Joshua, Amanda and the kids
Josh Allred grew up in the mission field with his parents and Amanda was saved when she was six . She grew up in a Christian home and lived in South Dakota while her father planted a church and then moved to Florida where her father continues to pastor. The Lord called Josh to serve at a young age and began to speak to Amanda about missions before they were married. Their goal is to becomeinvolved in the church that Josh’s father planted in Merida, Mexico. They also plan on becoming involved in the development of a Bible seminary. The couple will help write, develop, translate curriculum, teach classes and administrate the seminary. It is their goal to establish many more churches in Mexico and other parts of the world through their ministry in Merida.
Letter Update:
Dear church and friends,
The summer heat is here in full force! The temperatures in Mérida have been between 103-110 degrees every day for the last four weeks with no relief in sight. Because of the heat and the increased use of fans and air conditioners, the power grid has been strained.
The summer heat is here in full force! The temperatures in Mérida have been between 103-110 degrees every day for the last four weeks with no relief in sight. Because of the heat and the increased use of fans and air conditioners, the power grid has been strained. Many people have been experiencing power outages and are having to endure the heat with no air circulation. Please pray for the people of Mérida. Living in these conditions is not only uncomfortable, but it also makes it difficult to get work done when there is no electricity! A couple of weeks ago, the transformer between our house and the church blew up causing a big fire. No one was hurt, but we lost power at our house and at the church for a few days. Instead of cancelling our church services on Sunday, we decided to hold a special church service at the beach. It’s the first time we’ve ever done that, and it turned out to be a really special time! We all met at a public area on the beach, sang songs, had an encouraging message from God’s Word, and let the kids (and adults) play together afterwords. Sometimes, unexpected problems produce some of the sweetest memories!
In spite of the heat, our church people have been faithful to Saturday morning evangelism. This past weekend, 51 members from North Mérida Baptist Church went outdoor knocking. In addition to that, the youth group did a special evangelistic skit at a public park Saturday evening. 61 people heard the Gospel Saturday morning, and a large group of people gathered at the park to watch the skit. 17 people prayed to receive Christ as their Savior. 4 of them showed up to church Sunday morning!
On May 5th, I had the privilege of baptizing 6 new believers. One of those six was our youngest son, Malachi! Of course, every baptism is special. But, as a father, this baptism was extra special for me! There is no greater joy for Amanda and me than to know that all five of our children are now saved and have expressed a desire to follow and serve the Lord!
Please continue to pray for our new building project. We are still in the final stages of the permit process. We had hoped to get the permits a little ahead of schedule, but we are still waiting for the final approval. Our blueprints have been reviewed and we were asked to make a few clarifications. Specifically, our blueprints do not allow for open cross-ventilation in the auditorium. We are permitted to use air conditioning instead of open ventilation, which is what we plan to do. The city has asked us to provide them with a plan for the installation of air condition. Once we provide that, we expect to get the final approval. This must be produced by a professional and should take several weeks to compete. Please pray with us that we can get this step done quickly and that we won’t have any further delays. We have already watched the Lord work in marvelous ways when it comes to this building project and trust that His timing is always perfect. We are trying not to get impatient as we go through this process. However, we do hope to write in our next newsletter that ground has been broken for the new building!
Thank you for your faithful support and prayers. They keep our ministry going!
May the Lord richly bless you and use you for His glory!
Yours in Christ, Joshua, Amanda, & the kids
If you would like to stay updated with the Allred family or feel led to give, to help them on their journey, you can give your donations to Hickory Ridge Baptist Church. You can also stay connected with the Allred family through their church website. Click the button below!