January 29, 2008
Dear loved ones, 
     We are writing from Michigan , and once again we have much to share with you!  As we made preparations to leave Spain for our six month furlough we had many opportunities to share our faith with friends and neighbors and we would like to share one of these experiences.  Josiah was invited to a friend’s home to play one afternoon, and when we brought him over to the house his mother began to ask us questions about our occupation.  As she asked more and more questions we began answering her from God’s Word and she even brought out her own family Bible to read the verses for herself.  She told us, with tears streaming down her cheeks that she wanted to believe with all her heart, but there was something holding her back.  We are praying for the Holy Spirit to break through the chains that bind her, and we left her with more verses to read and a DVD of salvation testimonies.  One of the last statements she said to Bill was that although his wife may speak better than him, when he spoke about God she understood every word he said.  Praise the Lord for the evidence of the Holy Spirit helping us!  

Will you pray with us for Elisa?

     Cooking classes, Christmas play, Bible studies with those preparing to preach and teach, music, schooling, financial preparations to pay our bills, and packing were all things that we had to be taken care of in December before we left on the 24^th.  What a joy it was for our family to be able to spend our first week in the United States with my father, Rev. Mike Rose before he came down with aggressive pneumonia that he was not strong enough to fight due to eight years of treatments to fight cancer.  Before he took his last breaths on January 12, 2008 , he opened his eyes and looked up with a smile, seeing what he had spent so many years preaching about.   We will miss him, but we have comfort in knowing that he is now with Jesus.  Over 500 people came to his memorial, and as several pastors shared testimonies and Bill preached, God was glorified in the death of one of his saints.  Bill saw 3 hands raised for salvation, one being the wife of his cousin who came to him later and shared that her life had been changed that day.  Another lady, Debra, who had been in the over-flow area set up in the church gym shared with us on Wednesday night that although Bill could not see her raised hand she had  reassured her salvation, and will be following the Lord in baptism this Sunday.  We would like to say a special “thank you” to all those who have prayed for my father throughout his lengthy illness.  God answered the prayer of my family that we would be home before the Lord took him home to glory.  Thank you also to the pastors who were so gracious to us and allowed us to cancel our January appointments to be with my mother during this time of loss.  Praise the Lord, we were able to be a part of the unanimous vote that Kevin Terrell received to become Senior Pastor of our sending church, Temple Baptist Church of Three Rivers, MI. 
     We have made preparations to begin our furlough travels. . .our prayer cards are printed, our vehicle is purchased, and our video presentation will be finished this week.  We thank the Lord for Rick Washburn Jr. assisting us with our presentation video.  He finished the video for us and relieved that burden from us as we were dealing with the sickness and loss of my father.  We have a full travel schedule for the next 5 months, with appointments in 58 churches.  Please pray for our family for good health, safety on the roads with no breakdowns, and for Spiritual refreshment that we might be a blessing to the people in the churches we visit.  I have spoken with Bro Dave McDonald and we praise the Lord that both churches are doing well in the country of Spain .  
Other prayer needs:  
Maria, who lost a baby 
Salvation for Loli, Nancy, and Elisa
Wisdom for Dave and Florence McDonald, Jonatan, Lucky, Johnson, and leadership in both churches.

We love you all,

Bill & Dena Rose with Brianna, Kelsey , Jordan , Joshua, Josiah, and JohnPaul