Upcoming Ministries...
The verse for today (Psalm 103:17-18) is quite a promise and quite a challenge!
We were scheduled to do our regular Bible study with the guys at Hogar Crea (drug rehab facility) and show an evangelistic film afterward but AFTER I loaded all the equipment in my car, I called to confirm and found out they were involved in something else and we could not do it today! I should have known better and called yesterday but such is life. We took advantage of the free time to talk with some key individuals concerning some upcoming projects.
June 9-16 we will be hosting a small medical team from Richmond, VA. It is really exciting because we have one of our nurses from last fall returning with the team and also some paramedics. We are going to do our normal "operativos" (seeing patients in our ministry locales) but also doing some training with the Civil Defense and Fire Department. Please be in pray for this group from Cool Spring- I am praying that their interaction with the Civil Defense team and a local doctor will lead to a group of people making a commitment to serve Christ which will allow us to begin a process of discipleship and leadership development and the planting of more and more churches.
This team will be followed by a large youth team from the same church (49 people!) June 30-July 8th. This project involves a half day children's camp followed by a half day/evening youth camp. My experience in the past with these sorts of events is that many come and participate and a small core group of folks is formed which we can work with in developing the church. Pray this team as they prepare and for their time here, that God will be preparing hearts. I am trying to finalize our team of translators (we need 3-5 more). We are initiating two new church planting sites: La Canela and El 7. We have already begun developing key leaders in these areas: Franklin in La Canela and Morena in El 7. Keep them in your prayers in these coming days.
One other project: we are solicitating help from the Public Health Department. Now that we have a building in Guayacanal and Villa de Yaque, we are asking them to send a doctor at least once a month to see patients, using our facility as their clinic. Victor has a meeting at the Public Health Department for our region tomorrow and he is going to call me when he (the director) is there so I can go and together we can make our proposal. (I have it in writing but it helps to talk face to face.) I am praying that we can have this monthly medical presence and maybe even a discount pharmacy in our church! What a blessing for the people!
Lastly, but certainly not least, Mecho is finally in the clinic waiting for the surgery tomorrow at 8am. I plan on going around 6:30-7 to spend a little time with her before she goes to the surgery room. She has a VERY nice hospital room- what a difference between the public hospital and private clinic. It was like checking her into a hotel room! I am so thankful for all of you who have helped make this possible. Pray for her family to be calm during the long day of waiting. (She goes at 8am and probably won't be out until around 3pm.)
It wouldn't be right for me not to add that we have had down pours all afternoon, again! I was at the Civil Defense when it started raining and it was just incredible. In less than an hour, the parking lot was so full of water that to get to my car I had to walk through water up to my ankles. The roads were like rivers! I am not an engineer but I can tell we have a serious problem with drainage here! So far, two people have died due to the rains and flooding. Pray that there will be no further loss of life. Over 650 houses have suffered major water damage! I feel for those folks as they deal with their loss even as it continues to rain.
