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.