I praise the Lord for the great service that we had this past Wednesday night. Every Wednesday night we have our regular Bible study and also Patch the Pirate club for the kids. Once a month we have a special activity for the Patch club, which this past Wednesday it was hot dog night. Sounds exciting doesn’t it? Well here hot dogs are special and we had a great service both in the Bible study and upstairs with the kids. The Lord gave a total of 86 in attendance.
This month our church was able to celebrate Mother’s day, which is a very big day here in Bolivia. Many times Mom is the only one present in the home or at least the more involved in the family when it comes to raising the children. Mother’s Day is officially on the 27th but we had a special service on Sunday the 25th. Our co-laborer in the ministry, Jorge preached on a longsuffering mother out of the story of Samuel’s mother Hannah. Twenty of the young people of the church prepared a very special skit, and another group prepared a special song and instrumental. Then before the service special gifts were given to all the mothers, and gifts were given to the mother with the most children and youngest baby; also, to the youngest mother and the oldest mother. While that sounds a little risky, asking a woman her age, especially finding out if she is the oldest, in the Spanish culture an older person is held with much respect and honor so it isn’t a problem. We praise the Lord He gave us a wonderful service with 105 in the morning service and 4 of those mothers that were visiting trusted Christ as Savior. Two of them have been coming off and on to the services. This is also a difficult time, because so many of our young people don’t have their mother present. It is because of the economic situation in Bolivia most families have at least one or both of their parents in another country working. Usually, it is the mother that goes because it is always easier for her to find work. Please pray for these young people as we try and be a spiritual guide in their lives.
In our young church we always try to encourage our people to get involved in the ministries we have and it is wonderful and encouraging when people do step forward with a desire to help. The difficulty many times is in wanting to begin so many things but not having the people ready to participate and be in charge. Well, a couple of the ladies in our church, after visiting a friend in the hospital seeing a need, decided to start visiting at one of the hospitals in our city. They have been visiting and passing out tracts to the patients witnessing to them when there is an opportunity. This past Monday, with special permission from the hospital and doctors they were able to enter the children’s hospital where there are very sick children. There sicknesses range from broken bones to severe burns. One of the men from our church dressed up as a clown and a couple of the young people went with them, with one of them preaching at the end. The children loved having the visit and if only for a short period of time they were able to forget about the sickness they are facing. They were also able to talk with a few of the parents of these children, and one of them visited the church Sunday for our morning service. Please pray for these families and especially the families of these children that the Lord might work in their lives, and that we can be a witness and blessing to them. Also, the following Sunday, we had well over 20 in our workers meeting. We praise the Lord for how He is working and how the people are opening their hearts to Him.
It is always a great encouragement when people make decisions for the Lord. We have a couple in our church that are originally from Argentina. Fernando and Gladis were hippies making their living performing on the street traveling from city to city and country to country. Their life was a hard one of drugs alcohol and even living on the street. One day while listening to the Bible Broadcasting Network he accepted Christ as his personal Savior. He began to come to church and receive discipleship. Both him and Gladis have been growing spiritual and getting more involved in Church. A few weeks ago they expressed their desire to get married in the church and honor the Lord with their family. So in only a few weeks we planned everything and had our first wedding at the church. It was truly a special time for them as they made this commitment public before the church and the Lord. Please pray for them that their example might serve to help others make decisions for the Lord
We praise the Lord for the wonderful day He gave us this past Sunday. This month we are preaching on the End Days. Many people have lots of questions and even fears of what is going to happen when the time of Grace comes to an end. On Sunday in spite of having several families absent we had 96 in attendance and one young man trusted Christ. We also praise the Lord for the leaders and workers in the church. After the morning service we had our workers meeting and had over twenty.
One of the greatest needs that I see in Bolivia and even in other countries around the world is the need for strong families and strong churches. In Bolivia well over half of all children have one or both of parents absent because they are working in other countries. Also as missionaries and pastors it is easy to get into the routine and be satisfied with where we are. For that reason we had this month two conferences together to help unite families and stir pastors. We invited pastor Austin Gardner whom we trained with in Peru to come and speak. Starting on Sunday through Wednesday each night we had our second annual family conference. On Monday through Wednesday in the mornings we had our first conference for pastors and leaders. The people of the church worked hard inviting friends and family and we sent out invitation to as many pastors as we could. Planning for the conference we were expecting maybe 50 or so pastors and leaders and had a goal of 120 for the family conference. When it was all said and done we had people come from Peru, Argentina, and three different cities here in Bolivia. In the mornings we had around 100 with a high attendance 120. In the family conference averaged around 140 each night with our high attendance on Tuesday night of 171. It was truly a time of blessing for our church and many pastors that participated. We heard comment after comment about how the time helped them in their families and encouraged them as pastors. This was a great opportunity for the people of our church to learn and begin to work in the ministry.
In Spanish countries the decision to get baptized can be a major one. This month as we had our second baptism service in the church we were able to see this first hand. We were preparing several people for this first step of obedience and as the time approached several of them told us that they would not be able to participate because their parents apposed. For many here that don’t know Christ, getting baptized means that they are rejecting their religion that they have had for years and many either prohibit it or threaten to disown them as part of the family. On the 23rd we were a little discouraged but the baptistery was ready for what we thought would be four people getting baptized but during the Sunday School hour we had several that stepped forward and made the commitment. When it was all over seven had gotten baptized. We praise the Lord for these who took this first step of what we hope will be many in following Christ.
As many of you know the country of Bolivia is in South America which is the southern hemisphere or south of the equator. This means that our seasons are opposite of those in the U.S. As most of you are coming to the end of the winter season and heading into spring, we are coming to the end of our summer going into fall. Here in Bolivia, during the summer season, one of the popular things to do is have a “Dia de Campo” which is like a day in the country usually accompanied by a picnic. This is also very popular in the churches here. At the beginning of February, we planned one of these days for our church to go to the country and have a cookout. We rented a complex on the outskirts of town that had areas for sports activities like soccer, racket ball, a type of volley ball that is played in doors with four walls, and lots of grassy areas for the kids to play in. We divided up into four teams and rotated between the different sports. Afterwards, we had relay races using balloons filled with water to give some relief from the hot sun. During this whole time, several of the men of the church were working the grill cooking different types of meats. The ladies of the church brought the side dishes of rice, rice with cheese, salads, and a dish with Yucca which is a popular food here that is a root but tastes like a potato. When everything was ready we called everyone in and had a great feast in the dinning hall of the complex. As everyone was finishing, we had several songs and we gave the opportunity to four of the young guys in the church to preach for five minutes. They did a great job, and the people were really encouraged. When we planned the activity we were not sure what the results would be being that it was the day of the Carnaval parade which is one of the most popular holidays in all of South America. We ended up with 97 in attendance and as a result four new visitors on Sunday that trusted Christ as Savior.
Often in life there comes the time when you have to say goodbye. As you leave for work, when you finish a visit, or even when you give someone a ride. This past Wednesday after our church service, we were able to give a young girl in our church a ride to her house. Rocío began coming to our couples meetings this past year, and then started coming to church. After trusting Christ as her Savior, she started to get involved in the church only to stop coming shortly there after when she got a second job. Recently, she started coming again and this past Wednesday we were able to take her home after church. As she got out of the car we said our goodbyes and she went on her way. Little did we know that on that Friday leaving from work she would be hit by a truck and go off into eternity. On that Wednesday night when we said good bye we had no idea it would be the last. The only consolation that we have is that she was saved, and we know she is in the presence of the Lord. The one thing that rings through my mind is that when I say goodbye is that it could be my last. May we make the most out of every day that we have.
The Lord has truly given us a great Christmas this year in our family and church. This past Sunday the 23rd of December we had our Christmas activities. We planned a special program for the morning and the night service. In the morning the children of the church presented part of the Christmas story showing how just like Joseph and Mary couldn’t find a place for Jesus to be born many don’t have room for Him today in their lives. The Lord blessed us with 126 in attendance with close to 10 first time visitors. At night the teenagers of the church presented their program and then afterwards we had hot chocolate and fruit cake, both of which are big traditions here. We had over 80 in attendance and 4 people that trusted Christ as Savior.
Then on Christmas day we were able to celebrate as a family and have a wonderful time together. That night we invited several of the young people from the church for a get together where we ate, played games and had each person share something that the Lord had done in their lives. We praise the Lord for His wonderful blessings and hope that each of you have a blessed Christmas and New Year.
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