June 2010

Tuesday, 01 June 2010 00:00

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Greetings from Paraguay!

God is doing great things!

Sometimes it is difficult to know what to include in our Praise and Prayer Update, because of all that is happening around us. For sure, we could write a book (or at least a pamphlet) if we went into the details of all that God is doing. For example, three weeks ago we met 13 year-old ‘A’. Her aunt had rescued her from an abusive situation with her step father. For 5-years she has suffered his sexual abuse (which started when she was 8), under the threat that he would kill her younger brothers and sisters. After prayer, the Word and lots of love, ‘A’ has changed from a dark hopeless figure, into a lovely, radiant young lady. She has chosen to walk in forgiveness, put the past behind her and to go with God!

There is a ‘second’ part to this wonderful testimony which will warm your heart also. Last week Bette made a call to check up on ‘A’, during her visit. An assistant to the District Attorney soon arrived also. Surprised to find ‘A’ so happy, the case worker listened to Bette, ‘A’, and the aunt as they explained about the love of God. Right there, the case worker began to weep, saying that her life was a mess, and that she had been considering taking her life the night before. Together ‘the trio’ led the case worker to Jesus and watched as the Holy Spirit transformed her face with a radiant smile. Before Bette could return to the office, she had received two cell phone messages from the case worker, thanking her for the gift of Salvation in Jesus!

Jerry & Connie

WE PRAISE GOD That:

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The Acosta Ñú Children’s Hospital:

The 4-hospital visits in May gave us opportunity to pray with 294-children and parents. There were 134-parents and older children who prayed the prayer of salvation!

Hospital testimony:

The message of God’s great love isn’t always received with open arms… there are times that we are rejected. Sometimes the rejections are politely expressed, but not always… one must learn to smile, thank them and move on. To be truthful, sometimes the flesh rises up and it would be a lot easier to ‘slap them up-side the head’ with our Bible… (a fleshy moment.) But, you know, we have had parents that rejected the prayer and the Word for several visits, but in watching and listening as we moved through the rooms, they have asked if they could pray with us. The message written in 1 Corinthians 13:13 is true, ‘THE GREATEST… IS LOVE’.

A strange story:

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Towards the end of March a ‘for sale’ sign appeared on two lots across from the church property. Pastor Mark Balderson from Loveland, Colorado was with us as we noticed the sign and we commented that this area would be great for a future church parking lot. Right at that moment, he stopped and prayed that God would provide this land for the church if it was within God’s plans for us. Several weeks passed and then one day the owner of the land appeared at our door, he wanted to sell us the property. Jerry told him that we were interested but we did not have the money at this time. After a couple more drop-in visits, the owner showed up at the door with the ‘land title and keys’ saying that he wanted us to hold the title as we raised the funds. Jerry tried to give the title back to him, but he just waved Jerry off as his wife shouted out of the car window… “Please take the for sale sign down, we are tired of the calls!” With these events, we decided that we had better do more than just ‘wish and pray’, so Jerry began to contact pastors and our supporters. To date, we have ½ (one-half) of the money required for the purchase. The owner said he would like to sell us one lot now with the option written in the contract to pay for the other by the end of November 2010. It looks like we are going to have ‘church parking’ even before the need has completely arrived! God goes before us to prepare the way.

God at work:

Last week Mari Báez was on a bus headed to the interior to visit her mother. Towards the end of her trip, a mother carrying a toddler franticly waved down the bus. The mother took the seat across the aisle from Mari. As the bus picked up speed, the child began having convulsions, the mother began to scream and swear, and the bus driver began to drive like a wild man. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit told Mari to reach out and take the child’s clenched hand. At first she refused, thinking what would the mother say, but as the voice continued instructing in her heart, she obeyed. Reaching out, she took the child’s hand, opening it and rubbing it for a few moments. Right there in the mother’s arms, the child stopped crying and struggling to breathe and went to sleep. Mari let go of the child’s hand and went back to reading the prayer book that she had with her. Out of the corner of her eye, Mari could see the mother looking at the child and then at her… back at the child and back at her… several times. At that time, the bus arrived at her stop and Mari walked off. She said she could hardly contain herself until she got to her mother’s house. As soon as she was in the door she told them: “You should have seen what God did on the bus today!” Thank God for people that are ‘ready, willing and able’ to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

The CEB Church Construction:

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We are soooo enjoying the covenience of the bathrooms! Our next plan of attack is to tackle the repairs on the church office building. Note red arrow for location of the office. The building is in need of a roof repairs, tile flooring, painting, and other minor repairs.

The next project in the construction process will be to complete the storage complex to be constructed around the container. With this step completed, we will be able to bring all of the church items and Bible Institute books to be stored at our location.

Join us in PRAYING for:

CFC Prison Ministry:

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Pastor Victor shared that the Assistant Director of the prison held a meeting with 55 of the inmates that are nonbelievers. The ‘jefe’ (boss) told the men that, within the prison were a group of Christian men with good values, who talked and acted differently; he was encouraging the men to become a part of what these men were doing! (We have favor! ‘These men’ are the members of the church and our Bible Institute.)  Please pray that the men will respond to this counsel and to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We are expecting an explosion of God’s love and power within the walls of this prison.

The Nation of Paraguay:

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In the last days news of robberies fill the TV news reports and the papers. The daily reports of cell phones, cars and motorcycle thefts have given away to reports on armed robberies of pharmacies and homes. It is reported that groups of men (of 4 to 8 members) are entering the homes or businesses and holding the people prisoner, beating and robbing them. As the ‘spirit of the age’ becomes bolder and more violent, we are rising up in prayer and power, knowing that our God is greater…. Please join us and PRAY for this land!

July Project:

In July we will have our very first ‘missions group’ in the 18-years that we have been in Paraguay! Janet Rosenbaum, (Jerry’s sister) will be bringing approximately 23 visitors from churches in Sidney, Nebraska. She needs prayer… they need prayer… and we need prayer! The plans are coming together; we will be giving you more information later, but in the meantime….PRAY!

Our USA trip:

This is the year that we are scheduled to visit our supporting churches. We ask for prayer that God will provide the way, handling every detail as we share what has been happening in the last two years in our ministry in Paraguay. We will be leaving Paraguay on September 1 and returning on November 30. We will have more details at a later date.

Thank you for your faithful prayers.
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