Update on the New Church Building

Here are some pictures showing the progress on the church building.

These two pictures show the beginning block work being done.  The workers are really quick and know what they are doing.

The workers have made quick work of the walls and columns on the first half of the building and we have framed the second half for the concrete floor.

Concrete floor done. Time to start the block walls on the other half.

 

Projects completed!

What a blessing the last few months have been.  We gained three new boys at Christmas and have been quite busy since.  We had a team from Oregon come out and help with various projects.  One project was finishing up the remodel for an office and a school room in our existing outbuilding. It is so nice for the kids in Jerusalem house to have a place on the farm to go for school.  Luz is such a wonderful help as she has taken on the teaching of the Colombian children on the farm.  We are excited to be able to homeschool the kids on the farm this year.  All students are in first through third grade the oldest kid 15 and the youngest 9.  Pray with us as Luz strives to meet the unique needs of each child. 

Another huge answer to prayer was receiving a grant to build a new church/multi-purpose building. The team along with Mike and Josh were able to lay out and pour the foundation of the new church building. We are so excited to see God working and moving here.  Please keep us in your prayers as we fight the fight and share the gospel.

Giving Thanks and Praise to God!

We are excited to announce that the Jerusalem house remodeling is completed.  The house now meets the Colombian social service standard for housing kids. The house now has both bathrooms completed, new paint inside and a ceiling.  As we were in the finishing stages of this project the Lord brought a new boy of 10 years old to live here on the farm.  He is a happy energetic guy who is doing very well here. It has been a long year of watching God move in peoples hearts to give for this project. How awesome a sight seeing God's people give to help orphans and further His church here in Colombia. 

In this picture you can see the older part of the house with newly painted walls and the completed ceiling. The rest of the picture shows a small section of the added on living area with new tile.

In a recent blog we showed the completed boys bathroom.  This picture shows the remodel of the second bathroom.

We were also able to clear and level part of the farm around Jerusalem house, Sameria house and the church. Part of this land will house our multi-purpose building.  By God's grace and provision we received a grant to build this building which will house the church, school classrooms and possibly online seminary classes for pastors in our area. God is so big!

This is a before shot of behind the Jerusalem house.

This is after.

This shows the view up to Jerusalem house before leveling.

This is after.

The church area prior to leveling.

After leveling. Future sight of the multi-purpose building.

A Successful Pastors Conference

We were blessed beyond belief by the work God did and continues to do here.  The 2 day conference was a lot of work but richly worth the effort as we saw pastors weep, hearing biblical truths for the first time.  The pastors here have such a heart to spread the gospel to those in their communities but lack desperately for educational resources. In addition to the sermon material we were able to sell materials to these pastors at a discounted price.  With this new knowledge and materials in hand the pastors were excited to go home and continue learning in order that they can impact their congregations. Josh, Mike and Luis have been asked by 2 other communities to repeat the conference for the pastors who were unable to come.

The guys are shown here with some of the pastors.

First Pastor's Conference

The first pastors conference is underway.  We have a great turn out with pastors and other ministry workers from various parts of our state in Colombia. Please pray as we help deepen these men and women's understanding of God so they can in turn impact others.

We were able to add a new rock path to the church in time for the conference.  It helps a lot right now with all the rain and mud.

       

What a great turn out!  God faithfully brings those who need to hear and learn from His word.

El Nido de Gracia's First Wedding

We were blessed to celebrate our first wedding September 28th.  It was truly a blessing to see these two step out and legally marry.  We have others interested as well with the next one coming in December.  Many of the people in this culture have never been legally married but just live as man and wife.  This union often ends when normal hardships and struggles arise as there has been no formal commitment.

Mike, Victor, Viviana, Luis Fernando and Josh

It rained all day, not very common here but it happened just the same.  The plan was to be married outside in the front yard.  The kiosko ended up being a very lovely place to hold the ceremony.

Presentation of the newly married couple.

As is the Colombian way there was much hugging and congratulating of the new couple.

Upgrades at Jerusalem House

The farm has been busy these last couple months.  With the help of a team we were able to complete the painting of the new bathroom, the boy's bedroom and main living area.  It is looking so nice!  We are also working on the ceiling and it too is close to being complete.  The pictures show the new bathroom and painted livingroom.  Hopefully soon we will have a picture with the new ceiling.