October Prayer Letter

October, 2008

Dear Friend and Supporters,

I have been recently reading in 1 Peter about the wonderful privileges that we have received in Christ. Because of the blessings of Christ, we can rejoice no matter what our circumstances are. As we reflect on God’s gracious mercy towards us, we can’t help but be filled with joy and gratitude.

I know that it has been several months since we have communicated with you. As you know, we traveled in the United States this summer. We were able to visit 10 supporting churches and 3 new churches. Please pray that the Lord will allow some of those churches to take us on for monthly support. The Lord has also provided for us financially in at least two ways. The first is that one of our supporting churches has increased our monthly support by $50. Another way the Lord has provided is by a momentary bump in the strength of the dollar. After having lost steam steadily for the last 4 or 5 years (though only to the tune of 15%--not like the 40% it has lost against the Euro), the dollar recently spiked back up about 10%. We are grateful for that. For us personally it would be wonderful if it stayed up or even went up a little bit higher. Through all of this, we are grateful that the Lord has promised to abundantly provide for our needs. He has done this and will continue to show himself faithfully generous towards us.

The school year began a bit later this year than is normal because of some changes the Education Department instituted. We got into full swing on September 8^th. We are grateful for the new students the Lord has brought this year. Although enrollment was down a little bit this year, we are thankful for the strong group of men the Lord brought to us, and for a small increase in enrollment in the theology program. Pray that we will be instruments in the Redeemer’s hands in the lives of these students.

Last week the Lord allowed us to travel to Tampico (a city on the Gulf of Mexico) to be part of a pastor’s intensive course (a three day modular class for pastors). We were excited about the attendance of 35 pastors and church leaders. This is the third pastor’s intensive course we have held and it was the best attendance. The pastors were very excited to receive the additional instruction they crave. Many pastors expressed their appreciation for the biblical focus and depth of teaching.

Pray for our mission church in Santa Monica. We are still asking the Lord to provide a location for Sunday services. We are excited about a few new things we are wanting to implement this year. Pray for the discipleship of the believers, particularly Gabriel. The Lord has been doing some wonderful things in him and his family. Pray that the renewed hunger for the things of God can be nurtured and developed further.

Our children continue to grow. Aaron and Ana are doing school work with Kim Chapman (our sister-in-law). They are enjoying that greatly. While we were in Tampico, Ana had a little accident while we were playing soccer one afternoon. She tripped and went head first into a column, resulting in a trip to the emergency room to stitch up her forehead. Pray that the wound will heal cleanly, leaving as little scar as possible. We are thankful for the birthdays our children have in the fall. David turned two on September 20^th, and Ana will turn 5 on October 28^th.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We need them as we serve God here in Monterrey.

Engaged in His service,

The Bixby Family