Precious in His Sight (Psa 116:15):
Over the past year or so we have asked you to pray for little Maité that had the brain tumor. This past month she had her graduation to heaven. Just a week or so before, we went to visit her, and she could barely sit up and barely talk and the only thing she could eat was jello or yogurt. The amazing thing was though that she would still try and sing along with my wife, the songs that she has learned in children’s church. Although it breaks our hearts to know that she is no longer with us and for her family as they face one of the most difficult times of their lives, at the same time we are comforted. Here are a few things that we know that help us and them during this time.
1. She is no Longer Suffering
The Bible tells us that for the believer to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We also know that when we are present with Him that we will no longer be in this sin, riddled body; but that we will have a new body that is perfect and without sickness or pain. Maité has suffered over the past few months, but she is suffering no more. We don’t know what suffering she might have had to face if she would have lived a long life, but we know now that she will never have to suffer again.
2. We will see her Again
For the lost person, one of the most difficult things, has to be, that they never have the hope of seeing their loved one again. For us a Christians though, even though it pains us to not have them with us, we know that they have only gone ahead and await our arrival. I’m not sure how it will be when we get to heaven, but i can imagine Maité skipping down the streets of gold and worshipping her Savior as she waits for her grandma, mom, and sisters.
3. Jesus is With Us
The other truth, and maybe the key truth that we must cling to in times like this, is that Jesus has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. In the darkest most difficult times, He is the light that shines on our pathway and the joy that fills our soul. Life is short and in the blink if an eye everything can change, and we can be shaken to our core, but it is in these times that we must trust in the never changing one that is Jesus Christ. He is the only one that can give us strength to carry on day by day.
I would like to ask you to pray for Maite’s family during this time, and also to realize that life is short; we never know what tomorrow will bring.
Honoring Fathers:
We recently celebrated Father’s Day here in Bolivia, and each year we have something special at our church also. The date that we celebrate it is a little different than in the US, and it probably is not as big of a deal either. That is why we try and make it special and recognize the privilege and responsibility it is to be a father. We had guests visiting that were here for our Pastor’s Conference so they were able to preach in the different churches. I translated at our current church, and a friend translated for one of the other visitors at our first church in Cochabamba. We had a great group in each meeting and several that were visiting. We also had a special meal afterwards in each church and gave a special gift to each father. In Cochabamba they had a dish called Fricasé, which is chicken, pork, chuño (freeze dried potato) and corn, and received a book on parenting. In Pacata we had Salteñas, which is like a hot pocket but served for breakfast and a small screw driver set as a gift. We also had a message on several principles of being a biblical father. It was great to see both churches full and to be able to honor and encourage that father’s of our churches.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for the Herredia family as they face Maite’s passing.
2. Pray for those that will be baptized and become members of our churches.
3. Pray for laborers to Bolivia because the harvest is great but the laborers few.
4. Pray for Bolivia and the elections that we will have later this year .