Thursday, April 28, 2011

March Report 2011

DEAR FRIENDS,

Hope this letter will find everyone healthy and happy in the Lord.

Everything is going well with Rosa and I, we are proud to tell everyone that we are going to have a grand-daughter!! Please keep our Minnie in your prayers.

The work at the prison is going great and we see everyday God changing attitudes in these inmates. March the 3rd we had a three day meeting at the prison, and several different volunteers were invited to come and speak. Three of the speakers had been in prison for many years but have been out in the free world for a long time, and are successful business men and one is a preacher These men can relate to these men and encourage them that they can make it once they are in the free world.

Many gave their lives to the Lord in baptism. I had a one to one prayer time with many of the inmates present for this event. I was honored to be able to be a part of this conference.

I continue to give the invitation for baptism on Wednesday nights and the Lord has blessed us with 115 men that gave their lives in baptism for the past two months. Every time I speak many men come to the library the next day, and they tell me that my life has inspired them to want to follow God and study His word. It is so encouraging to hear these words.

The first week in March I was invited to speak at Hardin Simmons University in a class of future physical therapists and special education teachers. I had almost two hours in that class to tell them about my past experiences and what my idea is about helping people with physical challenges. The professor told me that she will invite me again each semester.

Thank you so much for being a part of this work, and we appreciate your prayers and financial support.

Love in Christ,

Robert and Rosa

February Report 2011

Dear Family in Christ,

May the love of God be with each of you and your families. Rosa and I are doing fine and are enjoying the Spring weather we have been having. Our Minnie is in her fifth month of pregnancy, she is doing fine. She will go to the doctor this month and she and Sam will find out if is going to be a boy or a girl, both are very excited. We are too! Please keep them in your prayers.

God is so great! We see His majestic wonder every single day we go to the prison. We do realize that because of circumstance many people do not believe that God can possibly forgive or be in a place like the prison system. How can we limit God's power? He is the creator of every thing that is in this world. He knows our hearts, He knows our limitations. It is beyond words can express the wonderful things we see happening at the Middleton Prison.

One of our friends in Abilene invited Rosa and I to go to Bonham Elementary school to be a part of the special education class. We had a wonderful afternoon. It brought so many memories when I was that age, it gave me so much joy to be with these handicapped kids. Rosa had not ever been in a class like this before. I told her that I had been in the same physical condition as those kids were. Thanks to physical therapy I had been able to overcome many obstacles. And it is thanks to my God that I have the life that I have. It is my hope these kids will have the same opportunities that I had, but I do know there's a world of ups and downs ahead of them, but with God they can make it.

We want to express many thanks to each of you for your continuing support for Rosa and I and please keep us and the work in your prayers.

In the love of Christ,

Robert and Rosa

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

September Report 2009

Dear Friends,

Rosa and I are doing fine. We are continuing to enjoy our work at the prison. It is very interesting to be able to see what each day brings. Not only have we had inmates to interact with but also the officers that work there. Some of them do talk with us and they are friendly, but their job does not permit them to be easy going instead they have to be firm. Many of them tell us that they have done this work for many years and they know how the system works.

The second Sunday of September I was asked to speak at the early Sunday morning services and also the one o'clock service at the prison. I felt honored to be able to do this. It is on Sunday they have a signup sheet for baptisms.

Last Wednesday of September after the men were baptized, one inmate, his name is Ralph, came and asked me to go and be around the men that had been baptized. He said that they are always encouraged when they hear me speak. So, I did. I told them the Christian life is a life of ups and downs, but always hold on to the Word and grow in the Lord.

As he rolled me back he said he wanted to share something with Rosa and I. He said that when he was in the County jail, his wife divorced him, but he kept on writing her and through the letters she noticed a big change in him. Of course, he has become a Christian and taken every class they offer. She wrote him a few days ago and told him how sorry she was for divorcing him and that she wanted when he gets out to remarry him. This shows what God can do when in one's life.

Please continue to pray for our work at the prison. We thank everyone for the opportunity through love and support and prayers that we can do this.

Love in Christ,
Robert and Rosa

August Report 2009

Dear Friends,

We pray this finds everyone doing well. Rosa and I are doing fine. A few days ago Minnie told us that she received the news that she had passed her last CPA exam. Of course, this made us happy, and we know she does not have to worry about that anymore.

The Christians in Lisbon are doing fine. They are planning to have a Conference in October. Luis told us that he is hoping this will bring more people to Christ. We admire him so much for his zeal and willingness to help this work grow, and to be steadfast.

The work at the prison continues to go well, each day the library is a place for the men to come, and to feast on the word. We are there for them to talk with us about anything they desire, most of the conversations is about their families. They need to be encouraged that they can make it with the Lord's help when they get out in the free world.

In July 95 men obeyed the gospel, in August 72. This thrills our heart to see these men give their lives to the Lord in baptism.

One of the men that aids with the sound system during church services, has came a long way since this last month. He is from Broklynn, New York sort of a rough spoken person. He does not want anyone to tell him what to do. He was hard to get to know, because of his outside look he made people dislike him even the officers always handle him harshly. As he kept coming to the library, we begin seeing a few changes in his behavior.

He started talking to us about his two little boys and how much he would love to hear what's going on with them. It was evident to us that he had not heard anything for quite a while. One Wednesday night during church some of the men received a diploma upon completion of a class. This class is titled "Inside and Out Dad", since that day he has been a different man. He decided to give his life to the Lord in baptism, and he is taking this class. His name is Kell, please keep him in your prayers.

God is an amazing God, can we fully grasp how majestic He really is!

Thank you for your support, please keep us and the work in your prayers.

Love you all,
Robert and Rosa

July Report 2009

Dear Friends,

Everything is going fine with us. July 4th and 5th we spent with Sam and Minnie, and for a mother's and father's day gift they took us to see a Rangers game. We enjoyed that so much!

We keep close contact with the Christians in Portugal, everything is going fine. We thank the Lord each day for the work that they are doing. We have great hopes they will grow.

Our work at the Prison is going well. Jeff the clerk was released about a month ago. We have talked with him by phone. He told us he is doing fine, at this time he is living with his parents. It is going to take one year for him to get his driver's license. He is hopeful during this time he will be able to work out some personal problems with his wife.

We have a new clerk his name is Williams, we are pleased with his optimism to do a good job. It is very interesting to work with different personalities and also varieties of personal issues and how they perceive life. It will be great to get to know him and be able to encourage him.

Please keep us and the work in your prayers. Thank you so much for your continuing support and prayers.

Love in Christ,

Robert and Rosa

June Report 2009

Dear Friends,

Hope everyone has a Happy Fourth of July.

It is so wonderful that God has given us a country that we can be free to complete our desires and worship our Lord!

We talked with Luis this week by phone, and he told us that they were about to complete the final steps to purchase the place for the church to meet. This is wonderful news, that a Portuguese took the
initiative on his own to make sure the Lord's work is going to continue and will grow. This made our hearts rejoice, this is totally an indigenous work. Please continue to pray that this work will blossom and bring many souls to the truth.

This past month our work at the prison is still going so wonderful. We thank God that He has allowed us to be a part this work. Many men have given their lives to the Lord in baptism.

June the 8th we had a shock, a 21 year old man dropped dead during the Sunday services. lt put everyone present in a state of shock. He had been in the Unit for just three weeks. This brought the thought we never know when our time is over.

Alex heard me speak one Wednesday night service, the next day when we were at the library, he came in and said he wanted to talk with both of us. He showed us a picture of his little girl, she has Cerebral Palsy. He said, when he saw me, it gave him so much hope for his little girl. I tried to give him the best advice I could. I told him that I do believe with encouragement and patience his little girl will have a normal life, and for a handicap to make it in this life, is for them to get an education.

Please keep us and the work in your prayers.

Thank you all for your support.

Much love,
Robert and Rosa

May Report 2009

Dear Friends,

We pray everyone is doing well. Rosa and I are doing fine.

Our work at the prison is continuing to go wonderful. We meet new inmates each day at the Library. We thank the Lord that we are able to be a part in their lives the time that they are in there. Of course, as we have stated before, they have time to think about what they want their lives to be in the future. We thank the Lord that we have the blessing to tell them they cannot go wrong by having the Lord in the center of their lives. And too, the way to accomplish this goal is to go to church, to have a good Christian based support group, and have their friends from church to help them through their struggles. We tell them is not just because they are in prison, we all have our own struggles, but there is not anything that God cannot carry us through.

Last Wednesday night, May the 27th, 32 inmates gave their lives to the Lord in baptism. This always brings chills down my spine to see such a wonderful response after the baptism invitation is given. It is our deepest prayer that these men will continue to grow in the Lord. Whether they are here or where ever they go. I askyour prayers for these new Christians.

One of the volunteers works for the Clyde lntermediate School, and he asked me if I could speak to the 4th and 5th graders assembly. He told me they have a little girl that has Cerebral Palsy and it could be an encouragement to her and to the student body and also the teachers to hear my story. I did accept the invitation and I went. The way they had it set up, they had the students to come to the cafeteria, this way they could accommodate everyone. I talked about my first years in school, and how I was treated, and how the Lord turned the negative into positive. After I got through talking, I had a shower of little hands to ask me questions. I answered their questions as well as I could, and after the assembly was over, the handicapped girl came to thank me for being there.

Mike, the one that invited me, told me that he was sure that I helped the teachers to know how to accept this little Cerebral Palsy girl.

Thank you all for your prayers and your support.

ln Christ,
Robert and Rosa

Sunday, April 3, 2011

March Report 2008

Dear Friends,

May the love and grace from our Lord and Savior ever be present in your lives.

The work at the Middleton Prison is bearing fruits and we praise God for that. The past year this work has resulted in about 1000 baptisms, and 300 already this year. This work could not of being done without the dedicated christians that are willing to volunteer to do this work. We are so thankful to be a part of it.

Chapel Library is one of the places the inmates can go and enjoy some quiet time or they interact with us through conversations or us just being there as an listining ear. It is so wonderful to be able to witness changes on character and behavior on these men. Of course, these changes take place when one decides they cannot do it alone and give their life to Christ.

These men are totally brokenhearted and nine times out of ten they come from a very difficult walks of life. We just hope that God will help us to be the best influence and help us to say the right kind of words to help these men overcome their anxities and depression.

As we wrote in previous letters some of the inmates that we had the chance to get to know at the chapel library were released in to the free world. And it is exciting that two has called us and wants to keep in touch with us. Another amazing thing that we had the privilege to see Westagte Church of Christ had a service on one Sunday morning that was about the work that is being done at Middleton, Roberson Unit Prisons and also the Taylor County Jail. The volunteers were invited to be a part of the service and we went. The men that served the Lords Supper were ex/offenders, and one of them his name is David we got to know him through the times he went to the chapel library, and it is a coincidence that his wife used to work at the Christian Village as receptionist were I work also.


We were so happy two see these men there! God can change the hearts of everyone and make them just the way He intented to be. Praises to Him.

We continually pray for you and we know you pray for us. All of you are a part of this work.

God Bless you all,
Robert and Rosa

Saturday, April 2, 2011

February Report 2007

Dear Family in Christ,

Rosa and I are doing fine. We are pleased how our work for the Lord is going. The prison work is wonderful. Rosa is helping with library duties, she checks books out and she also checks the books as the inmates brings them in.

We have several groups of inmates coming to the library each group consists of about 13 men and each group have 45 minutes. While they are in the library they read, some will watch videos of TV evangelists, and some choose to talk with us. They usually talk about their lives and they ask us to pray for them.

It is so wonderful to cherish what the Lord can do in their lives. Because the Lord has bless us so much and He also can bless them as well. There is not a stain the Lord cannot clean.

Somedays I go to the Mall of Abilene, this is more like the work I have done for several years. I just didnt know how this would work in Abilene. The employees in the stores are getting to know me. The owner of this clothing store saw me and decided that I needed a lucky charm and he put one around my neck. I could not turned down the offer. With this incident it gave me the opportunity to talk with him. When Rosa came to pick me up she was surprised, and asked who gave you that?

We have been in contact with some of the people in Portugal, most of them are doing fine. Please pray for them.

Thank you all for your love and prayers for us and the work.

In Christian love,

Robert and Rosa

Friday, April 1, 2011

January Report 2007

This has been an exciting month for us. We started the Prison ministry which was a time to learn a different type of work for the Lord´s kingdom. We didn´t know what was in store for us, lot´s of mixed feelings was involved in this because we have not ever worked in a prison before.

The Chaplain decided to put us in the prison library, this is a place where the inmates can spend time reading or just have some time to talk with a volunteer that is there for them. The first day we were there we didnt know how many would go to the library since there are other rooms where the inmates can go for Bible studies. I looked around in the library and I noticed they have lot´s of books written by ACU teachers, as well of others authors throughout the broherhood including Max Lucado. I looked for the Applause of Heaven and after the first group of men came in I asked Williams one of the inmates that helps with library duties to read the paragraph that mentions Robert, I thought this would be a way to introduce us to everyone. After Williams finished reading the paragraph everyone started applauding and saying “praise the Lord” and they kept saying how much they appreciated us being there. We told them we appreciated the opportunity to be there for them.


Some of the inmates were so interested in talking with us, and some asked for us to pray for them. We did spend time praying with them. We also gave them scriptures so they can read when by themselves. One of the inmates before he left asked if he could pray for us, and we said please do. What a touching and uplifting prayer!

We had in mind that we were going there to help them, but the Lord show us we were wrong. They helped us too! It is so wonderful to see people is so eager to learn about God.

One might think how terrible it is that one has to be in a certain condition before they realize that we have a God that cares for us Sometimes though, it takes a big fall for one to become totally dependent on God.

Once again the Lord showed us how He can open hearts to those who we think it would never be touched.

We thank everyone for their contribution to the spreading of God´s word.

In Christian love,

Robert and Rosa