Let me tell you that I am so blessed that you have come here. God is blessing you; God is blessing me!
Simply stated, Bob and Janice Ross left their jobs, their family and their security to begin a ministry. When they left Florida they had a boat, a little (a LITTLE) money and a heart to serve the Lord wherever he led. Can you imagine that for a moment? Could you leave your job, your family, your church and friends, your home to come serve the people of a foreign land?
The Call
Cute young Guatemala girl
God placed in Bob and Janice a desire to help the people of the Lake Atitlan Region to discover Jesus Christ and they were working towards that goal. We will continue that direction as God leads.
One of the more urgent needs is for church plants (new churches) with local pastoral leadership. These new churches would begin in homes and, as they grow, make plans for a formal church. But before this can happen there needs to be in place a Bible School to train those pastors.
Another involvement of Bob and Janice was discipleship of new converts/young christians. These are not necessarily new in terms of time but in maturity. There were several active Bible studies taught by Bob and Janice as well as informal home gatherings.
A third avenue of opportunity to bring the Gospel to the people was a private school. God opened this door when an acquaintance of mine offered us a fully chartered school, ready to go and Government approved. It is still available!
Joshua
It is a good land which Jehovah our God giveth unto us. Yet ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Jehovah your God…Deuteronomy 1:25, 26
The children of Israel, God’s chosen people refused to trust him and enter the promised land. The didn’t understand how they could beat the giants, how they could fight and win against a bigger, stronger foe. They didn’t understand trust in God. Therefore they wandered in the wilderness unable to share in the joy of the Lord in all He had waiting for them. They were God’s people, they were saved if you will, but they never entered into the peace that passes understanding.
But Joshua did. He trusted the promises of God. He tried to get the others to follow God’s direction. And he was rewarded. He would lead the new group of God’s children into the promised land. But Moses, the leader to that point, would be taken by God, never entering the promised land as well. Moses went to be with the Lord and Joshua took over to lead God’s people to the land of promise!
Bob and Janice began the journey. They had the vision and God brought then to the land. But then God took them unto Himself before they crossed into the promised land. The question that remains is, where is Joshua? Better still, who is Joshua? We don’t know, as God has not yet revealed it to us. But He has his Joshua and He is speaking to him now. Is it you? Someone you know? We continue to pray for Joshua to come lead the people.
A baby dies
A baby dies
Prayer
It takes a great deal of prayer to run ministry effectively. Can you pray for us, for the ministry and for the people? Bob said in his post “There is much darkness in this land and our enemy is not happy about what is going on here. Please pray for us, for our protection from Evil. What did he mean by that? Just what he said. Satan is not happy with us. We have had our people shot, robbed, kidnapped, diagnosed with all kinds of disease, in car accidents; Satan is a roaring lion. But greater is He that is in me… Pray for our continued faith and trust in his plan and not our own understanding. Read Cut The Rope to understand this better.
Financial Support
Some of you reading this are already supporting Friends Across The Water individually or through your churches. Please pray about continuing. The need is great. If you have questions or concerns please contact me through the comment box below or on our “About Us” page. I would be happy to talk to you. We know that God controls this as well as everything else and therein we place our trust.
Please pass this along to friends and others in your contact database. We would be blessed and possibly a blessing to others as well. God bless you for your consideration and we look forward to working in partnership with you or your church! One last thing. Please register with this site by clicking “Register” on the left or right above. Then write a comment about your experience with Bob and/or Janice.
God Will Bless.
