Greetings from Belgium, my dear brethren!
After surgery, the Lord began reminding me of the importance of rest. We all have the tendency to be active and driven by our abilities, talents, and desires. We often fall into the same trap of relying on our strength and continue to do so until the Lord kindly makes us aware that His Kingdom work is based on His plans, His power, and His will. This is the importance of keeping one day each week to rest on the Lord, and never forget that He is the Lord of the harvest. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” And again, in Psalm 37:7 it says, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him…”
In February we had our St. Valentine’s outreach at the Oasis Center. We made cupcakes and distributed them on the 14th which fell on a Tuesday – one of the days we are normally open. We were able to hand out 150 cupcakes. We continue to build relationships with the ladies in the district and see increased openness in the community. Little by little people share their struggles with us and are willing for us to pray for them. We continue to have our meals in the center and our devotionals after each meal. The understanding of the Word of God grows every day, and it is our prayer that the seed that has been planted in their hearts will bear fruit for God’s glory. After the purchase of the building, we found out that the building is registered before the government as a business. For us to convert it into a community center we need to provide parking places. We are working hard with the bylaws to change it so that we can sell coffee and be open to everyone who wants to come in, not just those from the red-light district like we used to. We are keeping our devotional time, but we will be able to reach more people this way. We need your prayers to know how to operate correctly before the government, and at the same time, ensure we do not neglect our goal with the red-light district community.
This month, by using the proceeds from the jewelry we make and sell in the United States, we were able to help a Bulgarian lady who was having a financial problem. Thank God we were able to help her. Her bills were in thousands of euros.
In activities related to the Church, we had our women’s gathering in the new church building in Brussels. We had a great message delivered by one of our pastors with the theme “Flourish”. After the message we like to have an activity related to the theme, so we made beautiful frames with dried flowers.
At the end of the month, I had the privilege, once again, of sharing the Word of God in CC. The theme the Lord placed in my heart was “Overcoming Fear”, and people were encouraged to trust in the Lord and not in their circumstances.
The pastoral team is planning to motivate our churches to evangelize, so we organized an outreach training day where we taught how to share one’s testimony in an environment outside the church. Our next session will be oriented on how to present the Gospel and we will learn to work as a team with dance choreographies. We plan to hit the streets of Brussels, Antwerp, Gent, Eupen and others major cities in Belgium. Street evangelism is one of my passions and the way I started getting involved in missions a long time ago.
In February I also started a new course at the Bible School. This class is for beginners and is six hours every Saturday. The subject is “Life Management, God’s way”. Students are hungry to learn more about the Christian life and the way God wants us to manage our lives.
We were able to support the church plant in Eupen again. The Pastor has decided to meet every week at his house and only once a month at the place they rented before. This movement has created an atmosphere of family fellowship. After all, this is the way the early church started.
I will ask for your prayers for the upcoming events I plan to have:
- We need wisdom for the steps we must take at the Oasis Center. We need to deal with lawyers, architects, business consultants, and baristas to get things up and running while not losing focus in the ministry that we have been doing with the people involved in the district.
- We need wisdom and grace as every Sunday at CC we are full and new people keep coming. It is amazing how the Lord is bringing new people, and we must be ready to teach them the Word and disciple them. Our senior pastor believes that soon we will have to move to a bigger place.
- This month I will be taking my practical test for my driver’s license. Pray that I can finally have this important document.
- Pray for my health, that I can fully recover from the surgery. I also need to follow up with the gastroenterologist for the polyps that were removed a year ago.
I cannot express my gratitude for your faithful support enough, and it is my prayer that the Lord continues to bless your life both financially and spiritually.
Lulu Salazar
Missionary to Belgium
IPHC-WMM
Lulu Salazar
Missionary to Belgium
