For those not familiar with the situation of the Spanish Bible let me define for you what the RVG is. The RVG is an acronym for Reina Valera Gomez. The RVG is simply a revision of the 1909 Antigua edition of the Spanish Reina Valera Bible. Cassiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera were the 2 Protestant Reformers that produced what has become the standard Bible text in Spanish since 1602. Humberto Gomez Sr, a native Mexican, is a Fundamental Independent Baptist preacher who has served as a Missionary to his own people as well as the Aztec Indians in Mexico for over 30 years. He simply revised the 1909 edition of the Reina Valera by totally eradicating all Critical Text variants, bringing it in line with the Textus Receptus 100%. Thus, the RVG is essentially the 1909 Antigua version of the Reina Valera Bible minus the Critical Text. The first edition was printed in 2004 and has enjoyed much fruit in Spanish-speaking countries all over the world. The latest edition is finally becoming available. Consequently, this Spanish Bible reads parallel with the King James Version barring language differences. It is this Spanish Bible that we use and promote. Information on this Bible can be found all throughout this website as well as it's official site www.reinavaleragomez.com.

12-17-07 I was able to spend much time of fellowship with Bro. Gomez during November and December.

I had the privilege to visit 3 of his churches that he started in Matamoros, Mexico. It was also a great honor to be able to preach both Sunday morning and evening in his church Iglesia Bautista Libertad (Liberty Baptist Church). The people in this church are both humble and lively. They are the easiest people in the world to preach to. They love preaching! What an honor it was to speak to these good folks. They even took us on for financial support as their missionaries to Puerto Rico. Praise the Lord! I was able to meet Bro. Alfredo whom Bro. Gomez is training and grooming to eventually take over the Pastorate of Iglesia Bautista Libertad. Bro. Alfredo is a zealous young preacher who loves his people. He has a world of respect for his mentor, Bro. Gomez, as do everyone else in Matamoros.

While there, I also got to witness the baptism of a man that was recently led to the Lord. This man was a drug dealer and member of a Mexican mafia. Bro. Gomez and his son told me the story how the gang this man was a member of came to Matamoros to kill him once they heard that he had decided to quit selling drugs as they were afraid that he might "rat them out". These gang members knew who Bro. Gomez was, however. They knew how Bro. Gomez lived the same type of lifestyle before he got saved. So when this gang found out that this man was going to Bro. Gomez's church and was indeed a changed man, they spared the man's life and went on their way. What a joy it was to witness the work of God in this former thug's life!

Brother and Sister Gomez showed my family and I the hospitality of their home. Sister Gomez is an excellent cook! She makes some steak fajitas that are just out of this world! And she makes excellent coffee. Most of my time spent with Bro. Gomez was in front of his computer working on various projects involving the Spanish Bible. Bro. Gomez is much like my Pastor, Bro. Karl Baker. Any amount of time fellowshipping around him will eventually evolve into work! Bro. Gomez is a tireless worker! His work ethic is impressive and a good example to younger missionaries like myself. The guy never stops working. He is constantly in front of his computer working on projects involving the Spanish Bible such as formatting the future parallel RVG/KJV (which is coming soon!) Bible. He is

also constantly researching, looking up the Hebrew, Greek, Spanish, English, as well as other technical areas checking for typographical oversights. He is very meticulous. It was sort of funny watching Bro. Gomez get frustrated with me as he taught me how to help him format the parallel Bible. I wanted to help as much as possible while there. And we did get much accomplished, thank the Lord. But a stubborn Puerto Rican and a stubborn Mexican trying to work together is a sure recipe for disaster! (I love Bro. Gomez.) But we had a great time.

When Bro. Gomez is not in front of his computer working on the Bible, he is out soul winning, running errands, shipping out boxes of Bibles, running back and forth to the Post Office, Home Depot, and the Bank taking care of business in relation to the Bible and the ministry in general. And all the while he is running errands, his phone is constantly glued to his ear as he is dealing with collaborators all over the world discussing technical issues involving the RVG text, or answering questions from people inquiring about his work on the Bible, or dealing with ministers all over the world requesting boxes of Bibles. (I specifically remember one phone call from a Mexican man who had just finished proofreading the entire NT in 2 months and was sharing with Bro. Gomez his observations on a couple of items he took note of.) I saw firsthand from being around him for nearly a month that Bro. Gomez is a man who is totally consumed with his work. As Priscilla and Aquilla were "addicted to the ministry" so is Bro. Humberto Gomez.

I also got to meet their 3 daughters Imelda, Abigail, and Angie (who lives with her family in Brownsville). My wife already knew them personally since they went to the same Christian school for a while as kids. We were also able to fellowship with Bro. Gomez's son Humberto Jr. who lives with his wife and 3 children in a newly built home next door. The Gomez family are good people who serve the Lord together as a family unit. They were fun to be around.

12-17-07 The Bible Conference was awesome! I don't even know where to begin describing the blessings we experienced during the conference.

There were about 120 preachers from all over the world there. Highly respected American Pastors such as Dr. D.A.Waite, Dr. Mickey Carter, Dr. Phil Stringer, Dr. Tom Gresham, Mike Keenan, and my Pastor Karl Baker were there. Dr. Stephen Zeinner, Director of Bearing Precious Seed Global, was there. It was a real treat to meet many key helpers and collaborators to Bro. Gomez in his work on the Spanish Bible such as Missionaries Joseph Martinez, Mike Lemma, Carlos Donate, Shane Rice, and many others missionaries and national pastors as well as those who were just laymen in the churches but nationals with Spanish as their first language. The majority of Preachers their were nationals from all over Mexico. Other Spanish-speaking countries were represented as well.

It should also be noted that the vast majority of these national preachers from all over the Spanish-speaking world use the RVG Spanish Bible!

The preaching was more than excellent. Bro. Gomez of course was the moderator of the meeting. What I really appreciated about Bro. Gomez is that he didn't do like most moderators do by only preaching the "big guns". But he preached the "little guys" as well. There was perfect liberty for every preacher as no one was bound to a time limit whether they were a "big preacher" or a "little preacher". In fact, as Bro. Gomez said, there really weren't any big or little preachers in this meeting. Just preachers that serve a big God!

Bro. Gomez kicked the meeting off with his nephew, Sammy Gomez, as the first speaker. To say Sammy is a fireball would be an understatement. Sammy preached with fire in his soul and poured out his entire body, soul, and spirit in the message. If anyone thinks I'm exaggarating or sensationalizing anything, I challenge them to inquire Dr. Waite and Bro. Gomez about getting DVDs of the meeting. (I believe some will be available soon as the meeting was recorded.) But Sammy pretty much set the tone of the entire meeting. The lively and spirited atmosphere never died down but only increased as the meeting advanced. Dr. Phil Stringer preached one of best messages on Missions I personally ever heard in my opinion. Dr. Mickey Carter preached an inspiring message entitled God Is Real in which he discussed many of the battles and struggles he endured throughout his many years in the ministry no doubt encouraging many of the younger preachers present in the audience. One preacher who was a blessing was a national pastor from Guerrero, Mexico named Bro. Tomás Reynoso. He lives off of only $200.00 of support a month! It was inspiring to hear the testimony of a man who knows what it is REALLY like to live by faith and serve God despite the lack of finances. My personal favorite message was from another national Pastor named Ricardo Vigañas who preached from the book of Job on the subject Dios Es Suficiente (God Is Sufficient). Bro. Mike Keenan preached a great message on Holiness and living a Godly life. My Pastor, Karl Baker, got to speak 3 times in the evening services including the closing message. Bro. Baker "let it rip" as they say in the US as he tried his best to stir up the next generation of preachers to get on fire for God in winning their people to the Lord. It was a treat for me to watch Bro. Baker, who is one of my heroes, preaching God's word in the demonstration of power and of the Spirit in Mexico. The same could be said for all the Preachers that spoke in the conference. Time and space would fail me to try and comment on all the good preaching we enjoyed both in Spanish and English in this conference. Not a dull moment transpired at all.

Everything was done bilingually. There were interpreters for both Spanish and English-speaking preachers. The interpreters were Carlos Donate, Ulises Velasquez, Humberto Jr., and Shane Rice. Each did an excellent job.

To me the highlight of the meeting was Dr. D.A.Waite's lessons on the Bible issue. It was highly emphasized that there be no criticizing of other men or ministries that do not use the RVG. Dr. Waite was the only man that Bro. Gomez asked to discuss the Bible issue from the pulpit considering that is his field of expertise. Dr. Waite is a softspoken man who speaks a powerful message. It was a pleasure to watch this champion of the Bible at work. I personally believe there is not a greater linguistic expert in existence today in regards to the technical issues involving the underlying Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic words of the Bible than Dr. Waite. How foolish for some to criticize and question the credibility of the RVG when a man with the credentials such as Dr. Waite has been a right arm to Bro. Gomez in this work on the Spanish Bible! During the Conference, Dr. Waite dealt with the issues of the Bible with such compassion and vigilence that no one could deny the Spirit of God that bore witness to his presentation. I will never forget what I saw with my own eyes as I personally witnessed tears rolling down the face of Dr. Waite while he read Luke 24:32 particularly upon the words "Did not our heart burn within us...while he opened to us the scriptures?" I liked what Bro. Gomez said afterwards. He said Dr. Waite has taught us much concerning the Bible throughout the 50+ years of his ministry. But he taught us more through the tears in his eyes than any lecture on the word of God he has ever delivered. Amen! Most "scholars" are so cold, formalistic, and dead! How inspiring it was to see a true Biblical scholar of the first degree pour out his heart, manifesting his deep love for the word of God. Dr. Waite became one of my heroes during this conference.

After Dr. Waite's lessons on the Bible, the floor was open for questions. There was a lot of good discussion from the national preachers that had honest questions and concerns about the Spanish Bible and the issues surrounding it. Dr. Gomez and Dr. Waite did a great job answering questions. Many of Bro. Gomez's collaborators spoke up and offered their perspectives as well. It was a blessing to me to be in an atmosphere where people were sincerely and seriously inquiring about the word of God. You can sense the hunger to learn in the national pastors and laymen. Many testimonies were given from Spanish-speaking brethren all over the world who had made the decision to switch from the 1960, 1909, and even a couple from the 1865 to the RVG. It was interesting to hear the different perspectives and stories of how people came to the conclusions they came to.

In fact, it was really interesting to me that 3 missionaries that I met at the meeting were people who never even knew about Bro. Gomez and the RVG project until they read articles on the internet that criticized Bro. Gomez and his revision. All 3 of them now use the RVG and 2 of them became personally involved with the RVG project.

Unfortunately there were other collaborators such as Dr. Rex Cobb, Nelson Gimenez, and other preachers such as Dr. Jim Fellure and others that were not able to make it to the meeting. But we look forward to next year as Bro. Gomez plans on having the conference again in 2008.

There were many other memorable occasions during the conference. There was plenty of time to fellowship outside of the church services. I had a wonderful time fellowshipping with Dr. Waite and his wife, and Missionary Ulises Velasquez, Pastor Tom Gresham, Dr. Stephen Zeinner, my Pastor and his wife, as I helped to provide rides for some of the preachers back and forth to the meeting. I got to spend much time with Missionary to Peru, Shane Rice, as I took him accross the border to the US to buy items that are hard for him to get in Peru. I treated him out for lunch and we had a wonderful time exchanging stories of God's goodness in our lives and ministries. I spent much time fellowshipping with Bro. Joseph Martinez and his son taking him back and forth accross the border. I stayed up past midnight with Missionaries Lacy Wheeler and his wife discussing the Bible. I spent much time helping Bro. Humberto Gomez Jr. hauling van loads of Bibles, tracts, and other literature accross the border. Thank the Lord the border patrol did not give us a hard time at all about bringing this material accross the border. They didn't even stop us to check our vehicles, which was an answer to prayer. Bro. Ulises, my Pastor, and I got to go soul-winning in the market district and we preached on the street with some good responses.

I realized something as a result of this meeting that I had never really thought about before. I lot of the brethren who criticize Dr. Gomez and the RVG have complained about the possibility of this work causing division amongst Hispanic Fundamentalism. But as was evidenced in this conference, nothing could be further from the truth. Probably the biggest confirmation in my heart that God is placing his stamp of approval upon the RVG Bible is the unity of the saints for a common cause that was demonstrated in this meeting. There was no particular camp that dominated this meeting. The "camp mentality" was nowhere to be found in this conference. Ministers from all kinds of different backgrounds were represented here. Many people who were once skeptical and critical of Bro. Gomez and his work were in this meeting with a different perspective as they now use the RVG. In fact, the audience was not exclusively of those who use the RVG. There was a good bit of ministers at the meeting who had in their hands the 1909 or 1960. Yet they were treated with nothing but respect and brotherly kindness. (Many of these have switched to the RVG during the course of the meeting and testified so publically.) No preacher or ministry was criticized. Instead, we sang together, preached together, shouted together, prayed together, laughed together, fellowshipped together, and gave God the glory TOGETHER! The spirit of unity was undeniable. As Bro. Gomez noted toward the end of the meeting, the only thing missing in this meeting was for a fight to break out! But that never happened. The spirit of unity that surrounds the RVG Bible is probably the greatest confirmation in my heart that this Bible is indeed of the Lord!

This meeting is still bearing fruit even after it is over. A week after the conference, I spoke to a couple of Mexican Pastors that explained to me how the information given in this conference has confirmed in their hearts their decision to switch to the RVG. They now have a renewed zeal for the word of God like never before. I spoke to another Pastor in Guanajuato, Mexico that told how his preacher boys and Sunday school workers are all fired up about the word of God and that revival in his church has broke loose as a result! Praise the Lord! I predict more of the same in the near future.

I could go on and on about all the good things we experienced while in Mexico but time would fail me. It was surely a memorable occasion that I will never forget. I look forward to it again next year. Dear brother and sister in Christ, be sure to make your plans for next year's Conference. We'll keep you updated right here as well as at Missionary Shane Rice's website www.reinavaleragomez.com. The best is yet to come!

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