I hope you have been able to read a bit about some of our readers. Today is our last day working at the church, and it is a rainy day. The air is clean, and the snow on the mountains fresh.
As we do on every Saturday, we finish at 5pm today. Already we are beginning to look back on the mission, to think of how far we've come with some of these readers, and we are amazed at what God can do. I often doubt (I'm embarrassed to say) that God's word is sufficient. I tend to think that people need to hear God's word in a certain way, in a certain circumstance in order to really listen and then obey. But I have been reminded throughout this mission that God's word alone is powerful. God's word goes beyond language barriers, it goes beyond cultural understandings and expressions. It is true that God often uses people to proclaim His word, and yes, He carefully selects these people with intentions of whom they are to minister to. However God does not need people to bring other people to salvation. He doesn't need human beings for anything really. He chooses to use us and to share His love with us and through us, allowing us to be part of something amazing-- the restoration of a beautiful relationship between the Father and His children. I am grateful to Him for allowing Corey and me to be part of this process. He provided the opportunity, the funds, the support, the love and prayers... He provided everything we have needed for this mission trip. How I thank Him!
I would like to tell you some about another reader of mine, Macarena (Maca). She is a young woman who is currently attending one of the universities here in Chile. She has become a good friend of Corey and me because of her humorous personality and her willingness to help out. Since we began classes, she is one of the students who has progressed tremendously. As we were reading through the book of Luke, she told me last week that she needs to know more about this Jesus. We were reading the story of the woman who cleaned Jesus' feet with expensive perfume and dried His feet with her hair. She was touched by that story. On that day we had a two hour long conversation, in which I told her about Jesus and how we need Him in our lives. At the end of the session, we prayed together. She asked Jesus into her life on that day. It was a most beautiful experience. Minutes after our session, the intern at the church, Claudio, told her that he noticed something different about her. And because of that he invited her to a Bible study group that he is part of. I was amazed and so happy to hear that. God works wonderfully! The next time I was able to speak with Maca, I told her that she needs to be part of a community so that she can keep growing, and I encouraged her to get baptized. She told me that she thinks baptism is a big decision, and she wants to consider it carefully first before going for it. I pray that God may work in her through the Bible study sessions she'll be attending and through the people at this church. I don't want her to draw back from Christ after ardently seeking to know Him.
Please pray for Maca and other readers who are on the verge of getting baptized and becoming full members of the kingdom of God. These readers need a lot of encouragement and prayers. Please join us in praying for them.
Two days ago, on Thursday, we had our last Let's Start Talking (LST) party. We had fewer attendees than the previous party, nevertheless we had an awesome time. The theme was Hollywood. We were so blessed to have the help of the Manualidades group (the group of women who meet every Wednesday to make pottery or to create art crafts). They helped us make stars like the ones on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood and we wrote the names of the readers on the stars. The stars looked so legit! We also made cards for all the readers and regular LST party attendees. In each card, we glued a picture of the person and an LST member or the person and other church members at one of the parties or outings. It was NICE. The friends who came to the party really enjoyed the stars and the cards. During the party, we divided the guests into two groups: Men vs. Women. The main activity was guessing what the name of the movie is by watching 30 seconds or so of the trailer. I will purposely not say who won so as not to create dissension in your households hahaha... =)
A couple of our readers have decided to come to the Bible study class tomorrow morning. It will taught in English. I am very grateful to know that they're coming because this provides us the opportunity to see them once more before we leave.
We leave Santiago Sunday night. We'll be heading towards Texas, where LST headquarters are located. We'll have our End-meeting there and debrief on our mission. We leave Texas on Tuesday evening (I believe), so we should be home Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. We are excited to go home and share with all of you how great our mission was, but at the same time, we wish we could stay here longer and get to know these people better. Bittersweet moments...
Thank you for praying for us. Please continue, we depend on these. The progress we've had, the impact we've made has not occurred by chance, but as a direct result of prayer. I believe in the power of prayer because I am tasting the fruit of prayer. And it's sweet and rewarding. It's refreshing like nothing else. Thank you all for praying for us!
We love you,
Linda
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