A Few Minutes More

I thought ladies' meeting was a washout today.  The lady who was supposed to lead the lesson had gone on a church hike and had gone straight home exhausted.  Starting time was 4:00.  When no one had shown up by 5:00, I figured that was that.  Then the doorbell rang at 5:05.  Two ladies from out of town with their five young children were there.  My American side was tempted to tell them there was no meeting and send them home.  But since they had taken all the effort to walk across town to come I invited them in for a few minutes.

Five minutes later Graciela arrived.  If you read my last entry, you know she has a heart for sharing about Jesus with people.  We visited for a while, and I asked for prayer requests to end the meeting.  Graciela said to one of the ladies, "Excuse me, but, sister, your face looks sad.  If there's anything you'd like to share, we'd love to listen and offer any advice we might have."  So we extended the meeting a few minutes more while Techi poured out her heart about the big struggles she has been having in her marriage.

Graciela shared some about her own experiences and encouraged Techi to take the issue to God in prayer and look for a church near her home.  I then made some follow up questions and ended up leading Techi in a prayer to accept Jesus as her savior and Lord.  Techi left with a smile on her face and plans to visit us at church tomorrow before she heads back to Lima.  Please join me in praying for her marriage and that she will find a good church home.  I'm so glad we were willing to tarry a few minutes more.

Valuable in Christ

Sara is a neighbor who sells souvenirs in the tourist market.  When we first arrived in Tarma I bought a weaving from her that her husband had made.  Over the years we've formed a casual friendship, with me stopping to visit at her stand from time to time.  She shared with me about her difficulties with her husband and a person at her workplace.  I frequently invited her to come to ladies' retreats, and so did another neighbor, Graciela, who also goes to our church, but Sara could never make it.

A few weeks ago when Graciela stopped by to invite her to yet another retreat, Sara was in a crisis point.  Conflict at work had led to a lawsuit.  She was discouraged and frustrated.  Graciela encouraged her and invited her yet again to a retreat.  This time her young adult sons insisted that she attend, and she was the first to arrive.  (She is in purple and white in the middle-right of the photo above.)

The theme of the retreat was "Valuable in Christ".  We listened to teaching about how much God loves us, and how the difficult times we go through can be used to refine us and make us more beautiful in character.  When first time visitors were invited to stand, Sarah and four other ladies stood.  They all five accepted the invitation to pray to ask Jesus to forgive them and take control of their lives.  Please join me in praying that Sara and the other new Christians will continue to remember how valuable they are in Jesus, and will continue to grow in their knowledge of God.