The future of the Church:
In June we had our annual youth conference and the Lord really blessed. There were many saved and many decisions made for the Lord. Some of those that visited are still coming to the church now over a month later. Every year now for several years, a few weeks after the youth conference we have a youth retreat to the jungle area called Chapare. Chapare is about 3 hours from our city and is considered part of the eastern or tropical area of Bolivia. It is an amazing trip to go there because you first climb to around 10,000 feet and then immediately begin to descend into the jungle going from the 10,000 feet to almost sea level in a little over an hour. Even though it is the jungle it wasn’t very hot because we were still in the coldest part of our winter season. There are many site to see and really beautiful scenery in this area including a zoo that has monkeys, a bear, and a jaguar. There are also parks with amazing plants and orchids and an area where there are crocodiles. Although the teens have some fun, the main purpose of the trip is to focus on their spiritual lives. They have in depth times of preaching, along with evangelism, passing out tracts ending with a public service in the main plaza of the city. All of this including the youth conference was organized and run by the youth leaders. I am very proud of them and how to Lord is using their lives. Two of the main leaders of the youth group are Isaac and Pablo who are currently taking classes in the seminary and preparing for the ministry. I praise the Lord for them and their desire to serve Him in the ministry. I would like to ask you to pray for them specifically Isaac Benitez and Pablo Rojas that the Lord can continue to work in and through them.
First Steps:
This past month we had baptisms here in the church. Freddy has been coming to the church for sometime and is being discipled by one of the men here and asked about getting baptized. We began to announce that we were going to have baptisms if anyone else was interested and at first there was no one besides Freddy but before Sunday came we had four total that wanted to take this important step. I met with one of the men to explain everything about baptism and the others were dealt with by people in the church. One of those getting baptized was Grace our oldest daughter. She has been saved for some time but was a little afraid about baptism until now. She has always had a sweet spirit and is sensitive to the things of the Lord. I thank the Lord for her decision and her desire to obey the Lord. It was truly a great privilege to be able to be the one that baptized her. Baptisms are always a special time in the church because here, like in many latin countries, it is a big step and usually means separating from their former religion. We praise the Lord for these that have taken this first of many in serving Him.
More Birthdays:
While June is birthday month for our kids, July is that time for Beth and I. It is neat to have our birthdays together although it gets a little expensive buying presents for everyone. It is hard to believe that so many years have passed, and so quickly but I can say the best has been serving the Lord with my family. Beth and I would like to thank you for all the cards and birthday wishes that were sent. Although my age would say that I am getting older and maybe even a little my appearance, my goal has always to stay young on the inside and for the Lord.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for protection for our children and family because of an increase in kidnappings here.
2. Pray that we can find the right piece of land for our church.
3. Pray for the leaders of our church and those preparing for the ministry.
4. Pray for our evangelistic outreach this month for the festival for the Virgen of Urkupiña.