May 2021 Prayer Letter
Once again, we have the opportunity to write you with updates from here in Bolivia. The last month was very busy with activities in both our family and the ministry.
As many of you know, Ellie broke her arm in March and required emergency surgery where they put 1 pin in her wrist and 2 in her elbow. Her elbow also required surgery to reassembly the bone fragments. We returned to the doctor a few times shortly afterwards because she was complaining of pain and had a fever. The doctors didn’t see any problems. However, when we went back to have her stitches removed our suspicions were confirmed. She had an infection at the pin sites in her elbow. With this, she required a second surgery to remove the pins and to clean up the infection. Thankfully, that helped her greatly and she has not had any fever since. She has had her cast removed and is doing therapy to regain the movement in her elbow. She has done great. She has been a brave little girl through all of this.
The past month at the church has been fascinating. Attendance has been up on Sunday mornings with an average of 75 people coming. This has been the catalyst of a snowball effect of improvements and additions to the building. The original structure, with its enclosure modifications, would have been just fine for this amount of people. However, due to the pandemic, we were having trouble spacing people out for safety and according to the local law. God is always ready to work when we are faced with situations that we might consider problems. Some churches saw photos of our congregation, became concerned at the limitations, and were able to help us extend the roof, so we have more space for seating. As this was happening, our church people also started getting involved. One man gave enough money to pay for a construction worker to come work at the church for a full week. Others started getting involved in this type of giving to keep this same man working for 4 full weeks! With his help, we have poured the cement flooring and plastered the walls. The church people have also helped buy some of the construction supplies. They organized a workday then spent their Labor Day holiday fixing the area where we hold the children’s Sunday school classes. It has been a wonderful encouragement to watch God work in hearts as only He can and supply for the needs. The building looks so much more complete as a result of the increase in people attending, giving and working.
For the last few months, we have been focusing on the finances of the church. We have set up a chain of accountability for receiving and counting the offerings. This month, we had special services with an invited preacher teaching on the tithe and special offering. My goal is to make sure the people saw this was not something asked by me or by the pastor but that it is a scriptural mandate to give. After the messages, I brought the focus to the need for them to support their pastor and they seemed to receive it well. I hope to see the church take on this responsibility within the next month or so. Lord willing, we will start teaching about mission giving in the coming months as well.
At the end of April, I (Robert) celebrated 30 years since the evening that the Lord saved my soul. It was a joy to be able to celebrate that day while serving Him here where He has called our family. I am excited to see what else he has in store for us as we strive to do His will. We thank you for helping make this possible through your prayers and your support.
