I am very grateful to the Lord for the desire of many of our people to reach out to those in need especially those who are lost. I have written in the past about several ladies in our church that go and visit the hospitals in our area. This past week they were able to go to the ICU unit where there were many women with very serious illnesses. Many of the women there have cancer and have no hope of recovery with only days or weeks to live. As those from our church went around and shared the Bible with them there were twelve of the ladies that trusted Christ. Whereas before, they faced the end of their lives with no hope now they have the assurance of an eternity free from sickness and pain. We praise the Lord that they were able to hear the truth before it was too late. The question is how many more are lost with no hope and no one has told them.

Well tonight was the last night of our 1st annual youth conference here at the church. Our theme was a “New Generation”. Our desire is to see a new generation of young people that would dedicate their lives and impact this world with the gospel like never before. It was a privilege to have visiting us for the conference Bro Tony and Mrs. Stacey Howeth. Bro. Tony is the deputation director for Macedonia World Baptist Missions and they have been great friends of ours several years. Not only do we value their friendship but also their love for God and how He is using them. From the first night the Lord has moved in a great way and our attendance was from around 100 the first night to almost 130 on the last night. We also met upstairs after the service with the leaders so that they could ask questions. The response was amazing. What started as something just for a few our leaders turned into more than 50 people asking questions for more than a hour until after 10:00pm. This was one of our most special services that we have had in our church with many of our young people along with young people from other churches making decisions to give their lives to serve Him. It was a great privilege to have the Howeths with us and we are thankful for all that the Lord did in the conference. Please pray for the Howeths and all the young people that made decisions during this time.

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It is wonderful to see people with a desire to serve the Lord and it is always encouraging when people step up with a desire to discover and use the talents the He gives them. One of the areas in our church that this has been most evident is the music ministry. For some time now we have had as many as 8 or 10 that have been helping, learning and participating with the music. During several of the conferences that we have had they have prepared several special songs on their own. For our family conference we had 10 that played a variety of instruments from the guitar to pan pipes, which are bamboo tubes of varying sizes tied together to makes the different notes. Some of those that help are now even teaching others how to play some of the instruments. While not all are cut out for music each of us have a specific place to fill in the body of Christ. Each of us, have abilities and talents that can be used to serve in the church. The last Saturday of this past month we had a talent night to let some of those that don’t always get to participate use the abilities that the Lord has given them. Some sang while others played instruments and some put together skits that shared the gospel. I was really surprised to see the excitement and participation even from many family members that came to support their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. We had close to a hundred that were there, many of which were visiting the church for the first time. Not only did they hear some great and some not so great music, but also they heard the gospel, which could change their lives.

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Well this past Saturday we had an activity for the young people of the church. Everyone met at a beautiful park that is about 30 minutes outside of the city. There are areas for having a picnic and cooking out and the main attraction that is a pretty hefty hike (especially at over nine thousand feet altitude) to a breathtaking waterfall. We started off with a small service where we had a song and then two short messages. Afterwards everyone ate what they brought for a picnic. We then hiked up the mountain where there is an amazing view of the city and from there is a treacherous trail that leads to the waterfall. In several places the trail is about two feet wide with a several hundred feet drop. Unfortunately we don’t OSHA safety regulations here. It was a great time of learning and fellowship. We praise the Lord we had over 40 young people that participated.

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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. 

Most everyone has heard that everything rises and falls on leadership. That can be concerning many times especially when you live in another country. Bolivia has been a country that has had political difficulties from it’s beginning. That has been even more evident since the election of our current president Evo Morales. He has been influential in several of the coups that have taken place in the past and organized most of the nationwide strikes that took place before he was president. January of 2007 there was a major conflict between the loyalists of the president’s socialist party that came from the rural areas of our district and blocked all access in and out of our city. By the time it was over two people had lost their lives and more than 300 were injured. Now because the economic and political situation has worsened and the peoples dissatisfaction is rising there are talks of a revote for all major offices including the president. While this could have major consequences for us as missionaries, we are trusting the Lord because we know that He is the one that raises up and brings down those that are in government. Please pray that the Lord’s will be done and that the results of these elections may help us better take the gospel to Bolivia. 

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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 27^th but we had a special service on Sunday the 25^th.  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. 

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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.

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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

 
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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.