Dearest Friends,
ANOTHER STRIKE
Please pray for us as the country is having another transportation strike on Tuesday, the 30th, the day we start our trip home. We will not actually arrive until July 1st at 11AM in Atlanta. However, we will not be able to travel to the airport on Tuesday. They will throw rocks at your car if you are driving.
So, I need to get us a hotel within walking distance of the airport. This will be expensive. Though our flight is not until 11:30PM, we will probably need to go to the airport in the morning because it is safer and wait twelve hours. Though I did not anticipate these problems and expenses, they did not surprise God. Please pray for me to make wise decisions. Please thank the Lord in advance for His providence.
THE CHOSICA TEAM
At lunch at our Team Leader’s home in Chosica, Nemesio told us wonderful stories about some of the things that they saw God do over the last two years. I want to share some of their stories with you.
My favorite story was about a program that they did at a school where a principal’s son attended. The little boy asked Jesus to be his Savior. He was so changed that his parents could tell the difference. They encouraged him to go to the after school Bible clubs that our friend’s church offered. Please pray for this little boy to be a bright light. Please pray for his parents to come to faith. They attend a local Catholic church that teaches them that by being good, they can know God. Though his parents can see that this is not true as they watch their son depend only on Jesus, they still do not believe. Pray!
While on a mission trip to Ayacucho, they were invited to share at a school. No one expected that there would be over 500 children waiting to hear about Jesus Christ. Awesome!
High in the mountains, they were invited to a small village that was having a fiesta (a party). They did a program and presented the Gospel. How wonderful! The whole town came to the party and the whole town heard about Jesus.
Once a church invited them to do a program, but they did not expect a children’s program. They had wanted someone who was a great preacher for the adults. I do not know how they got so confused about what our friends did. However, God used their presence in that place. They did many street shows, sharing with people who do not come to church.
Please pray for this team. Ask the Father to help them make a good plan for the coming year. Ask God to give them great vision.
IT’S JUST DIFFERENT
I love all of the different foods and things that we experience as we travel. I confess to you that all of these strange things keep me well entertained and encourage my prayer life.
1. Can you imagine playing volleyball with people whose first languages are Quechua, Portuguese, Spanish, and English? I could never tell what the score was as it was announced in Spanish. Everyone shouted in their own language, “Get the ball!” When they told me that we won, I was so surprised. Our last game ended early when the rose bush speared the ball. If the ball went over the wall, people quickly ran out the door to rescue it before the lady across the street confiscated the ball. She does not think that young people should play ball. Volleyball is so much fun!
2. Late one afternoon, we all saw one giant rat running across the top of the wall. He was bigger than many cats that I’ve seen.
3. I was trying to use the Quechua word for pastor yesterday. The word for cat is very similar in sound, so I called the pastor a cat. It gets funnier. In Brazil, if you call someone a cat, you mean that they are “very, very, hot.” I am quoting our Brazilian directors who are with me on this trip. When Faby and Gerson explained why they were laughing, we all laughed with them.
4. Donna has a chitimoya tree in her yard. Last night we ate one and it was the best fruit that I’ve ever tasted.
5. I love avocados. I like them with lime and salt. However, Faby and Gerson made avocado milkshakes and Logan and Malachi loved it!
In Jesus, Linda for
Logan Souther, Malachi Armstrong, Gerson and Fabianna