On April 11th, I headed out to a men’s retreat put on by First Baptist Church of Merced. Nearly 70 men came together for a time of mutual encouragement, worship, and hearing God’s Word. The retreat was held at Camp Oakhurst in Oakhurst, CA.

Tom Joyce was the guest speaker for the retreat. He is a retired Navy Captain who is serving the Lord as Pastor of Discipleship and Family at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, VA. His quest for effective ministry both to the world and in the church is evident in his testimony and life.

He challenged the men with a series titled, “Leaving a Legacy.” On Friday evening Tom spoke of his journey of faith and how God used his son to challenge him with this daunting question, “dad, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?” The next morning we opened up our Bibles to the book of Joshua and were convicted on the truths of leadership from this great OT leader. Tom asked us men, “where is holy ground for you” (cf. Joshua 5:13-15). On Saturday evening we headed to the NT to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, where we were reminded that spiritual reproduction is all about intentional discipleship. Lastly, on Sunday morning we turned to 2 Timothy 4:6-8 with the challenge to “finish well”.

The weekend made an impact in my life as I thought about these challenging truths from God’s Word. I also saw men answer tough questions in small groups. The fellowship was sweet with men I did not know very well. Thanks to the invitation of my adopted “mom and dad” (Angie’s parents – Dr. Bob & Sandy Nelson), my heart was challenged in leaving a legacy. In the end, it is all about faithful obedience to our Lord. It is as Paul said to the Ephesians “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (cf. 5:10). This is the kind of life that I want to live. This is the legacy I want to leave behind.

In March, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA.  What can I say?  I love making this trip down to my home – where my heart resonates with fellow under-shepherds of God’s flock.  I was particularly excited about this year because some of the men I have gotten to know who live on the Divide were going to be there for the very first time.  My excitement for them seemed to overtake me as I knew that God was going to do great and mighty things. And He did.  I sat under faithful men and was challenged in my heart about the power of the pulpit.  You have no idea how comforting it was to hear these men preach and teach about God’s glory and honor.  I also saw these men soak up the teaching and be challenged in various areas of ministry.  They give testimony to all those who attend this conference that God does the unexpected and His mighty hand changes hearts.  

In seminary, my Hebrew professor would have us sing a song in Hebrew at the end of our class time.  The words to the song were the following: “behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Click here to listen).  I must admit that these words have stuck in my heart and mind to this very day. 

Every Tuesday we have a men’s Bible study hosted by our very own Jerry and Sherrill Giboney.  I have had the privilege of joining these men since last fall and although I do not teach the bible study myself, it is a joy to dwell together with these men in unity.  My love has grown for these men and my heart weighs heavy when their hearts weigh heavy over the issues of life.  I continue to ask the Lord to bless our time as we seek to edify the saints through a study of Romans, encourage the men through genuine fellowship, and exalt the Lord in word and deed.  How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

 

We recently had a friend come visit us here in our home.  His name is Butch Hallenbeck.  He is a fellow Village Missionary serving as pastor of Smoky Valley Community Church in Round Mountain, Nevada.  Angie and I first met Butch and his wife Jennifer at the candidate school we attended with Village Missions in the fall of 2005.  We were both placed in our fields in the same month – February 2006.  Butch drove over 300 miles to be with one of the men in the church whose son was having open heart surgery.  What an encouragement to see a fellow shepherd care for one of the sheep in his flock.  Angie and I both were able to chat a little with Butch and be mutually encouraged as we discussed God’s work in the home and in the church.  Having such a bond with a fellow minister of the gospel and more importantly a brother in the Lord is such a blessing and delight.  We thank God for His faithfulness in our lives and His provision and watch over our souls.   Pray for Butch as he continues to be faithful to God’s calling as both shepherd and missionary (click here if you would like to visit his family website).

During the second week of January, I have had the privilege of making my way down to Southern California to visit my old “stomping grounds.” The main reason for the visit was to attend a winterim class offered by the The Master’s Seminary. The class was taught by Dr. John Hannah, professor of Theological Studies and Historical Theology for over 30 years at Dallas Theological Seminary, on the life and works of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758 – “the last of the puritans”). The class has made a profound impact on my life as I study a man who lived some three hundred years ago and glean more about God and myself.

The visit has also provided an opportunity to visit many dear friends and family. It is so encouraging to come to a place with welcome “arms.” Each lunch and dinner was spent fellowshipping with God’s people. It brought mutual encouragement as I hoped – a blessing to me and a blessing to others.

I long to be back home with my family on “the divide” – family being my two little ones and my wife as well as my church family. I have missed them dearly, but I thank God for the opportunity to visit this wonderful place where Angie and I spent almost a decade of our lives. God is so good in allowing me to take this course and visit friends and family. God is so good to bring me back to a loving home and church family.

This morning I had the opportunity to meet one of our members in our church for some coffee and donuts – some 45 minutes away “down the hill.” This beloved saint takes the opportunity to go to this particular donut shop to share the gospel. This he does on a weekly basis. I tagged along this morning and enjoyed the opportunity to witness to Carl – a 92 year-old WWII Veteran and another man named Bill. Carl listened carefully as we explained the true and living God from the Scriptures, yet his heart is still proud and bitter at the lost of his wife. “Why did God take her away?” – asked Carl. Bill listened in as we shared the meaning of true repentance and the depravity of man. Pray for both Carl and Bill – may God grant them salvation.

At times I must admit that I am surrounded by believers that I do not avail myself to the opportunity of sharing the gospel with the lost world around me. I was thankful this morning for life, breath, and all things yet I was especially thankful that God allowed me to meet both Carl and Bill. I now know why our beloved saint is burdened to go to this coffee shop on a weekly basis. Thank God for those gifted to do evangelism.

It’s amazing to me how much time it has been since moving up north to Garden Valley, CA. We hope and pray to the Lord that all is well and that you are ever “increasing in the knowledge of God” (cf. Col 1:10b). So far I have preached six Sundays (four sermons on Hebrews 12:1-2 and two on one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 63). By the way you can download the MP3’s from the website (click here).

Ministry is great. I love being able to prepare and study the wonderful truths in God’s word and being able to minister to people. At times it fills up the week so much that it seems that my "seminary days" have not stopped, but I was foretold that ministry was that way. I would not have it any other way.

New Hope Community Church is filled with so many precious brothers and sisters in Christ. We have enjoyed getting know many of them and hope to have each family over for dinner (not all at once though). We still continue to unpack and boxes can still be seen in our living room. Slowly but surely, we will conquer the stack of boxes.

Isaiah and Emilia are doing well. Isaiah has loved being able to play outside in the yard and of course on his slide. He recently discovered snow as we have had much of that this last month. In fact, most of the church body was trapped unable to go outside for Church this last Sunday. I had to be picked up by a 4 X 4 Dodge truck (it sure is Dodge country over here). Isaiah loves eating snow and would want it every day for breakfast. Emilia is growing, now being 9 months old. She has moved on to Cheerio’s and is standing for more than 5 seconds at a time before falling down. She is ever so precious. Isaiah is a hand full, but still our little baby boy. I am ever so thankful to Angie for the hard work she carries in taking care of the kids. She absolutely loves it and does it so well. I love her dearly.

Recently we had an interview with the Georgetown Gazette. It is amazing that the Torres family could be featured in a local newspaper, but that is one of the coolest things about being in a small town. Some say that the Georgetown Gazette is oldest newspaper in California being published in 1886 by Horace Hulbert. The article serves as a written testimony of God’s faithfulness and grace. Enjoy! (Click here to download a pdf of the article).

We wanted to let y’all know about the exciting new ministry that the Lord has led us to through an organization called Village Missions. Village Missions supplies full-time pastors for rural communities in North America. They are a wonderful organization that has a rich history and fills a tremendous need in these small country towns. We are in the process of raising support, with our minimum goal of $700.00 a month already fulfilled. We hope to reach $2,000.00 a month in the coming year if the Lord allows. We are happy to announce that our new place of ministry is New Hope Community Church in Garden Valley, CA. We’ve already been so encouraged by phone calls with a few of the members and cannot wait to start serving our new congregation. We’re very excited to start packing up and make moving plans to head to our new church home. If you’d like more information about Village Missions or feel led to financially support our family, please send us a quick email or go to their website at www.village-missions.org.

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• Men's Retreat with FBC Merced

• SC 2008 - God doing Great & Mighty Things

• Brethren Dwelling Together

• Visit with fellow Village Missionary

• Winterim 2007

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