“Pastor, I need to speak to you right now,” 10-year-old David pleaded with me urgently after church this past Sunday. “I told you that I asked Jesus to save me a while back, but I didn’t understand what I was doing; now I know what it means.” A little while later, David bowed his head and asked Jesus to save him from his sin. When he looked up, he smiled at me pensively and simply said, “Thank you.” David’s story is a great example of what ministry is like here. I first met David and his sisters, Paula and Alexandra, when I was tutoring at an after-school center in our town. Later, we started outdoor Bible clubs which he has attended faithfully for 4 summers. He has come to church regularly for 2 years. After dozens of Bible stories, memory verses, messages, songs, and hours invested, David finally understands the precious message of the gospel.
Patricia is another encouraging story. She is a teenager who has come to church for over 2 years now, and had made a profession of faith in the past. Though she comes to church faithfully, she has had lots of struggles. In fact, we almost didn’t allow her to go to camp this year because of some behavior problems. However, she ended up going, and she behaved and listened to the messages better than I had imagined. After camp, she wrote me a message that spoke of her desire to live for God and speak boldly with her friends about the gospel. If you knew Patricia, you would know what a huge step this is. Please pray for her.
What happened at camp? Many of you prayed for us at camp last week. Thank you! God worked and gave us the grace we needed for each day. We had 8 youth from our church at camp; with the 3 other churches represented, there were around 40 campers, most of whom were unchurched and unsaved. The first 3 nights I preached Bible messages as best as I possibly could and gave an invitation, but each night there was very little, if any, response. Even so, God was working, and on the last night a good number of campers responded. We praise God for 6 youth that called on Jesus to save them as a result of camp this past week. We also want to say “thank you” to many of you who financially sponsored a camper. The outpouring of generosity was a great encouragement, and every camper had a sponsor.
Here is a glimpse of some other recent happenings:
- We continue to have a good group present for each Deaf service. Sometimes we feel like saying, “You have heard the gospel over and over again. Doesn’t it make sense yet??” Pray earnestly with us that the light of Christ will shine through darkness and confusion.
- Since we returned from furlough, we have seen 5 people from our church make a profession of faith in Christ. We are looking forward to having a baptismal service later this year.
- Abby, a young lady from Michigan, is here helping us for 3 weeks. It’s been a blessing to have her servant’s heart and an extra set of hands ready to assist with camp, church, and kids.
- In the midst of summer’s busyness, we still have many church members who are struggling with unemployment, marital strife, discouragement, etc. Please pray for us to have wisdom as we counsel them and the new believers and that they will follow God with every part of their lives.
It’s a joy to serve our Lord together with you. We pray God will fill you with his joy and peace today.
Click here to watch our camp vídeo.
More pictures from camp:
Booths in Portugal 