Tag Archives: Ministry Update

Birthday Musings

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As of today God has preserved my life for 82 years.

Looking back at what I have been told and can remember, God and the angels had to work overtime, beginning when my Mom refused an operation on what the doctors thought was a tumor. The birth certificate stated I was “born alive.”  Makes you feel good to start off right.  

A short time later I came down with double pneumonia. God intervened, and by His grace I survived both the sickness and the rustic treatment.

Throughout the years God has kelp me safe in floods, hail storms, encounters with rattlesnakes, runaway horses, car accidents, being shot at and other stuff I do not care to talk about. Let’s just say there have been times when I pushed the envelope a little too hard.

The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your life. Psalm 121:7 (AMP)

The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in [everything that you do] From this time forth and forever.  Psalm 121:8  (AMP)

So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 (AMP)

 

I testify today to the faithfulness of God. He actively watches over His word to fulfill it (Jeremiah 1:12).

For every second of my 82 years here God has helped me and He will continue to do so through all eternity.

When I arrived here in Seymour in July of 2017 it was said I might have another 6 months to live. It has been over a year and still kicking. Reminds me of a story about a man who was given 6 months to live, and when it was learned he needed more time to pay he was given another 6 months.

20 years ago in a another time of no hope my spirit man cried out to God the first two lines of Psalm 25, “Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee:”

From the truth of God’s written Word, and personal empirical evidence I can state Our Lord can preserve what you give Him. He is greater than all the challenges in your life. YOU CAN TRUST GOD!

Ministry wise, it has been possible to send Bibles to a ministry in Nepal twice and to bless a bilingual church here with Spanish/English Bibles. Here are some pictures they sent with their gratitude.

I send my profound and grateful thanks to all my Christian family for your constant prayer and steadfast help and expressions of Christ-like love.

God Bless you all,

Bob Bell

Trusting God Through Transition

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Dear Family in Christ,

It has been a long time since my last newsletter, frankly, because I did not know what I needed to communicate to you, or how to do it.

Many things have been going on in my life in these last three months or so. I began to lose weight rapidly and experienced a loss of stamina and strength. I didn’t think much of it at the time as I put it down to the way I was eating which was rather erratic.

I kept ministering at the Val Verde Detention Center, ministering to men in lock down. One day I found I was too weak to climb the stairs to reach the second floor.

I went to the hospital emergency facility, but was not really helped.

I called my family. Two days after my daughter’s arrival she put me in the car and took me to Shannon Hospital in San Angelo, Texas. I was there for ten days and underwent a battery of tests. The doctor’s diagnosis was stage four prostate cancer that has metastasized into my bones. They found a few other things too, but not worth mentioning.

A recent visit with my 3 children: Kathleen, Cliff and Sheryl

The result is I have left Del Rio and am now living in Seymour, Texas with my youngest daughter and family. I go to the Texas Oncology clinic once a month in Wichita Falls for treatment. The doctor there sounded quite hopeful, but we all know that it is God that heals.

On a more positive note, I have been attending the First United Methodist Church here and I am setting them up to visit the Casa de Misericordia orphanage in Piedras Negras next year. They have a great outreach to the youth in the city every Wednesday night and I am working on getting Bibles for them. I have been able to order a quantity of Bibles for the migrant camp in Ciudad Acuña and ten cases for the detention center in Del Rio.

As far as the illness goes, I do not have a termination date stamped on my foot, and I intend to minister through every door that God opens for me here. Physically, I am stronger and more active than I have been in several months. For this I give thanks to God, the prayers of godly people, and my daughter’s cooking. With the grace of God enabling me, the Holy Spirit leading, guiding and anointing me, I will finish and do the work God has for me to do.

I want to extend my profound thanks to each and every one of you who have prayed and have supported me, not just for the finances, but with love and concern.

I am so blessed to have people like you praying and standing with me. God bless you all so very much.

In Christ,
Bob Bell

“For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us!”
Romans 8:18

“And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”
Romans 8:28