We've been busy since we arrived in Guatemala City (by bus) on Saturday afternoon. We barely had time to check into the hotel before we left for the evening campaign. Because Pastor Nelson had secured permission to enter an inclusive private neighborhood (one he had been trying to enter for the past 4 years), we held a Family Festival which started at 4:00 p.m. The festival featured live jazz (Nelson, Kenneth and Gabriel), refreshments (hot chocolate and cake), a clown show (Claudia, Diego and Francisco), a short movie entitled the Third Option which focused on restoring broken family relationships, the Everything drama presented by the youth and, finally, a short gospel presentation. Everyone who made a decision or who expressed an interest was invited to a Bible study beginning next Saturday evening in the neighborhood.
Sunday morning we were so excited to welcome our teachers from Antigua--Nancy and Corina (and her family)--to Guatemala City. The 7 of them left Antigua by bus at 8:00 a.m. to come to the city--they arrived about 10:30 a.m. just as the preaching was about to start. While Nancy is a Christian, Corina and her girls are Catholics. Although I shared the gospel with her last summer, she did not make a profession of faith. Anyway, God knew what he was doing all the time, because Sunday morning, she raised her hand during the invitation. Praise the Lord! I only wish I was available to disciple her, but El Salvador is a bit too far.
We were able to take them to lunch and then go to the nearby mall. None of her 4 girls had ever been to Guatemala City so they were amazed by the tall buildings. It was so much fun to watch them learn to ride the escalators!. They could have done it all afternoon! After ice cream, it was time for us to go our separate ways. Please pray for Corina Valle . . . . pray she will be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit as she grows in her faith and pray for her to have the courage to share her decision with her daughters and her extended family.
Sunday night we held the same type of activity in another private neighborhood. Even though it was quite cold by the time the evening ended, the crowd was large and interested in the message. We believe that Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva Guatemala will see much fruit from these initial campaigns in these areas.
This morning we shared the gospel one-on-one in the central park in Guatemala City. There are always many, many people walking through the park or just sitting and waiting for "something" to happen. We had enough translators for Stephen and me to have our own. Please pray for Efraim and Bryan, both new brothers in Christ, and for Julio, who redicated his life! We were blessed to be able to share the good news with them.
I have taken many pictures, but since I don't have Internet access in the room (costs $15 per day), I don't have a way to upload them. Unless I can find a cafe with free wi-fi, guess that will have to wait until we get back home on Saturday.
Please continue to pray for the campaign which goes through Friday night!
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