How nice it was to hang out with my family and my new fiancé!  Yes, I proposed to Kaela, my girlfriend of over three years and she said yes!  Woohoo!  If you want any details, contact me.  It was really nice to spend time with her, who I hadn’t seen in 68 days (she reported).  It was also very nice to see my dad, Kate, and her fiancé Matt, not to mention getting to know several new, really caring individuals from Divine Shepherd- John (I already knew but learned much more), Matt, Ryan, Sommer, Karen, Nicole, Bruce, and Frank. 

We worked in Campenario La Avanzada where Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church has an ongoing relationship.  We did a VBS, built a house, built bunk beds, had an eye clinic, and also held some Bible studies.  The eye clinic was a great success.  I think we saw around 80 patients and gave out something like 60 pairs of glasses and handed out a whole lot of sunglasses.  Kaela was our ophthalmologist, Ryan and Matt helped figure out what prescription to give, Karen and Nicole helped fit glasses, and my dad and I prayed with patients before they left. 

Here in front you can see beds and lumber on the road
and behind is Bruce and a little further behind him
is the pickup.  We probably should have secured
the load a little better... oops...

This was an awesome experience for dad and me.  We got to talk face to face with many people and ask what was weighing heavy on their hearts.  The majority of the people asked to pray for health for themselves and their family and thanks for the new glasses.  We had one woman (maybe 60 years old) who came through and asked us to give thanks that we were there working with her people.  When I asked her if there was anything else she said that she prays that a priest would come to their village more often to take care of the people and teach the Bible.  This was very refreshing!  I was starting to wonder if there was anyone in the village that was genuinely concerned about the well being of their people.  This woman was very encouraging for us and the work that we are doing there. 

We had a steady attendance for the VBS the whole week- around 100 to 150 kids.  You will have to ask those who worked there for more information about how it went.  I was doing a Bible study with dad in a different place at the same time.  We had a Bible study for youth one day, women another, and men yet another.  The first day we had two young men show up, Caesar and Marcial.  We asked them how much they knew about Jesus or about the Bible.  They mentioned something like Jesus is our savior but they said they didn’t know much more than that.  So my dad proceeded to tell them about John and his Gospel and using verses like John 3:16 and 20:31.  I think they really enjoyed the word and left curious to learn more. 

Here is Pequeno Juan (small John) and a group of
junior high students who made John, my dad, and me lunch.
We went to Progreso, a neighboring village to meet
some friends that I have made in my many journeys
to the area.  Very nice people there!

There is a Catholic church in La Avanzada and the attendance is around 60 every week.  La Avanzada is a town of around 600 people.  So, we can see a definite lack of church attendance, which is not so much different from the situation in the US.  We were told that the priest only comes 4 or 5 times a year to give communion.  The person who holds the weekly services for them is an elder of the Catholic church in La Union.  There is an evangelical church there in La Avanzada but only a few attend it.  There is definitely room for these people to grow spiritually. 

What we want to do is to help these people grow in faith the way that the early Christians did it back in the day.  That is, give them the good news and let them meditate on scriptures, pray, praise, and support one another in small groups.  We are trying to achieve this by giving biblical training to two individuals- Rony and Lilian (both 20 years old).  What my dad and I tried to do this last week was to model a small group Bible study for them to implement with their people.  We sung songs, had plenty of time for meet and greet, prayer, and some Biblical study/instruction. 

Look at the size of this butterfly!!!

This task is a large one and it isn’t going to happen over night.  So, this is my prayer and also my request for you to pray as well, that God may send his Holy Spirit to these people and encourage them to seek Him and receive us who have come in His name. 

There is so much more I would like to share but I don’t want to wear you out!

Thanks for reading!

Your brother in Christ,

Aaron

Making the tortilla!  Yum!