by Don & Petra Esposito (Israel)

Dear Darwin & Laura,

Greetings in the precious name of our master Yahshua. It was a real pleasure receiving your newsletter, and seeing how our heavenly Father is using you in his service. Petra and myself have been hard at work in the Middle East proclaiming the good news of Yahshua's coming Kingdom. I conduct two weekly bible studies, and our Father has been blessing our efforts here. We also have been able to send aid to truly hurting brethren in parts of the world where they don't even have the basics of life, such as food, water, and shelter, and clothing. Many freeze to death each winter in places like Russia, Bulgaria, and Romania. I am also out in the streets each week, handing out papers, and bibles, and booklets about the kingdom. This also has borne much fruit. Many people have never heard the true gospel, only watered down heresy from the world's churches. We also try to help homeless people when we are out in the streets.

 

I can really feel for you, what you went through in United Church of God. When I left WWCG over the heresy there, I started a United congregation before there was even a United. There was a ministerial underground called Mal. 3:16, on the internet. We had our United congregation for about 3 or 4 months. Then I was contacted by an International Church of God congregation that had lost it's minister, and they asked me if I could come and preach once a month. I gladly excepted. When United got wind of it, they basically told me I could not preach in United if I had any other affiliations. I told them that my only affiliation was to our heavenly Father, and his son Yahshua. I had promised myself after leaving WWCG that I would never limit my service to Yah again through an organization. They said I had to decide to serve only United or not. So I resigned that day from the local board of directors, and the United Church of God. I have no problem preaching at United if asked, but will not join any organization ever again. But without my pledge to their organization, they have no use for me, and I have no use for their tactics either. I still believe in a ministry, which I am part of by the laying on of the hands of the elder hood. But I do not believe you join that ministry by attending some human college, or by nepotism, or kissing up to some man. Yah chooses his servants, and the Holy Spirit sets apart those it has chosen for the work of the ministry to be evangelists, and Pastors, not men. I am glad that through my experience in WWCG and United it helped me to learn true submission to Yah's holy saints, which I need for the kingdom. So all things do work out for the good of those that love Yah and are called according to His purpose. May Yah bless you both as you serve him according to his will. I also have a calendar paper explaining new moons and postponements, being sent to you by a brother in Celina Texas, who did a great research paper on it.

 

Your! brother & sister in Yahshua Messiah,

Don & Petra Esposito

Middle East

 

Don & Petra,

Your letter touched my heart. We as a whole, in general, in the United States, and other countries, who have so much, are in general an ungrateful bunch of people, and how many of us even stop in the middle of our days, to even try to put ourselves into our own brothers and sisters shoes, right in our own countries, let alone to even think of putting ourselves into the shoes of people who have nothing. There are times when I am truly ashamed of the Churches of God in general, whether we be corporation or independent, because of this air of exclusiveness we want to continue to perpetuate with in some groups and even with certain individuals. It is my opinion, that if we are truly God's called out people, and if we want to call ourselves 'Christians', then we need to stop just talking about what we should do, and start doing what God tells us to do in the Bible. God gives us a very clear command in the Bible, one which over rides or comes before all others, and it is found in John 13:34 & 35: A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another: as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. When we read this scripture from the Bible, where on earth are some people getting the idea, that they are better than the next guy in God's eyes. God is building a family that will eventually include everyone who is now dead and presently alive and those who are not yet born. The only people who will not be included in that family are those people who by their own choice, choose not to be there, and prayerfully, that will be few.

 

You are a man we can respect, for by your fruits we know you. Essentially when Paul Luecke wanted us to pledge allegiance to the United Church of God AlA, in our one and only face to face meeting on 3-6-2000, he put it this way, “Do you believe that United is a/the True Church of God?“ Our answer was “God's Church is where ever 2 or more converted people meet.“ Naturally, he did not like our answer to that question, and they continued to bar us from services. We at that point, some how knew we were not going to be allowed to ever attend their services again, although we did try to get a second meeting, which never happened as we wanted witnesses and they did not want witnesses according to Matthew 18:15-17. We did attend as visitors with the Living Church of God on an irregular basis, and told them right up front the first time we visited, that we had no intentions of joining their corporation but would like to visit with them once in awhile for fellowship and services, and that seemed to be okay with them at first. Approximately 9 months later we found ourselves being purged from even being allowed to visit them, and to sum it up, they told us we should speak to their minister for the purpose of helping us to see where the True Church really is, meaning of coarse that the True Church is the Living Church of God. We were purged from the Living Church of God at almost the same time we were disfellowshipped from the United Church of God AlA. We are disgusted with these behaviors, which groups and even sometimes individuals take towards people who are still trying their hardest to do what God says to do, like you did. Another group asked you to help them, by speaking once a month, and United said 'NO". God says "YES”, do help other people. When I read my Bible, I don't see God telling us not to help others or not to love others, because they are not in our corporation. I see God telling us: Matthew 5:43-48: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: (But God Says) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (do the) same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans (do) so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

 

I just don't see any exclusivism in those words. I also do not see where it says we are only to help those who are affiliated with our corporation or individual group. It is sobering to hear what other peoples in other countries are suffering on a daily basis, while we here are spending a needless amount of time arguing about doctrines and where the True Church is or Who is doing the Work, to the exclusion of working on relationships with our own brethren as well as those not yet called. It is my opinion that many who claim to be God's are still in need of a heart.

 

Thank you for your letter. Please continue in your service to God. If you are ever in North Dakota, please stop and visit with us, and thank you for the calendar study paper, it is yet a future study we will be looking into.

 

With Much Love,

Darwin & Laura Lee

 

EDITOR'S COMMENTS: If you are interested in learning more about or donating money to help this overseas ministry, you may write to: Don Esposito, PO Box 832, Carteret, NJ 07008. Don & Petra, please keep up the good work you are doing over there, and please keep us updated on what you are seeing as needs over there. In my opinion it is time to start stating the way it is, even when it hurts. I believe it is through our own hurts and the hurts of others that we gain a real heart. Laura Lee