Gloria and I are administrating the Bet-Sean Home and are thankful that, through the Lord’s goodness and help, everything has been running smoothly. I find that it ties me down more than before with visits to the different assemblies and new works but, as the years creep up, some think that it is a good thing not to be so active. It is encouraging to see the elders of the local assemblies, and full-time workers, faithful in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Not all is plain sailing, and perhaps more so in these last days before the return of our Lord, as Satan seems to accelerate his activities to disrupt the work of God. Our prayer is that of Nehemiah when the adversaries tried to hinder progress in the construction of the wall by making him and his helpers afraid, saying their hands shall be weakened from the work - “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.” Of course the wall was finished as God and they worked together for His glory. Here at the Home we have twelve residents, recent additions being an aged brother from the Tulua assembly and an elderly lady who lived with her daughter in a suburb next to the Home. This lady is not a believer nor is any of the family but we felt free before the Lord to receive her. Pray for Señora Lucy that her time with us may be for her eternal salvation and that our contact with this family may be for their spiritual enlightening and salvation. Apart from a cataract operation for one of the brothers, various trips to the dentist for three of the ladies and several tests for hearing aids for another brother, things have been fairly routine these past weeks. At 7:50 a.m. each morning we have a short devotional reading and one of the residents commends us to the Lord and gives thanks for the breakfast to be served. The assembly meets here at the Home for the various meetings - ministry on Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. and prayer on Thursday at the same time. On Lord’s Day morning there is the Breaking of Bread at 10:00 a.m. and ministry from 11.15 a.m. to 12 noon. All the residents attend. Seven of them are in fellowship. The evenings, when there is no assembly meeting, we have a time of singing, followed by the reading of a Psalm with a few comments and then prayer to close the day. We have a sister working in the kitchen full-time and another doing general domestic duties and helped by another sister who comes for a half day. A few of the men help with the vegetable garden and flower beds and one of the sisters attends to her numerous pot plants which adorn the front and side corridors. The beautiful flowers are a constant reminder of our great Creator. My duties include general maintenance and lawn cutting at least every two weeks.
The Lord graciously answered prayer for a backslidden believer who was in intensive care due to a severe infection caused by negligence of hospital staff where he was receiving injections for respiratory problems. The infection spread to his lungs and his life hung in the balance for a few weeks. It has been the voice of the Lord to him and his family and we were encouraged by the presence of two of his grown-up children at the prayer meeting last night. Pray for Obdulio and his family. He is not able to come to meetings yet.
Recent baptisms in Lerida and Padua have been a stimulus to the believers and confirmation that the Lord is working. My recent visit to these towns and to Mariquita was encouraging, particularly with the zeal of local believers in seeking new contacts. My next trip will, D.V., be to Ibague, Lerida and Libano. Humberto, Jaime and Esperanza have continued to attend in Libano, as well as other new contacts, so there is encouragement there too and thoughts and prayers concerning the formation of the assembly.
The believers in Guatica held a one-day conference in October which was very well attended by local believers and nearby assemblies in Anserma and Mistrato. Full-time workers, German Lievano, Hernan Toro and Fernando Saenz, were present and other capable brethren - it was very profitable.
I have continued teaching the class of young people in Buga la Grande, going down every two weeks for Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, a total of eight hours teaching. We have studied the books of Romans and Genesis and are finishing the year with a panorama of prophecy. There are eleven dedicated students desirous of being better fitted to serve in their respective assemblies. Please pray for them.
Live in such a way that those who know YOU, but don’t know GOD will come to know GOD because they know YOU.