what´s happening in december?

As we walked into her small general store, we immediately saw Lucia. We were shocked! Was she really doing what it appeared she was doing? She was our very first contact in Puerto Maldonado. The very first place we entered. The very first person who prayed the prayer of repentance and acceptance. Was she really sitting there behind her counter, READING HER BIBLE?! YES!!! SHE WAS!
You can’t begin to imagine how excited and assured Ana and I felt this day. Walking in and seeing her reading her Bible without anyone telling her to...just because she wanted to know more about her Savior. It had been a month of ups and downs with her. We weren’t quite sure if she wanted us to continue coming to visit her. Sometimes she is very friendly, and other times she is surprisingly cold and harsh. This was incredibly encouraging.
Lucia closed her small store on this busy street and is going to be spending more time in her home. We were sad to hear this until she told us where she lives. She lives in Circunvilacion which is another of Ana and my communities. We need a place to hold services in each of our locations and have already secured one of the three. There is not a town meeting hall in Circunvilacion and have been looking to possibly meet in someone’s home. Lucia is currently talking to her husband (who is not a believer and a bit leery of us) about letting us use there home.
Saturday the 12th Children’s Play Day
It was a very rainy and an abnormally cold day. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting anyone to show. But God had provided a room indoors for our Play Day, so at 3:30 our team arrived on site. 30 children and 7 mothers showed up. We played several games including pato, pato, ganzo (duck, duck, goose), and had the teens from the church do a hilarious “rompe de heilo” (ice-breaker). Our 40/40 team did a skit and that portrays the depth of Jesus’ love and sacrifice for his children. 3 of the mothers accepted Christ and all of the kids prayed as well. What looked to be a wash-out ended up being a very successful day!

in the first month

Heading towards the Center of town, where the streets have a better likelihood to be paved one day, and the people have steadier jobs, you will find the darling Plaza Bolognesi. November 13th, by the grace of God working in the hearts of willing people, we were able to show the Jesus film in the plaza (it’s a park) and people were gathered all around to watch. Typically it takes about 3 days to get permission to show a film in a plaza, but we needed to secure a location in a rather short period of time (someday I’ll explain the Peruvian method of planning…) so God pushed it through in a matter of hours! Over 100 people were exposed to the incredible sacrifice Christ made specifically for them, and 7 adults and 15 children accepted Christ. Also, because the Church of the Nazarene is relatively new to Southern Peru, it made local people more aware of our church.
We are currently discipling 6 people in Crosby, and developing relations with 5 others. Please be in prayer that we can find a place to have church services and activities for children.