February 2021 Update
Rainy season has come to the jungle in full force since our last letter. It has been a nice change in weather because it has helped cool things down to a more comfortable temperature. With all the rain, there have come challenges and blessings in the ministry as well.
When we built the church building, we designed it to be future-ready for two-stories. The bathrooms and storage rooms have a flat concrete roof that will one day be the floor of the 2nd story. This has become an issue because of the amount of rain we have had. The water began to seep through the ceiling and through the mortar between the brick in the walls. We have a lot of Sunday School material, scripture, tracts and more that we were afraid of losing to water and mildew. Thankfully, the men of the church were able to help work on this problem by sealing the building better. Over one particular weekend, they decided among themselves to work on this project even though I was not able to help. Government restrictions during a holiday didn’t allow us to travel to the church at that time. Pastor Rogelio had service without us, and it was then that they made their plans for working together on this issue. This offered a great opportunity to watch those of the church get involved. There is still work to be done to remedy the problem, but at least our materials will not be ruined.
With the move to the new location and the coming of the rainy season, we are learning who will be our faithful members. When we made the move, I prepared Pastor Rogelio for the possibility that we would lose several people in the process. This is something I have seen happen in the past. That, along with all the rain, has made this last month a bit discouraging for him. Remember, these people do not have vehicles. They walk to church and unfortunately, some have decided not to continue to do so. But, at the same time, this has allowed us to see who will remain faithful...those who have followed during the move, and those who have made the extra effort to come even through the rain. Seeing these faithful ones has also allowed us to know who we can start training to help us in other areas of the ministry. We are thankful for these faithful few and that it is in their hearts to remain despite the circumstances.
We are preparing to work on the financial aspect of the church. The goal is to teach the biblical principles of giving that will also help the church become self-supporting. We have taken offerings each week and we have mentioned tithing, however, the subject has not been specifically taught yet. This month, I am training people in church bookkeeping. I want to make sure this responsibility is clear and well-established before there is more in-depth teaching on giving so there will be no question about the integrity and the accountability regarding the finances of the church. Lord willing, next month I will begin teaching on the differences between tithes, offerings and missions-giving. There is a lot of confusion about tithes, even among the pastors here. I hope to guard against this confusion from the beginning. My desire is that by the end of April, the church will be able to begin supporting their pastor.
Both of our children celebrated their birthdays in January. Daniel turned 5 and Ellie turned 7 years old. Jessica and I are blessed in being entrusted to raise them for the Lord. Our continual prayer is that the Lord would help us raise them in such a way that they will trust Him as Savior at a young age.
We appreciate your continued support in the ministry here. We love what the Lord has called and allows us to do.
