Men and their songs

One thing that we can say for sure, our men can really wail on their instruments.  Each men’s meeting begins with pulling out the guitars and our bongo, and we have at it playing our favorite songs.  The guys are really doing well playing.  I often find myself singing along without an instrument.

Crafty women

Every moment that they had free, they were cutting, pasting, designing and creatively producing stuff having to do with our theme.  One of our sites has been decorated, now we need to do the same with the hall where we’ll have the kids meet.

Getting the right moves

The youth spent the week practicing 6 new choreographies for the songs that will highlight the VBS.  They’ve worked hard, now it’s time to teach the kids.

Last minute notes

As we ended our week of preparations for VBS, Adi took the time to remind us all of our duties and of our remaining homework.  Pray with us that we don’t get so overwhelmed with the work that we forget to connect with the kids!

Full House

Our girls are now all back.  We picked up Keila this last week at the airport and like Kiana, she has many stories, photos and new friends to present.  The house is once again filled with laughter, chit-chat, and clothes thrown all around.

School’s out for…

We had several students graduate from elementary school this week.  They were ready to leave their schools in anticipation for what’s ahead.  We also had some middle school students graduate to high school.

True to Form

As we’ve trained musicians, we’ve also begun using those seasoned students to begin teaching the classes for the new ones that show up.  They are doing a great job spending time with them and encouraging their students to have patience, and practice.

One week and counting

Our VBS preparations are coming to a close, so we doubled up on our efforts bringing in a big group from the congregation to help out with all the crafts that have yet to be drawn up and cut out.  What a great crew that helped!

Just a short break

 After hosting a short-term team from South America and being super busy, we decided to take a trip outside the city and came across this botanical-medicinal garden hidden from sight.  While it was a short visit, the time away from the traffic and smog renewed us for the busy days to come.

On a Serious Note

As we study J. Maxwell’s book on leadership, we had this group of leaders join us to share about their ministries: the plans, prayers and participation that they have seen over the past month. I'm excited to see how seriously they take their work in the congregation.

Team 1More4Christ Watching On

We all met at the home that had the biggest flat screen to watch Kiana’s Taiwan team present a concert.  They had returned a day before from Taiwan and had a concert to finish off their trip, sharing experiences and answering questions about their adventure.  It’s good to have her back home again!  Thanks for your prayers and contributions.

More on VBS

As our VBS preparations are underway, the volunteers worked on crafts, signs and decorations for the activity.  There are only 11 days left before we begin our 5-day summer program.  Pray for strength and energy during these long days.

Small Struggling Churches

Our staff meeting moved from the founding church to a tiny rural Baptist church about an hour away for the day.  We went to encourage the congregation, pray for its leaders and acknowledge the work that the people are doing in favor of God’s kingdom.  It was an eye-opening experience!

Men Motivated to Act

We held our very first men’s prayer vigil in a town 90 minutes away.  While not all of our men were able to go, 9 went from our congregation to join up with 3 from another.  It was a meaningful time to fellowship, pray, sing, study scriptures, and eat together.  But our main goals were to get to know one another as God has made us and to encourage the other church to grow their men’s meetings.

Miracles!

Imagine our amazement when one of the parents in our congregation got permission for the YWAM team to do their evangelistic skits inside an elementary school.  It was a miracle considering all the red tape needed to get in.  But the group was able to share Jesus during a belated Father’s Day event that the school held for dads.

Where ever we can gather a crowd…

We managed to draw the attention of parents waiting for their kids outside of a local elementary school.  We shared Christ and on Sunday one of those families came to visit us.  God is good!

Moving ahead with VBS

Adi has been pushing ahead with the preparations for VBS.  Aside from organizing the group to color the invitations, the YWAMers helped us to hand them out.  It’ s a bit early, but we trust that folks will take their kids.

Vigil in Prayer

It’s been over 6 months since we’ve had an all-night prayer vigil.  We had lots to pray for and lots to be thankful for.  We packed our little house and had to put seating outside as well.  And that, considering it was raining. 

YWAMers helping 1More4Christ?

We had a great team of South American YWAMers come to help us out in evangelism.  They are from Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Columbia and Brazil and all speak Spanish.  They helped us open up our new area of work with door-to-door visits as well as skits for kids and adults.

Working on Worship

I’ve been looking for ways for our congregation’s worship service to be more meaningful to the people.  We’ve organized and reorganized our order of worship and hope to soon find the balance between serving and receiving in worship.  If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Developing Leaders

We’ve given several men the opportunity to preach over the past few months, and they’ve done a good job in challenging the congregation.  On Sunday, Marco shared about "respect."  This culture needs to hear about a biblical approach to respect in the family, the church, and at the job.  Great job, Marco!

Getting to Work on Our Own

We’ve promised the couples in our congregation some marriage building classes.  After Tracey’s message at the couples’ meal, we hope to begin monthly meetings for couples. 7 couples accompanied us to the evening meal.  We know that there are more that are interested in growing in their marriage.

Marriage & Church

Tracey was the keynote speaker at an evening meals for married couples.  She spoke on the importance of love and respect in the marriage.  There were over 50 couples present and many made commitments to work on their marriage.  It was a fun-filled evening with good food and a challenging message.