The Church In Burgos

Newsletters

Stay up to date on what is happening in the missions field.
  • June 2023

    Greetings from Europe. Thank you again for your faithful partnership in prayer and financial support. Together, we are advancing in God’s plan! 

    [To ensure that you continue to receive these newsletters without interruption, please add rich@lifeofgodintl.org to your address book.]


    What happened in Germany?

    Rev. Rich just returned from the Mission Trip to Germany, Denmark and Latvia. What really stood out from this trip was the clarity with which the Lord led us. His direction was so precise both in dealing with us about specific things during our travels and future direction for the ministry. How awesome! We will surely be benefitting from this divine guidance for multiplied years to come. Glory to God!
    I had another experience which greatly blessed and taught me during this trip. I was on a busy commuter train from the airport to downtown Berlin. Many people were standing, and there were very few empty seats. Finally, I saw a place for two people to sit only to realize that we had plopped ourselves down in the middle of a group of drunken, rowdy tourists from a different country in Europe. They were talking loudly, cussing, joking, wrestling with each other, and one even taking off his shirt. I chose the seats, so this situation was “on me.” It seemed like one of them was getting overly disruptive, so I decided to step in by playing along with a clean joke that was written on his shirt.
    Soon we were laughing along with about 5 of these guys. They asked why we were traveling, and we told them that we were ministers on a mission trip. Over the course of the conversation, I got to share with all of them that the true happiness and satisfaction that everyone seeks can only be found through relationship with God. Soon some were asking spiritual questions while others were mocking. One said, “well you should talk to this one because he is a philosopher.” Someone else said, “Oh don’t talk to another because he is gay.” All the while, there was such a grace or an easiness to speak boldly about the Lord with this bunch of guys on a crowded commuter train. They even seemed to sober up some.
    One person in particular was very interested. His grandmother was probably Catholic because she had given him a necklace with a saint on it which he proudly showed me. He started to ask spiritual questions about evolution among other things. He was very receptive and interested, apologizing profusely for his friends’ jokes. (Of course, the jokes and opinions of a group of drunk people have no effect on us who are in Christ – ha!) He told me that he wanted to talk to me more about these things, so I gave him my contact info and left the train happy.
    What a joy to plant the incorruptible seed of God’s word in a fallow field! When we shine the light in a dark place the only possible outcome is for that place to become light. What more could we want in life? Praise the Lord for open doors!


    We are so excited that our own Pastor,
    Dr. Michael Lokietek
    is joining us to minister in September! 

    • Pastor will be ministering three services in Barcelona, Spain (Partners, we can be so grateful to God that He helped us make this connection for Pastor.)
    • He will, of course, also be ministering at the church here in Burgos, Spain.
    • Pastor will travel for one week with Rev. Rich to Belgium and France.

    Pray for and Expect God’s Very Best for this Time Together!

    Our part of the Trip’s Budget: $5000.


    Video update from Riga, Latvia

    Some of the people in the church in Burgos needed new clothes. So we took them shopping! Here they are modeling part of what they found. Thank you partners for helping us to be able to do things like this. Our people are very grateful!


    Huge Praise Report! 

    Ever since arriving in Spain, we have dealt with bureaucratic challenges. This year we have had major breakthroughs, making everything we do much easier. Praise God for His faithfulness and thank you for your prayers. Great things are ahead!


    Thank you again for your prayers and partnership. We believe that God is putting together all of our prayers, giving, and steps of obedience to ultimately provide good, stable, Word & Spirit ministry all over the world. The Gospel must be preached in all nations. This revival must come to full fruition. The harvest must be gathered in. The Lord must return! By His grace we will be faithful in our generation. Many blessings to you and yours! [To ensure that you continue to receive these newsletters without interruption, please add rich@lifeofgodintl.org to your address book.]

  • April 2023

    God Opens Israel to Us!

    Greetings! We are so blessed by your partnership as we continue to contend for God’s Highest plan (and just a little normal, sound thinking) on the earth in our generation. What a joy it is to work with Him in these last days! 


    Amazing open door with a ministry in Haifa

    Of all the truly wonderful experiences in Israel, this one may stand out the most. And making this connection was quite an experience for me. On my first trip to Haifa in 2019, I was drawn to a particular neighborhood. Furthermore, within that neighborhood, I was led to a particular block. I walked around that block, but not finding anything, I moved on.
    This year, I was visiting that neighborhood again and was drawn to that block again. I saw a small sign about some kind of ministry, but I didn’t think much of it. I seemed to be led into a small parking lot. Daphne said what I was thinking, “What are we doing here? This is just a parking lot.” I agreed, but then I saw a little doorway to this ministry. I rang the doorbell. They were closed but asked me to call later and ask for someone specific.
    I called and had a phone conversation and later a video chat with him. The ministry is the only half-way house for Arabs in all of Israel. This gentleman was so excited to hear what we do, describing it as living like Christ did in the earth. We discussed the Word of God, prayed together, and he received us with open arms, offering to help us connect with churches or tour guides or anything we need in Israel. What a wide-open door! [February 2023]


    Help us keep going through the Lord’s open doors!
    Mission trip to Germany and Denmark in May. 

    God will continue to do great things on this trip with Pastor Jeff Mitchener.

    Trip Budget: $3,500.


    From the shores of the Sea of Galilee

    Our Arab waiter in Galilee

    One day at a restaurant in Galilee, our waiter was a young Arab man who said he was raised in a Christian family but was not himself a believer. We started to discuss his past difficulties and his dreams for the future. I encouraged him that nothing was impossible for those who believed, sharing how much God loved him and how good His plan is for him.  He seemed so encouraged and blessed when we gave him a copy of the book In Him by Kenneth E. Hagin. It was so dear of him to give us a free (really delicious) dessert in return! What a blessed memory it is. [February 2023]



    A young Jewish woman in Beersheba

    The Lord delt with me to visit Beersheba, Israel. On the way to Jerusalem, we took a detour on the train and spent around 5 hours there. We walked around getting to know the city. Just before leaving, we met a college-aged Jewish woman at a snack bar. She was so open to us. I shared with her for several minutes about the love of God and his good plan for her. I told her no matter what happened in our lives, we should never blame God for the problems but turn to Him and seek Him instead. Our challenges aren’t God’s fault. She seemed so hungry for these truths and just drank it all in. Praise God! [January 2023]


    Thank you again for your prayers and partnership. We believe that God is putting together all of our prayers, giving, and steps of obedience to ultimately provide good, stable, Word & Spirit ministry all over the world. The Gospel must be preached in all nations. This revival must come to full fruition. The harvest must be gathered in. The Lord must return! By His grace we will be fully faithful in our generation. Many blessings to you and yours! [To ensure that you continue to receive these newsletters without interruption, please enter rich@lifeofgodintl.org into your address book.]

  • February 2023

    Hi from Spain and Europe! How are you? We are so grateful for your prayers and support. We need each other to accomplish all that the Lord has for us. 
    God has caused us to meet some very interesting people in remarkable ways in the last few months. There are many great testimonies to share. I have selected these three because they are especially unique and to keep the newsletter a reasonable size. They remind me somewhat of Acts 8:26-29:
    26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”


    Muslim Woman Asks us to Plant a Church?

    Mons, Belgium: My travel companion and I were walking to the market, speaking English. A woman walking in front of us kept looking back at us. I made a joke about Americans, and we began to speak. She was a Muslim woman from Algeria, but told me not to worry because she is open minded. Over the course of the conversation, she told us that she works with migrants and refugees and that Belgium has a real problem with division in the society. In her trips to the USA, she had seen how the church has a unifying influence in America. She wants to keep in touch with us because she is interested in seeing that type of church planted in Belgium! How about that? Praise God! [October 2022]

    This Sherman tank is on display in Mons, Belgium. It helped liberate the city from Nazi Germany. We met the above woman across the street from this tank.


    God Connects… Twice!

    Bristol, England: As I was arriving in the city by train, I began to enter my hotel address in google maps so that I could walk there. The Holy Ghost arrested me. After a little prayer, I perceived that he wanted me to take a cab. My cab driver was a devout Muslim from Somalia. I tried to witness to him and offered him a Brother Hagin book, but he declined. We talked about his family, I gave him a nice tip, and we left on good terms.
    Two days later, I planned on taking a bus to the airport. It rained hard, and I decided to take a cab. I had the same driver! We were both so surprised. I asked him if that was typical, and he told me it was nearly impossible with more than 300 taxis in Bristol. We chatted about his wife and four kids. I finally told him that I believed that God had brought us together since I had taken his cab twice. I asked him if I could pray for him, and he requested that I pray for health and long life for him. I was able to pray Psalm 91:16 over him in the name of Jesus as God’s presence filled his cab. He happily thanked me and told me that he would never forget our time together. [November 2022]


    Help us take a Mission trip to Germany and Denmark in May. 
    God will continue to do great things on this trip with Pastor Jeff Mitchener.

    Trip Budget: $3,500.

    Click on the PayPal button to get involved. Thank you!


    I Will Show You Unique Ways to Reach People.

    Ballina, Ireland: The evening before, during prayer, we sensed that there was a person in this town that is called of God and needs our help. We also picked up that the Lord would show us a way to connect with them that is abnormal to us, but that would work for them. We needed to be open to that.
    In the morning, we headed for the streets in search of this person that the Lord had dealt with us about. We had a few good conversations but weren’t sure if we had found our assignment. When we went to lunch, we were powerfully drawn to the woman behind the cash register. We spoke to her as much as appropriate and then sat down to eat. Later she came by our table, and we spoke some more. We learned that she was from Poland and was returning for a visit the following morning. We encouraged her that the Lord has a good plan for her. Then she had to get back to work.
    We left the restaurant and walked 5-10 minutes when I looked down and noticed a small silver coin on the ground. I picked it up, and to my surprise, it was a Polish coin (in Ireland, all the way on the other side of Europe)! Now I know that God speaks to us through His Word. I believe we are all to be led by the Holy Spirit. But I turned to my travel companion and said, “You know, if we were to bring this coin back to that woman, because of her spiritual upbringing, she would believe it was a sign and be 100 times more open to anything that we shared with her.” After some discussion and having received instruction in prayer the night before to be open to unique ways to connect with people, we decided to return to her.
    We met her outside of the restaurant because she was running an errand. As soon as she saw the coin, she exclaimed, “It’s a sign!” Her heart was wide open. We shared the Word with her, prayed with her, and gave her a good Christian book. She was so happy. As we left, she said, “When you return, I will be right here at this restaurant,” implying that she wanted to make sure we stop and see her again. In ten years of this work, I have never had anyone nearly as open and excited about meeting us and seeing us again after our first interaction. Praise the Lord! [November 2022]

    Ballina Ireland at sunrise. The proceeding story took place here.


    Thank you again for your prayers and partnership. We believe that God is putting together all of our prayers, giving, and steps of obedience to ultimately provide good, stable, Word & Spirit ministry all over the world. The Gospel must be preached in all nations. This revival must come to full fruition. The harvest must be gathered in. The Lord must return! By His grace we will be fully faithful in our generation. Many blessings to you and yours!
    [To ensure that you continue to receive these newsletters without interruption, please enter rich@lifeofgodintl.org into your address book.]

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Fredonia, NY 14063

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