Enjoying a delicious dinner with our good friendsIf you're wondering why I haven't written in a while- I will explain. Last Saturday night Scotty and I excitedly awaited the arrival of two very good friends from Charlotte, Laura and Andrew. Andrew took on the position of a fill-in preacher at the local international church for 3 weeks while they await a new pastor later in the year. We so enjoyed getting to know this couple during our year in Charlotte and have been enjoying their presence and encouragement with us in Bolivia. I was especially impressed when we showed up to the international church last week and instead of Andrew only preaching, as they prepared him in advance to do, they asked him if he was ready with a few songs and to give the Lord's supper...he had to run and create the entire service because none of the normal leadership was around! He rolled with it extremely gracefully and led us all in a beautiful time of worship as if he'd done it a hundred times before. The first week of their stay, we had planned on taking Laura and Andrew to Cochabamba for our annual SIM conference.
Our La Paz SIM team, minus children The morning we were planning on driving to the conference, we received a call from one of our teammates who informed us there were blockades halfway through the journey that would not be passable...we would have to fly. But, there were also no flights that day, so we'd have to be a day late for the conference and go the next day. We managed to get out of the house by 5:15 in the morning to make it to the airport in time for our short flight to Coch and arrived at conference just in time for the first morning session. I so enjoyed meeting a bunch of SIM missionaries whose names I've heard, but I've never met in person. One of the most impactful times for me was hearing the stories of fellow missionaries who have been serving in Bolivia for 15, 25, or 35 years! They came young, had children, raised their children, and some are even grandparents of kids who are still in Bolivia. I was inspired to see the commitment and love that these families had for this country, for the Lord, and for taking part in God's raising up of Christian leadership in the church. It's good to be a part of a family that is deeply rooted in this culture because that is what Scotty and I also aspire to do. We left conference early, again because of a lack of flights back, and look forward to another week of touring and hanging out with our friends. The day they leave is Bolivian Independence Day and we have an all day church planting retreat that day to discuss and work through many issues that have been left hanging for the last month or so. We are getting excited about the possibility of opening the church doors in a matter of months and have much work to do in order to be prepared for that. Scotty and I invited Edgar, the man who will be our temporary pastor, and his family over for lunch a week or so ago and enjoyed getting to know them better and expressed our joy at the prospect of them joining on and helping lead us into outreach in this community. God has big plans!
Our La Paz SIM team, minus children The morning we were planning on driving to the conference, we received a call from one of our teammates who informed us there were blockades halfway through the journey that would not be passable...we would have to fly. But, there were also no flights that day, so we'd have to be a day late for the conference and go the next day. We managed to get out of the house by 5:15 in the morning to make it to the airport in time for our short flight to Coch and arrived at conference just in time for the first morning session. I so enjoyed meeting a bunch of SIM missionaries whose names I've heard, but I've never met in person. One of the most impactful times for me was hearing the stories of fellow missionaries who have been serving in Bolivia for 15, 25, or 35 years! They came young, had children, raised their children, and some are even grandparents of kids who are still in Bolivia. I was inspired to see the commitment and love that these families had for this country, for the Lord, and for taking part in God's raising up of Christian leadership in the church. It's good to be a part of a family that is deeply rooted in this culture because that is what Scotty and I also aspire to do. We left conference early, again because of a lack of flights back, and look forward to another week of touring and hanging out with our friends. The day they leave is Bolivian Independence Day and we have an all day church planting retreat that day to discuss and work through many issues that have been left hanging for the last month or so. We are getting excited about the possibility of opening the church doors in a matter of months and have much work to do in order to be prepared for that. Scotty and I invited Edgar, the man who will be our temporary pastor, and his family over for lunch a week or so ago and enjoyed getting to know them better and expressed our joy at the prospect of them joining on and helping lead us into outreach in this community. God has big plans!
2 comments:
yes He does! Wow, you guys are busy. Keep up the good work.
So glad you all get to spend time with Andrew and Laura. I know it's blessing and encouragement for all of you.
And late congratulations on your new little one on the way. We're so excited for you!
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