September 2024 Prayer Letter
We are grateful for ongoing progress in the ministry. It has been great to watch God work in our ministry there in Bolivia during our absence.
We recently mentioned the pending pastoral change within our first church. After 4 months of praying and searching, as of August, the church has officially welcomed its new pastor. To respect the church’s autonomy, we made a conscious effort to step back and provide guidance only when requested. We were naturally concerned over how this may work out and who the church may bring in. It has also been exciting to watch God’s work in this situation and see a great family take the helm. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but I think it has gone very well so far. Please continue to pray for the church and for their new pastor, Juan Lamett, during this transitional phase. He currently still lives in a different area of Bolivia and will be commuting back and forth each weekend until he is able to relocate around the end of the year.
Our third church has had some interesting advancements. Last year, we hosted a medical clinic at the nearby school. This allowed us to establish some connections within the community. Last month, the church gave a small gift to the teachers at that school in appreciation for their dedication to teach the children. More recently, the church put together a small gift for each of the 700+ students in the school. As a result of their commitment to sharing the love of Christ, Pastor Arturo was granted permission to share the gospel with the students during their classes. What a remarkable privilege! Of course, we are asking that God would reach many homes through this opportunity.
You may recall that we helped a pastor install a water source in a small community almost one year ago as a way of reaching the people with the gospel. This pastor has remained faithful, and we have witnessed God do great things in this community. He and his family were recently involved in a serious car accident resulting in injuries to his wife and 11-month baby. Thankfully, the baby only required 1 stitch to close a wound, but his wife sustained more severe injuries. We paid for her to be rushed to the main city by ambulance where an X-ray revealed several fractured cervical vertebrae. That night they recommended surgery but the next morning the local neurosurgeon recommended she just go to a chiropractor. Recognizing the risk that a chiropractor could cause more damage and the possibility of paralysis, we immediately helped them seek a second opinion. We found a better surgeon and a couple of days later she had the necessary procedure and is now recovering. This was a challenging time to be so far away, but the outcome can be attributed to God’s intervention. What is also impressive is what happened through other local churches. In Bolivia, churches typically operate under the philosophy that each should only address its own needs and rarely do they extend assistance to others. However, I have witnesseda change of heart around Enoc's situation! Many have come forward to offer support in various ways, particularly in financial contributions beyond what Bolivian churches usually give, even as the apostle Paul described, “beyond their measure.” We are praying that God would continue to use what could have been a tragedy for His glory and in a way that would further unite these churches.
Before we finish, we want to share some joyous news from our family. After their profession in May, both of our children began asking about being baptized. They asked about doing so in Bolivia, but we felt it was important that they be baptized through their home church here in the states if possible. In August, I (Robert) was honored with the opportunity to baptize them both alongside our pastor.
Sometimes we see God work in the background, sometimes through His people’s faithfulness and sometimes through difficulty. But what is important is that we always remember that though He has allowed us to be a part, He is the one Who does the work, and He is the only One worthy of any glory.
