One of the greatest needs that I see in Bolivia and even in other countries around the world is the need for strong families and strong churches. In Bolivia well over half of all children have one or both of parents absent because they are working in other countries. Also as missionaries and pastors it is easy to get into the routine and be satisfied with where we are. For that reason we had this month two conferences together to help unite families and stir pastors. We invited pastor Austin Gardner whom we trained with in Peru to come and speak. Starting on Sunday through Wednesday each night we had our second annual family conference. On Monday through Wednesday in the mornings we had our first conference for pastors and leaders. The people of the church worked hard inviting friends and family and we sent out invitation to as many pastors as we could. Planning for the conference we were expecting maybe 50 or so pastors and leaders and had a goal of 120 for the family conference. When it was all said and done we had people come from Peru, Argentina, and three different cities here in Bolivia. In the mornings we had around 100 with a high attendance 120. In the family conference averaged around 140 each night with our high attendance on Tuesday night of 171. It was truly a time of blessing for our church and many pastors that participated. We heard comment after comment about how the time helped them in their families and encouraged them as pastors. This was a great opportunity for the people of our church to learn and begin to work in the ministry.
