November 2024 Prayer Letter

Dear Beloved Brethren and Co-Laborers ,

Have a cordial greetings from your laborers in Costa Rica.

As always, we cannot over state this, we thank and we will keep on thanking our Eternal God, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for sending us on this glorious mission. It is truly a joy as we do His will even in difficult times. We pray that His Holy Spirit will keep on guiding us in the right path of righteousness, to be obedient and faithful until the end, no matter what.  We understand that we are living in difficult times and we do immensely thank you for your support, prayers and we praise the Lord for your faithfulness.

We want to thank all the churches for their generous Christmas gift, we were truly blessed and these gifts went a long way. May the Lord bless you all in a special way and keep using you for His glory.

By the time we send our next prayer letter, it will be the end of December; so we want to wish all of you a very blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

REGARDING THE PROPERTY, AS I HAVE MENTIONED IN OUR PREVIOUS PRAYER LETTER, WE MET WITH THE CITY AND THE ZONING DEPARTMENT, THEY HAVE APPROVED THE PROPERTY FOR THE CHURCH UNDER MIXED USE; NOW WE ARE WAITING FOR ALL THE DOCUMENTS TO BE OFFICIAL AND VALIDATED BY THE MAYOR OF SANTA ANA. WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED ONCE WE HAVE ALL THE DOCUMENTS IN OUR HANDS.  

PLEASE, CONTINUE PRAYING ABOUT THE PROPERTY, SEE OUR PREVIOUS PRAYER LETTER FOR MORE INFORMATION AND DETAILS.  

PRAYERS

• Continue praying for the growth of the church and protection. We are experiencing some spiritual battle and adversity.  
• Continue praying in regards to the Corporation of the church.  It is not easy to find people with integrity that we can trust and depend on.
• Pray about my permanent residency, I have apply for it, now I am waiting for the resolution. My wife already received hers.
• Pray about the followers on Face Book regarding the stream line of the services, we need to have 100 followers, as of now we have 92. To all our churches, help us reach that goal so we can continue stream lining. The name of the church on Face Book is Iglesia Bautista Alcanzando Para Jesucristo.
• Pray about the Lord to send us a missionary family (Spanish and English speaking) from the states with singing capabilities to direct the music/ assistant pastor.

Support Level

We are sustaining an 89% support, by the grace of God; thanks to some churches that have increased our support. By faith we have started this journey, by faith we are trusting in Him for His provision and by faith we will keep on serving Him as we do His work, according to His will. 

Safety with Travels

Safety as always as we traveled in Costa Rica because it can be complicated and dangerous at times.

Schedule of Meetings

We have no schedules meetings. We do not know when we will get back to the states, only the Lord knows. We need to focus on the church here in Costa Rica. We have a lot to do. 

Softness of Attitude

To stay close to God and focus on Him and the mission that is set before us, not on our circumstances because it very easy to get discourage at times and Satan, as always, wants to put his nose in God’s business. We press toward the mark, the vision that God put in our hearts according to His perfect will.

PRAISES

1. Praise the Lord for His continued protection and provision as we serve Him
2. Praise the Lord for the continued faithfulness of some members.
3. Praise the Lord for the continued faithfulness of Brother Oscar. We are going to present him on December 29, 2024 as an official member of the church.
4. Praise the Lord that my wife has obtained her permanent residency in Costa Rica.
5. Praise the Lord, we will be having our second Lord ’s Supper on December 29.

My Beloved Brethren, we are truly and extremely excited to see what God is going to do with us, we are under His wings and His will.

Beloved Brethren, may the Love of the Almighty God, the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you All. Amen! 

In Christ. 

Brother Jean-Claude & Sister Matilde Guilbaud

Reach the World, Reach for Christ; Under His Wings Reaching the World for His Glory!

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October 2021 – Prayer Letter

Dear Beloved Brethren and Co-Laborers,

As always, we cannot over state this, we thank and we will keep on thanking our Eternal God, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for sending us on this glorious mission. It is truly a joy as we do His will even in difficult times.We pray that His Holy Spirit will keep on guiding us in the right path of righteousness and to be obedient and faithful until the end.  We understand that we are living in difficult times and we do immensely thank you for your support, prayers and we praise the Lord for your faithfulness.

As we keep on pressing on this glorious journey, the restrictions for the month of November is the same as it was in October except for one change, the restrictions for the weekend has been stopped but we still can’t go out on Mondays. Let’s hope the weekends will remain like that but we never know with the government.

As we press on, please pray and continue to pray for the following prayer request:

PRAYERS

1. Continue praying for the project that I have been working on, Outlines and Commentaries in Spanish for all the books of the Bible, so far I have done the Book of Leviticus, Book of Psalms, the Epistle of James, the Epistles of John (1, 2, & 3), the Epistle of Jude; at the moment I am working on the Epistle of Philemon. It is truly a blessing meditating on the Word and learning a lot. As I have mentioned in our previous letter,  I have put a pamphlet together of my experience in the hospital San Juan de Dios in San José, Costa Rica, based on Romans 8:28 written in Spanish and English, hoping to get it printed soon, the title is: Focusing and Trusting in GOD in the midst of Difficulties & Storms. The Commentaries and Outlines can be seen on our website at www.guilbauds2costarica.com under the Tab Spanish Bible Commentaries & Outlines, as well my preaching under Media/ Sermons in Spanish and Sermons Notes under Spanish Sermons, Notes and Outlines.
2. Our health in order to work in His vineyard. As I mentioned previously, it is going to be a long process for my recuperation before I can resume (full blast) to my normal activities. Well, I had another setback, I had to have another immediate surgery done on October 22^nd due to a hernia in my stomach that I developed due to my surgery back in May. I had to get a second opinion from a private doctor because the inflammation in my stomach continued to increase and it was getting worse. Now, one more time, I will be out of commission for the next three to four weeks, minimum, before I see the doctor for a checkup and remove the stiches and according to the doctor, it will take a while to heal, the doctor had to install a mesh between the exterior of my skin and my intestines. Pray about the unexpected financial expenses we incurred. Also I will be having a biopsy done due to enlarged prostate on November 19, 2021; normally my PSA is supposed to be 4.5 maximum and it was at 8.3. Continue praying for my wife, as well, for physical strength as she is doing everything and being also my nurse. With all these setbacks, I am asking the Lord to give me physical strength to keep doing His work according to His will because He is in control of my health and my life; what the Lord started, He will fulfill it and keep His promises as long we are faithful to Him to the end – Philippians 1: 6. Thank you for your prayers, it means a lot to us.

3. Place for the ministry – We received the drawings from the Association (the Owner) earlier this month but with my condition I have not been able to submit them to the Federal College of Engineers and Architects to review them; once that’s done, we will submit them to the Ministry of Health and the Corps of Firemen for their approval.

4. Pray about the COVID – 19, it keeps on increasing and has surpassed 559,698 cases with 7,029 deaths.

5. Pray regarding the assembly of churches, the Ministry of Health has not given the full 100% to start because of the continuing increase of COVID – 19 cases.Some Churches have started to congregate, the allowable occupancy is still at 50% due to the COVID restrictions.

6. Driver’s license – Continue praying regarding this issue, please! I have received de documents needed from the Secretary of Commonwealth of Virginia. Now, I am still trying to make an appointment with COSEVI (DMV in the USA) to get my Costa Rican License for the past two months;  as I mentioned in my previous prayer letter they only give you one day which is Thursday from 8:00AM to 11:00AM to do it, on line, and I have been trying and no result. They make it hard and they don’t work with you and especially if you are a foreigner.

As I mentioned in my last prayer letter I had the month of September to get all this resolved so I can drive legally and now I am stuck. The Lord knows what He is doing, as always, with me being sick again.  I am still not sure what I am going to do yet regarding this issue of the entry date to Costa Rica which does not coincide with the issuance date on my driver’s license; again, that doesn’t make any sense at all. When I go to COSEVI, I will speak to them about it and if they don’t collaborate with me then I may have to get a lawyer involved to resolve all this mess but I pray that I would not have to. I did speak to a lawyer about the appointment on Thursdays with COSEVI and they told me I have to keep trying in order to get one “keep trying, that’s the government for you”. They are making things very complicated here even their own people, the Ticos, are saying the same thing.

Support Level        

Our support went up to 84%. We pray and trusting in the Lord that it will go up by the time we start the ministry.  

Safety with Travels

Protection on the road and the COVID – 19.

Schedule of Meetings

It will be a blessing if we can have meetings via the internet, with the Lord nothing is impossible.

Softness of Attitude   

To stay close to God and focus on Him and the mission that is set before us, not on our circumstances because it very easy to get discourage at times.

PRAISES

1. Praise the Lord for my wife, He has blessed me in a special way for I have no words on how to describe it.
2. Praise the Lord I had an opportunity to speak earlier this month at the Pastor’s fellowship, just before my surgery. It is always a blessing!
3. Praise the Lord for the new Churches, Pastors and the Brethren taking us on for support. May the Lord keep using you for His glory.   

Beloved Brethren, may the love of the Almighty God, the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you All. Amen!   

Brother Jean-Claude & Sister Matilde Guilbaud

Under His Wings Reaching the World for His Glory! Reach the World, Reach for Christ.

https://cdn.guilbauds2costarica.com/uploads/2019/08/August-2019-.pdf

https://cdn.guilbauds2costarica.com/uploads/2019/08/Agosto-2019-rev.-1.pdf

August 2019 – Prayer Letter

Dear Beloved Brethren,

Greetings and peace and love in the name of our eternal God, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As always, we thank our Lord Jesus Christ for taking us on this glorious journey, a journey of endless joy, speaking to our hearts, answering the call that He has given us and accepted the mission that is ahead of us to do His work according to His ways and will. Praise the Lord, this journey is almost at an end; we can see the light at the end of the tunnel but there are still some obstacles to go over. As we keep on pressing on this glorious journey, the month of August wasn’t as fruitful as July.  We had a meeting in Norfolk, VA at Filipino  Independent  Baptist Church, Pastor Dr. Walter Yoho on the 4^th and a Revival Conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, VA, Pastor Richard Smith from the 18^th to 23^rd.   We were also in Chesapeake, VA at Fellowship Baptist Church on the 11^th, Pastor John Stamatelatos and the 25^th at Hampton Roads Independent Baptist Church, Pastor Roger Sebrell giving updates of our trip to Costa Rica in April. On Wednesdays we were at our home church.

As we press on, please pray and continue to pray for the following prayer request:

PRAYERS
1. For wisdom and guidance as we are preparing the documents and for the Lord to guide us to the right people when we go back on January 8, 2020, per a meeting with our pastor regarding our departure, Lord willing! There is much more paperwork to be done in Costa Rica; it will take some time as well and we have to stay there, also, waiting during that time.

2. The next document to be apostilled is our background check which has to be done a week or two, before we leave for Costa Rica, in Virginia Beach and Richmond; no more than three months before submitting them to Immigration in Costa Rica.

3.Our health in order to work in His vineyard.  My wife’s full recuperation with the cataract/astigmatism surgery, it’s taking longer then expected.

4. We need a miracle for our support to be at 100% or more by the time we leave; we fervently pray for this to happen. God is able to make other miracles and we pray that He will; He is able, with Him nothing is impossible.
We pray and humbly plead for your help, for the Lord’s provision and what He will have you to do according to His will. All donations and funds should be sent to Macedonia World Baptist Missions (MWBM) under SHIPPING- TRAVEL  ACCOUNT.

* Support Levels
Our support is still at 80% but another church took us on for support, Faith Baptist Church in Ringgold, GA, Pastor Jim Thomasson. Glory to God! We are still waiting on one other Church.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE… we need your help!
* Safety with Travels
Pray that our Lord, God will keep on protecting us on the road.

* Schedule of Meetings
Our schedule is not full, we have no meetings  in September, for now the Lord has blessed  with one Mission Conference in Greensboro, NC and a meeting in Winston-Salem, NC in October, and another Mission Conference in November in Statesville, NC.
* Softness of Attitudes
Pray that our hearts would stay soft, to have a humble attitude, to stay close to God, and focus on Him not on men neither our circumstances. Brethren, we are excited to see on how the Lord will be working the rest of this year; we are also encouraged and at the same time comforted by His provision, protection and peace.

PRAISES
1. Praise the Lord! We got our marriage certificate apostilled in NYC; as we mentioned previously, all our documents have to be apostilled and translated to Spanish in order to get a permanent visa and be a legal resident.

2. Praise the Lord, again, for His guidance to First Baptist Church of Liberia, Pastor Eliecer Robles Jimenez who will be helping us by writing all the necessary letters and the documents which pertains to him; then we have to submit them to immigration. That is truly a blessing! Brethren, this is the Lord opening the doors for us.

Thank you, as always, for your kindness, compassion and love, but most of all for your sensibility to the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in you. We are deeply grateful for your continued prayers, financial support and being behind our vision to further the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you as well to all who started helping towards our passage.

Brethren, may the love of the Almighty God, the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you All. Amen!

Brother Jean-Claude and Sister Matilde Guilbaud
Under His Wings Reaching the World for His Glory
In Christ alone