Settling In

11-23




It was really a blessing to engage in more ministry opportunities today. Our first night without rain was a surprise and led to some welcome sunshine. Of course the weather has been wonderful during our whole time here, but the sun enables us to do more and visit places farther away.



Part of the group headed back to the house we had begun working on yesterday. They prepared more walls for reconstruction and others of them spent time with the children of that area, playing and helping to pickup broken glass and dangerous metal pieces. It is good to be able to bless this very poor family.



The other part of the group visited some nearby houses. So many of these places are filled with broken families. It seems there are few qualms about leaving one’s spouse. Pray for the families of Sierra Prieta, pray for protections and pray for God’s truth to invade these precious relationships.

One of the homes we visited was so encouraging to us. The Matilda is a young mother who is very much an anomaly here. Her husband works in the city and comes home every day. Every day after school she helps her children with their homework. When we invited them to come to the VBS this afternoon she said she would be glad to bring them but they couldn’t go alone because of the dangerous drivers. Many of the children here seem to run around rather unsupervised. Pray for her and her family.

We invited people at each of the houses to come to our service on Wednesday night. They all promised to come. Pray for Bob as he prepares to preach. Pray that many will come and that they will hear the gospel and respond.



It has been so great to see old friends but even better has been the way that even new team members are greeted as the old. If you are with us you are a friend. The warmth that we are received with in every home is amazing. Hospitality is a way of life here.

The VBS yesterday was a great challenge. The children were very unruly and became almost dangerously rambunctious during the games. Pray that a spirit of order will be present and that Gods word will be heard well.

At the service we had last night Dan presented a very clear message of God’s love for us and a method to come to him. We continue to enjoy sharing the songs we have learned with those here. It is an entirely different style than they are sued to but they have been very appreciative. Reanne shared her testimony and it was very touching and spoke clearly of how God’s love is for all of us.



The children continue to be our greatest joy. They are always seeking us out to play and even to just sit on laps. They don’t get a lot of affection from their parents especially from fathers, if they are even here. Dale and Zach are crowd favorites, their constant energy and care for the kids is contagious. They also love to have their pictures taken and then see the images on the camera.



Pray that people see the true reason for our visit, to share God’s great love and grace with them, not our different ways or unintentionally flashy stuff.

Finally please be praying for our FH support team here. Martires is our primary team liaison. Kelvin is the local director of FH’s work here and has many connections in the community. Edward is now beginning to be the local liaison in Sierra Prieta and was introduces as such at our welcome meeting with the community. Carlos is Kelvin’s brother-in-law and volunteers daily to come and help us. Interpreters who are giving their week to help us are Ivan and Wilamen. Please pray for their families and that we would continue to be a great team together.

We all think fondly of our families back home and look forward to seeing you all soon. At the same time it already seems like the week is progressing too quickly and too soon we will leave this place where we already have seen so much of God’s blessing.