Let the Little Children Come . . .

During the summer months, it is common to have WGM work teams visit us. This week we have 2 work teams here, and I was asked to help with one of them. What was their purpose? To have VBS with the "Gate Kids," a ministry started by WGM missionary Mary Newman. When she moved her house here in Santa Cruz last summer, she was surprised by all the neighborhood children. She began opening up her yard to the kids 2 days a week, using that time to teach them Bible stories and encouraging them to learn Bible verses. The team came to work with these same kids, but to also reach even more of the kids in that neighborhood!

The team came from two churches in Indiana. In addition to the 12 team members, Mary involved the local church members (mostly youth) to help with the VBS. At the end of the three-day VBS, all the kids received information about the local church and they were all invited to visit the church with their families on Sunday.

I was asked to help so I could translate. Only two of the work team members spoke Spanish, so I was put with the crafts to help explain to the kids how to do them.

The first day of crafts, the kids each received a T-shirt. We painted their hands and they placed the painted hands on the T-shirts. They turned out beautifully! The second day we did the salvation necklaces, using the colored beads to present the Gospel. The third day we showed them how to do God's Eye, using popcycle sticks and yarn. That was the first time I'd ever done that craft! The kids were very excited that they got to take their crafts home with them!

The VBS was organized so that the kids were divided itno 5 groups and there were 5 stations to which they rotated. The 5 stations were crafts, snacks/coloring, games (like "Duck, Duck, Goose, as seen above), a short Christian video, and a Bible story.

In addition to translating for the crafts, the second and third days I was also assigned with Crystal (above) to the green team. We were their leaders and led them from station to station. By the third day, we had a total of 285 children atttending the VBS! We had 57 children and 5 moms in our group on the last day!

The pastor's wife of the local church, along with several of the youth, did the Bible story each day. They used a variety of methods to capture the kids' attention. They used flannel graph, drama, etc. They did a great job!

The last day they presented the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. The kids listened attentively. At the end, many of the children prayed to ask Jesus into their heart!! Praise the Lord! Please pray for this local church as they continue to reach out to the kids and their parents. They are excited about partnering with Mary in this "Gate Kids" ministry! They have a vision and passion for children! There is a lot of follow-up to do, but they are up to the task, looking foward to continuing the work that has begun!

God is BIG!

Last Saturday night, Gerson and I had the opportunity to go to an evangelistic campaign in the Santa Cruz stadium. The pastor, Rev. Cash Luna, is from Guatemala and is well-known in Latin America. We've seen his "Noches de Gloria" (Nights of Glory) on TV, but we'd never been to hear him preach in person. We were excited to hear he was coming to Bolivia!

People were anxious to attend this campaign. In addition to being an amazing evangelist, Pastor Luna also the gift the healing. Many people slept outside the stadium on Friday night with their ill loved ones, waiting to get into the stadium on Saturday. We didn't have to stand in line because we didn't arrive until 5:30 or so and the campaign didn't start until 7:00. By then, the best seating was taken. We got to sit right behind the stage, though, so we got to see everything up close and personal, even if it was the "backside!"

As you can see, the stadium filled. By the time the service started, there were few seats still available. The entrance was completely free, making it available to even the poorest resisdents of Santa Cruz.

Everywhere Pastor Luna goes, he connects with local churches for the follow-up after his campaigns. His campaigns are super organized. In addition to having the local churches do the follow-up with the new Christians, they also rent the locale, provide all the ushers and workers, including doctors who verify the healings. Before anyone testifies to the healing they have recieved, doctors check them. In cases where they may be doubt about a pre-existing condition, the doctors actually get the person's name and facts and look up their medical history before the testimony is aired publicly on television. In the picture above, you can see the doctors waiting for the service to begin.

Before Pastor Luna ever approached the stage, there was an amazing time of praise and worship. The man on the screen is one of the praise and worship leaders. I was wondering what this pastor would be like. Would the campaign be "showy" or would it all be about GOD? My question was soon answered as I felt the presence of the Lord and was able to really worship through song that night. As we were worshipping, Pastor Luna went up on stage --- FROM THE BACK (I only know that because we were sitting BEHIND the stage). There was no applause for him. There wasn't even acknowledgement that he had arrived "on stage."

During his preaching, Pastor Luna said many things that verified to me that this is truly a man of God. One thing he said was, "Don't seek your miracle! Seek the ONE who does the miracle!" He also preached on the Scripture about Peter and John and the lame man -- how they had nothing to give Him except Jesus. He said he had nothing more than what Peter and John had had -- He wanted to share Jesus with us. Another interesting thing was that he said many people ask him why EVERYONE isn't healed. He explained that GOD was the one doing the healing, and it's HIS choice who He heals. He also said that he'd NEVER say that someone wasn't healed due to a lack of faith.

He also gave his testimony about how the campaigns began. I believe he was in Peru (if I remember right) preaching to a much smaller crowd than what we were. As he was preaching, he looked down and saw a pair of cruches on the ground. He looked up and asked who they belonged to. Someone answered the that they belonged to a man, but as the pastor had preached, the man had dropped his cruches and left the place without them, walking without help! Pastor Luna was surprised and asked the people to find the man so he could testify to his healing. They brought the man in and he testified that God had touched him and healed him during the sermon!

That was the first time Pastor Luna understood that God wanted to use him in this way. He had never asked for such a gift. He had never desired such a gift. Personally, I believe that is why God chose this man. I don't know when I've ever witnessed such humility in a man of his reputation. He never took credit for anything, but was the first to give glory to God.

We witnessed amazing miracles that night, both in adults and children. Many came with crutches, braces, wheelchairs. What a blessing it was to see them throw them down and run! Even more beautiful was the spiritual healing that took place as multitudes gave their lives to Christ after witnessing His power and love. How exciting that local churches are following up with this baby Christians, and that many people around Santa Cruz are witnessing that they have felt the touch of the Great Physician -- in more ways than one. Please pray for the local churches as they continue the follow-up of this great harvest.

God is truly BIG.

Ice Cream Craving!

Here´s a funny pregnancy story for all of you. Sorry about no pictures. We had no camera with us when this took place!

On Saturday, Gerson and I decided to walk down to a little restaurant a couple blocks from where we live. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed, but there was one a few doors down that was open. So, we decided to go ahead and try it. The food wasn´t delicious, but it was passable. I ate a plate of beef and rice. Gerson ate TWO plates of something similar. I wasn´t completely satisfied, and I noticed there was Jello in the refrigertor for sale. I told Gerson, "I want Jello." He said, "Go ahead and ask for it." However, when I asked for it, the lady said it hadn't set up yet. TYPICAL.

I was sorely disappointed, but Gerson tried to cheer me up by saying we could buy ice cream at the next door kiosko. I was soooo excited! I couldn't wait for him to finish his second plate. As soon as he was done, we headed to the little store next door. Gerson asked if they sold ice cream. You can imagine the answer: NO. Again, I was crushed.

Now, before I go on I need to give you background on where we were at. We don't live near downtown, so there's not much around where we live. To get to the restaurant where we ate, we walked out our dirt road to a 4-lane divided highway. The 4-lane divided highway is divided by a piece of land that has a sidewalk going down the length of the road. This sidewalk is used for bicyclists, walkers, runners, etc. Anyway, it's in the middle of a highway, with mostly private property on both sides --- not many stores/restaurants, etc.

So, as we were walking down this sidewalk together, I spotted a man with an ice cream cone coming toward us! I grabbed Gerson by the arm and exclaimed, "HONEY, HE HAS ICE CREAM! ASK HIM WHERE HE GOT IT!" Gerson gave me a look of unbelief, but as a husband who was trying to understand his pregnant wife, he approached the stranger and asked him where he had bought the ice cream. The man pointed to the next corner, which happened to be the corner of our dirt road.

Now, LOGIC would tell me there has NEVER been an ice cream store on that corner. Rather, it is a huge lot where trucks get weighed and parked. SO, why did I get so excited??? I"M PREGNANT. Is there another explanation?

Gerson and I hurried over to where the ice cream was supposed to be. We got there, and of course, NOTHING. But then Gerson looked down the road and he saw a man pushing an ice cream cart a block away. He pointed and told me to look. I said, "Let's go!" and off we went!

By the time I we got to the next block, the ice cream man had turned the corner. When we reached the corner and looked for the man, he had disappeared! Gerson hurried to the next corner, thinking that perhaps the man had taken a back road to the next road over. He came back shaking his head. No ice cream man. Where could he have gone?

I was extremely sad. We were now on the Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center (SCCLC) road, standing in the sun wondering how we were going to get ice cream. Gerson was not about to give up -- probably knowing he'd never hear the end of my ice cream craving until I got some! He said, "WEll, let's walk up the street and see if we can find him." We began walking toward the SCCLC, and lo and behold, the ice cream man came out of a gate!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!

We RAN to him, not kidding, and surrounded him before he could disappear into thin air again. I got my ice cream, must to both Gerson's and my relief! But then we had to make decision. We were now pretty far from home to go back the way we had come. It would be MUCH quicker to walk the cow path that I use to go to school everyday. The problem? We had brought Gerson's keys, not mine. The key to the back gate that leads to our compound from the cow path was on my keychain, not Gerson's. We decided to chance the cow path, hoping someone would let us in the gate.

We arrived and there was no one out in the yard of the compound. We banged on the gate, and little Josh Zimmerman, and missionary kid, stuck his head out the door. Their slide blocked our view of his face, so he couldn't see us either. We yelled and asked him to please get the key to let us in. He went back in and we thought he was looking for a key!

Time passed, and no Josh. If it weren't for the dogs, we might still be outside that gate! However, the dogs were all barking at us and finally Kurt Zimmerman (Josh's dad) came to our rescue WITH a key!

So, we got home in one piece, full of beef, rice, and ICE CREAM! What an afternoon. Through it all, Gerson just shook his head and wouldn't give up getting his wife the ice cream she so craved. What a husband!! :)