What is Furlough?
Our furlough is now in full swing and although we have recently had a little down time between meetings, we are gearing up for an almost completely booked schedule from now until November. It has been nice to spend a little time with our families and also with Beth and the kids. Since we have been back many people have asked us why we have to come home like this for a furlough. We have even had people ask if this was a vacation for us. Well, I can tell you that it is not a vacation, and even though there’s not time to go into all the details, I thought I might explain why we are here and what our goals are during this time. One of the reasons I have already mentioned and that is being able to visit with our families. Titus has gone from being afraid of grandpa and grandma to wanting to be with them more than us. Another purpose is so that the church in Bolivia can begin to take responsibility for it’s own decisions. In some ways, it is like a child taking the family car out for the first time by himself. You have been there with them while they drive. You have taught them and given them advice, but eventually they have to do it on their own. They won’t do everything perfect but that’s how they learn. One of the main things that we do while here on furlough is visit churches. In reality, we have several goals while visiting the churches. Some are our supporters and we are visiting to give them a report on the work that has been done over the last four years. It is also so that the church can get to know our family because when we visited some of the churches we only had one child. Another one of our goals is to raise additional support for our ministry in Bolivia. We have had many churches that have lowered our support due to the economic condition. Finally, we have a great need to raise funds to buy a piece of land in Bolivia. Please pray for us during this time for safety and that we might reach our goals.
News From Bolivia:
While we are now coming to the end of summer here in the states, in Bolivia they are coming out of one of their coldest winters on record. They had much livestock die and at one point even the fish in some of the rivers and lakes were dying because of the cold. That can be interesting when there is no heat in the church and it is just a tin roof. In spite of the cold weather they have had several special activities at the church recently. One of them is a men’s meeting once a month on Saturday. They began having the meeting for a time of fellowship and to strengthen their spiritual lives. Also, one of the special meetings that we have for some time is a Matthew’s banquet. It gives the people an opportunity to invite friends and family to the church for a special service but more importantly, so they can hear the gospel. It is much easier to get them to come when they know there is something special, and of course the food is an added incentive. This year there were 135 people for the Sunday morning service and they had two different plates. One was roasted pork and the other oven baked chicken. There were many visitors and many were able to hear the gospel.
Who will go?
With such a great need in Bolivia and many places around the world this is a question that must be asked and taken very seriously. I hear many people say “I am willing to go if that is what God wants”. The problem is, there is a flaw in that way of thinking. The same as if I were to say I am willing to pray or read my Bible if that is what God wants; you would say “Of course it is what God wants because His word tells us plainly to do those things.” Well, if that is the case when it comes to praying and reading our Bibles then the same must be true when it comes to preaching the gospel because His word plainly commands “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel”. The only question that then needs to be asked is “Lord where do you want me to go”?
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that the Lord will keep his hand upon the church and leaders during this time.
- Pray that we can raise the needed support for our ministry in Bolivia.
- Pray that the Lord will provide the needed funds to purchase land in Bolivia.
- Pray for the government of Bolivia that the Lord will work in their hearts and lives.