Dear Friends, 

Good evening! We trust your Easter Sunday was of great joy and comfort. Your missionaries went to church to celebrate the Resurrection with worship and listening to God's Word, and afterward had an Easter church dinner of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peaches, corn, and the traditional 3 leche torta (3 milk cake).  Easter Sunday is not about eating but about celebrating this great event: the Resurrection. 

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As a child, I, Phil, remember the Easter hymns. One that is most in my mind is "Christ the Lord is Risen Today."  Charles Wesley wrote it. He was raised in a Christian home and was one of the founders of the "Holy Club" at Oxford. However, he always looked back to May 21, 1738 (when he was 30 years old) and the dramatic experience of divine grace on that day as his true conversion, which stirred up within him the gift of sacred song.

The following year, Charles Wesley and his brother John published a 223-page, 139-hymn hymnal entitled Hymns and Sacred Poems. There were fifty original hymns by Charles Wesley in this historic volume, including "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." He wrote this hymn for the very first service at the original Wesleyan Chapel in London in 1739.

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The hymn was published in eleven 4-line stanzas. Wesley did not write the joyful "alleluias" at the end of each line. Those were added later to make the text fit the tune of "Easter Hymn," which had been published anonymously in Lyra Davidica in 1708. On Easter Sunday, these immortal words and this stirring tune are still sung in thousands of churches around the globe. (Source: Pepperdine Library)

 

A link to a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzy7jFNUc3w&list=RDnzy7jFNUc3w&start_radio=1

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April 2026

Proclamar:  Predicando para Persaudir  

Recently, while I was driving, a patch of fog rolled in. I had to slow down and squint through the heavy mist. The fog was very thick, blocking the sunlight and making it hard to see clearly. I could have plowed into people right in front of me. It hindered my vision and clarity. It brought to my mind the old bluegrass song “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” It would be dangerous to maintain normal speed in fog and not slow down. I remember my driving teacher saying, “Driving is a privilege, and we need to look out for the other guy.”

This past year, your missionaries attended a workshop called Proclamar : Predicando para Persaudir (Proclaim: Preaching for Persuasion), taught by Dr. Rudy Gonzalez, preaching professor at the Baptist University of the Americas. The purpose of his teaching was to challenge Hispanic pastors to be fully biblical and not to be lax in proclaiming the Gospel. Dr. Rudy feels that the pulpit ministry needs to be a priority.

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“A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew” is a saying among preachers that highlights the need for clarity in their preaching and teaching. If there is even a little uncertainty in their minds, it will create absolute confusion among the members of their congregation.

To avoid a “foggy mountain breakdown,” Dr. Rudy recommended the following:

·      Protect your time and use it wisely.

·      Pray as you prepare.

·      Set high expectations.

·      Be consistent.

·      Make clear applications that are understandable to the listener.

·      Plan well, because if you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail.

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Your missionaries absorbed a great deal of material, and I, Mariella, will use this helpful material in my teaching of children and senior adults.

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Putting into Practice

Several weeks ago, Phil had the privilege to proclamar the Word of God in a local church. His sermon was based on 1 Kings 19.

In that chapter, we read about the prophet Elijah fleeing in fear for his life to a cave on Mount Horeb (Sinai), after Queen Jezebel had threatened to kill him, following his victory over the prophets of Baal. Exhausted and discouraged, Elijah hides there, and God meets him with a gentle whisper, reaffirms his mission, and reminds him that he is not alone.

 

The crescendo of the story is a gentle whisper, following a windstorm, an earthquake, and a fire. God speaks in a "still small voice" or "gentle whisper." This shift highlights the fact that God often moves, not in dramatic power, but in quiet, personal intimacy.

 

This chapter demonstrates that God often moves from the dramatic "thunder" of a public victory to the "still small voice" of personal restoration, preparing His servants for long-term faithfulness, rather than immediate success.

 

Proclamation begins in the church through faithful preaching and teaching of the Word, and continues in the community through believers sharing their faith in their daily routines. Effective proclamation requires both clear communication of the Gospel and boldness in speech.

 

Your missionaries’ vision is to “proclamar” the Good News on the border. You are part of a team that “holds the ropes” for us while we minister on the border. Your prayers and giving are a glorious gift to us!

 

Proclamar la Palabra (proclaiming the Word),

 

Phil y Mariella

 

Prayer requests:

·      Pray for a family that is going through a disruption in their lives.

·      Pray for a man who is addicted to drugs.

·      Pray for us, as we minister in Reynosa with a bag lunch ministry.

 

Praise:

·      We are thankful for God’s goodness to us.

For easy online giving: www.actioninternational.org/legal

 

Can you help? We have lost some email addresses and telephone numbers. Could you please send us your phone number and email? Your missionaries appreciate your consideration. You are valuable to us and want to communicate with you better.