Last night we had a welcome dinner for 32 new church members. Each person expressed their joy and gratitude about what the Lord is doing in their lives:
"I came to this church when the doctors told me there was no cure for my disease [AIDS]. God healed me, and now I want to serve Him!" [this woman, Nely, was incredibly thin and had sores all over her body; the doctors had told her that she only had a short time to live; Nely has fully recovered her weight and has no sores on her body now...the doctors marvel at what has happened!)
"God has changed me very, very much. I am so thankful for all that God is doing in my life." [José, his wife, and 3 teenagers attend our church]
"A church member invited me to your services. I felt desperate and was not getting along with my husband. God returned peace to my heart [the woman began to cry], and now I am praying that my husband comes to know God. Recently my husband came to church with me for the first time, and he said he will come again."
"I used to encourage my wife to go to church with me. Now she is the one who encourages me. For a long time we have talked about the need to become members of a church. We have finally made a firm decision to serve the Lord, and we want to serve Him in this church."
"I [a very elderly woman who is nearly blind] live alone with my granddaughter [approx. 6-year old girl with Down Syndrome]. I am very happy to be part of this church."
We use the 4x4 truck constantly to visit parishioners, visit patients in the hospital, attend pastoral meetings, do errands, etc. On Monday eight of us went on a mission trip to two of our satellite churches in the jungle (about 2.5 hours by truck). The Lord healed many people, including one man who was deaf in his right ear. We took our generator and sound system so the worship music could be heard throughout the villages. Eight churches in the surrounding villages joined us for service the second night. What a celebration...I didn't get to bed until 2:30 a.m.!
Wednesday and Thursday I had one-on-one interviews with the scholarship students. What amazing young people. I had a list of items that I wanted to instill in these youth: daily prayer; tutoring children in their neighborhoods; respect and diligence in their homes [doing chores before their parents have to ask]; being kind to all people without exception; overflowing with thankfulness and saying "Thank you" repeatedly to people during the day; etc. I reviewed their Expenses Sheets to see how they are spending their monthly stipend...all of them are being very responsible with the money they receive. They are also tithing. Every interview filled my heart with hope and joy.
A pastor and his wife told us about a piece of land (about 20 minutes outside of town) that was being subdivided. We visited the land and were very impressed...5 acres of good soil and fruit trees. Our church decided that we would buy 6 of the 30 lots (19,375 square feet, or 0.44 acres) for a retreat center. The total price is $2,174 which we will pay for in monthly installments. The youth from our church LOVE the site, as do the children and adults. Dozens of us have gone to the site to cut back weeds and fence in the area. What a wonderful opportunity to work together for a common purpose!
Dr. Shaw [Ed. note - Dr. David Shaw of Salem] operated on two more kids from Pucallpa. Margarita flew to Cuzco with the patients and their mothers last week. The 3-month old baby had a constriction band on his arm that didn't allow blood to flow back to his heart (so his arm looked like Popeye when he eats spinach). The 14-year old girl had an agressive tumor near her ankle. Both operations went well (praise the Lord); Dr. Shaw took a sample of the girl's tumor back to OR in order to test whether it is benign or malignant. We are very appreciative for Dr. Shaw donating his time and airfare to make these operations possible.
Thank you for your prayers. I am working hard to delegate more responsabilities, which is helping. But I still need to delegate more. :)
Monday is a holiday in Peru, and one of our scholarship students has invited 70 students to our church reception area to eat tamales, play games, and listen to the Good News. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for these students.
My love and thanks to all of you!
Jen
No Jen, thank you for all you do to build the Kingdom and for helping us see what is possible!
If you would like to help her ministry, please send your check to:
All donations are tax-deductible. Please make checks out to World Outreach Ministries and write “Jennifer Harris” in the memo line of the check. Send to:
World Outreach Ministries, Inc. / P.O. Box B / Marietta, GA 30061
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