Fourth Week

"For every animal of the forest is mine,  and the cattle on a thousand hills."

Psalm 50:10

We are surrounded by cattle and all kinds of wild life. This is a working hacienda, after all. I have no pictures of monkeys yet. I never have a camera handy when they are around.

There were no special meetings last week, just our regularly scheduled Bible studies. Luis and Elizabeth have been a great help, since we were able to double up one day a week. On Thursdays, they took the car and went to Francisco and Luz's, as we stayed home and hosted Christian and Daniela. This Thursday was very special because Christian and Daniela asked the Lord to come into their hearts. The lesson the week before ended with the question: "If you died today, what reason would you give the Lord to let you in Heaven?" We told them to think about it all week and give us an answer Thursday. Well, Thursday's first question from Christian was, "what is a sinner?" We explained that we are sinners before the Lord and all are guilty before we accept Jesus. Then we have the privilege to be called sons of God. We still sin, but we confess our sins are are forgiven. We read the pertinent verses, and then we asked them if they were ready, and they said yes! PTL!!

Luis and Elizabeth will go back to Bolivia this Wednesday. They are going by bus from here to the capital where Carlos will meet them and take them to his church Wednesday night. They will fly out Thursday, arriving late Thursday night to Bolivia. Then they will have a twenty-hour bus ride to their home. We are going to miss them. Not only they are a great help during the Bible studies (after all, they direct a Bible institute in Bolivia), but Luis is very handy around the house and the car. He has fixed a lot of little things that needed fixing.

Dinner at Ricardo and Miguelina's last night. The little girl photo bombing is their granddaughter 

Francisco and Luz were also invited

Tonight we will have the couples Bible study. Luis will lead. We have decided to talk about the giants in our lives. In this cultural context, one of the giants is handling finances. Luis will introduce the idea of a budget. Elizabeth even designed a simple budget worksheet for them to fill out and take home. She happens to be a certified accountant, among her many talents. Elizabeth is also cooking Peruvian rice for tonight's meal with the couples. I get to assist and learn how to do it.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the men are going fishing. Since there are so many who want to go, they are going in two separate boats. Now there is a friendly competition between the boats. We are expecting a great catch, so we are going back to Christian and Daniela's house for a big fish cook out. I will probably have a lot of fish stories for next blog.

Prayer requests:

• Safety tomorrow for all the guys going fishing
• Safety for Luis and Elizabeth as they make their way back home
• For Christian and Daniela, that they will grow in the Lord
• Wisdom as we share and counsel
• Good health and continued traveling mercies
• For all the couples to grow in the Lord and apply what they have learned
• For our family back home, health an safety

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