Just the begining

God is definitely teaching me to trust in Him during this search for a house. I have spent hours and hours searching and am not in the process of waiting for approval from the owner to rent one that is in the perfect location. Please continue to be in prayer this week as all the pieces come together.

During the time that I am not looking for a house I have had the opportunity to visit various youth at their house. As well as a family that came to church for the first time last Sunday. While there we were able to invite a neighbor girl to the youth event last night and it was exciting to have her show up. It is amazing how open the youth are to coming to various activities as they are seeking out love in any way they can find it.

Last night (Saturday) was our grand event for the Youth Program. As their school schedule is opposite of ours and they are just now starting back up, we held planned an extra special activity to get the year started. There were a dozen youth that came for the first time and about 5 that received Christ for the first time. The night contained games, worship, and an evangelistic message with paint. Pray that those who came for the first time will return in the upcoming weeks and that we can really reach out to each one of the youth. There were about 50 that came last night and our desire is to really focus on discipleship this year…

Just to update you on the family I had mentioned in my last update… the one with the new-born baby. They are now living in a room in the church which provides them a roof over their head as well as access to be in the city in order for Claudio (the father) to find work to provide for the needs of his family. Currently he is doing a lot of construction work in the church as we need to expand in order to make room for the growth we have been experiencing. It is nice having this family living at the church as now there is always someone there if someone has a need and they are able to keep an eye on things as robbery is a common occurrence here.

My last bit of news is that Pastor Jimmy and his wife Marissa have returned safely from Ecuador. Last Sunday was their first Sunday back and what a celebration we have had. Pray for guidance from them as they seek to know what God has in store for them. They have lost some of their funding from the churches in Ecuador and are trusting for God to provide for their needs as they desire to continue serving Him at El Encuentro.