The Summer in review

This picture is the perfect representation of our lives since May! I can almost hear "Running against the wind" and "Running on empty" playing in the background! We have been running fast and furious for a while, but as we look back we realize that God has been doing some great things. We started off in May with the LST guys. Although we had a few challenges, many new people in Leon had an opportunity to hear the gospel through their efforts. Josh stuck it out with us through "sickness and in health". We are still studying with various LSTers and a young lady from LST has hardly missed a Sunday since May!

Then in late June, came Shawnee and they totally blew me away. They completely changed my opinion about the age of "short term missionaries". They out worked, out went, and out did all my expectations. They opened doors for us at the children's home that wouldn't have happened any other way. We also met some people through the flyers they passed out and their efforts at the children's home. They feed the kids at the children's home two days in a row and feed the church Saturday night. It was a great time!

Sunset arrived in mid July raring to go! It was a totally different experience with this group, because of age, purpose and sickness. They brought a bus which presented new challenges, but thanks to Walmart, we had a place to park it. The group painted the children's home for 2 days. Wednesday we had to "cut our losses" since 20 of the 27 were sick or exhausted! In the end, the children's home looks like a new building from the street. The director told me she was so thankful, because they are being reviewed by the government and the new paint will make a great impression. When it came to clean up time, we were on our hands and knees for a while, but I'm pretty sure the floors looked better than they had in years. Saturday morning, Sunset went to a flee market near the building to pass out flyers for a VBS. Cindy, the most energetic person you will ever meet, threw us an incredible VBS! Bob and Larry "showed up" to meet the kids. We watched the veggietales Jonah video, had skits and crafts. Though we didn't have a huge turn out, the kids loved it and we meet a new family who received a flyer. They are still coming and the daughter is studying with Heather (AIMer).

Not long ago, we started a small group at the building, because it seemed like there were a lot of people in that area that would come. We picked Friday night, which didn't seem very smart, but God has blessed it with growth. There are 8 to 12 people now pretty regular. I can remember just a month or two ago when Tony, Heather and our family would sit along in the building praying for God to bless the group.

We have taken a "summer break" from the youth small group, since it's often hard to get everyone together at once. All the same, we have had a few times when we got together as a group for an activity or service project. The youth did a great job at the children's home painting and serving the kids with Sunset. This week we went back up to the children's home to finishing painting a few doors. The group has grown to around 15 people. If you have a good memory, you remember that the "youth group" started in our kitchen with Barb, Mariana and myself. I'm so proud to watch them grow in number and in the Lord.

With the AIMers arrival, so much has changed. There is a lot more to be done. Since they are learning Spanish, it makes things like running to the store an exercise in patience and humility for them. Masha, since she already spoke Spanish, has had various Bible studies and two have been baptized because of her efforts so far. Despite the fact that the other 5 are "Spanish challenged", they too have Bible studies and have been doing great things in and around their apartments. They are a great asset to the church. The Johnson family has done a great job working with them!

The Summer has brought us a lot of changes, a lot of challenges and a lot of new growth. Since May, 8 people have given their lives to Christ in baptism, we have seen some "huge" attendance records (for a less than 2 year old congregation) and a lot of members have begun to grow in service and other areas!

Also, our contract in our current home is up and we decided that we wanted to move. Our rent is going up and we really just need more space. We found a house only a few blocks from where we currently live that is the same price and has move room. We are suppose to sign the rental agreement today! We are excited and pray that this will be a good move for our family as well as the work. Please keep our move in your prayers.