September 2018 Prayer Letter – Pdf file
Carta de Oracion – Septiembre 2018- Pdf file
September 2018 – 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. We count it a privilege and an honor to serve the Kings of kings, the Lord of lords, the Architect of the Universe and the Carpenters of all carpenters Jesus Christ.
As we keep on pressing on this glorious journey, the month of September did not start well; I was again hospitalized for the same problem I had in March earlier this year. I was in Lynchburg, Virginia for meetings when that happened. It started Sunday the 2nd of September in the evening and did not feel well at all night long; then on Monday afternoon, my wife called Pastor Chapman’s mother- in- law of Liberty Baptist Church of Evington, VA; my blood pressure was 196/110 but I did not feel it because usually I will get dizzy. So the pastor came over immediately and brought me to the emergency room in Gretna, VA that afternoon; we were there until early Tuesday morning about 3:30AM after a CT Scan was made revealing that I had an obstruction in my small intestine. I was transferred to Lynchburg General Hospital for more test and observation. The chief surgeon wanted to do an incision in my upper stomach to detect the problem but he decided to wait after more tests, x-rays and a tube in my nose going down through my esophagus and my stomach (that was not fun, from past experience). Thursday morning, more test and x-rays for 4 hours on that cold metal table; 2 ½ hours into this ordeal, another x-ray was made revealing that the barium did not go all the way down to my rectum (not a good sign) but the Radiologist decided to wait another hour to see of it will go through and it did – I tell you, I shouted Hallelujah because I did not want to go through that operation; but the radiologist said that he will give all results to the surgeon and he will decide what to do next. Early Friday morning came to give me the results and those were his words “we have found no abnormalities, we don’t understand it and for us it is a mystery” Well, I knew it was God intervening; the doctors did their jobs and God finished it; again I shouted Praise the Lord! Believe me I was praying all that time because I needed to be in Walterboro, SC for a meeting on the 9th at Welch Creek Baptist Church, Pastor James H. Baker; we left Saturday morning for that meeting, a 6 hour drive and we presented on Sunday and I preached on Sunday night, after the service the church voted to take us on for support ( by the way I had to cancel two conferences when I was in the hospital, one with Jackson County Baptist Church in Jefferson, GA, Pastor Jack Lawson and the other one with Berean Baptist Church in Ellenwood, GA, Pastor Alan Sinclair).
Beside all this, this month was still a blessing seeing on how God works in the lives of His children despite of setbacks and circumstances; I am always reminded of Romans 8:28, praise the Lord for His promises and faithfulness!
On the 10th we drove back to Virginia Beach for follow up appointment with doctors and dentist. We went to home church on Wednesday the 12th but it was cancelled due to the hurricane, Sunday the 16th and Wednesday the 19th we were at our home church. On Friday we headed down to Georgia for a meeting at Harvest Baptist Church, Pastor Joe Arthur, which was on Sunday the 23rd, what a blessing this visit was; Pastor Arthur ask us to come back sometime during the last week of October. This same Sunday, while we were going to the service that Sunday evening, the van that we borough stopped on the road, someone at the church had to come to get us, after the evening service, the van was towed to a mechanic that goes to the church until it could be fixed the next day; well come to find out, the alternator was bad and one of the belt as well. Praise the Lord, the church paid for all the repairs and the oil change. What a blessing! When we do the Lord’s work with a pure and sincere heart, He always takes care of His children.
Then on the 25th we headed to Tampa, FL for a Mission Conference at West Gate Baptist Church, Pastor George Pirt, until the 30th. What a blessing this conference was! Praise the Lord, the Church took us on for support at the end of the Conference. On Monday October 1st we drove to Georgia for one evening before heading to Virginia Beach the next day to get ready to leave again on the 5th of October for Mission Conferences and Meetings of which we will get into more details in our next prayer letter.
We continue praising the Lord for His protection (physical and spiritual) and provision (He knows all our needs) as well as the wisdom that He gives us to do His work. We also praise the Lord that He continues to give us our health so we can serve Him with all the strength that He gives us, to adore Him in spirit and in truth with all our hearts, and to glorify Him in everything that we do, even in sickness and circumstances. The Lord is so Good!
As we press on, please pray and continue to pray for the following prayer request:
PRAYERS
- As we mentioned in our last prayer letter, we urgently are in need of a minivan to finish our deputation journey. Someone was gracious enough to lend us one until December 2nd but we will need another one to keep going until we leave for Costa Rica before next summer, Lord willing.
- We need another miracle regarding these new hospital and doctors’ bills. We don’t know how much yet.
- My wife’s physical need with her blood circulation and my health as well as we traveled. This is the very reason why we need to be on the field by the end of spring 2019; time is of the essence!
As we keep stressing, it is our goal, Lord willing, to be on the field by June 2019. We are planning to go, probably, next February to look for a place to live, as well the property for the ministry, and Lord willing move sometime in the spring, before summer. We need this miracle for our support of be 100% or more by next May 2019. God is able to make other miracles and we pray that He will; He is able, with Him nothing is impossible. He is good, so good!!
- We pray that the Lord will move the hearts of His people to make this happen. We humbly plead to all the churches we have presented, and not supporting us at the moment, to pray, and reconsider in encouraging and partnering with us to proclaim the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by planting New Testament Baptist Churches, establishing Baptist Bible College and Christian Academy.
Beloved Brethren, this is God’s work and His ministry not ours; we are servants doing the work of the Almighty God and obeying the Great Commission by Answering the Call and Accepting the Mission that is ahead of us. We are leaving everything behind and renouncing everything for the Gospel’s sake and focusing on what is ahead so we can give glory to our eternal God, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; for Him only!
- Support Levels
Continue to pray as we are on this glorious deputation journey that the Lord will guide us to the right church and have favor along the way in order to obtain our support as soon as possible according to the Lord’s will. Two more churches took us on for support this month; Welch Creek Baptist Church in Walterboro, SC, Pastor James H. Baker and West Gate Baptist Church in Tampa, FL, Pastor George Pirt. As of now, we are at 70%. We pray that it will more by our next prayer letter. Praise the Lord! We keep pressing on that goal for our minds, our hearts and our spirit are in Costa Rica but our bodies are still here. Our Lord is a Sovereign God!
- Safety with Travels
Pray that our Lord, God would protect us on the road.
In October we will be in North Carolina and Georgia for Meetings and Mission Conferences; November in North Carolina and Georgia for Meetings and Mission Conferences; in December, Praise the Lord, we have three meetings in Virginia (answer to prayers).
- Schedule of Meetings
Pray that our schedule will be full with formal meetings and conferences for the rest of the year, some of them have been cancelled but the Lord Has blessed with others. The Lord has blessed with meetings and conferences in VA, NC, SC, GA and FL. Our schedule is not full, but praise the Lord for what He is doing in our lives. He is in control! For now, the Lord is still opening doors for more meetings and conferences in these states and more meetings and conferences for next March and November 2019 in Florida and North Carolina (if we are not in Costa Rica).
- 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; also for the churches that we have been in contact with and presented. We are excited to see on how the Lord will be working during the rest of the year, we are also encouraged and at the same time comforted by His provision, protection and peace. Praise the Lord for everything! To God be the Glory, great things He has done, that He is doing and what He will do as we focus our eyes and hearts upon Him.
PRAISE
The Lord is so good in giving us our health, providing and protecting us while we are on the road, despite of setbacks, serving Him.
Psalms 37:4-5 says: “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
Thank you for your kindness, compassion and love, but most of all for your sensibility to the Holy Spirit of God whom 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. 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