Another Hindrance

It seems that whenever we take a step forward in advancing the Kingdom of Christ, we face resistance.  We are so excited to have started the church and that we have family coming to visit and a HeartCry conference in Lima coming up soon but now we have visas to deal with.  The Peruvian government changes it's laws almost daily and now they passed a new law on January 18th that is already affecting us.  Our kid's visas expire on February 12 and if they don't have their Peruvian carnets by the 12 then we will be forced to leave the country and start the process all over.  This would cost our family, the Killillay's and the Martinez family a tremendous amount of money and time.  Right now our kid's are in process but the daily changing laws are causing a lot of problems and have delayed the process considerably.  Time is running out so I ask that you please pray for this situation.  God is sovereign over all governments and laws so we are confident that He will keep us here as long as has been ordained.  Please pray.

The Gathering of the Core - It Begins

Wehrner, our Peruvian Pastor and partner, arrived on Thursday with his family and a girl named Alejandra that will be staying with them and helping us with the Church.  Wehrner was ready to go so we had our first gathering on Sunday morning.  We have a great core group to start the church, 23 people between our families, Alejandra and Wehrner's mom.  We prayed, sang, and Wehrner preached.  We went out to eat together after to continue the fellowship.  Although the language barrier is still there, we really enjoyed the fellowship, preaching and singing. 

Wehrner came up with the name of our church to be, "Iglesia Cristiana de Gracia" and we were all in agreement.  We will start our heavy evangelism plan in February since we have a lot of work to do printing tracts, books and many other things.  Our web site is almost finished but is still in the process.  You can get a sneak preview here:

Are you really a Christian? Here is the evidence

With so many people all over the United States and Latin America professing to be Christians, I thought these evidences may show you if you truly belong to Christ.  After all, proclaiming that you know Christ will not get you into Heaven (Matthew 7:21).  But when Christ claims to know you and when Christ claims that you belong to Him, then you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 

So the question is, "Is there a way that I can know if I really am a Christian?"  Here are 15 evidences of the work of salvation in your life.  There are so many more but just look at these for now.  If you lack any one of these evidences, you have a reason to be concerned.

Evidence of the work of salvation in a life

1. They have been awakened to a solemn concern for their soul.
2. They have had convictions of their sinful and perishing state.
3. They have had the appearance of being brought to a sense of their misery.
4. They have had a sense of their inability to change themselves.
5. They engage their attention to divine truths.
6. They have a deep concern for an interest in Christ.
7. They appear to be comforted by the Word of God.
8. They have a change in their behavior.
9. They have an increasingly tender conscience.
10. They have new desires and motivations.
11. They have a solemn concern for the souls of other people.
12. They are horrified when they see their sin and long to destroy it in their life.\
13. They handle hard times and trials much differently, with a growing peace and trust in God.
14. They desire to be with the people of God.
15. They are deeply pained when Christ is dishonored.