January 2024 Prayer Letter
December seemed to be busier than normal this year. With Christmas, work projects and other activities going on, we are excited to continue in the work of the Lord.
As I mentioned in our letter last month, we have been working to supply water to 2 communities suffering from a drought. These are both indigenous communities that are very hard to reach due to their culture. We were able to complete the first of these projects by mid-December and the second one by Christmas.
Also in December, we helped with a children's Christmas meal in 8 different churches around Bolivia, feeding over 550 children. Two of those places were in these drought-stricken villages. We were able to not only give these families water, but we also gave them some groceries and had a special meal for their children on Christmas Day. Evidently, our efforts made an impression on their chief. He told Pastor Enoc that no one had ever cared for their people like we had. By the end of Christmas Day, he made a profession of faith in Christ! Imagine what God is up to in this little village! Thank you to several who helped us in both water projects!
We have been asking you for several months to help us pray for direction in our next church. Honestly, as we turned over our 3rd church, we felt a little lost not knowing God's guidance yet. After several months of praying, we believe we have found where we are to go next. There is an outreach on the north side of the city that I have been praying about since 2020. I had visited the area when there were just a few children in a children's club. I have watched them over the last few years but there has been no clear leadership until recently. I met Edwin Ayca a few years ago while he was attending Bible college and helping his local church establish 2 other church plants at the same time. Now, he is married with newborn twin girls. He and his family have joined with this new outreach with the desire to pastor which is exactly what we look for. Please pray for us as we begin to work with Edwin to turn this outreach into another autonomous church for God's glory! We are currently meeting in a small storefront that is being loaned to us and there is a good group of people coming on a regular basis. Please also pray for our children. After leaving their friends at our last church they are struggling to make new friends at the new outreach, especially Daniel.
As of this writing, we are still waiting for our container of scripture. It should be released by customs any day now and with good timing. As we prepare for 4 vacation Bible schools this month, we are making 650 back-to-school pouches for the children. The pouches have different supplies the children will need as they return to class in February but also include tracts and John & Romans scripture portions. As we were packing these pouches, I opened our last box of scripture portions, and we now only have a few left. I was glad I had a sufficient supply, but we now need our container more than ever.
As we look on a new year, there is still much to be done in God's service. There are still many here in Bolivia that have not yet received the gospel of Christ. Please continue to pray for us in this endeavor.
