Some of the leaders we love.......
Some of the youth we love.......
Some of the children we love......Dear friends,
It seems like forever since I have posted. As you know, we were in another country for almost 10 weeks and had an awesome experience. :) Thank you to those who so graciously hosted us.......
The months of June and July have been a whirlwind so far. I say that because I feel like we've been running and have only stopped to catch our breath. It is gloriously exhilerating.......serving God and watching Him shower people with His grace. There is nothing better than being obedient to his leading, His quiet whisper. We are living an extravagantly blessed life.........not in the standards of the world.....but in Him.
Paige just took a two week block course over the Book of Mark taught by Dr. Gary Martindale from Evangel University. She learned and grew so much from the experience. Kent is now studying Hebrew as well as other subjects.
God is moving in the ministry and we were greeted with many new faces as we returned.
What has God been doing lately through His Heart?
Reading Club
Paige, with the help of the rest of the team, has begun a new initiative on Friday afternoons. Children from the poor neighborhood where we are ministering come to the center for a reading time. They have no access to books otherwise and enjoy reading with friends. We play learning games, work on our English skills, and eat a snack together. Though we have only met 4 times, we have almost 50 kids regularly coming. God is so good.........He just keeps sending more.
Testimony
I can't end this post without sharing what the Lord is doing in one life here. I wish you could have seen the tears and sincerity as one of our new members shared last week. I know you would have been impacted just as deeply as I was. The poor teach us much......
Last Sunday, Kent shared a powerful message on the hope of the Lord. When things are hard, we can not give up. We cling to the hope of Jesus.
That very day, one of the ladies at the service was in a hopeless situation. She was worrying how to buy enough food to feed her family that evening. Her 8 year old son had collected plastic from trash bins in the city during the week. As a last resort, she sent him into town to sell the used plastic at the market. She expected him to return with just enough rice and vegetable to cover dinner.....the equivalent of 1 US dollar.
The God of hope had other plans. The little boy traded his plastic and bought a small amount of food as he headed home. On his way, he miraculously found 1425 pesos on the street. This is about 30 US dollars and two weeks wages for that family! The boy had never seen 1000 pesos and told his mother he thought the bills were play money. The pregnant mom wept.
As she looked at the money, she says she remembered Kent's sermon. He is our hope.
Thank you for sending us to the hopeless.
Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...."
Have a wonderful week, full of his unmerited favor.
Kent and Paige
