Saturday, June 13, 2015

The Highs and Lows of Church-Planting

This month, Pastor Vicente and the church in La Trejo have experienced some extreme highs and lows.

As the church has established itself in the community, it continues to grow.  Several people have come to faith in Jesus in the past few weeks.  A special baptism service was held one Sunday for these new believers.  The church rented a bus for the day, drove to a beautiful river outside of the city and conducted 8 baptisms in the river and had a relaxing time of fellowship the rest of the day.  The bus driver was so touched by the event that he came to church that evening.  Pastor Vicente and the people of his church are encouraged by how the Lord is working in people’s hearts in La Trejo.



Unfortunately, just four days after this wonderful baptism service, Pastor Vicente’s landlord notified us of his plans to evict the family and church from the property.  Vicente and his family just moved to the community a little over two months ago.  His children had to change schools mid-year.  The new home does not have a yard or running water.  They had to say goodbye to friends.  All of these changes have taken a toll on their family.  And yet, they accepted the changes joyfully because they could see how the Lord was using them to grow His church.

Now, the stress and anxiety has increased as Pastor Vicente’s family of six could soon be homeless and his church could soon be without a meeting place.  We are pursuing all possible options: reconciliation with the landlord, renting another home/meeting place in the community, purchasing the current home from the owner.  To add to the fun, we are just 3 weeks from leaving for furlough and will soon be unable to do much to help Pastor Vicente.

Please pray:
  • That the landlord would have a change of heart
  • For wisdom as we seek a solution
  • For peace and comfort for Vicente’s family
  • For my teammates as they take over this difficult situation
  • That God would be glorified even in trials!

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