I want to thank you all for praying faithfully even when I haven’t been keeping you up to date. I feel like I’ve hardly had a chance to catch my breath this month. I’ve been wanting to write this report all month, so here it is just after midnight that I’m sitting down to write.
God has been at work!
We began Piura Norte church services June 3rd with an attendance of 44. The following week we had 48, Father’s Day was down to 28, but last Sunday we had 60. Please pray for continued growth.
Above is the first service June 3 using TV for visuals.
June 24 using multimedia
Our motto has been “Every Sunday will be better”. It was a panic to prepare for the first Sunday and we could see that using a tv was too small, so the next Sunday we stepped up to multimedia and a larger image on the wall. The second Sunday we also added classes for children. I also prepare and share the “Opportunities” (announcements).
The big news for the next week is that the Lima church sent a pastor to train us in multimedia (2 or 3 weeks earlier would have been better!!!!!) and they sent a sound system. So for June 17th the sound was greatly improved and there were more people trained to work in multimedia. You can see that in the photo below and you also see that both children’s classes are in the same room. Having others running multimedia freed me to lead worship the last couple Sundays, but starting this Sunday the Grau church should be sending a male voice to add to the music.
Along with an increased attendance June 24th, the children’s ministry grew. I’ve been teaching the Bible lesson to the kids this month on the same passage as the adult message and Alicia has been doing the rest of the class while another parent cares for the younger children. This Sunday the main improvements were in the children’s ministry.
We now have 3 small groups functioning on the same passage as the Sunday message. Edwin, Alicia and I teach in them. Praise God for the growth of the church. Please pray for continued growth and for more people to commit to responsibilities in the church.
This month has been crazy learning the new computer programs, preparing the music, announcements and Easy Worship program, lining up children’s workers, meeting with the pastor and coordinating and teaching small groups. But added to all that, I’ve also been preparing for two other major events.
A group of 46 adolescents and their leaders from Rochester, NY arrives this Sunday. I’ve been working with them by skype to prepare the schedule and ministry in Piura Norte and in Grau along with SETE classes and preparing the next Strengthening Relationships. Arranging the transportation for that many people ministering in different locations (at times simultaneously) has been a major challenge, but I finalized the transportation schedule with my taxi line yesterday. I’ve also been lining up all the meals and today hope to finalize the menus for the first couple days so the restaurants are prepared. Last month I made a trip to Máncora to prepare everything for the group, so I think the beach day is ready. Apart from those general tasks, I’ve been working on arrangements specific to Piura Norte.
The team will be teaching English classes at a major school in the heart of our target zone. They will have direct contact with about 300 students Monday to Thursday mornings. Tuesday they’ll have a soccer game with the school’s team with the families invited to watch and presenting an evangelistic half time activity. All those contacts will be invited to seminars that the Rochester youth will lead Saturday afternoon and to a movie, To Save a Life, that evening.
That evening is also the 3rd Strengthening Relationships event. The Piura Norte people will be inviting their unsaved family and friends. Our speaker is the pastor of the church the team is from and several of the team members will participate with special music and drama. The message will show how we look for satisfaction in all the wrong places and that we are only truly satisfied in relationship to Christ. The key verse is Matthew 13:44 – the treasure found in the field, so we took that lead to prepare the invitations.
Please pray for safety for the team, for a fruitful ministry, for the attendance and messages in the classrooms, at the soccer game, at the seminars and movie and at Strengthen Relationships. Pray that many would be introduced to Christ and that many would make the decision to give their lives to Christ.
We have a good number of youth in Piura Norte and we’re expecting more youth from this week’s ministry, so please pray as we now start a youth ministry. Pray that the Lord would burden people in the church with a desire to work with the youth so we can form a team.
Thank you so much for your patience waiting for this report and for your prayers. God is at work in Piura!
Together in the expansion of the kingdom,
Brenda
