100%:
Every year in January we have one of the most exciting activities that we do in our ministry here. We have a week long youth camp focused on reaching teens and encouraging them to serve God with their lives. Each year we have seen God do great things, and this year was no exception. As we were making preparations for the camp, and deciding what the theme would be for this year, we asked the question, what is it that we want to accomplish in the lives of those that will attend? One of the things that I think can be seen, anywhere around the world with younger people is that they don’t seem to have much purpose, and that they are living for the wrong things. That is why we decided that the theme of this years camp would be, “100%”. We wanted each one to be 100% consecrated to the Lord in their lives. Each day we had breakout sessions where we taught them about being 100% consecrated in different areas like; their salvation, their minds, bodies and time. We ended by talking about them consecrating the decisions for their future and what the Lord wanted to do with their lives. We praise the Lord that there were many who consecrated their lives and several that gave their lives to the Lord in salvation. Please pray for these young people and the decisions they made.
Back to School:
As you might have heard, the school year here in Bolivia is oposite of that in the US because it coincides with the seasons being oposite here. So the year begins in February and ends in December instead of beginning in August and ending in May. Just like in the US, it can be a crazy time as parents get ready for their children to start back to school and especially when they have to buy school materials that cost sometimes close to $100. That is why each year we have an activity where we try and be a help to the community and show the love of Christ as a church. Because of the high cost of materials we prepare small packages with some school supplies and hand them out to the people around the church. This year was even more special because a group from Riverview Baptist Church, that visited us last year, sent a whole suitcase full of supplies, already packaged and with the churches name on it. We were able to hand out close to 100 packages, along with a tract and information about the church. Many of the people were very surprised that someone would care enough to try and help and be a blessing to them.
Thank You:
Many of you might have heard about the problems here in Bolivia with a set of laws that the government has been trying to pass. One of those laws included an article that included religious organization inviting and transporting people. The focus of the article was about kidnapping and trafficking people but was written in a way that could be interpreted against doing ministry. We praise the Lord that the law was revoked but we ask you to pray that the Lord will continue to keep the doors open to preach the gospel here in Bolivia.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for our upcoming English classes that start this month.
2. Please pray for our Bible college classes that also start this month.
3. Pray for our government, that they will not pass laws that limit us doing ministry here.
4. Pray for many areas of Bolivia that are flooding because of rainy season.