God’s Watchful Eye & Chastising Arm
 

Dear Pastors, Praying Friends, and Family,
 

We want to open this letter with a praise to our Lord for His protection for one of the young children in our church and share how God used it to open the eyes of a family. Approximately two hours before a Sunday evening service, a three year old boy in our church walked out of his front door and ran to play in the street, which is normal here. But this time, a truck sped by and the boy was hit. The difference between life and death was inches. He was struck by the side of the truck with a glancing blow. After a trip to the local hospital, it was found that he only suffered a bump on his head and a few cuts and bruises.

After being warned not to open a restaurant that served alcohol, the parents of this child had chosen to do so to earn some “extra money”. This kept them out of church on Sunday mornings, although they were still faithful on Sunday evenings. It was explained to them that God would not be pleased and that it was contrary to God’s Word and will. They were told that if they were truly God’s children, that God would chastise them. They were also reminded of the poor influence it would have on their kids. It is not for us to judge whether this was God’s chastisement, but we know that God can use any situation to bring us back in line with His will. “We know that all things work together for good…” The next week, the father and mother came to me and said that they knew that God was teaching them a lesson and that they were going to change the restaurant by playing only Christian music and stop serving alcohol. The business has continued to do well and the family has learned a hard lesson. Praise the Lord for teachable spirits.

In June, we had a free medical clinic in our church with two visiting doctors from the U.S. and a group of helpers. Along with volunteers from our church, we attended to 130 patients with everything from headaches and itches to diabetes, prostate and thyroid problems. It was a great way to show the community that we care and there was an appreciative spirit in all. I also enjoyed translating for one of the doctors.

After eight weeks, we have completed our first attempt at teaching English to Peruvians. It went well and there is much interest in another class.

Carla recently hosted a young ladies’ sleepover at our house where they enjoyed a devotional, fellowship, homemade pizza, and worked on a SS project. Carla has a great rapport with all of the ladies of our church and they love their time together.

We recently added Wednesday night to our list of church services. We had four visitors at the first service and three of them were there for the first time! We now have both Sunday services, Wednesday night, and a Ladies meeting on Wednesday afternoons. We are planning for a weekly youth service in the next couple of months.

Building program update - We praise the Lord that we were able to expand the 2nd phase of our building program, past constructing the security wall, to include starting the first building. We have roughed-in the first floor of the temporary church building and are working on the second floor. God has blessed us in being able to do this without having to return to the states to present the need. There is still much to do. If you would like to purchase some bags of cement, brick, sand, re-bar, etc. we would be glad to give you a breakdown to present to your church, class, youth group, etc. Please consider whether God would have you help us in this endeavor to be rent free. If you can’t help financially, please pray that God would provide the need.

We would love it if some of you would plan a group to come visit. Please contact us for details if you are interested.

There are new photos on our web site. Take a look! See what your prayers and financial support are doing. May God continue to bless each of you for your faithfulness in prayer and support of our mission here in Cajamarca.