Third Week

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Psalms 127:1

This verse has been on my mind lately. As we look back in all the efforts put into this little dusty town, we struggle sometimes to see fruit. Surely, there is a church and a pastor nearby in another town where there was none, but our original town remains very much immune to the Gospel. We trust that the Lord will work on hard hearts because He alone can bring forth fruit.

We have spent the last week visiting a few couples and also spending time with the Moras. Sunday we tried taking them to church. Pastor Alejandro had an unpleasant experience with the Venezuelan couple; therefore, he asked me please not to bring this other couple into the church. There is a Calvary Chapel church not far from here. They have a Facebook page listing the times of their services. We also drove by one day on our way home to double check time. On Sunday, we picked up the Moras and drove to the church, arriving half an hour early. The gate was closed, so we thought we were too early. John went to the gas station and drove us around for a while, but when we returned, the gate was still locked, and there was no sign of activity. Disappointed, we took the Moras grocery shopping and drove them home. No idea of the time of the services. Of course, we listened to Pastor Ryan's message online.

The Moras were here last night again for dinner. We got into a conversation about the surge of unusual names in Cuba, such as their names: Yunior and Glennis. We started mentioning strange names until they came up with the winner: a pastor in Cuba named his daughter "Talita Cumi." Glennis said maybe they will have no trouble getting her up in the morning! It is hard for them to be away from their parents, especially for Glennis. I am not sure that they will stay here. They miss home. They can go back to Cuba without much difficulty because they did not seek asylum in the US. Stay tuned...

Monday was the first day of the new school year. It runs from the second week in February to the second week in December. There is always a flurry of activity in the stores the week before as parents buy uniforms and school supplies. Everybody wears uniform in this country. Even office workers wear polo shirts with the company logo. Below a couple of pictures of our little friends in their brand new school uniforms.

We still have received no offers on our condo. It is always difficult to keep everything spotless in case somebody should call. 

Saturday Carlos and Rosario are coming with the lawyer, Patricia, and two other ladies. We will have a meeting here to form a nonprofit organization for the town of Pinilla. Carlos has had this idea for a long time, but the Venezuelans did not want to cooperate. Any way, the idea is to have a place similar to The Anchor where the youth in town can go play games, sports, use computers, learn English, and here the Gospel if they are open. I will talk about it next time.

Prayer Requests:

• Good health, safety and stamina for us.
• Jobs for the Moras and grace in the eyes of the town.
• For the Holy Spirit to work in hearts and minds here.
• Pray for safety and health for our family back home.
• That the lessons that our grandchildren learned in camp will produce fruit.

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