Winding Down:
We are now winding down to the end of our furlough time here in the US and are making preparations for our departure. We already have our tickets purchased for the 24th of June and only have a few more weeks of meetings left. Soon we will have to go through the difficult task of packing all of our things up and storing them in a storage building for the next four years. That may not sound that bad but there is a lot more to it than just packing suitcases. We have to make some repairs on the building where we have been storing our things so that they will not be affected by weather and bugs. Also, we have to get everything out of the house that we are living in and make any necessary repairs, which are inevitable with three kids. We also have to purchase a lot of extra things to take back to Bolivia with us, like cloths for the kids, home school materials, etc. Along with all this we will be trying to spend some time with our family and home church before we depart. We have our work cut out for us and the weeks will be flying by, so, please pray for us during this busy time that we can get everything done.
Church Update:
As some of you might have seen, our first church in Bolivia was broken into recently. Since the construction is in the early stages there are no walls or doors so it is easy for someone to come in and take what they want. For this reason they have not set up their sound system or piano to avoid getting them stolen. When the people broke in, the only thing that was there was the chairs, a guitar and music stand, so that is what they took. The chairs were older but cost about $10 each to replace and the guitar belonged to one of the members so the church will have to replace it and the stand. While this could be a big discouragement for them, they have decided to make it a victory and motivation to move forward with the construction to make the church more secure. Since the break in, they have had a special service with prayer and several days with the people coming to help build. They now have several of the cement columns up that will support the front wall and they have the wall up that will support the glass windows along the side of the church. If you go to our website, (www.operationbolivia.com) you can see in the pictures, that they have been working hard and sacrificing to get the church to the point where it will be more secure and they can use the sound system again. Thank you for your prayers for them and the work in Bolivia.
Special Invite:
I would like to personally invite you to check out the blog that my wife and the other missionary wives started a few years back. If you have ever wondered what it is like to live in a foreign country and be a missionary from a wife’s perspective, then you will want to subscribe to this blog. These ladies are serving in China, Japan, Thailand, India, South Africa and South America, just to name a few so you will get a broad spectrum of information from different cultures. Listening to them share their victories, burdens and things they have learned on the mission field will be invaluable to you and others. If you are interested, the best way to follow them is to go the the website www.womenbehindthescenes.com and scroll down to where it says “Subscribe to Blog” on the right and enter your Email address.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for the churches in Bolivia and the pastors as they lead.
2. Pray for us as we finish up our meetings and pack for Bolivia.
3. Pray for our upcoming youth conference the first week of July.
4. Pray for the construction of our new church building and the needs they have.