Pastor!

This weekend sure has been a important one in our lives. On Saturday, Gabriel was tried before the council and later ordained to the ministry as a pastor! After A LOT of studying, and some nervousness as well, he was able to answer all the questions satisfactorily. Whew! There were eight pastors on the council, to whom Gaby defended his faith and doctrine as a Baptist pastor. There is always more to study about our great God and the Bible, and we were challenged to increase our time doing so. But for now we have reached this step in our lives - of being Pastor & Pastor's wife - and we are very excited! We thank God for bringing us to this point, and we thank our pastor & supporting churches for their part in getting us here as well.

Tough Kids
We are thankful for the chance to work with an ever-growing number of children in Sunday school. But with that growing number comes more responsibility. There are a handful of 'bus kids' that have had a hard time adjusting to an orderly, disciplined environment on Sunday mornings. In the past months, they have made the SS teachers wonder if the class was learning anything, and wonder what else we could do to get their attention. We decided that we were not going to let them off the hook that easily. If we want them to learn about God, we must first be a good and constant example for them. Spending time with these handful of kids has been our goal, not just on Sundays, whether it's going to the park after school or Gaby taking them fishing on his day off. We have tried to show these children love, but firm love. And we have seen changes. While none of them seemed to be able to sit still during the song service, several of them do just that, and during the class time as well. Probably the most rewarding individual in the whole group has been Romina, a 9-year old girl that could barely get out 2 words because of her shyness when she first started coming to church. Now she is the first one to come up and greet Gaby and me on Sunday mornings. We are very encouraged to see the changes God is working in these lives, and hope to be a little example of Christ's love to these hurting souls.

The Annex

We also wanted to share pictures from this Sunday in El Real. Thankfully we have been having good attendance despite being in winter months. One picture shows the whole group; both children and adults. The other picture shows one of the Sunday School classes - ages 9 through 11. This class has been growing very rapidly lately. We are so thankful for the Lord blessing this ministry of the church annex. We are also very thankful for Pastor and Ruth opening their home week after week for our use as a 'church' body. This commitment requires them to open not just their great room, but their kitchen, and at least 3 other rooms for SS class use. For 4 years they have made this sacrifice to allow us to meet at their house week after week, and we praise the Lord for their commitment to His work.

Youth Meeting on Saturday

Every Saturday afternoon we have youth meeting at church. But this past Saturday we did things a little differently to make things more interesting. We had game time at a nearby park first, where the teens could enjoy basketball, soccer, volleyball, and several other sports. Then, we went to our house for the meeting and pizza afterwards. As the pictures show, the schoolroom was full of teens - 53 of them in all - we couldn't believe how quickly the place filled up. Pastor Perez preached to the teens and then we all enjoyed pizza, juice, and cake. What a blessing to see so many young people desiring to seek the things of the Lord and have Christian fellowship with their peers.

Winter Camp

Winter camp....Here we come!....Yes, it is that time of year again. We are busily planning winter camp for our youth group. The dates have been set for July 3-5th, and we are expecting a good-size group of young people ages 10 and up to be in attendance. Camp will include special preachers from other churches, as well as several young people from sister churches. We are planning chapel times, Bible lessons, and of course (great!) camp food and special games and activities. Please pray with us in advance for this endeavor. Pray for God's wisdom and guidance in each preparation and plan. Pray for funds enough to cover the cost of camp rental, 3 days' stay, food, and other expenses. Our youth group has already having bake sales to raise money for this camp experience. We pray it will leave a lasting spiritual impression on each of their lives.

Youth Meeting in the Plaza

Tonight we had our weekly youth meeting in the downtown plaza square. We began by passing out tracts and invitations to those walking through. Then we sang songs, as is our custom, and then continued our meeting. Gabriel preached to the teens on not being ashamed of Christ, and how much of our heart is given to Him. It was neat to see the reactions of people walking by, to see such a large group of young people (there were about 40) in a public place, but not causing trouble. We trust our teens will have an impact on our city as individuals and as a whole group. Public evangelism is a strengthening exercise for anyone, and we pray it will have a positive impact on our youth as they learn to share their faith.

Back in Uruguay! De vuelta en Uruguay!

We are back in Uruguay! After our 2 month visit to the States, we are excited to back to our home and our work! And back in the swing of things! We must say that we were greatly blessed by the time away - visiting churches, making new contacts and renewing old ones, and of course, visiting family. The love and support that we felt as missionaries was unbelievable. We came back very blessed and renewed. We hope and pray that we were also a blessing to those we came in contact with. Do not despair - We have made a new commitment to keep this blog updated. So please visit this site frequently, and thank you so much for your prayers!
Estamos de nuevo en Uruguay! Despues de 2 meses en los Estados, estamos emocionados estar de vuelta en nuestra casa y nuestro trabajo! Debemos decir que fuimos realmente bendecidos en el tiempo alla - visitando iglesias, haciendo contactos nuevos y renovando los viejos, y por supuesto, visitando familia también. El amor y apoyo que nos dieron como misioneros fue increíble. Nos venimos muy bendecidos y renovados. Esperamos y oramos que fuimos de bendición para las iglesias y gente con la cual tuvimos contacto. No se desesperen - Nos hemos comprometido nuevamente a mantener al día este blog. Asi que por favor visítelo frequentemente, y muchisimas gracias por sus oraciones!