“When we work, WE work, but when we pray, GOD WORKS!” Andrew Murray
Bible Seminar # 2 via Star Link
It is quite the thing to be sitting up here in western Canada in my office and be teaching a chapel full of P believers!! Who would have thought?! Communist insurgents forced us to flee our home where we had lived among the people for 25 years back in April of 2002. At that time our onsite ministry came to an abrupt end, and we wondered how we would continue the work. And yet God opened up the way for us to meet clandestinely with key P believers for on-going discipleship and Bible translation checking in a safe site well outside of indigenous territory. However, as communism took hold of the country, things began to deteriorate very quickly, and by 2015 we had to leave our beloved Host Country. That was a sad day! We were however able to make a few more trips into the country to continue to meet clandestinely with them. Our last visit with them was in April of 2018, because when we tried to return yet again, our flights were canceled due to Covid, which caused us to lose our resident visas. But we continued working on developing written Bible curriculum to send to the believers through our national coworkers. And then suddenly in 2022 to our great surprise, God marvelously opened up new doors, making it possible for us to begin a daily radio ministry with the people. So, during these past four years, we have been busy producing radio podcasts which has now blossomed into quite the ministry. And now most recently, here we are just finishing another on-line, interactive Bible Seminar with one of the three churches in P-land via Star Link, which was all facilitated by the believers from another ethnic group called the Pia people. How encouraged we are when we remind ourselves of Christ’s promise that He will build His church and the powers of hell will not prevail. He certainly is continuing to do that not only among the P people but among many other indigenous groups all over South America, as well as the whole world.
Here below are some recent pictures from the last Bible Seminar, as well as a video to watch:
Click Here to View Video
An Amazing Statement!
As the 12 hours of teaching during the two-day seminar came to an end, one of the P pastors came up to the camera and said the following:
“You missionaries just continue to help us in so many ways. You are continually showing the beauty of Jesus to us”!
Well, that was a very moving statement to say the least. However, as we believers in Christ allow his life to be lived in and through us, we do indeed show the beauty of Christ to those around us. So yeah, truly the Christian life lived in the Spirit is always a miracle, because it is the indwelling Christ living His life in and through us!!
So yes, all the praise goes to our Lord Jesus!!
(Here he is at the camera below)
Mateo
One of the pastor’s sons-in-law, who has 9 children, has been sick since May and continues to get worse. (picture immediately below) So, when the Pia people were asked if they would be willing to take him out to town, along with a couple of companions to help take care of him, they readily agreed. (just today we got confirmation that Mateo has Tuberculosis) The P people have come to trust the Pia believers very quickly and are very at ease with them. They are truly seeing them as their own people and have made many comments like, “These people are family”! We praise the Lord how He is working to create this bond between these two ethnic groups and we are trusting Him to use the Pia believers in a mighty way to help bring the P believers to greater maturity in Christ, and also more stable economically. Thanks so much for praying with us about this new strategic friendship.
When Mateo was a young boy Teresa taught him how to read and write in his own language. He turned out to be a great reader and a believer in Christ! (picture below)
The P believers gathering by the river to see the Pia folks head back home, along with Mateo, and his two companions. (picture below)
Some of the P pastors and others gathered together for a final picture before the Pia head back home. Again, what a joy to see this wonderful friendship built on the work of Christ develop and grow. We truly thank God for all He is doing here to help build His church! (picture below)
Prayer Requests
- Please continue to pray for this relationship between the Pia churches and the P churches will continue to grow, and that our Lord will be wonderfully praised through it all
- Pray for our next scheduled Bible Seminar via Star Link in the month of October.
- Thanks so much for praying for Mateo, who has tuberculosis, and for his two companions, who have never been away from P-land before. Pray for a quick and successful treatment for him.
- Please pray for the radio station. It was damaged by a very powerful windstorm along with lightning and is now disabled. Let’s pray together trusting God to get it back up and running as soon as possible
- Keep praying for the radio ministry, that the people will catch the daily broadcast once they return, and that they’ll take good care of their radios.
- Pray for God’s protection over the 1000 radios that are presently being put together for the P nation, and that they will arrive safely to the recipients
- Thanks for your prayers for us as we continue to edit the radio programs and as I prep for the next 12 hours of teaching coming up in October.
- Pray for us as we head to Santa Barbara, California in a few days. One of my new corneas has been acting up and I need to see my specialist again, as well as get a hernia taken care of.
- Pray for God’s will to be done in the beautiful country where we lived for so long. So much of the country is broken and hurting, and not much being done to make things better. Pray for a mighty working of Almighty God there.
- Pray for our Latin coworkers the Porrellos and the Diamonts as well as they continue to work to see things advance in the work with the P. And pray for Ruby Porrello’s family too as her dad is dying with melanoma.
Continuing to Gather as the Called-Out Ones
Above you see our P brothers and sisters gathered together worshiping God. Singing will happen as well as prayer and teaching. Pray for these beloved brethren as they journey forward, looking for a city, whose Builder and Maker is God. Pray for these special saints of the Most-High God as they seek to be light and salt in their world until Jesus comes to get them.
Thanks Again…..
….for your being part of the team as we push forward to cross the finish line in the P work for the brilliant glory of our Lord. We count it a huge privilege to invest our lives to see His church established among this beloved nation. So yes, thanks so much for praying and giving and encouraging and hanging with us down through the many years. We truly appreciate you all and thank God for you.
Continuing to count on the bigness of God,
Merrill and Teresa
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