Surprise Visit
The first week of October we made a surprise visit the church their in Bolivia. Beth and I arranged to leave on Tuesday so that we would arrive on Wednesday for the midweek service. The only one that knew of our arrival was Christian who helped us with some of the plans and flight reservations. We waited outside the church until the preaching time where Christian got up and asked if anyone liked surprises. With that he handed me the microphone outside the side door behind the curtain. When we entered the church building the look on the people’s faces was priceless. We were only there for five days, so our time was limited, and we tried to meet with many of the people to encourage them and plan some of the activities. Even though we were very busy, Beth was able to be at a baby shower for one of the ladies of the church, and on Friday night I was able to go with the guys to play soccer. During our week, we also had a new addition to the ministry arrive Pastor Jaime Benitez. Jaime is from Colombia, but he and his family have been in Peru studying at the Macedonia Bible College for four years. He has finished his studies and is now trying to raise the funds necessary to return to Colombia and start a church there in his home country. Pastor Christian had to return to Peru, so we were thankful that Jaime was willing to come over and help out while we are on furlough. When we return to the field he will be returning to Peru and from there hopefully to Colombia to reach his own people with the gospel. If you would be interested in helping the family now or even when they return to Colombia I know it would be a great blessing to them and a worthy investment on your part. They are looking to raise support for two years during which time they will plant a church, and after two years, they will be supported by the church. If you are interested in helping please contact us at kwhite@mwbm.org or call 336-499-2585
Need for Land in a needy Land:
One of our goals while here in the states is to raise funds to be able to purchase land and build a church building for the church there in Bolivia. The Lord has blessed greatly but one of the challenges in planting an indigenous church is the self supporting part. Sometimes there is a great imbalance between the income of the people in a third world country and the price for things like land and construction. At this time, the church is almost to the point that it could pay it’s own bills if they didn’t have to pay rent on the building that they are in. Because of this our desire is to purchase a piece of land and help out by building a church building for them to meet in. This will be the first time for us to do this for our ministry there in Cochabamba. We know that this is a difficult task in difficult times with the economy the way it is, but we also know that we serve a God that is much bigger. Understanding the challenges that face us; we want to start by praying and asking you to pray with us that the Lord will direct us and touch the hearts of the people towards this need. We will be sending out more information and details in the upcoming months so stay tuned.
Don’t Forget
As most of you know, we have been here in the United States on our furlough visiting churches. Things have been very busy traveling, but are finally slowing down as the holiday season approaches. We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families and of course eating all the good food. After the first of the year we will be back at it because we will only have a few months before it is time once again to return to Bolivia. If you would like for us to come and visit your church to give a report on the ministry in Bolivia please let us know. We still have openings for 2011 and will be scheduling most of our meeting in the next few months. Please feel free to contact us at: kwhite@mwbm.org or call at 336-499-2585.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for Pastor Jaime and his family as they make the transition to Bolivia.
- Pray that the Lord will continue to bless in the church there in Bolivia.
- Pray that the Lord will provide the needed funds to purchase land in Bolivia.
- Pray for the president of Bolivia (Evo Morales) and the government there.