Dear Friends,
We wanted to send out an update and tell you about how things are going here. It’s been strange to hear the news of Russia attacking Ukraine. We’ve been in constant contact with fellow missionaries over there. One of our elder’s is Ukrainian and thankfully he was able to evacuate his mother from Kyiv but his wife’s family is still in a neighboring village in the heart of the country. It’s a heartbreaking moment and although we don’t know the details of our future involvement will be, we are preparing for how the Lord would have us be involved.
In the meantime we can talk about the things we do know more about and that’s what the Lord is currently doing at CC Paris. We wanted to thank you for your prayers, Mike was able to go the Pastor’s conference in Austria. He came back refreshed and bearing chocolate!
In our last newsletter we spoke about the new direction the church is taking and our vision for this season which can be summarized as “connaître Dieu et le faire connaître” or “knowing God and making Him known”. We’ve continued our “pre-glows” and finished with a week of all-church prayer during which the the Conflict in Ukraine began. It was such a help for our church body to be able to gather together daily and pray in the middle of the day - to “cast all our cares on Him, for He cares for us” in this hour of uncertainty and need.
We met twice last month as a church and solidified our Easter evangelism project. Here is the basic plan: we will have a Good Friday service mainly for the members of our church, then a special Easter service where we invite all the neighborhood, special welcoming team and evangelistic message. Then after the service we plan to hit the streets with a choir that we are preparing and a bunch of invitations with chocolate. Please pray for us. We have about six weeks to pull it all together. We will also rebuild our Social media presence and replace our live stream (which has been silent for awhile) with a podcast style that will aimed more at connecting with visitors. These ideas are from the church themselves and so we are excited about working with people to see the Lord use them in this new way. Please keep us in your prayers. It has been great to see different groups of people rise up for each project with the goal of reaching Paris with the gospel.
Another high point this month is to see how the Worship ministry is taking shape. We have co-leaders now: one person concentrated on music and another on organization. This is a great step in the right direction for us as we prepare for the Easter outreach and puts us in good shape for future endeavors. Once this gets well underway, we will need to begin to concentrate on the Children and Youth ministry. This will need prayer coverage as it’s a sensitive subject that needs work. Thankfully, Abby and Kris have a huge heart for the youth and some pretty great ideas too. They are thinking about summer projects with the kids as well, like possibly going to the CreationFest in the UK this summer. As these projects are far off, we realize that now is the time to plan and so we wanted to share with you.
Lastly, we wanted to share some other prayer requests. We have a few weddings this summer in California we hope to attend, including Mike’s brother’s. Please pray the Lord would open the doors for us to attend. Also, Becky has been studying at CCU in the Biblical Counselling department but has felt it may be time for a change. She is taking a break to see if Western Seminary might not be a better fit. Please pray the Lord would lead us and provide all that’s needed.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
In Jesus
Mike and Becky Dente
Hello All! Just wanted to share a few pictures from our visit to the new mission which is about to open!
This will be the parking lot.
Here is the front of the aged building
From left to right: Pastor Erasmo (the new pastor of this mission), Pastor Marcelo (Ricardo's dad, property has been given to Ricardo's dad from his grandfather), Neighbor who takes care of property, son, and Pastor Murillo (missions pastor)
This will be the area where church services will be held. The shade is great and in the picture are some of the men from our men's ministry who came to plan out how they are going to clean up the property and paint the building.
The idea is that this will be the children's area.
Currently the plan for this area is to clear it and make it a field for the children to be able to play.
A lot of leaves and bushes to clear.
Bonjour
The Christmas season is fully upon us! There is excitement in the air as well as a little apprehension. Excitement because all the decorations have lit the streets, even the traditional lighting of the Champs d’Elysée but there is the shadow of the new omicron variant with the hope that there won’t be a new confinement. In the midst of this, we are looking for ways to share a much greater hope, the one we’ll celebrate this month. Jesus, the Savior of the World is come and we can have eternal life!
How do we announce this hope in our current situation? It's a question that’s on our heart. Normally we’d have a special Christmas service, and we recognize that inviting people will be quite complicated in the sanitary situation where places are limited. This being said, the interest is rising. Last week we had two people come in off the street and stay through service. We are going to try to do something new this season. We will be ordering some gift books written for non-Christians, and praying as a church for the Lord to guide us to the people He’d have us give them to. Please pray this outreach would bear fruit in all our lives, in those that step out as well as those who will receive the books.
We also wanted to thank you for your prayers for the Marriage Workshop. It was a blessing in the lives of those who came. We saw breakthrough in a few of the more difficult situations we wrote about, although the one couple we’ve been most concerned about is still on shaky ground. Please continue to pray. This month, we are a little overbooked and it will be more of a stretch and stress to continue than not. In the meantime, we’ve learned a lot from our first try and we have some good ideas in how to move forward. Also, in the Lord’s great providence, it just so happens that Becky’s studies have lead her to the section on Biblical Counselling dealing with families and marriages! We are looking forward to using the knowledge God is giving us for the next meetings.
Another blessing this month is the elder’s and deacon’s sessions have progressed nicely. Both groups are currently going through the subject of Christology, which as it turns out is perfect for the Christmas season. Jesus, the pre-existent second person of the Godhead, taking on humanity as he was born in Bethlehem…such a beautiful subject to study! Mike has been so blessed by some of the homework he’s received. The desire of many to do well and grow in their relationship with the Lord, to become better equipped to serve him, for us has been encouraging. Please pray that this will continue and even grow. That as people are learning more, the knowledge will capture their heart and through the Spirit, set a new fire in our midst.
One last twist that we are excited about is the latest direction the women’s group is taking. Becky discovered a new way of meeting with the ladies during their lunch hour by Zoom and in person. Suddenly a new window of opportunity has opened up and the first trial came back with encouraging feedback. It was incredible to have these ladies in their cubicles with headphones on studying the Word all over the Paris Metropolitan area. Please pray that God would change these lady’s lives and encourage them to seek the Lord even in their place of work.
We hope the Lord blesses you this month and keeps you in good health.
Love in Jesus
Mike and Becky Dente
Patmos
Words escape me when I look at this picture and realize that our little fledglings have left the nest. To think that just a few months ago we had no idea if Patmos would exist this term, and now we are looking back at one of the most spiritual classes we have ever had. A group of young adults with a hunger to understand The Word of God, and a willingness to be faced with their weaknesses and strengths. A group of students surely sent by The Lord.
Every Patmos graduation looks a little different, and this one was unique. Above you see one of the staff members filling a student’s vase with water. In John 2, Jesus attends a wedding and the wine runs out. Mary, the mother of Jesus suggest that He act upon this and resolve the problem, but Jesus had other plans. There were six stone water jars nearby and Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars with water, up to the brim. Somewhere between drawing the water out and walking towards the banquet the water was transformed into wine, the BEST wine. Before this Patmos term, we sat down as a family and studied this scripture. We had no idea how Patmos was going to happen, but it seemed The Lord was calling us to be like these servants, whom simply obeyed what Jesus said. As there were six water jars, we received six students. Our goal was to simply fill them with The Word, with time to pray, worship, serve, read, and love.
During the last week of the term we went to the nearby lake, and listened to a class via zoom by one of our guest Pastors from the states.
Eikon San Rafael
Ricardo and I have been blessed with the opportunity to help the Eikon ministry at his parent’s mission. Eikon is a ministry for young adults and youth specifically. Our central church in the city has this ministry but not all of the affiliated churches and even less if we are speaking about the missions. Half of the group above are young adults from the actual community and the other half are from the city, central church.
A few of the attendees for the second Saturday of Eikon at San Rafael.
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them”
Isaiah 42:9
Ricardo and I have been blessed with the opportunity to take care of his parent’s mission (little church plant) while they are on a trip. Additionally, we are transitioning into taking care of all the missions that our church has. This means that as another couple moves on to serve at an actual church, we will be the new team visiting and serving in the 12 locations spread throughout the country.
El Salvador is about the size of Massachusetts, only our mountains are due to the volcanoes.
With this new ministry, means new changes. The Lord has provided for a new car (Nissan Rogue 2018) that will help us safely arrive to these far out regions with difficult terrain.
That being said, I am also transitioning out of Campos Blancos and into Missions. Campos Blancos has been my passion for four years now, but God has made it clear that it’s time to move on. Friends of mine, a married couple, are both serving together in the Campo and make an incredible team. I couldn’t be any happier to leave my precious kids to them as The Lord calls me to serve with Ricardo and reach kids all over the country.
Jessica has a gift for the little kids.
Rafa manages the older ones.
Please pray for this new transition as I miss my kids and I know they are asking about me.
The best part about this new season is getting to hear Ricardo teach the bible
Of all the new things currently occurring in our lives, serving together is probably the easiest. Ricardo manages the teaching of the bible, and I kind of run around and do whatever else. Right now I am helping take care of the babies, and getting to know two sweet teenage sisters who normally take care of them. Kenia and Dalia. Also, I had the opportunity to share with the women from this community last week.
We would really appreciate prayer for:
- The plates of the new car getting in fast so we can use it for ministry (current cars options have many complications)
- Ricardo’s USA visa process (we just started, appointment will probably be until next year)
- The planning of the wedding and honeymoon (Praise The Lord He has been providing for both)
- The planning of a house (We have been so blessed to live at the church property in San Martin which is a beautiful place. There will be remodeling done on some buildings where we are being given the opportunity to live- PRAISE!)
- Did I mention the wedding? Haha
- The Patmos students to maintain on fire for The Lord
- Future discipleship program at church while we wait to do Patmos until next year
Thank you for being part of what God is doing in El Salvador and in our lives. It’s amazing how He demonstrates His love to us. Jehovah Jireh.
God Bless!