Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Is.12:5

We would like to share what the Lord has been doing in Gijon, Spain--fruit that has been added to you account.
The first photo was taken in one of the first Sunday morning services. At that point we had only 3 faithful people coming to church. The second photo is from our last Sunday morning service in Gijon; and we were actually missing 5 regulars!. The Lord has been working in a great way there and we pray that soon the number of faithful people will double.

The last two months have been of special reaping in the ministry. We talked to you about Jose Manuel and Agustina coming to our services. They have expressed desire to stay in the church and help as much as possible in the ministry. Jose Manuel has preached several times and they have brought many visitors to church. We have also seen His hand on them; when they first came they were very discouraged spiritually and now the Lord has restored them, and they are excited again about serving Him. They will be a great support to the Contreras.

In the month of July we had two ladies getting saved. 22 June, Maria Elena came to the church for the first time (she had just arrived from Mexico 15 days earlier).  She told us that she was catholic, but that she was searching for God and that she wanted to understand the Bible.  She spent the whole day with us, clearly soaking up everything that we shared with her.  She came back on Friday for the ladies meeting and again Pilar had another chance to share the plan of salvation with her-Praise God she gloriously accepted Christ as her Savior!!!  Pray for her as she grows in the Lord.

Carmen came for the first time on 15 June and was faithful to the Sunday and Wednesday services as well as to the ladies meetings.  She lives in London and spends 3 weeks of vacation in Gijón every summer.  The first time that she came, she told us that she lives just around the corner from the church and had spent the last 2 summers thinking about stopping in for the service, but the devil always gave her an excuse not to do it.  She is from a pentecostal background and received much false teaching, but she was full of questions in seeking the truth from God´s Word.  She readily accepted the verses that we shared with her, although contradictory to the teaching that she had received. Sunday night after the service she prayed to accept Jesus Christ as her Savior!!!  A special blessing to me was to hear her say at the end of her prayer, ‘Now I know for sure that I am saved and that I will spend eternity with You'.

Please pray for Carmen's son, José Ignacio, for salvation.  He came to the service their last Wednesday in Gijón and I preached a clear salvation message.  Then after the service I sat down with him and again went through the plan of salvation, but he decided to put it off.  Pray for them as they are back in London, and also please remember Carmen´s husband, Juan José, for salvation.
Susana comes from a Christian family in Argentina, but has lived in Gijón for quite some time.  Since she began coming a few months ago, we can always count on seeing her on Sunday mornings and for the ladies meetings (she has a degenerative leg disease that keeps her down a lot).  She has been a great blessing and encouragement to the church.

A praise and answer of prayer that we would like to share with you is about brother Cris. We asked you to pray for him as he had stop coming to the church. Praise the Lord he is back. Pray that he realizes his need of faithfulness to God.

The church in Gijón will always have a special place in our hearts and prayers, and we ask you to continue to pray for the work there.  Also, remember us in prayer as we are now settling into Granada.  Alberto and Ashley Puente have come to work with us-what a blessing!! 

Pray for God´s direction as we speak with people and spread the good news of the gospel.  Also, pray for ¨God´s direction in finding the best location for the church.

                           In His service:

                           The Matthew Stark family in Spain  (Matthew, Pilar, Kayla, Nicole and Noelia)