Leah and I got to spend last night doing some discipleship with new believers German and his wife Ximena. German simply said to me one day, "I want to be a Christian. What do I need to do?" Wow! He told us that he used to watch our former security guard Luis, a strong believer, as he read his Bible, and he eventually decided that he wanted the joy that Luis had in his life. Praise God for faithful brothers who exalt Him in their daily lives... and for this new brother and sister in the faith!
Prayer Necessities:
1. Please be in prayer for the churches in Ayuma, Taramarca, and Salvatierra. Ask that God would continue to strengthen them in the faith and would fill them with His Spirit so that they may draw others to Him.
2. Pray for Leah and me as we leave B
olivia on May 1 to return home for nine months of stateside assignment. Pray that we will adjust well in the return to our home culture and that we would continue to make disciples there. Ask that we would clearly share what God has done here in Bolivia in upcoming speaking engagements. And please that everything will go smoothly with the necessary documents as I transport our dog, Riley, home with me. (Riley's pictured here in the canoe on the way back from Salvatierra.)3. Pray that God would show me where He would have me go next. I am in a period of transition and have been given clarity regarding the type of ministry in which I am to be involved, but I don't know the exact location yet. Please ask that God would reveal that clearly in His perfect timing.
Inquiring Minds Wanna Know:
Leah and I completed our last trip to Salvatierra in March and followed it up with a very encouraging trip to Peru to meet with the other members of our team to hear about what the Lord is doing in their individual ministries. We've now been back in Sucre for the last couple of weeks selling all of our belongings and making small repairs to the house in order to return it to the landlord, and we are planning one final farewell trip to Ayuma for this weekend.
It's so hard to believe our time in Bolivia is nearly over! We will miss our many dear friends here, but we are both ready for a time of rest and reconnection with friends and family at home.
Our last community trip was cut short by some mechanical issues with our truck, but we did get to spend about a week with our friends from Salvatierra. We met together as a church nearly every night and had the opportunity to share a few more stories from the book of Acts.
One of the villagers who has begun attending the church meetings is a man named Ruben (he's pictured here with his granddaughter Aneli). We first met Ruben on one of our earliest trips to Salvatierra in September. He is in his 50s and suffers from Parkinson's disease. When we first met him, he could not walk or even lift food to his mouth because he was shaking too badly to do so. Though he had gotten medicine for the illness in the past, he had long since exhausted his supply, so we took him to a doctor in a nearby town and got him the treatment he needed. Within a few days, he was walking again.
After that, Ruben began coming to listen to the stories from God's Word, but I often wondered if his motivation was simply to please us so that we would continue to bring him the medicine. Though we were certainly glad he was coming to the meetings and hearing Truth, I was still concerned about what would happen after we left.
On our last day, as we were packing to leave Salvatierra, Ruben paid us a visit. After chatting for a few minutes, the conversation hit a lull. That's when Leah, prompted by the Spirit asked Ruben what he was thinking about baptism. You could have knocked us over with a feather when he very quietly responded, "Well, that's why I came."
Wow! We were beyond excited! I could hardly keep the grin off my face, but I wanted to ensure that he understood the significance - and the cost - of the decision he was making. So I began to explain to him that a Christian is called to live a life of suffering but that it is completely worth it. He nodded, and we could tell that he understood.
So we rejoiced with our new brother! In our 2.5 years of work among the Quechua and the Guarayo, this is the first salvation we've gotten to witness firsthand. And God let us reap this harvest about an hour before the end of our work in Bolivia. Surely these words are true:
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don't give up." (Gal. 6:9)
Getting back from Salvatierra involves motorcycles and canoes... combined. :)
