Valentine's Day Party

A view of the party. We are at Luis and Irene's front porch, where we always have the Sunday night meetings.

Gardy, Paola, Randall, Arleth

Eduardo, Arelys and Evan

Another view of the group

Guess who?

Francisco and Luz

Gardy and Paola

Some of the children

Randall and Arleth

This past week was a lot calmer. The highlight of the week was our Valentine's Day party on Sunday night. We did not have as many couples as usual, but the regulars came. It was sad to see Sergio by himself. It seems that their marriage is really over. We have not heard from Bianka since the time she came over and we told her that she could not be married to Sergio and have a boyfriend. She left crying that night, but she refuses to end the relationship with the other man, or put it on hold until she divorces Sergio. I continue to pray that the Lord will work in her heart. Since he was by himself, Sergio took the pictures, cooked the meat, and kept the scores during the game.

Back to the party: John took the opportunity to talk about the soccer event the Sunday before and about what they took away from it. He told them that they do not have excuses to say that they can't accomplish their dreams. One of the problems we encounter here is lack of self-esteem and a defeatist attitude because "we are poor."

We were going to show the Esther movie, but it did not have Spanish sound track, just subtitles. The subtitles are hard to see on the TV screen. We talked instead about the love of God for us and in us, using 1 John 4. We also had a game similar to the Newlywed Game. They just loved it. We had a great time of laughter. The top three scores got prizes. They actually said that the only time they talk about things like that (what they had in common, what they really know about their spouse) is when we are here.

Our para-Olympic athlete, Lauren, went to LA last week to compete in the LA Marathon and got third place in his division. He also improved his time by two minutes.

This is a picture from his FB page showing off his medal

We spent the rest of the time visiting and counseling. My original prayer request before we left was that my mouth will speak wisdom and the thoughts of my heart knowledge. (Psalm 49:3) This continues to be my prayer request. We are asked to give advice and to encourage. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the wisdom to say the right things. I cannot emphasize enough how much we need your prayers. Thank you for praying for us.

Prayer requests:

• That the people in this town will learn from the testimonies heard
• That their lives will be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit
• For Pastor Alejandro and his wife, Alba, as they consider moving on from this ministry
• For our counseling and preaching - we need a lot of wisdom from the Lord
• For our family back home - may the Lord keep them all safe

Thank you for your prayers!!!

Until next time...from the beach...