Special Christmas:
Christmas is always a special time here in Bolivia. Even though, for us, it is a little hard to get in the “Christmas” mood because the temperature is usually in the 80’s it is still a great time with family and our church. Things are a little different here also in the way that Christmas is celebrated. As in many Latin countries the main celebration is not on Christmas day but on Christmas Eve. They usually get together at night on Christmas Eve and at 12:00 midnight have a special meal and sometimes exchange small gifts. Then on Christmas morning things are pretty much normal. As a church, we have several special activities during this time to celebrate. As a way to reach out to the community we have the people of the church bring different items, usually food and cooking supplies, and we make baskets to give to the families that are in need. It is priceless to see their reacción when we show up with a basket of items that will last them close to a month. We have contact with many of these families through their children that come to our kid’s club on Saturday afternoon. Our desire is to show the love of God and share His gospel with these people. Also, on the Sunday before Christmas, we have hot chocolate and pastries for everyone that comes. Usually the pastry is Fruitcake, but this year we had a cheese pastry that is fried called empanada. Then on Sunday night the children had a small play presenting the birth of baby Jesus. They did a great job and I was very proud of them, my wife Beth and the others that put it all together. It was very special to be able to celebrate this special time and show others the reason that Jesus came as the Savior of the world.
Special Visitors:
It seems as if this Christmas was one of the busiest that we have ever had. We had several special visitors during this time that made it very special. First, we had my mom and two friends of our family that came. My mom has been down several times, but for the other two it was their first. Besides getting a little sick, which normally happens, it was a lot of fun and eye opening for them to see the differences and need of the people here. The same day that they left we had two other friends come to visit us from Cuba. Several years ago, we had a Cuban couple in our church that were here doing their medical mission with the government. Since they attend a Baptist church in Cuba they found our church and attended faithfully the whole time they were here. The sad thing was that after they left we were sure that we would never be able to see them again, but the Lord opened the doors for them to come back and visit us for a couple of weeks. Since they are both doctors they wanted to be a help and blessing so while here; so, we had a mini medical clinic where they saw anyone that wanted to be checked out. We were really excited to have them because before, because of government regulations, they couldn’t return to Bolivia again so it was truly a miracle and blessing.
Special Thanks:
Beth and I would like to say a special thanks for all the cards and special gifts that were giving during this time. Even though we may be thousands of miles away it is encouraging to know that people are thinking about us and love us. Sometimes even the smallest jester can make the biggest difference. So just to let you know we are very grateful and it really means a lot.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for our first youth camp that we will be having this coming month.
2. Pray for all the plans for the church this coming year.
3. Pray for us as we continue to look for land for the church.
4. Pray for our meeting that we have in Quillacollo as we make plans for the future.