June 2015
Greetings from the Roses in Spain!
We want to take a quick moment to update those who are praying about how things are going here. In our last letter we requested prayer for the end of the year barbecue for Bill’s basketball team…that meeting is this coming Saturday, June 20. Please pray with us for these young men and their families, and also for the man who will be sharing the gospel that day. Also on Saturday we have an organizational meeting for the children’s ministry. This meeting is fundamental in setting up a plan and a schedule for this ministry to continue in the months that we are not here. Please pray for Kelsey as she is preparing and presenting the materials and her vision for the children’s ministry. Two Sundays ago we had our highest Sunday School attendance ever with 10 children in attendance!
In family news Jordan is graduating this evening from “ESO” which is the required part of secondary school in Spanish education. He is the first of our children to obtain this diploma, although obviously both of our girls have graduated from American high school. Tomorrow Josiah will be graduating from primary school. All of the boys have finished the school year with all classes passed, which is quite an accomplishment here in Spain. The official last day of school is Tuesday, and we’re preparing flyers for distribution at the schools detailing the summer activities that we will have available: children’s events, sports events, an evangelistic concert and summer camp among other things.
We are excited that God has brought a young couple to Cártama from Madrid to help with the work here! Last week was Manuel and Noemi’s first Sunday here and they already fit right in. They have another job during the week, but will be here to help with the teen group and activities. Manuel and Noemi will be taking the teens up to summer camp the last week in July and it looks like it will be a full van. It looks like both of Victor’s boys will receive scholarships to go and are excited about the week. Please pray for their salvations. Once again we have teens with financial needs, so please pray with us that God will supply the funds for these to go as well.
Some will remember Gonzalo from our last furlough. His father, Jose Manuel, will be serving as interim pastor and he and his family will be taking over many of the responsibilities while we are away. The church is doing well and we have had new visitors every week. The regulars are growing and inviting their family members and friends. We are so thankful that God has raised up a wonderful team to continue the work here!
The one thing that has been still unknown is exactly where the church will meet after we give up our house at the end of July. Through contact with another of the cities’ coaches we have come across an exciting opportunity to lease a spacious building that would meet all the church’s needs with a low monthly rent of only 350 Euros. The catch is that it is unfinished and requires some work before we could begin meeting there. We met with the owner and an architect last night and have determined that we need to raise 10,000 Euros to finish what is necessary to move in. After they are able to meet in the building, we would continue trying to raise the last 10,000 Euros during our furlough travels in order to finish the project with a baptistery, office and kitchenette. So far we have received promises of 3500 and we are praying for God to bring the rest of the money needed! We have people in place to do the work as soon as we know for sure we can pay for it. Please pray with us for this urgent need! We have to make a decision this week.
Bill is now working to schedule appointments in January and February of 2016 in the north and April- June of 2016 in the south and still has some appointments available. He can be reached to schedule appointments by email (rosestospain@yahoo.com) or by our magic jack phone (269-254-9913), just remember that we are EST + 6 if calling!Six of the seven of us renewing our residence have been approved with 4 identification cards ready to pick up next week. There was a bit of a surprise with 3 of the boys’ residence which is going to require a quick return trip to Spain in September to finish up before they begin school in Michigan, but it couldn’t be helped. As long as the last application is approved in the next several weeks everything is on schedule for us to leave for furlough in two groups, one with a travel date of July 7 and the other travelling on July 17.
Please continue to pray for us about the paperwork and for safety as we travel. We are traveling with standby tickets, so there is a lot of flexibility and patience required! We are working hard and doing our best to prepare both ourselves and the church for our furlough as we also pack for both the trip and to move our household belongings to a storage area. Please pray for God to give us strength and endurance during this time and the wisdom to finish well what we have begun. Thank you so much for your prayers and support for our family.
Bill and Dena Rose, with Kelsey, Jordan, Joshua, Josiah and JohnPaul
