Fifty-one Cadre and other workers from 20 states joined the Mesa soldiers to
win souls. To date 36 have obeyed the Gospel in our We Care Campaign.
We finished another We Care Campaign, this one in Mesa, Arizona.
We rescued 25 precious souls in 11 days! Then, during the week after another five obeyed, bringing the total to 28 who obeyed and two restored. That’s 30 real rescues! Praise God! And after the close more continue to come!
We had 81 Cadre and first-time workers from 20 states to join hands with the wonderful Mesa church to go to war against Satan. What a way to begin 2009!
Each night during the second week of our campaigns we preach publically the Gospel of Christ. And it works! Words are powerful, both in private study and when proclaimed to the crowd! Some in this campaign responded down the aisle, afterwards the same night and even the next morning.
Among those who responded from the preached Word was when a local sister simply invited a sales clerk at Sally’s Beauty Supply and she, Joni, got her husband Alex and they came. They heard the Gospel preached, then one of the Cadre, Dave Telgren, recognizing they were guests, stepped up and asked them “The Question.” (The “We Care Question” is “What if the Lord were to come right now; would you know for sure, nothing doubting, you would go to Heaven?”) They ended up in a back room where Dave retold the Gospel of Christ, and about 10 p.m. they stepped into the water and into Christ! Another involved a wife named Opal who was restored the first Sunday we were there; then, her husband Michael came with her each night. Then, “Last night’s sermon really touched me,” he told Larry, and the next morning here he came!
There were lots of special stories, as always. Included is this: One of the singular things we do on a regular basis is to gather around someone there and pray for him. Literally. Because of the pain, or when bad news comes, or for a soul! Well, one of our new brothers named Julio whom we reached in the campaign came to one of our report sessions and he sat down on the pulpit with mike in hand. We didn’t know what in the world his was going to say, but it brought tears! He told us how he had been abused by his father while growing up. Then he told how one of our Cadre members, Don Hounschell, had become a real “grandfather” to him. Don and Bobbie, with a local Mesa sister, had found him and taught him the Gospel and Julio had just obeyed it the day before. So, we did our thing; we just stood Julio up and gathered around him. Touching him and each other we prayed. And everybody cried. You know, doing simple things like that focuses attention on the person, communicating to him, “You are special. We care for you. You are the focus of this prayer. We love you!” And does that ever affect that sweet soul! It’s quite touching.
Well, it’s amazing how all this does change people! Beautifully. We provoke one another unto love and good works! How desperately we need this all over the country!
The challenge was greater than usual in the community. Within two miles of the Mesa church building there is another of the more than 200 Mormon Temples now around the world. On some blocks we found 50% to 70% of the residents members of the Mormon Church.
The workers believed that the challenges in the campaign were categorized into four areas:
(1) People who couldn’t talk to us. (Although we had a great number of Spanish-speaking workers on our teams, we still had many teams with no one capable. And the area was heavily populated with Spanish speakers),
(2) People who wouldn’t talk to us. (For they were Mormon),
(3) People who were hurt by their former churches, where they had
been sorely abused, and wanted to make sure before jumping into a “new church,” and
(4) People who were so involved in sin they did not want to repent.
All the workers spoke the same thing and there were no divisions among us. No hidden agendas. No jealousies. No hellish attitudes of any sort. In the campaign there were both Hispanics and Anglos who make up the church at Mesa. And both the church and the eldership are “multi-cultured” members, consisting of Spanish, black and white. And we all worked together like a smooth-running sewing machine just as God’s church ought to do! And we were ready for whatever we met out there on the streets! And our AfterCare mentors, well, we left them in place doing their job!
It was wonderful!
We were working so hard we had difficulty keeping the day-to-day report on the web. Below, however, are some unfolding stories as they occurred during the campaign itself.
Travel the web site. See how God is using this ministry to WIN SOULS!
Third Day
Saturday was a great day for the Mesa campaign. Local members turned up in great numbers and we were able to make up 24 teams. Each team had at least one local and some had two, while three teams were made up of all local members. One of the goals of We Care is being realized here and that is to train the local members to step up and be leaders in presenting the Gospel.
During the Saturday door-knocking, the team of Ray Carman (cadre), Carol Kemp (local), and Augustine (spelling?) Flores (local) knocked on Nicole’s door and got her out of bed! Even thought they had roused her up, she wanted to hear what they had to say. She was very open to the scriptures and very attentive to them. When asked to read Acts 22:16 she said, “He (Paul) didn’t wait, did he?” Ray then asked her is she was ready to obey the Gospel and she was. This was what she had been looking for. They immediately brought her to the building and she was added to God’s family.
Then a little later Mayra De La Cruz also obeyed the Gospel. The team of Neda and Ernest Lomax (cadre) and Maria Navarro (local) met Mayra while knocking doors. They invited her to come for the noon meal. She came, along with her husband’s grandmother. Jesus Rodriguez, the local Spanish-speaking minister at Mesa Church of Christ, studied with the two ladies. Mayra saw the need for obeying the Gospel and did so immediately. Her husband’s grandmother is thinking more about it.
On Saturday night Barry Johnston (cadre) was able to meet with his sister, Patricia Ferguson, who lives here in Mesa and has been attending church here. She had been baptized at a young age. When Barry asked her why she had been baptized, she told him it was just because he and other young people were doing it. He presented the Gospel to her but she was not ready at that time. Then Sunday afternoon George and Betty Vinson (cadre) and Charlsy Ford (cadre) sat down with Patricia again. This time Patricia was convicted in her heart and knew this was what she needed to do so she obeyed the Gospel.
Three now new Christians in Mesa Campaign/ Second day out
The team of John Telgrin knocked on a door and were invited in. They began a study with the lady of the house and her husband. However, since he could not speak English and they could not speak Spanish, he excused himself. Before they could get started good, Troy Lazalde, who is the stepson of the woman they were studying with. The Gospel was presented to both of them. Troy was very attentive and interested. He immediately responded and the team brought him to the building to obey the Gospel. This stepmother wanted to think about it awhile. We are praying that she will see the urgency of making sure of her salvation and respond soon.
A gentleman named Rich Fuller showed up at the building on Wednesday night. He had just moved to the neighborhood the week before and was looking for a church home. On that night Larry began the We Care “Basic” training camp to prepare the church for the campaign. On that night we divide up into teams to do “lab.” Well, Rich ended up in the training class led by Tommy Key. Rich had been to several preachers and asked them to baptize him, but could not get satisfactory responses from them. Larry West met him and began the process. He came back at noon on Thursday and studied with Larry, Tommy Key and Craig Suby, but had to leave before completing it. Tonight he came back and attended Bill and Ruby Odom’s training class on how to effectively use the Gospel Illustrated. Larry then sat down with him to pursue further into the Gospel. Finally, on cue, Larry asked him to look at Acts 22:16 and give God his answer. Rich said, “I’ve ben waiting for someone who really knew what baptism was all about to teach me. This is the truth! Let’s go! And Larry immediately took him to the water. Rich was a very happy man to be able to do what he knew the Bible was telling him to do.
Dozens of Christians gathered to pray on the parking lot of the Mesa
congregation to claim the neighborhood for Christ in the current We Care
Campaign
We gathered to train Mesa in the We Care approach, both to Spanish and to
Anglo. Here Marco is teaching in Spanish while Larry was teaching in
English.
Then, we divided into teams to do "lab," to practice the We Care approach.
This is normal procedure in every We Care Campaign.
Mesa Campaign begins with two rescues
The We Care campaign in Mesa, Arizona, has gotten off to a great start before any doors have even been knocked. As a result of the Lord’s invitation on Sunday morning one came to obey the Gospel and one was restored.
Alicia Conyers is a teenager who had been immersed as a very young girl. After listening to Larry’s sermon she became aware that she had not participated in the Lord’s death, burial’ and resurrection at that time so she came to truly put on her Lord in baptism and obey the Gospel.
Opal White had been out of duty as a Christian for several years and just “happened” to be where God wanted her to be in order to hear the Gospel preached Sunday. She was convicted in her heart and renewed her love and zeal for Christ.
Tuesday night a large number gathered on the parking lot of the church building to pray over the surrounding community. Prayers were offered to help us to find those who are searching and for hearts to be open to receive the Gospel. We also prayed for God to put a hedge around us to protect us from the darts of Satan, such as fear, discouragement, and indifference. Prayers were also sent up to help the workers to remain healthy and for good weather to continue so we can remain in the streets. Then individuals who are lost were mentioned by name by those who were concerned for their salvation.
This was a beautiful group of Christians who gathered. There were English-speaking brothers and sisters and Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters. All joined together in a beautiful spirit of love for lost souls. Prayers were offered in both English and Spanish and we were all edified and encouraged to do God’s will in the coming days of the campaign.
We began with 16 teams this morning, Thursday, with a local Christian on every team. Pray we see many more obey. And watch these pages daily for further info on the unfolding campaign.
The unfolding story at Mesa:
The We Care campaign in Mesa, Arizona, has gotten off to a great start before any doors have even been knocked. As a result of the Lord’s invitation on Sunday morning one came to obey the Gospel and one was restored.
Alicia Conyers is a teenager who had been immersed as a very young girl. After listening to Larry’s sermon she became aware that she had not participated in the Lord’s death, burial’ and resurrection at that time so she came to truly put on her Lord in baptism and obey the Gospel.
Opal White had been out of duty as a Christian for several years and just “happened” to be where God wanted her to be in order to hear the Gospel preached Sunday. She was convicted in her heart and renewed her love and zeal for Christ.
Tuesday night a large number gathered on the parking lot of the church building to pray over the surrounding community. Prayers were offered to help us to find those who are searching and for hearts to be open to receive the Gospel. We also prayed for God to put a hedge around us to protect us from the darts of Satan, such as fear, discouragement, and indifference. Prayers were also sent up to help the workers to remain healthy and for good weather to continue so we can remain in the streets. Then individuals who are lost were mentioned by name by those who were concerned for their salvation.
This was a beautiful group of Christians who gathered. There were Anglo brothers and sisters and Latin brothers and sisters. All joined together in a beautiful spirit of love for lost souls. Prayers were offered in both English and Spanish and we were all edified and encouraged to do God’s will in the coming days of the campaign.
The first day of door knocking resulted in two precious souls obeying the Gospel.
One team began a study with the lady of the house and her husband. However, since he could not speak English and they could not speak Spanish, he excused himself. Before they could get started good, Troy Lazalde, who is the stepson of the woman they were studying with. The Gospel was presented to both of them. Troy was very attentive and interested. He immediately responded and the team brought him to the building to obey the Gospel. This stepmother wanted to think about it awhile. We are praying that she will see the urgency of making sure of her salvation and respond soon.
On Wednesday night Rich Fuller came to the building and participated in the training class led by Tommy Key. Rich had been searching the scriptures and knew he needed to obey the Gospel and was looking for a church to attend. He had been to several preachers and asked them to baptize him, but could not get satisfactory responses from them. He cam back at noon today and studied with Larry West, Tommy Key and Craig Sube, but had to leave before completing it. Tonight he came back and attended Bill and Ruby Odom’s training class on how to effectively use the Gospel Illustrated. He then approached Larry about obeying the Gospel and Larry immediately took him to the water. Rich was a very happy man to be able to do what he knew the Bible was telling him to do.
Saturday was a great day for the Mesa campaign. Local members turned up in great numbers and we were able to make up 24 teams. Each team had at least one local and some had two, while three teams were made up of all local members. One of the goals of We Care is being realized here and that is to train the local members to step up and be leaders in presenting the Gospel.
During the Saturday door-knocking, the team of Ray Carman (cadre), Carol Kemp (local), and Augustine (spelling?) Flores (local) knocked on Nicole’s door and got her out of bed! Even thought they had roused her up, she wanted to hear what they had to say. She was very open to the scriptures and very attentive to them. When asked to read Acts 22:16 she said, “He (Paul) didn’t wait, did he?” Ray then asked her is she was ready to obey the Gospel and she was. This was what she had been looking for. They immediately brought her to the building and she was added to God’s family.
Then a little later Mayra De La Cruz also obeyed the Gospel. The team of Neda and Ernest Lomax (cadre) and Maria Navarro (local) met Mayra while knocking doors. They invited her to come for the noon meal. She came, along with her husband’s grandmother. Jesus Rodriguez, the local Spanish-speaking minister at Mesa Church of Christ, studied with the two ladies. Mayra saw the need for obeying the Gospel and did so immediately. Her husband’s grandmother is thinking more about it.
On Saturday night Barry Johnston (cadre) was able to meet with his sister, Patricia Ferguson, who lives here in Mesa and has been attending church here. She had been baptized at a young age. When Barry asked her why she had been baptized, she told him it was just because he and other young people were doing it. He presented the Gospel to her but she was not ready at that time. Then Sunday afternoon George and Betty Vinson (cadre) and Charlsy Ford (cadre) sat down with Patricia again. This time Patricia was convicted in her heart and knew this was what she needed to do so she obeyed the Gospel.
The team of Jim Smith (cadre), Fred Patterson, Kathy Hendricks (cadre) knocked on the door of Jenny Barros and asked if they needed food. She did not, but she wanted to study the Bible. Jenny and her husband had moved here from Chile. While in Chile she had been of the Mormon persuasion. She had asked the Mormons for the authority that their Bible was inspired of God but they could not prove it to her, so she began to look for the Gospel message. While getting her salvation story, she revealed that she had obeyed the Gospel. Jim Smith (cadre), Roberta Kasterke (cadre) and Maria Leos (local) went back to present the Gospel to her to make sure she understood it fully. She then wanted her 16-year-old son, Junior, and her daughter, a young adult, to study with the team. She was concerned because Junior’s high school friends were influencing him toward the Mormon doctrine and she did not want this. The team then studied with Jenny and Junior on Monday night but did not finish, so they returned on Tuesday night. Jocelin, Jenny’s daughter, was able to come Tuesday night. Since Jenny and Junior were already half-way through, Donna Smith (cadre), Dwain Kasterke (cadre), and Linda Miller (local) presented the Gospel to Jocelin. She clearly saw the need to obey the Gospel and wanted to do so. Junior also was persuaded, so he followed his sister into the water. They are searching for the New Testament church.
On Thursday the team of Don Hounchel (cadre), Duane Kemp (local), and Bubb (?) knocked on Julio Hendrick’s door. A lady who lives there answered and the team asked her the question. She was of the Buddhist persuasion, but said Julio was very interested in the Bible. When he heard that Don believed in the Bible only then he had to get in touch with him. They went back to see him and presented the Gospel to him. He did not understand what the word “Gospel” is. He thought it was synonymous with the word “Bible.” He was ready then to obey it because he had been searching a long time for the Gospel. He came the next day to participate in the campaign and said that he had never experienced the love that was shown him here and told everyone that it is a rare thing to find such love and magnetism in people. He was amazed that so many people from so many states all had that love and magnetism.
Late Monday evening after services a local member here, Joanne Pearcy, went to Sally’s Beauty Supply to pick up some items. The worker there, Jonie Estrada, asked her, “What are you doing out so late?” Joanne told her she had been to a Gospel meeting at church and invited her to come. Jonie said she and her husband were looking for a church. She then went and got her husband of six months, Alex, and they came on Thursday night. Anthony Melakian (cadre) welcomed them in and sat with them right behind Joanne who had invited them. As they were talking after services, Dave Telgren (cadre) was thinking, “I don’t want them to get out of the building without asking the question.” So he did and they agreed to listen to the Gospel. He and Russ and Libby Barnes (locals) presented the Gospel to them and they were ready to obey the Gospel, which they did immediately.
Lydia Walden (cadre), Norma Lara (local) and Agustin Flores (local) went to study with Blanca Ziga on Thursday. Blanca was a very lonely lady. She is a single mom and has no other family. When the Gospel was presented to her, her heart was so touched that she cried and accepted it. After obeying the Gospel she said, “I cannot believe how beautiful this is. Everyone here says they are my family.” She was very happy.
On Friday, the team of Lou Guglielmoni (cadre), Joy Harmon (cadre), Michael Barnes (local), and Jacob Farr (local) knocked on the door of Margie Silva. When asked if she knew she would go to heaven she was very convicted that she would. After listening to the Gospel presentation she told them, “Now I can tell you, I’m not going to heaven.” She understood God’s word very clearly and knew she needed to obey the Gospel. She was very excited to be able to do God’s will. Her husband, David, had come in at the end of the study and told them, “I will never be baptized.” After Margie obeyed the Gospel, Lou asked him if he could explain to him what Margie had done so he would understand it. He listened to the Gospel story and at the end of it he was convicted and decided to do as his wife had done and obey the Gospel.
Ira Payne (cadre) and his team knocked on the door of Mary Izaguirre and set up an appointment for a later study. He had conflicting appointments, so he handed the study off to Steven Prine (cadre), Raschelle Barnes (local), and Noel Phillips (local).When they finished the study she told them, “You know, it sounds like you’re tell me that I’m not saved, and I don’t like that feeling.” Steven said, “Mary, that’s God’s word telling you, not me.” Because she has a heart of love for the Lord she said she saw and understood and had to obey the Gospel.
On Friday night, a husband and wife, David Angeles and Anna Maria Resgado, who were good friends of Jesus Rodgriguez, who is the minister for the Spanish-speaking congregation here, came to the preaching service. Jesus studied with them and they were convicted and obeyed the Gospel. There was much rejoicing that night.
