Sick Children
Comments(1)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.
Wedding Jitters
Comments(2)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
Wonderful Day
Comments(0)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.
Special Visitors
We are always excited about having people come and visit us here in Bolivia. This past week we had our pastor and my dad and step mom visiting with us. They arrived on Friday morning and said that all their flights and travel went smoothly. On Saturday, they were able to go with us to our youth meeting and enjoyed seeing the activities and I translated for them during the preaching. On Sunday my pastor preached for Sunday school and in the morning and night services. We had a great attendance in the morning of more than 80 and we sang a special as a family in the night service. Our pastor also brought us several radio like boxes that are called Proclaimers. They are simple devices that work with solar power, batteries or plug in and have the Bible recorded on them in the national language. They can be used for Bible study and reaching many people in rural areas that can’
t read or write. We truly enjoyed having family here for a short stay and they were a great blessing to our ministry and us.
A day at the park.
.
My pastor on the left my dad and step mom on the right with Cochabamba in the background.
Uniting Families and Stirring Pastors
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.
Father’s Day
Father’s day is celebrated here in Bolivia on March the 19th but much like in the United States it doesn’t compare to the same day celebrated for moms. With our family conference coming up a week afterwards we didn’t make that big a deal of it. We told everyone to invite their fathers and that we had a special gift for each one. The Lord truly blessed and we had several fathers visiting for the first time. In total we had 105 in attendance and many that raised their hands wanting to be the father that the Lord wanted them to be.
Second Baptism
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.
A Summer Picnic
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.
Getting missionaries to the field
I can honestly say as a missionary that the help and instruction that we received before starting our deputation process was a lifesaver and allowed us to get on the field much faster than normal. By the Lord’s grace we were able to finish our deputation and raise the full amount necessary for our field in only a year and a half. We would have never been able to accomplish this without the help that we received. Much of that instruction has now been put into a book format so that others can benefit from it. If you as a pastor would like to be able to get this information into the hands of your missionaries or you know someone who is thinking about being a missionary or starting the deputation process I would highly recommend you get this book “The Deputation Manual”. If you would like more info you can go to www.bcwe.org and click on the deputation manual link. I know that it will be a help and lifesaver for you.
Watch out for the bugs
On the mission field here in Bolivia we sometimes face many dangers and difficulties, even down to the difference in the bugs that we have. Here we have some of your normal creatures like Flys, Beatles etc. but we also have things like a bug called Vinchucas which is an insect that if it bites you can do permanent damage to your heart and digestive system. Also since we arrived we often see in our house small scorpions. Until now we have not had problems with the Vinchucas but the other night while in the bathroom Taylor our youngest daughter put her hand down on the rug and there was a small scorpion there that stung her. Although they are not deadly we have heard that they can cause lots of pain and the victim can run a high fever and have convulsions. Thankfully our landlord is a pharmacist and was able to tell us what medicines we needed to give here. After taking them she fell immediately asleep and slept through the night. The next morning we awoke to find her acting completely normal with no signs of the affects of the sting. We have joked and said that we think the scorpion actually died after stinging Taylor instead of hurting her. We are very thankful to the Lord for His protection over her and that it wasn’t very serious. Thank you always for your prayers for the Lord’s blessing and protection over us.
