Rooted in the Past...Growing in the Future

Rooted in the Past...Growing in the Future

Although not raised in a christian home, my grandmother influenced me greatly to regularly attend Sunday school and the summer VBS programs at the local Baptist Church. What was the power of persuasion? Sweets, Birthday money, hugs and smiles with the applause of "Ron your a good boy..." Not to mention being the recipient of grandma's fried bread from fresh bread dough, smothered in butter, jam and peanut butter.  Yes, I will be forever grateful to her, for you see at the age of twelve I received Jesus as Savior following a Sunday morning message.

Now that was only the beginning, because during my teen years Jesus became only a fleeing thought as other things grew to take my heart into ungodliness. There was no foundation laid to support my christian experience. Thank God he did not leave me there. He used a familiar tool to capture my attention. A GIRL!!! YES A FEMALE!!! "Will you go to church with me this Sunday?" My answer was less than favorable. But she persisted and using HER power of persuasion like... Go with me or I'll break up with you. I conceded to her request.

It was the best decisions I ever made. That was the beginning of a dramatic change in life. In the next few weeks, I seen things I've never seen before, heard things never heard before and FELT things never felt before at Kingsway Cathedral in Des Moines.  There I made a total surrender to the will of God. Later, filled with God's blessed promise, the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

PENTECOSTALISM - It is the real thing!!! For the next few years the teaching of Dr. D.L. Browning laid a foundation built on the Lord Jesus Christ.  In experiencing the power of  the Holy Spirit my life was dramatically changed with passion and purpose. Through the seasons of life, both days of defeat to days of victory, the Holy Spirit has been a steady friend and faithful guide.

Today, some 40 years later, I'm serving the Lord by preaching the Gospel of Christ. As a Pastor, serving the body of Christ in Kalona, there is a great expectation of an incredible move of God in these last days. Acts 2:17 says" In the last days saith God, I will pour out my Spirit on all people". We have only seen a portion of that Spirit, coming soon will be a move of God in its fullness. Thank God for our Pentecostal heritage that has made us ready for this move. There is a renewed passion to preach the Word of God in Kalona and wherever there is an open door that the church is about to explode with the power of an Almighty, All powerful, All knowing, Ever present and never changing God by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Hallelujah!!!

Follow You - Leeland

The lyrics of this song speak of what was on our hearts as we returned from our trip to Agua Prieta, Mexico. Push play, and read the blog below...

The Value of Missions

Love Compels Us


For God so loved you that he gave Jesus. Jesus he is Emmanuel, God wrapped in human flesh. He became the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world.
It was because of His great love for us that he gave up so much that he might come and deliver us from death and destruction. Jesus speaks with a voice of love to the one bound in his sin. He speaks with a voice of love to the downtrodden, the broken, the hurting, the hopeless, the helpless, the abused, the homeless and the forgotten.

To the weary he says, “come unto me and I will give you rest.”

To the thirsty he says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst."

To the woman caught in the act of adultery, he said "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Jesus spoke with words of love and words of life.

Today Jesus is in heaven, standing at the right hand of the father speaking to the father concerning you and me. On earth Jesus speaks through his many followers and servants. They are like "Emmanuel", God wrapped in flesh.



Two such servants are Doug and Jan Welborn who serve with a heart of love to the many hurting in Aqua Prieta, Mexico.


Tuesday through Saturday Doug and Jan prepare a hearty breakfast for the homeless. Before they eat, Doug shares from the word of God to these homeless people. Some have responded by placing their trust in Christ, receiving salvation and following Christ in water baptism.


Manny is one of the homeless men who came with a desperate need, he heard the Gospel of Good News, received Christ and was baptized. Then he went to work in the community center serving other with the joy of the Lord. Just as a rainbow of God’s promise appears after the storm, so has the rainbow appeared to Manny through the mission of Voice of Love and gave him the hope of a brighter future.

So many other men have come to the breakfast and found more than nourishment for their physical man, but also life for their spiritual man. Each one has a story to tell, one of pain, suffering, addiction and trouble. Each one hears the story of God’s love.

Jan meets with about 50 women each week for a bible study. There, they hear about the love of God. They fall in the arms of a woman who loves and many of their lives have been transformed by the power of love. There have been many who have come to faith, baptized with water and are following Christ. During our visit this year, we attended the Christmas program in which the families of these ladies received Christmas gifts. Joy filled the room and love filled your heart as they handed out these gifts and Jan hugged on every one of these ladies.

Alejandra is the mother of 5 children and attends the ladies bible study. In February of 2007, as she was walking to work, she was abducted by a drug gang who blindfolded, tied her hands and feet. They beat her and held her hostage thinking they could get ransom money. The ladies prayed and believed God for her safety. One of the men came to her later and told her that they thought she was part of another drug gang, but were mistaken. This man told her that he would release her if she promised not to make it public. They blindfolded her again, took her out to a secluded street and let her go. Alejandra knew she was delivered by the power of God. This girl went trough such a traumatic experience that she did not leave her house for nearly a year.

At the community center, hundreds of children have a safe place to play, receive food, haircuts, and biblical education. They also receive a warm smile, lots of hugs and regular encouragement. Through the giving of God's people we were able to take approx. 3000.00 dollars of food and clothing for these needy children and their families. God gave us favor and we were able to cross the border pulling the trailer full of food and clothing. The border guards stopped us, ask a few questions, briefly looked in the trailer and released us with no charge for "excise tax."

We pulled the trailer over to the community center, unloaded all the food and clothing in the trailer to a room that has become the “JESUS STORE” to those in the community because “anyone can come and get food with no money.”



On Sunday morning before church, while enjoying a cup of coffee, Clyde, Earl and I we're approached by a man named of Marcos. Marcos asked for money, "I’ve not eaten anything in 36 hours," he said. We gave him about seven dollars and I took him by the arm and said, “ Have you heard of a man called Jesus.” He then sat down and told us his story. He was abandoned as a child, raised by a relative, got into the drug culture and spent time in prison for selling drugs. Recently he was beaten and expelled from his “gang”. We told him of the love of God, the power of God to delivered and prayed for him to see the truth. He thanked us and left. I pray that Marcos will come to know Christ. I hope he will hear that voice of love and respond in faith.

On Monday, we shared breakfast with Jan before departing for our return home. I’ve known Jan for about 8 years and convinced that she is a woman who loves God. She has a Hugh heart for hurting people. At this breakfast she poured out her heart to us. With tears she shared how grateful they are for our ongoing support. She expressed how lonely it gets without family and friends and the need for encouragement. We bring encouragement with our presence each year. They are so very thankful for what you do.

I came away with a new appreciation for Voice of Love Ministries. On our way home, we talked about how this trip has affected us individually. Kendall was moved in his heart that he wrote a poem. I would like for him to share it with you.

As we enter a new year, I pray that each one of us would speak with the voice of love. Love is the most effective way to transform hearts.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.


My Heart Goes Out

Written By: Kendall Karnes

My heart goes out;
the roads are paved with dirt, houses half built,
some people smile just to cover the hurt.
Some give you a glare, others just don’t care.
My heart goes out.

My heart goes out;
to the innocent whose blood shed has covered the streets,
to the mother who weeps because she hasn’t seen her baby in weeks who vanished off the streets.
My heart goes out.

My heart goes out;
to the drug pushers and kidnappers who roam the streets at night,
how they will see irony when Jesus comes like a thief in the night.
My heart goes out.

My heart goes out;
to the addicts and prostitutes looking for the next man to sleep with,
the next needle to shoot, the next drunk, the next high.
Will do anything to make a buck just to satisfy their own desires.
My heart goes out.

My heart goes out;
to the children who don’t have a home, who are hungry or alone,
the child with out clothes lying in the cold.
My heart goes out.

My heart goes out;
so I beg and I plead that you too share my heart to help spread this good news that Jesus’ blood was shed for the whole world to see His eternal glory.
My heart goes out.

It's that time again - Christmas!

Picture yourself as a mother of 5 young children. Christmas is approaching and you know that you can't give them the Christmas you dream of. Your home is made of pieces of tin and scraps of wood. The dirt floors are so cold this time of year. As a single parent you go out each day to make enough money to provide a simple meal. As you sit watching your children play in the dirt yard you can't help but wish you could do more. Their shoes have holes, the legs are too short on their pants, and the sleeves too short on their thin coats. Your daughter carries around a gourd that she has named and pretends it is her baby doll. They seem happy, but only because they have never known it any other way.

Here at Full Gospel Revival Center we make it our mission to drive the 24 hour trip to Agua Prieta, Mexico each December - with a trailer full of blankets, toys, clothes, and food. Here you will find families just like the one briefly mentioned above.
Doug and Jan Welborn are missionaries here. They have set up a Community Center right in the middle of the poorest section of this small town. Inside they have a playground, a Dr.'s office, a computer room, a place to cut the children's hair and give them bathes. There are daily Bible Studies. The children can also play ping pong, basketball, foos ball, air hockey & soccer. They have a workshop that is up and running. They minister to over 600 people weekly. They bless these people daily with food, diapers and clothes. Besides the Community Center they also have a Refuge where they take in people who have no place at all to go, no place to call home. They give them shelter, food, and also teach them about the love and mercy that our God and Saviour so freely gives.
It is so important that Doug and Jan have people who support them to carry out the ministry that God has given them.
As we have taken these trips each year our heart goes out to these people. You cry for the parents who are doing their best and still only have these simple homes. You take these children in your arms and spend your time playing with them only to know that soon you will have to leave them and head back to your nice big home, with a warm bed. If only you could do more....
We have had the privilege of putting together giant bags for some of these families, full of food items, toys, blankets, hat's & gloves. These bags are full of things that we would consider to be basics for living in the colder winter months. But these parents are often brought to tears as we hand them these bags, so grateful and wondering...why. Why would anyone do this for me? These children have huge smiles upon their faces as they have been seen down on their hands and knees trying to look and see what treasures are inside.
What better way is there at Christmas time than to go and give, to give to those who so desperately are in need? What greater joy comes than from seeing the excitement and thankfulness on their faces?
This Christmas season if you would like to be a part of touching the lives of these people, we are collecting: blankets, toys, hats & gloves, tooth brushes & tooth paste, deodorant, soaps & shampoo's. They are also in need of food essentials: rice, beans, salt, sugar, cooking oil & powdered milk. (please have all items dropped off by Sunday December 12th) One other way you might be able to help is to send in a small offering to offset traveling expenses. We appreciate your prayers and generosity during this busy time of our lives.

Elements Pulled Pork Dinner

A community that works together can see some amazing results. Such is the case for Elements in downtown Kalona. It truly is a community effort. Elements is a drop-in activity center for teens. We call it a safe place for young people to hang out with friends. No admission charge, no qualifications for membership, No drugs, tobacco or alcohol, just a place to have lot of fun and make friends. With volunteers from all over the town, good churches, supportive city officials and good people who have a concern for our youth we've made this place an active part of our community. On August 30th, after a lot of planning and hard work, we offered a pulled pork dinner as a fund raiser to generate money for operating expenses and upgrades. The results were more than we expected. Thank you to all who made this possible. God bless you and prosper your way because of your generosity.

Church Picnic

Church Picnics - they're the only event that cross all denominational lines and barrier. No matter if you are Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Pentecostal or any other of a 100 denominations. It doesn't matter if you're Catholic or Protestant, somewhere in you're church history, there has been a church picnic. People gathering together to enjoy activities, conversation and food. Lots of food. All kinds and assortments of dishes and deserts. The favorite for most folks is aunt so and so's Fried Chicken. I've been to my share of church picnics. The good, the bad and the ugly. You know, the one's in which people show up that you've never seen before, the people that have visited you're church but it's been so long ago you don't recognize the face any longer. They are the same people that get in line BEFORE YOU and get all the goodies. Oh! I see, you've been there before. I can tell by the sudden groan. OK, maybe that's not so bad because you've put a positive spin on the situation by taking the attitude that this is an outreach of the church and you're just glad that you could sacrifice to FEED THE HUNGRY. BUT WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT ABOUT ME? I'M HUNGRY. How about the people who know who the best cooks are and find out what those good cooks brought so they can make a mad dash to find those tasty little dishes first. The best is the older guys - and you know who you are - that try to play football with the youngsters. WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? Don't you know people get hurt PLAYING FOOTBALL. I guess some people will never grow up. Anyway, last August 23 we had our church picnic. The weather was remarkable, it seemed like everyone had a pleasant time and nobody (well almost nobody) got hurt in the process. We appreciate Scott and Kimberly for allowing us to use their facility. It's a great place for such an occasion. Thank everyone for attending and helping out with the clean up. By the way, will someone tell the grill -master not to quit their day job. But thanks to all the other cooks for their contribution. Hope you all come back next year. YA HEAR

Mission Trip to The Philippines

When you hear about a certain place and ministries for 20 years by a number of people who have influenced your life it obviously builds a desire to experience and see that place. The place I'm talking about is the churches, children's homes and bible colleges on the Philippine Islands. So this past July I traveled to the Philippines to be a part of a ministry team to preach and teach in the Kingsway Fellowship International of the Philippines conferences. It truly was an event that will be etched in my memory for years to come. After an extremely long plane ride, I arrived in Tarloc City at 3:30 very tired but excited to get started with the weeks events. The mission house was a welcomed sight after 20 some hours of travel with very little sleep. The roar of jet engines is just not the kind of tranquil sounds that will lull a person into a deep sleep, not to add the comfortable seats and the bounce of occasional and sudden turbulence to rock you into a deep sleep of never, never land. But, thank God it beats the alternative of traveling by auto and boat. Thank you Jesus for the miracle of jet travel.The mission house is a concrete two-bedroom suite with kitchen, bath and wood or tiled floors. As I looked around it occurred to me that this place looks familiar. Oh, yes this place looks somewhat like Mexico with some upgrades like electricity, running water and an air conditioned bedroom. look out slumber land here I come. Three and a half hours later the alarm went off, not the clock radio inside the room, it was the roosters in the back yard crowing. Not one, but several, all in a row. Now that's my kind of a wake up call, green acres style. Off to take a shower, can you say COLD? WOW, THIS IS EXHILARATING. You know what's coming when there is only one on-off handle in the shower, but nothing can prepare you for what is about to come through that shower head. Icey-cold water, now that was a quick shower.After breakfast of mango (Delightful) with egg and cheese omelet, Mama Lee and I headed for a suburb of Tarloc City to Full Gospel Lord Jesus Christ Church. We were met with smiles, handshakes and a excitement that can only be interpreted as "We welcome you and are so grateful that you've come." I was energized by this display of hospitality. If you like being wanted, needed and valued then this is the place to be. What a lesson in Hospitality!!! I've never been so overwhelmed with people who wanted to serve and make you feel comfortable. The service was full of good music, worship and celebration. The thing that I observed the most in the churches was their passion for worship and the quality of music was beyond my expectation. We were feed a Hugh meal after the service, then we returned to the Mission house were I was able to rest a little before traveling to Pastor Solomon and Elizebeth Ventura's children's home and bible college. True Vine ministries is truly one of compassion for orphans and students who don't have the means to send their children to school. They house, feed, cloth and educate 48 students by faith. They depend on God speaking to his people to help with financial giving. Did I mention Pastor Solomon has also planted many churches the mountain region in the north. You can't get to these churches in an auto, it takes putting one foot in front of the other until you reach the village churches. Wimps need not apply for this ministry position. It takes a person with dynamic faith and perseverance along with a love for the lost. Pastor Solomon is such a man. He gave us a tour of the Facilities that is modest at best. As a matter of fact the kids sleep in beds with no mattress, just a piece of plywood on a frame. Of course it comes with a sheet and pillow. It's by design, if you're going to someday go to the mountains to plant or pastor a church then you can't get comfortable. The students greeted us with smiles, hugs, and inside the worship hall was a beautiful drawing saying "WELCOME DR. RON BREESE FROM KALONA USA. If they were out to get in my heart, it worked - mission accomplished. They made it very clear that we are not a guest, we are part of the family. They sang, worshipped, danced and filled our hearts with joy. We enjoyed our time with these students and left with a information of each child, what their personal circumstance was (many are without mom or dad so we have become mama and papa) and autograph copy signifying our place in their lives. As you can see that I've been here for 1 day and experience everything that would make a successful trip.Monday was a travel day and we drove back to Minilla to meet up with the other team members. Dr. Alan Miller, Bishop Bill and Sherry Jenkins, Ashley Bench and Juan-Claude and Mila Sterling for a week of one day conferences called "Word Fest" in which we would encourage and train many pastor's and christian workers. The people we would meet in the next few days have stories to tell about God's work in and through their ministries. We rejoice to be a partner to these men and women of God who are faithfully serving people thoughout the islands.The theme for these Word Fests was "Meet for the Master's Use" from the text II Timothy 2:1-6 and vs. 20. We conducted 9 Conferences in 9 Cities over the course of three weeks. I personally was involved in 3 conferences at Quezon City, San Fernando City, and La Tinadad which is located high on top of a mountain about 5,000 ft. above sea level near Bagio City, which is known as the Summer City of the Philippines. American Solders and government officials would retreat there to escape the heat, now it is a thriving city of 350,000 people. During the conference in La Trinadad we met 2 pastors who had walked 5 hours to get to a bus stop, then ride an hour to get to the conference. There are 100's of pastor's just like him seeking a place to be feed and encouraged. Our final stop was the church at the end of the road. This church is located at the end of a step downward winding road. Pastor Gideon and Dita Labagan has a thriving work which involves preparing bible college students. He and his wife along with their two children are very musically talented which we were blessed to hear. It was a joy to minister in the church and our time of fellowship was very rewarding. I'm looking froward to a return visit (the Lord willing) and serve in strengthening the churches in The Philippines.