You can be Free:
This past month we had our anual youth camp here in Cochabamba Bolivia. This is a special time each year when we focus on reaching young people and also challenging them to live for the Lord and serve Him. I believe that we have a great opportunity and potential, working with these young people, because they have their whole life before them and are still flexible in many areas. It is also a time when many things are fighting for their attention and loyalty. They have friends that influence them, and family that pushes them towards a career where they can have a successful life. Those things can be good things as long as they first take into account what God’s will is for their lives. This is why it is so important, for us, to try and influence them and allow God to work in their lives.
This years camp theme was, “Breaking the Chains” that keep us from doing what the Lord would have us to do. We touched on things like Mediocrity, Worldliness, Pier pressure, Fear, and Immorality. Each morning we had two sessions teaching on these “chains” that can hinder us, ending with a service where they were challenged from God’s word. Then in the afternoon we had activities and competitions between the two teams that the campers were divided into. At night we ended things with another service where they were challenged to surrender their lives to the Lord. This year, once again, we had as a special speaker, pastor Juan Pacheco from the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Arequipa Peru. There were about 10 total that came with him, along with another pastor from Juliaca Peru, Percy Lopez. The Lord truly worked in a great way with two making a profession of faith and two more that received assurance of their salvation. Also there were many that went to the altar to give their lives to do what the Lord would have them to do. Please pray for them.
Called to Serve:
January is the month of camps here in South America because it is summer time and everyone is on summer break. Not only did we have camp here in Cochabamba but I was also invited to preach at a youth camp in Peru. Me and two guys from church, traveled all day on Saturday, to arrive in Arequipa so that we could visit a few churches on Sunday. I was able to preach at New Hope Baptist and then Lighthouse Baptist in the morning and then that night I preached at Omega Baptist church where my friend David Gardner is working as a missionary. Then on Monday we left for the coast where the camp was to be held in a town called Mejia. The focus of the camp was “Called to Serve” so there were classes in the morning for different groups about how they could serve, and then services at night. The response was amazing as many surrendered their lives to God’s call to serve Him in some capacity. Although it was a long trip, we had a great time and were encouraged to see how the Lord is blessing in the ministry in Perú.
There is a place for you:
As some might remember, we have been praying for some time for someone to come and help with our children’s homeschool so that Beth could be more involved in the church and helping with the ministry. Well the Lord answered that prayer and we now have Paula Larson here with us serving in this ministry. She is going to be helping with our family and possibly several more, and also serving in the churches here. To me, this is a great example of how you can use your abilities to serve the Lord, anywhere around the world.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray that we can find the right place to start meeting for our new church in Pacata.
2. Pray for our Bible College classes that start this month.
3. Pray for our daughter Taylor because she broke her foot and will be with a cast for a month or so.
4. Pray for the churches and pastors here that the Lord will continue to guide and bless.