Messages from Monte

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ” Matthew 25:40 First of all, I would like to say thank you to those of you who have shown your faith in the good work that God is doing here. Your generosity is humbling. I beg you to continue in this generosity of love for God's people throughout your life in whatever way you can. Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting the Pineda family again. The family is in good spirits (because they have THE Spirit) and their health is improving. Because of the generosity of Christian family, Yunita was able to have the surgery and, after a week in the hospital, is back home. She will now have weekly trips back to the hospital for therapy until such time as she is healed. She is using the new wheelchair we took on our first visit. As you will see from the picture I'll add of German, he has a "special" wheelchair now. Because of your generosi...

In our lifetimes we remember certain events to such a degree that we remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard or experienced that event. Some of these events are wonderful milestones we are glad to commemorate - graduations, wedding day, a birth of a child, etc. More often than not, when we ask the question, "Where were you when...?", we follow it with an event of such terrible significance it is a world changing and life changing event. For me, at age 39, I have experienced some of each. Let's go in chronological order, shall we? Where was I when the hostages were taken in Iran? The first event of historical significance, I can remember in my lifetime, was the Iran Hostage Crisis that began in 1979. On November 4, 1979 Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran. It was 11 days short of my eighth birthday. I remember the panic and fear in the eyes of adults, but I didn't know what it really meant. I also remember tying a lengt...

Today, I would like to introduce you to a man who has been preaching the gospel for over 46 years. His name is Antonio Pineda (Pee – náy – dah). This picture was taken April 12, 2011: Antonio Pineda (Seated), Me, José Castillo, Jesús Hernandez He has preached all over El Salvador and in some of Honduras. In his time as an evangelist he started four congregations in various cities in El Salvador and has been called on to help other new congregations grow and mature. As you can see in the previous picture, Brother Pineda is in a wheelchair. He is partially paralyzed; unable to walk or use his hands. He started preaching when he was 28. When he was 32 he was in a bicycle accident that left him wheelchair bound. All of those congregations he started and helped grow; he did it from a wheelchair. Most of it from that wheelchair.   When he studies or preaches, he has to have someone turn the pages of his Bible for him. Brother Pineda is currently 73 years old. In the early 1970’s...