It’s great to connect with you again, but I’m sorry that I haven’t been better at staying in touch. Thanks so much for praying anyway as we continue to share Christ in La Paz.
Thanks for praying for the ladies’ retreat reunion. We did have a good turn-out and another enjoyable time of fellowship. I made videos of the different aspects of the retreat from the photos and there were opportunities for the ladies to share about how their lives had been impacted. An evaluation was included to help plan the next retreat and I was encouraged by all the positive feed-back and by the testimonies of how the Lord had touched their lives. Wrapping it up with a time of worship and prayer sent us off on a good note.
The El Faro church that I’m working in was able to encourage a small church on the city’s outskirts. We took donated shoes and clothing to bless the men, women and children. The pastor shared briefly and led in prayer to culminate the evening.
While the ladies worked our way through a study on the Psalms, I tried to teach the memory verse using a different technique each week. On the last day, I set up review stations for the ladies to try form all the verses from memory. I think we were all encouraged that we were able to hide at least some of God’s Word in our hearts.
Last time I wrote, I promised to tell you more about Hayden, the short term worker I’m supervising. Hayden arrived July 5th and will be with us until December 1. She’ll also be serving in El Faro teaching English as a second language and working with the youth. Already being able to speak Spanish, learned mostly through self-motivation, is a huge help along with her outgoing and cheerful personality. Her first major project begins Monday. She’s preparing an English Camp and several of us from church have volunteered as helpers. Please pray for this outreach the mornings of August 1-5. Please also pray for another church outreach starting tonight with a family-friendly movie followed by a Lego VBS Thursday and Friday mornings. The kids will have an opportunity to present their creations Sunday morning. Please pray for a lot of new contacts to be made through these events, for the Gospel to be shared clearly, for Christ’s love to shine through all of us involved, and that everything works together for the glory of God.
I realize that I’ll get no sympathy at all after showing you this beach, but recently I’ve made up for all those beach trips I missed when I had the cast. The first two photos show the coastline and you can see the inlet. The rest of the photos are from inside. What you can’t see are the mangroves off to the right where I’ve seen some new birds amongst the others. It all looks calm and serene, but we are in hurricane season and as La Paz grows the violence is increasing, so your prayers for safety and protection are also appreciated. But more importantly, please pray that I and the other missionaries and believers here will be bold witnesses for the Prince of Peace.
Thanks for your encouragement through your prayers and support and be encouraged to know your labours are not in vain.
May God bless and encourage you,
Brenda
