July Highlights

Camp

Winter in the Southern hemisphere coincides with Summer up North. July is the month of winter break for schools and colleges, which means it is ideal for extra ministry activities.
On the first week of July Mafú was the speaker for a family camp organized by a couple of churches in town. The theme was "focus".
When we focus on ourselves and our own salvation we become like the Pharisees attempting to justify ourselves. Consider the focus of Jesus, as in Luke 15 with the lost sheep, lost coins and lost sons. Consider his focus in going to the cross for our salvation. Consider the Joy in heaven that accompanies repentance and faith. Consider his mission stated in Luke 19:10 "The Son of man came to seek and save the lost. "
In view of Christ's perfect focus in completing our salvation we are freed to truly love others and focus on being a blessing through vocation.

Challenges

Crises in Families

We have dealt with a number of complicated family matters.
One of these are Jenny and Rody. Jenny is a young women who (with her 3 month old baby girl) spent several days with us as we helped counsel the couple through their struggles. They have since moved out of the in-laws home and things seem to be better.
Pray for the baby (Keysi Nayhara) who fell out of a hammock and cracked her skull on August 2nd. She has been in observation and seems to be ok.
All the problems caused by selfishness and bitterness can only be healed by the gospel. Pray that as we proclaim God's word, lives be changed and families restored.

Attendance

We have had a very difficult time getting people to attend. People seek us for help in their various problems. They come to us and we go to them. But no matter how much we stress the importance of church. The barriers are still so strong as to keep them from coming. Pray that people would truly recognize their need of God.