Three Important Things

I was recently reading a book that said, "There are only three things in this world that have eternal significance: God, God's Word, and the souls of men." This statement has really hit home for me the last few weeks. There are days that I struggle with feeling lonely and battle missing my family and friends back home, but I keep coming back to the fact that God has called us to Colombia. I do not doubt His calling, but I do need to keep reminding myself of it.  It is easy for me to be distracted by the routines of the day (tutoring, cleaning, laundry, shopping, Kendall's homework) and just living in Santa Marta.  Our way of life is so different now, but God and His Word are not.  We came to Santa Marta for the purpose of His glory and to further His Kingdom. When I start to question, "Why are we doing this again?" I must stop myself and think--the souls of men, the souls of men.  There is nothing more precious and more valuable then the souls of God's creation.

I continue to help the Esperanza School with "Evangelism Explosion".  Each week the kids are learning more and more about how to share their faith and how to have confidence in their salvation. Two weeks ago I was able to sit down with my group of 5 girls, go over the gospel, and question each of them about whether or not they believed. They were able to communicate that salvation comes only from the belief in Christ and His work on the cross. In a culture that is so heavily influenced by Catholic principles, it is important for us to communicate that it is through Christ alone.

Jon and I continue to work with the youth and are still trying to formulate a team and goals for our group. The kids have been very welcoming as we continue to build relationships with them. Good relationships take time, especially in another country with a different language.  Jon and one of our new teammates, Sam, have started playing basketball in the park on Sunday afternoons as a way to meet non-believers in the city and strengthen relationships with the youth at our church.  Just last week Jon meet several kids who were interested in why we were here and what we were doing. Our skin color is an open invitation for us to start talking about our presence in Santa Marta (for some reason we just don't fit in--I have know idea why).  We plan to continue going to the park as a way to meet people and share Christ with them.

Praises:
1. We have another SAM teammate here now named Sam. He's actually from Canada and will be working with university students. He has been living with us for the last month or so and will continue to do so for a couple more weeks until he can get his apartment ready.  It's exciting to see our team grow more in Colombia.
2. We are feeling more comfortable here and have had lots of opportunities to entertain our neighbors and people from our church in our home.

Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for our ministry with the youth that we would gain more confidence and develop a vision for the youth of our church and their parents.
2. Pray that the children in EE would continue to grow in their knowledge and love of the Lord.

3. Pray that Jon and I would have wisdom as we seek to parent our kids in a different culture and in the midst of ministry.
4. Pray for boldness in our language as we meet to share the gosple with others and develop relationships.