What a fantastic weekend! Thanks for praying.
I invited every woman who has even only been to PN for two or three meetings making a total of 27 ladies invited. Fourteen signed up to attend Friday and eighteen signed up for Saturday and we were praying for the Lord to bring the ladies He wanted at the meetings. I kept busy interpreting for them and to them.
Marge and Cathy arrived Thursday night and we had a good time getting to know each other.
Friday morning we went shopping in Catacaos, just outside Piura, where we all found very interesting and beautiful jewelry and touristy items.
The afternoon was prep time. Marge was preparing herself for teaching while Cathy and I set up the room and prepared gift packages for the ladies.
There were actually some ladies on time both nights with a total of ten on Friday. Marge shared God’s story and her story using quilts she had made and her rope story. She then gave instructions for us to make our rope stories and we dove right in.
Marge uses rope stories as a way to see God at work in your life using different colours and textures of ribbons tied onto a long strip of cloth to mark significant events. She also related our stories to God’s story (quilt) to help us see that we are part of a bigger picture. We could see how God began to use Marge to bring healing to other women while she was still in a process of healing herself. God has a good purpose in everything and He wastes nothing. The ladies enjoyed the teaching, the story rope making, the snack and gifts, and the fellowship.
We all needed some rest and personal time Saturday morning and in the afternoon Cathy prepared herself to teach while Marge and I prepared the room and the gift bags.
Saturday the event was 4-10 pm and some of the ladies from Friday had to work or fulfill other obligations while some others were able to join us. There were seven ladies with only four continuing from Friday night.
Saturday began with the ladies sharing their stories. Almost every woman is a victim of adultery and also of abuse – physical, emotional, sexual, and/or verbal, so a lot of pain was expressed through tears. But God is at work bringing healing and hope and you can see the joy of the Lord on their faces. Marge then brought in another quilt reflecting how Satan is actively seeking to destroy and revealing how our actions can be destructive and hurtful to ourselves and to others and to the church, but the good news is that there is victory in Christ!
After sharing a meal together, Cathy shared her story and picked up where Marge left off. She emphasized how we need to remove the “garbage” from our hearts to free them up to function as God intended – receiving our lifeblood from Christ on the intake and then sharing what He has done on the outflow. She ended on a note of hope visualizing how each of us is part of the bride of Christ who He lavishly loves and for whom He will return.
In the last couple of days, I’ve heard comments from the ladies about how meaningful the weekend was and how it has impacted their lives, and I’ve been encouraged to hear that they’ve been sharing the teaching with ladies who weren’t able to attend. Thanks to each of you for praying and please continue to pray for the Lord to bring healing to these ladies and to their marriages. If you’re interested in learning more about story ropes, go to www.margemalwitz.com and look around. In the creative process blog you can see the progress as Marge worked on the quilts for ministry in Peru. Please also pray for Marge and Cathy as they continue to minister in other churches in Peru this week.
This past week was very full with the preparations for the event, but also with some unexpected requests for counseling. There are a lot of hurting people with deep wounds. Please pray for the people and for me to be an effective instrument in the Lord’s hands to bring healing and hope.
Please also pray specifically for Lidia. Last week she told me she doesn’t know if she’ll stay with her Catholic groups or with our groups and when I spoke with her today she said she’s still reflecting on the teaching from the weekend. She isn’t a believer… yet! She’s coming for supper tomorrow, Wednesday, before the small group meets and I hope to share the plan of salvation clearly with her. Please pray for her salvation. (She’s in a white dress in Saturday’s photos.)
Now that the ladies’ event is over, I need to turn my attention to the Strengthening Relationships evangelistic event for March 16th. Please pray for the formation of a team to work with me who will be able to carry on this ministry on their own eventually, for the logistics, and for the speaker. I hope to share more with you before the event in March.
I am deeply grateful for your prayers and profoundly aware of my need of them.
Sincerely depending on your continued support,
Brenda
