Are You Surrendered:
I believe one of the most important steps in a Christian’s life and also one of the greatest needs we see today, is for believers to be surrendered to the Lord in their lives. After all the Bible is clear that we have been bought with a price and that our lives are not our own, but His. To be surrendered means that we are willing to do whatever the Lord would have us to do and that our focus and priority in life is on serving Him and reaching others. If we as Christians were truly surrendered to the Lord and focused on living like Christ would have us to live, only then could we have the impact on the world that we should. I can remember, at around 21 years of age, while in college studying Mechanical Engineering, I realized that my life had no purpose because I was doing what I wanted to do instead of what the Lord wanted me to do. At that time I surrendered my life to the Lord and determined to live my life with purpose and dedicated to serving Him and I can honestly say that I have never regretted it.
This same desire is what we have for the people here in Bolivia and especially for the young people as they decide what they are going to do with their lives. That is why we titled this years youth conference “Surrendered at His Feet”. It was a special treat to have our mission’s director, Bro. Jeff Bush, preaching the conference and a group of seven others visiting from GA, NC, and IL. Each night, the messages were truly impacting and we saw the Lord work in many lives as decisions were made for Him. During the day and after the conference we were able to take the group to see different sites here in Cochabamba like a hike to some waterfall and the statue of Jesus that overlooks the city. As we looked over our city, with more than a million people, we talked about the harvest that is truly plenteous and the laborers necessary to reap it. When we see this great harvest here in Bolivia and around the world, it brings to light the need for more people to surrender to Jesus and give their lives to reaching the lost. If you have never taken a mission’s trip, we would love to have you come and visit us here in Cochabamba Bolivia. Here is a short testimony from a pastor’s son who was visiting with us during this time.
“I really enjoyed the trip. I got to experience the culture of another country firsthand, which is something that everyone needs. Seeing the city from the plane and then from the statue opened my eyes to the great need of the world to have a witness. Seeing the vastness of the city and driving through it really helped me to realize how much it takes to make a difference. I would recommend that if you have a chance to go on a missions trip that you go to Bolivia. There is a great need there, and it will help you to have a greater burden for missions, and the work of missionaries.”
We Hit the Ground Running:
We have definitely hit the ground running upon arriving here in Bolivia. Things have been very busy and we have barely stopped to take a breath. The week after we arrived we had the group come for the youth conference, we found a house and have been moving all our furniture and things, I had marriage counseling and performed the wedding for a couple in the church, we had a young man stay for an extra two weeks, and we have met together to prepare things for our upcoming Bible College classes that will start in August. Hopefully once we get settled in our house, and everything taken care of, we can take a breather before starting to look for a place to start our new church…but I doubt it. 🙂
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for our upcoming Bible College classes.
2. Pray for us as we make plans to start a new work here in Bolivia.
3. Pray for the construction at our first church that the Lord will provide what they need.
4. Pray for Cochabamba because we are currently in a major drought and many aren’t getting water.