On Thursday of last week we started a Bible study at the home of Eduardo and Arelis. We feel that we need to disciple this couple because they say they are believers, but don't have much Bible knowledge. We are using a very simple study about who Jesus is: He is God, the Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, our Defender, our King. Arriving at their home, we were pleasantly surprised to find Eduardo's mother and Paola there also. They held the common belief that all religions bring you to God. We were very clear to show them John 14:6. He is THE way, not a way, but the only way to God.
Since our friends were delayed in Bolivia, John had to preach at church on Sunday because the pastor had gone to visit his mother across the border. He talked about the parable of the workers in the vineyard on Matthew 20. The congregation went to church expecting a Bolivian preacher, but got the Gringo instead!
Sunday night we had a good group at the couples' meeting. Again, we had planned to have Luis share his testimony, but we went with Plan B, which was to show two scenes from the movie Miracles from Heaven that we showed the first Sunday and talk about when faith falters and the simplicity of the testimony of a young child. We had a time of serious discussion, followed by a game. They really get into the games. The idea is to show them that we can have a good time without alcohol.
We praise the Lord that our friends arrived without any further incidents on Tuesday. It takes them three days to get here from South America: one day traveling 7 hours by bus from their home to the international airport, one day flying from their country to our capital here, and one day again 5 hours by bus from the capital to a big town 30 minutes from our house. The day they were coming here there was a big taxi strike in the capital. They were protesting Uber. When I heard about the strike, I thought, "oh. Lord, what now?" There were big traffic jams, so I was afraid that they would have problems getting to the bus station, but our friends where they spent the night called Uber! A little ironic! They got to the bus station in 20 minutes, a record time for the capital. They still were 45 minutes late arriving here because the bus got caught in a traffic jam. We picked them up and took them to a local restaurant for a very late lunch and drove home.
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| Luis and Elizabeth, workers from Bolivia |
Wednesday morning we took them to our little town for a prayer walk. We met a few people, so we had a chance to pray with them. We also drove to the other little town where the church is located and prayed around the property. During the afternoon we went swimming at the beach. Bolivia is land locked in South America. They only time they had seen the ocean was during a visit to Brazil. They were delighted to be able to spend time at the beach. After dinner we went back to town to visit a few homes. We visited Walter and Yesenia (see last week's blog), Ricardo and Miguelina, and Christian and Daniela. It is very hot here, so when we visit any home, we just sit on their front porch, which exposes us to mosquitoes. We are very concerned about dengue, zika and chikungunya, which comes from Africa and is very dangerous also. I am already having skin problems from the amount of Deet that we spray on ourselves every day.
Today we spent our morning at the mechanic shop getting halogen lights for our car; then we went back to the restaurant in town by the beach and had a late brunch. Tonight we will try out the lights as we drive into town, back to Eduardo's house for the second Bible study about Jesus, the Lamb of God. Another praise, they actually improved the dirt road to town by smoothing out the surface a little bit!
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| I was bored at the mechanic shop and shot these pictures of the cemetery across the street |
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Entrance to the cemetery
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I guess pictures of a cemetery is not the best way to finish the blog, so here is a picture of the bay in front of the restaurant:
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It is cloudy today with some rain
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Prayer requests:
- Pray for good health and protection from mosquito-transmitted diseases. Irene has dengue. They all had it at her house, and that's where we have the couples' meetings.
- Pray for all the visits and the Bible studies. May the seed planted bear fruit.
- Pray for our friends from Bolivia, Luis and Elizabeth, that they will find rest and refreshment here, and at the same time, that the Lord will give them insight into our ministry.
- Pray for a lot wisdom and insight for us also.
- Pray for safety and protection for our family back home.
Thank you very much for keeping us in your prayers!
Until next time...from the beach...
