Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3
Happy 5 years to Iglesia Esperanza Viva (Living Hope Church)! On Sunday, June 25, we celebrated 5 years of what God is doing here in Robledo, Medellín. We have seen so much of God’s faithfulness throughout these years as kids, teens, and adults have come to Christ, families now attending together, new people who truly have a desire to learn about Christ, and others who have been convicted to share the Gospel more in the streets. We of course have walked through hardship also as people have come and gone, others have turned away from God, and the many hours of counseling through sad and difficult situations. That is the reality of the sinful world that we live in, but we can always praise God because of “his great mercy” we have a “living hope” in Him! He is the potter and we are the clay and with joy, we can be molded by Him to be more like Christ and share that with others. We pray for many more wonderful years and that God would raise up some of these youth boys and kids to be pastors and leaders, and for ladies to step up and serve in many more ways as well. We showed a video for our 5 year anniversary that we hope to get out to you soon when we finish the subtitles. Thank you for all of your prayers, love, and support over the years!
Praise God that we have seen growth in the youth again and those that have not attended for a while have come back!
The kids continue to be motivated in club and in Sunday School and love the stories of the Old Testament! Juan José who has been coming for some time now just accepted Christ as His savior two weeks ago! He calls Fabrizzio and Fabian (who received Christ in their hearts two months ago) his brothers now! They are all so happy! The kids who memorized Bible verses and picked up trash also went on another field trip to the zoo! They loved it and want to go back!
The young adults group is going through some change at this time with different people; however, two new guys, Juan David and Dagoberto, have been very faithful and have come Sunday mornings as well. Please pray for Juan especially as he is not saved but has a
strong desire to learn.
We continue with daily discipleships and seeking God’s guidance on how best to lead the church and seek out the lost.
Additional Praises:
We had a great time away together to heal and enjoy life.
Happy 6 months today in heaven, Anaya! We love you and miss you so much!
A few men will be taking some seminary courses through our seminary in Bogota.
We had a good quick visit with my (Jamie’s) mom and sister-in-law.
Additional Prayer Requests:
Peter is traveling to Bogota next week with (Big) Juan David and Camilo to preach at teen camp.
Marissa’s visa situation is still uncertain, and she has to leave the country July 10.
Some additional counseling is needed in tough situations with church people.
Thank you again!
For The Kingdom,
Jamie, Peter, & Max