How life has changed since our last ministry update! It has been a big adjustment with our little Jackson joining our family, and we are so thankful for all of the joy he adds to our days. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support during this wonderful time of change.
This month we were very excited to be able to hold a small kids activity with our church. It has been over a year since the shutdown and all the restrictions, so it was so refreshing to be able to have the kids come and participate in games and songs, and hear a meaningful message about obedience to God. We did a one day activity with the kids from our church, and one day with the kids in the town of La Aldea.
We have continued with our study with a few families from the town of La Aldea, and are still working through the Gospel of Mark. Our goal throughout this study is to help equip the people attending with the tools they need to study and understand Scripture on their own. As we go through the important concepts found in this book, these families are learning more about who Christ is as Mark addresses, as well as practicing important hermeneutical skills that we hope they will use to teach others about Christ.
In our Sunday morning services we have been working through the book of 1 Corinthians. This book is full of important and weighty topics, and it is encouraging to see how members and attendees have been responding and growing through this study. We have also been continuing in our Sunday School study of apologetics. Recently, Brandon has been presenting the beliefs of different religions that many of us come in contact with on the regular. We cover what they believe and how this differs from what the Bible teaches. We then go over ways that we as Christians can defend the truth of Scripture against these beliefs, and discuss what a conversation might look like with a person who thinks differently than we do. So far, we have done studies of Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, and Catholicism. We love to hear how people are excited to use this new knowledge to engage in intelligent and uplifting conversations with people they interact with in their everyday lives. Recently, working through the beliefs of Catholicism has been both intimidating and rewarding as this is the most prevalent religion in the country. We have loved hearing from people about real life interactions they have had in the past, and how this apologetical knowledge can help them better speak truth to those within the Catholic church.
We are also excited for the new addition of a library in the church! This project has been in the works for a few years now, and there is now a small collection of books that have been put on the shelf in the new office area. This will be a huge blessing to those who attend Semillas de Vida, as it is very difficult here in Costa Rica to come across books that are of good quality and doctrine that are available to borrow. If you are looking for a way to pour into the lives of this ministry, this is a great opportunity to get involved and do so! There is an amazon wishlist of books that we are hoping to fill the shelves with, and anyone can go online and help that happen. Click this link to check it out! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out.
As you can probably tell from our social media accounts, we have absolutely loved the past three months with our baby Jackson, and are so excited to watch him grow and develop. We were blessed to have visits from both of our families to meet their grandson/nephew, and are hoping to have the rest of Samantha’s siblings visit soon. While it is extremely challenging being away from family during this special time, we are so thankful for our church family who have come alongside us and love on Jackson so well. They held a surprise shower for us the week before he was born where we were blessed with diapers, clothes and books, and got to experience some typical Costa Rican baby shower traditions!
Please keep praying for us as we navigate parenthood and ministry life! Brandon has also begun taking classes with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. After completing his Bachelor’s degree with Lancaster Bible College, he heard about the opportunity with SBTS which offers their courses for a fraction of the price in Spanish. This is a big and challenging step, but he has been loving the learning so far and is looking forward to eventually receiving his Master’s degree. Doing the classes in Spanish adds a whole level of difficulty, but will be a great benefit as all of his teaching and ministry is to the Spanish community.
We are also so excited for our ministry partners Hannah and Esteban Mora and their family as they anticipate the arrival of their twins within the next few weeks! Please be praying for the rest of the pregnancy, for a healthy delivery, and for their family as they welcome these precious lives into their home! They have been such a blessing to us as we adjust to life with a baby of our own, we pray we can be a support to them as well in this time.
Thank you again to our financial support team! We would not be where we are now if it weren't for our all of those who give and pray for us. If you would like to join our team and be apart of what God is at work doing here in Costa Rica, please visit this link and follow the prompts. https://cmcmissions.org/donate
Comments
Post a Comment