Hello family and friends!
It's Friday morning here and we are rejoicing in God's mercies that are new today as they are everyday! VBS was fantastic on both Wednesday and Thursday afternoons--Wednesday's theme was Daniel and the Lions Den and Thursday was when Jesus fed the 5,000. The children are wonderful actors in the dramas for the Bible lessons! There were over 100 children yesterday at VBS and the teachers really did a wonderful job in creatively presenting the Bible lessons. We assisted with songs, the Bible drama and crafts. I get misty eyed--you know me--when I think of how good God is in seeing the progression of the ministries at Florida Norte church. When we first sent teams here, we planned and taught everything during Vacation Bible School. Now they are teaching almost everything!! We've had some great evaluation sessions around 6 p.m. each day to review how things went. I've been able to give some teaching tips and various ways to present information and those have been well received, by God's grace.
We met a boy named Juan in the park on Wednesday before VBS. He's maybe 13 years old and did not want to come to VBS. After some persuasive coaching, he decided to give it a try and he loved it! He and his younger brother came on Thursday and the teachers were able to connect with him. The love of Christ drew this young man to the church so he could hear about our awesome God! Over 1/2 of the children who attended VBS were from the Florida Norte barrio (neighborhood)and the church is planning programs to follow up with these children and families so that they can continue to come and worship.
Last night (Thursday night) Abel and I taught a Bible study on 'Peacemaking and how to reconcile conflicts according to the Bible.' The Holy Spirit was moving among the congregation as we dug into God's Word. Abel and I both sensed an empowering from our great God as we taught together, and both of us were again misty eyed at the end of our presentation because of our love for the people of this church and desire for them to be unified. The congregation desires this too, and we will have an opportunity to meet with the leadership of the church on Sunday afternoon for some leadership training, prayers and planning. We will present a monetary gift toward their church building plans on Sunday morning.
Kristin and Diane are a magnet for the children and the women at Florida Norte! They both are doing a beautiful job encouraging and teaching. I am so glad that they are here. We have had many helpful evaluation discussions as we are seeking God's guidance for our future ministry involvement in Bolivia.
God has demonstrated His goodness and faithfulness over and over again to us during our days here. We've been studying the book of Mark in our devotions and continue to be amazed at the teaching and ministry of Jesus. What a blessing to be able to serve Him here in Cochabamba!
Love and prayers to all of you!
mateo
