December 2024 Update
As we reach the end of this year, our hearts overflow with gratitude to the Lord for His greatness and appreciation for all of you who make our ministry possible. Although the latter half of this year has presented challenges, we have also witnessed God's presence in numerous ways.
We remain actively involved in the disaster relief efforts led by our home church following Hurricane Helene. We are still responsible for distributing aid to those in need, although the pace of these distributions has slowed. While many families continue to face significant hardships, this decrease in demand is a positive sign, indicating that more individuals are beginning to recover. We are currently assisting around 100 families each week, with distributions now occurring just once a week. Through these efforts, we have engaged with each family to understand their specific needs. Some still find themselves in dire situations, especially those still displaced from their homes. Unfortunately, the limited assistance they have received from FEMA is nearing its end, leaving many at risk of homelessness.
One of the most rewarding events we organized was providing Christmas for 415 displaced individuals. Given that many have lost nearly everything and are struggling financially, we created a Christmas Village especially for them. Each family had the opportunity to select gifts from a wide variety available for their entire family. After choosing their gifts, we offered to wrap them as well. Our desire was to give them the feeling of normalcy of Christmas shopping but without the added financial burden. Additionally, they received a pre-lit Christmas tree with decorations, a new Bible, a warm meal, a special box of food for a Christmas feast, and more. It was heartwarming to have two of our supporting churches bring roughly 80 volunteers to help make this event a success! They even arrived a day early to assist with various projects around our church. This event truly stood out as a highlight of our local church's year.
With Christmas approaching, we are preparing our traditional Christmas meals for the children in our churches in Bolivia. Each year, with the support of Change the World Relief Org., we sponsor a special meal and gifts for the children in our church plants and a few neighboring congregations. Due to the struggling local economy, the costs of meals and gifts have risen significantly. We hope that this will be a
special blessing to them since many may not have anything more for Christmas this year.
As Christmas draws near and our involvement in disaster relief winds down, we turn our focus to preparing for our return to Bolivia. This furlough has been fruitful, providing us with opportunities to minister in various ways, yet we are eager to return to the place where God has called us. This will likely be our last update before we fly back at the beginning of January. We have many activities lined up upon our arrival, including the arrival of a new missionary family in February, the launch of a new Bible College for several of our churches, Vacation Bible School in January, and more, in addition to our regular church responsibilities.
Lastly, we are thrilled to announce that the truck fund has been successfully completed! This was a significant undertaking for us, and there were moments when we lacked faith that this would be accomplished, but God consistently provided for the need in His timing. We are very appreciative to everyone who contributed to this project. This vehicle will be an invaluable tool in our ministry, enabling us to continue the works that have been started.
Our family is deeply grateful for your steadfast support through both the joyful and challenging times. It means more than you will ever know on this side of eternity. Thank you for being there for our family and the ministry in Bolivia.
