hold such positions, and a lot of other things I have seen, everything but following the example of Jesus Christ. For these reasons, I have been greatly disappointed and had decided to be an unaffiliated Christian. But, investigating on the Internet, God guided me to the Page that speaks of the church of Christ, and I see that you are the true church. I am very interested in knowing if there is one of these churches in Panamá. Again, thanks. God bless you. Myriam Trujillo.” We were happy to inform Myriam that more than one hundred congregations meet in Panamá.
-Two churches established in Argentina through our Internet site are growing. Feb. 14, 2011. Daniel Jaramillo writes: “In Metán, there is now a group of nine brethren. We also continue aiding the work in Villa Gesell, working with brethren Marcelo and Juan Carlos. This congregation has grown, now counting ten members.” Marcelo and Juan Carlos were two pastors converted through material on the site, and the excellent follow-up work of Daniel Jaramillo. The work in Metán began with the conversion of one Internet contact, Bro. Franco Scoco, Daniel also being the key evangelist in teaching and baptizing him. Metán and Villa Gesell are hundreds of miles of part, and also far from where Daniel lives.
-Ureña, Venezuela. Jan. 19, 2011. “I would like to share with you how gratifying my experience was on entering your Web page, and feeling that I had found a place where my suspicions of belonging to a church of the old order were confirmed.” Julio Orejuela. Our dialogue with Julio continues.
-La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jan. 19, 2011. “I would like to know where I can find one of your congregations nearby. I read a few of your studies on the Millennium and other doctrines. It was interesting. For thirteen years, I have been a Christian in the Assembly of God Church, but never was able to believe in, or reconcile with Scripture, the theory of the Rapture.” Miguel
-Barcelona, Spain. March 13, 2011. “I read your article and found it very interesting. I am an ex Jehovah’s Witness, having been a member for 25 years until, thanks to the Internet and the videos of Lavasori, I discovered all the deceit of the Watchtower, and without hesitating I left what is truly a sect. For that reason, I am writing to see if you can send [the study] to my e-mail address so that I might be able to send it to some Witness. Many thanks.” José Olías Aguado.
-Victorville, California. January, 2011. “I congratulate you on your Site. Your material is excellent. As of this month of January, 2011, I have completed two years after being baptized into Christ, and for about the same time I have been studying in a Bible institute. With regard to tithes, even before I was converted, something about them did not make sense to me, and today, after reading your article, I have confirmed that something was wrong. Besides, some churches are so bold as to shame their sheep who do not tithe. I am thankful for people like you who make a noise because they speak the truth.” Pastor Moisés Chávez
-Río Grande, Texas. Januray, 2011. “I am 98% convinced about what I have just read and will take the time to study this subject more fully, with all the passages mentioned and their contexts. I thank you for the time and dedication you have given to this subject, which is edifying for God’s people.” Fernando Cantú Iracheta
-Barranquilla, Colombia. March 21, 2011. “I would like to know more about your church. Is there a congregation here in Barranquilla?” Jean Paul Freyle. There is, and we sent information to this contact.
-Place of origin unknown. March 24, 2011. Online theological institute requests permission to use our materials. “It is a privilege to write you and send a brotherly greeting in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your servant is Director of the School of Ecclesiastical Studies, a ministry founded to provide Christian leaders with theological training available to all who desire to prepare themselves for ministry, but do not have the resources to do it. Our ministry offers theological studies which enable Christian leaders to better serve God and their congregations, without having to leave home. One of the degrees we offer is the Diploma in Theology.
To that end, our ministry seeks ‘Ministerial Collaborators’ who might help us make possible the theological education of many Christians. The help we seek is not monetary, for we know that the majority of training ministries do not have, like us, funds available… We have studied your Internet site http://www.editoriallapaz.org and have observed that your study resources for Theology and Bible Studies are very complete and structured according to the methodology of our ministry a distancia.
For that reason, I request your help as a ‘Ministerial Collaborator’, by allowing us to use the digital materials your Center of Studies uses…” We granted the authorization requested.
-Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay. Nov. 24, 2010. “I would like to know if you have a congregación in Paraguay.” C. Ziegel. We have information on just one congregation in Paraguay. E-mails of this kind are usually forwarded to at least two evangelists or churches. This particular e-mail was forwarded to brethren in Uruguay and Argentina.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-Cifuentes, Cuba. Seventy-five Catholics baptized. Jan. 15, 2011. “We are working with many Catholics and, to date, seventy-five have been baptized for the forgiveness of sins.” Jorge Mederos Navarro. Bro. Mederos does not say over what period of time these were converted, nor does his short letter indicate that our materials had anything to do with their conversion. We include this data as evidence of the receptiveness of some people in Cuba. Jorge does request we send him materials. Due to restrictions in that country, we can send only small envelopes with a few tracts or CD’s.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Internet traffic
The “URL” of the site is www.editoriallapaz.org.
-Record number of visits for one month: March, 2011........................................................... 168,820
-Record daily average was also for March, 2011................................................................... 5,445.81
-Record number of visits for a single day...........................................................................................
-Record number of Pages opened: November, 2010............................................................. 300,446
-Record amount of gigabytes downloaded from the site: March, 2011.................................. 250.58
-Record number of hits in a month: March, 2011................................................................. 3,198,503
-Grand Total of visits from 2002 through April, 2011.......................................... 7,430,618
-Grand Total of Pages opened for the same period.......................................... 15,080,325
STATISTICS
for November, 2010 through April, 2011
Visits Pages opened Hits Gigabytes downloaded
November, 2010 (30 days)
159,021..................... 300,446............................... 2,842,479.................................... 167.23
-Daily average of visits: 5,300.7
December, 2010 (31 days)
112,762..................... 219,642............................... 2,162,869.................................... 146.53
-Daily average of visits: 3,637.48
January, 2011 (31 days)
131,282..................... 243,714............................... 2,576,529.................................... 187.91
-Daily average of visits: 4,234.9
February, 2011 (28 days)
135,715..................... 233,069............................... 2,367,425.................................... 162.31
-Daily average of visits: 4,846.7
March, 2011 (31 days)
168,820..................... 298,575............................... 3,198,503.................................... 250.58
-Daily average of visits: 5,445.81
April, 2011 (30 days)
158,048..................... 279,393............................... 3,166,239.................................... 248.06
-Daily average of visits: 5,268.27
Materials added to the site
As new titles are added to the site, or substantial revisions are made to existing files, they are entered on the Page for “New Additions or Revisions” and the Home Page, where they remain for a time and are then removed. They are also registered in their respective “Portals,” or “Study Rooms,” and are indexed for the rather extensive alphabetical listing of subjects. Translating and printing just the entries (titles, descriptions of content) for all the material added during the five months covered by this report, as they appear in Spanish, with artwork, would take no small amount of time. Among the titles added is the following:
-“Life in the Body of Christ.” (“Vida en el cuerpo de Cristo”)Author: Jerry Humphries, evangelist, of Florence, Alabama. Thirteen lessons. In the course of translation, Bro. Osvaldo Santiago and I taught these lessons in the Puerto Rico School of Advanced Bible Studies. The first copies have now been printed. 52 letter-size pages of text. Laminated cover designed and printed by Rita. Spiral bound.
We are adding more and more titles in PowerPoint. I have learned how to load the originals developed in PowerPoint to the Internet in such a way that quality and size are retained when they are copied from the Internet. Lord willing, we shall transfer several hundred presentation graphics prepared in CorelDraw to the PowerPoint format.
Bayamón, Puerto Rico church
-Restored. Edward Aguilera, his wife Yadira, and their son Edward, Jr. Sunday, April 10, 2011, a family of three was restored in the Bayamón congregation. They are Eduard Aguilera, his wife Yadira and their son Eduardo, Jr. This young man has just graduated from a school in the US as an aviation mechanic, and will soon begin work in Tampa, Florida. The three were baptized on the same day several years ago. Too much time filled with jobs and businesses had crowded out the spiritual part of their lives. Attendance for that Sunday was 112. My message was “Galardón… grande en los cielos” –“Great is Your Reward in Heaven” –presented using seventeen slides in PowerPoint, with some really beautiful art work and relevant photographs obtained on the Internet. They may be seen at: www.editoriallapaz.org/mensaje_galardon_grande_PowerPoint.htm.
Yuri Féliz in action at the School of Advanced Bible Studies in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I have sat in some of his classes, and he is truly one of the most expressive and dynamic teachers I have ever seen in Spanish or English. The graphics on the wall behind him are some of the ones we have prepared for different courses.
This photograph taken through the windshield of our car is of a king-size “lagarto”, translated, “large lizard,” and often called an iguana. Crossing a four-lane highway from Caguas to Aguas Buenas, he came close to causing a multi-car pileup, including ours. Vegetarians, they have multiplied to the point of becoming a plague in some areas, eating garden plants, flowering plants, etc., but are now being eaten by some humans, who say their flesh is even better than chicken! As a matter of fact, “lagarto” now appears on some restaurant menus. It seems they do not like higher, cooler altitudes. We have yet to see one where we live at about 1,400 feet above sea level.
Derechos reservados. Permiso concedido para hacer una copia, o múltiples copias pero ninguna para la venta.