Afternoon Update
Last night was a special night...
We had the joy of giving a suitcase of theological books to the elders and deacons of the church here in Juan Tomas. This is the fourth year we have been able to bring down a number of books with us to encourage the brothers and sisters here in this small village.
It was such a joy for me (Jeremy) to see their faces light up as the various titles and authors came out of the suitcase. This year--more than any other--we were able to provide them with many of the Old Testament commentaries they so desperately need. Additionally, we were able to get Argenis a commentary on 1 Corinthians by D.A. Carson as he prepares to preach through this epistle in his next sermon series.
But yesterday was more than the mere distribution of books. We enjoyed an incredibly fruitful day of labor as we completed a number of projects in the classrooms and offices of the High School. It is very rare for us to experience this level of productivity on the first day, because there is often a fairly steep learning curve involved with learning the campus, the tools, and the appropriate techniques for various tasks. Additionally, our team has worked through some pretty damp conditions as it seems to rain very heavily during the afternoons. But it is so evident that folks back home are lifting our team up in prayer, and God has truly blessed our times of prayer here as well.
The heavy rainfall hasn't necessarily been a bad thing for our trip, as it has kept the temperatures here very cool for our work days, and has provided some very interesting times of fellowship with our Dominican brothers and sisters. During one of the downpours yesterday, I learned that the financial struggles here at the school continue to intensify. While most of the elementary and middle school parents are regularly able to make tuition payments, there has been an unfortunate trend in high school parents failing to come up with the necessary funds. This probably shouldn't have been as surprising as it was to me, because we known that the unemployment rate in the village is 75%. In all these things, it is clearer than ever... the Christian School here in Juan Tomas needs our prayers.
Yesterday we removed the dilapidated floor of a home in the village. Today our team will complete the installation of a brand new concrete floor for a family in need. Tyler was able to have some good conversations with folks who live there, and it turned out that the home belongs to a family of one of the high school's students. It's our understanding, that none of the family members are believers. In the past, however, this type of ministry has played a key role in bringing families into the church and their being exposed to the message and hope of the Lord Jesus. The Lord has used the powerful relationship between the school and the church to bring many brothers and sisters into the Kingdom, and it continues to be an incredible encouragement to our team.
Tonight, Dean Chia will be preaching in the mid-week service. It's a joy for me to see how Dean has emerged (along with Tyler) as a tremendous leader of our young people. I'm excited for the brothers and sisters here to sit under his preaching... as it is always a joy to worship here with these dear saints. Please lift Dean up in your prayers as he brings the Word to us all tonight.
We love you all very much! Please continue to share the blog with others... we were excited to see how much traffic the blog generated yesterday! :-)
Soli Deo Gloria!!!
We had the joy of giving a suitcase of theological books to the elders and deacons of the church here in Juan Tomas. This is the fourth year we have been able to bring down a number of books with us to encourage the brothers and sisters here in this small village.
It was such a joy for me (Jeremy) to see their faces light up as the various titles and authors came out of the suitcase. This year--more than any other--we were able to provide them with many of the Old Testament commentaries they so desperately need. Additionally, we were able to get Argenis a commentary on 1 Corinthians by D.A. Carson as he prepares to preach through this epistle in his next sermon series.
But yesterday was more than the mere distribution of books. We enjoyed an incredibly fruitful day of labor as we completed a number of projects in the classrooms and offices of the High School. It is very rare for us to experience this level of productivity on the first day, because there is often a fairly steep learning curve involved with learning the campus, the tools, and the appropriate techniques for various tasks. Additionally, our team has worked through some pretty damp conditions as it seems to rain very heavily during the afternoons. But it is so evident that folks back home are lifting our team up in prayer, and God has truly blessed our times of prayer here as well.
The heavy rainfall hasn't necessarily been a bad thing for our trip, as it has kept the temperatures here very cool for our work days, and has provided some very interesting times of fellowship with our Dominican brothers and sisters. During one of the downpours yesterday, I learned that the financial struggles here at the school continue to intensify. While most of the elementary and middle school parents are regularly able to make tuition payments, there has been an unfortunate trend in high school parents failing to come up with the necessary funds. This probably shouldn't have been as surprising as it was to me, because we known that the unemployment rate in the village is 75%. In all these things, it is clearer than ever... the Christian School here in Juan Tomas needs our prayers.
Yesterday we removed the dilapidated floor of a home in the village. Today our team will complete the installation of a brand new concrete floor for a family in need. Tyler was able to have some good conversations with folks who live there, and it turned out that the home belongs to a family of one of the high school's students. It's our understanding, that none of the family members are believers. In the past, however, this type of ministry has played a key role in bringing families into the church and their being exposed to the message and hope of the Lord Jesus. The Lord has used the powerful relationship between the school and the church to bring many brothers and sisters into the Kingdom, and it continues to be an incredible encouragement to our team.
Tonight, Dean Chia will be preaching in the mid-week service. It's a joy for me to see how Dean has emerged (along with Tyler) as a tremendous leader of our young people. I'm excited for the brothers and sisters here to sit under his preaching... as it is always a joy to worship here with these dear saints. Please lift Dean up in your prayers as he brings the Word to us all tonight.
We love you all very much! Please continue to share the blog with others... we were excited to see how much traffic the blog generated yesterday! :-)
Soli Deo Gloria!!!
Glad things are going well! Praying for you all
ReplyDeleteGlad things are going well! Praying for you all
ReplyDelete