Time to see God Glorified...

So in my last update I mentioned that I was going to be going to Cordoba with a group of youth. It was AMAZING! The second message at the conference talked about the Prodigal Son. It was hard hitting for some of youth but very effective in touching their lives. There were many tears during the weekend and commitments were made in regards to their walk with the Lord. It is exciting to see the majority back in a local church with a renewed desire to serve the Lord. It has been a little over a month and each of them continues with their passion for God. What an answer to prayer! One of the best parts of the conference for me was having Daniel Calveti leading worship. He has become one of my favorite singers as you can see his love for God and his family in the words of his song. I love being able to worship with thousands of others and even more so when someone that has such a heart for God is leading us into God’s presence. He is an example to the youth in Latin America through his testimony love purity and commitment to his wife and children. It was exciting to be able to meet him and his wife at the end of the weekend.

My trip out of the country to renew my visa was canceled at the last minute. When I went to purchase my bus ticket I was informed that they were not traveling due to a strike of the farmers. The President has raised the export tax from 30% to 45%. Of course the farmers are upset with this decision and spent a couple weeks on strike. Not only did they not sell their goods but the blocked all the main roads throughout the country. Most people could not travel in personal autos and very few of the buses even tried to do long distant routes. Unfortunately most of the groceries stores in Catamarca were running out of goods, prices sky rocketed and there were no meat or dairy products to be found anywhere. But God was good and provided a way for me to renew my visa here in Catamarca, which was my biggest concern at the time. I had to pay a small price and they gave me three more months in the country. It was perfect for me as I had no desire to travel at this time. Thankfully they decided to take a month to try and negotiate. Please be in prayer as that month is going to up soon and it seems that they have not come to an agreement. Pray that a compromise will be made quickly that will be fair and just and that the farmers do not need to go back on strike.

A big praise is that many of the studies that I was doing with the girls before returning to the states I have been able to start back up. A couple of them never stopped, which I am grateful for but a few of the girls didn’t have a desire to dig into the Word. It is exciting to see them have a renewed passion. The girls are opening up and sharing more of their lives with me during this time. I have been able to get together with a couple of them multiple times throughout the week. Pray that God will continue to be at work in the lives of the girls as they seek to know Him more.

Another praise is that the relationships between the youth are being restored. God is working in amazing ways in this area. Youth that for months would not talk to one another are now getting together in the plazas like before. There is less fighting between them as each is getting their walk with the Lord back on track. Some who have been alienated for months have a desire to restore their friendships. I am excited to see what God is going to do through the youth as they become unified once again. They are now going to different churches but God can use that to unify the churches throughout Catamarca as well. Pray for continued unity among the youth, the churches, and the Pastors.

My birthday was an interesting time for me. I passed many days missing friends and family back home, frustrated with the conflicts here in Catamarca and questioning what God was trying to teach me during this time. I chose not to have a big birthday party like I did last year but did have the opportunity to spend the day with various friends and family. I am grateful for the people God has placed in my life who made this a special day. Most of all I am grateful to God for the peace that He constantly gives me through the difficult moments.

A couple weekends ago we had our first prayer conference. Various churches throughout Catamarca were invited to spend the weekend in prayer. It was neat to see about 4-5 churches participate. There was a guest speaker that came to teach on the importance of prayer. It was a very touching time for me and a blessing to see the churches unite. God is going to do amazing things in Catamarca as the believers continue to work together to bring His good news throughout the province and spend time in prayer on behalf of the people. Please join us in praying for Catamarca. That God would break through to the people and remove the various idols they have been worshipping. Also, that He would continue to unite the churches as they work together to reach out to the lost.