Friday, November 1, 2013

BLESSINGS ABOUND!!

Can you think back to a time when you were super-blessed and knew the Lord was in the midst of it?  That's what the month of October was like for us!  It started off with the arrival of a Missions Outreach Team from Calvary Chapel Lima.  This group of people were such an encouragement, example and blessing to all of us.  On Saturday, October 5th, a group of 19 arrived by bus in Cajamarca after a very long 30 hour ride from Lima.  They arrived late in the afternoon and after dinner, they got settled into their living quarters.  We were able to host a large group in our church building, another 6 women stayed with a family from our church, and we were able to have another 4 women stay here in our home.  Cajamarca is NOT known for having hot water showers, so most of the women showered here in our house where we are blessed to have hot water!  After church on Sunday, we joined the group in the Plaza De Armas here in Baños del Inca for outreach and dramas. The hearts of the people here are very open to the Word of God. 



On Monday we went with the team to a government-run orphanage in Cajamarca.  We were totally blessed to be able to spend several hours with these beautiful children.  We are praying that the Lord opens the door that we can visit regularly in the future!



On Thursday we joined the team for a visit to Los Niños del Hogar Santa Dorotea. An incredible time of seeing how God works in the hearts of his children.  And later that evening, we shared an awesome time of pre-service prayer.



Stan shared the Word of God on two of our Thursday night services at Refugio during the month of October.  We were all exhorted to seek the kingdom of God and taught what it takes to see God's glory!

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."



We celebrated 2 family birthdays in October.  Caleb turned 11 on October 16 and let's just say that Stacey's birthday was on October 19!!  We are grateful for our children and grandchildren.   "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."



Refugio had our first worship night on Tuesday, October 15th!  We were blessed to have Brandy, Amy, and Carlos from the Bible College lead this evening of praise and worship.  We hope to continue gathering together for these special times. 



We have had lots of "firsts" in October.  Jan and Stacey began teaching English on Wednesday nights at Refugio.  Although we were both terrified and feeling very unqualified, we were trusting in the Lord that he would use this opportunity for his glory!  At our second class we had eight students; several of whom we had never met!  The Lord is faithful when we are obedient to his direction.  This is an exciting opportunity to bring people into our church.



Another first was our Monthly Movie Night!  We showed "Facing the Giants" in Spanish on Friday, October 25th.  What a fun night we had watching this movie with such a moving message. 



And lastly, we were invited to two quinceañero celebrations!  We were blessed and humbled to be included in these two family parties.