Thank you so much for your prayers!!!
February 24, 2012 was the first Strengthening Relationships event that was going to occur once but has turned into a bi-monthly event. The purpose of it is to make contacts for Piura Norte (PN) among the unsaved middle-class and to share the Gospel with them.
Here’s a comparison followed by some comments.
- PN people Feb 24 – 11 April 27 – 11
- Guests, helpers Feb 24 – 28 April 27 – 26
- Speaker, helpers Feb 24 – 4 April 27 – 2
The event dates are determined by the speaker availability and this time the timing wasn’t good as this is a long weekend and it’s in the middle of university exams. On the surface, the attendance looks about the same. I was a little disappointed with the PN numbers but encouraged with the Guests numbers, even though I was hoping to double that number. One PN person who was out of town last time attended this time and vice versa. The disappointment stems from the fact that since February 24th more people have committed to PN, but none of them were in attendance. An encouragement is that one of the guests from last time is counted as a committed PN person now. Once again, the PN people all pitched in to help where needed.
The attendance was down a bit, but it included seven guests from February who returned with two of them bringing their spouses and another couple bringing relatives. PN people also brought more relatives – and one relative was left waiting due to a miscommunication. The Catholic parents of a PN couple were actually at the site last Saturday (wrong date) and called to ask what had happened. That raised a concern that they wouldn’t come Friday, but they were there, participated actively and remained for a long conversation afterward.
The teaching style was very interactive, so there was a lot of participation. Some guests jumped in from the beginning while others took time to warm up, but pretty much everyone participated verbally. After learning about the compassion of Jesus and how to show compassion, several people commented on how much they had learned.
A couple months ago, I wrote about Olimpia, the lady who returned from Spain who wanted to restore her relationship with the Lord. Her unsaved husband, Carlos, was here for about a month (his vacation from work in Spain). I met him on a few occasions. He was cordial, but there was a distance and he would complain about Olimpia attending PN activities. He came Friday night and shocked me at the end when he was all enthusiastic about Olimpia and I getting on skype with him to continue the teaching because he was returning to Spain in the morning. I need to get his address to see if believers in Spain could contact him. Please pray for his salvation.
An unsaved friend brought “the father of her children”. Apparently he was once a well-known doctor, but he’s losing everything as he spirals deeper into alcoholism. She didn’t think he would ever come to one of our small groups or events, but he came! His comments weren’t positive, but only God knows what is going on in his heart. Please pray for Sara and Wilson.
Only two couples and myself attended the training yesterday and today, but that leaves five of us ready to teach ‘The Person of Jesus’ lessons and all of us could get in a little practice.
Thanks for your part in reaching out to the unsaved and in the preparation of workers for the harvest!
Brenda
