January 1, 2012 we started off the New Year with the first meeting of people committed to forming Piura Norte (PN, the new church) and those praying about joining us. Since multisite is a new church planting strategy, the main purpose of the meeting was to explain what the vision is for PN. Here’s how the attendance progressed…
By the end, there were 18 of us, but the two late arrivals attended one of the additional four meetings with 10 others who couldn’t make it to the first meeting. I wanted to be sure everyone had the foundational information. Those were followed by another meeting for three more interested persons, one of whom was Olympia.
Two weeks ago, Laura and I were at the grocery store talking about PN. As Olympia tells it, she didn’t overhear us, but wondered if we were Christians. She just moved to Piura 3 months ago, having been out of Christian fellowship for several years, and she had been asking the Lord to put her in contact with believers. Being somewhat timid, she had her niece ask us if we were evangelicals and after an enthusiastic confirmation, she called to Olympia, “Yes, they are!” We invited Olympia to our small group and she came. We told her about PN and I invited her and another couple to come to a meeting to learn more about it, and they came. Olympia (in white) is our first new contact for PN, but it was very obviously God who brought her to us! Please pray that God would continue to bring people from our target area to us.
Only four committed people came to our 2nd meeting on Saturday, but you know what it’s like trying to get people together during summer vacation. Yes, it’s our summer with temps of 34C/93F… and it will get worse. (I’m frequently asked if I like Piura and my answer is that I really like it from about May to December!) At any rate, please pray that people will make the February 4th meeting a priority.
I’ve mentioned two groups of people. Fifteen people committed to PN, but one has moved. I am aware of 21 others who are praying for the Lord to confirm if they should become part of PN. Please pray for the Lord to give clear direction to those considering joining us. And please also pray that I will be able to meet this week with the rest of the confirmed group who did not attend the 2nd meeting along with as many others as possible.
Two couples will be coming from NY for a week of ministry in the established church and PN will have a meeting with them February 24th. We plan to make this an evangelistic event aimed at adults. Please pray for them and us in the preparations and that the PN people will be able to bring unsaved friends to the event.
Counting on your prayers and God’s answers,
Brenda
