I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together. (Ps. 34:1-3, NLT)
I ended with this verse last month, but it’s the theme of this letter.
It was a lot of work preparing for and setting up for the marriage conference Wed., Friday, and Saturday, but it was worth it!
Doug Loveday was the main speaker and our pastor, Rafael Rodríguez, was his translator. It was encouraging to see people taking notes and looking up Scriptures on their phones, as well as to hear their comments about how practical the teaching was.
A total of 56 people came, including the doctor, her husband, their daughter and her husband for whom you’ve been praying!
Attendance Saturday afternoon started low but picked up throughout the afternoon.
For part of the time, the ladies met with Ruth and the men met with Doug. The last activity was for couples to share the love letters they had written the night before.
The evening ended with a delicious meal and meaningful conversations.
Relationships were deepened, new friendships were forged, and Christ was honoured.
Doug finished with preaching on Sunday. That day, several of the husbands that attended the conference came to church with their wives as well as a new family… and they’ve continued to attend Sundays and even some other events! Another encouraging result is that the couple in the divorce proceedings have put it on hold as they try to work on their marriage. Please continue to pray that the Word of God would take root in the heart of each of these people and that the Lord continue to build his church.
It was wonderful to spend a few more days with Doug and Ruth to refresh. A couple of highlights were kayaking out to a small island to see a colony of sea lions…
and seeing and petting gray whales – both a mother and her calf. (More photos at https://1drv.ms/f/s!ApirIiDEtXgYuT7sQy5-IfzKsqZr )
In my last letter, I mentioned about trying to get together with a lady who has suffered from abuse. We are meeting weekly and already several lies of Satan have been revealed. Please pray that María Luisa’s heart and soul be filled with the light of our Lord banishing all the darkness.
This has been an exciting week as the cement was poured for the new roof! (More photos at https://1drv.ms/f/s!ApirIiDEtXgYuju8Phyt6hxt_Vt9 ) Roberto and Lizeth are church members and architects and are overseeing the construction project. Once the cement dries, the electrical work can be done (when there are funds), so we’ve had to move the date of the wedding/renewal of the vows back, probably to May. Please pray for safety in the construction, for the provision of funds, and for future events. The end of this month we hope to do a cake decorating workshop. Please pray for guidance in the preparations.
Please also pray for our ladies’ ministry. Aidé was assisting Susie and assumed the leadership when Susie had to go to the US. She’s done a fantastic job, but is unable to continue. Please pray for a smooth transition of leadership to Betty, Rafael’s wife.
I am grateful for your prayers and encouragement. Again, I apologize for all the emails I haven’t answered. Maybe a good prayer request would be for me to find a way to get caught-up and stay caught-up.
Boasting in the Lord and his greatness,
Brenda
