march news 2012
DESCRIPTION
Testimonies of God's goodness from March 2012TRANSCRIPT
Therefore Go…
Testimonies from March 2012
Therefore go…. Hello!
This last month has been a quite a challenging month for me here in Peru.
I’ve had difficulties at foreign affairs. I’ve been sick. We’ve had big challenges in prison ministry.
And after over two years of living here, it feels like the reality of some of the cultural differences is
just starting to sink in.
But at the same time if you were to ask me if I wanted to return to South Africa tomorrow, I would
say “No”. Because I know without a doubt that this is where God has called me to live and to
serve for this season. This is the “not-so-romantic-side” of being a missionary. It is the day to day
obedience of living by faith.
And yet in the midst of it all, God has done some glorious things of which He has permitted me to
be a part. I have been privileged to see people’s lives touched and changed. He has also
blessed me with a wonderful family here and an incredibly loving and patient husband. I have
much to be thankful for. It is not always easy, but it is worth it.
Thank you for your prayers and support and for enabling me to be able to obey God and His call
upon my life. May He be glorified as we seek to obey and serve Him, even in the not-so-easy
times.
A shaking up of things in Prison…. Two weeks ago we had a real shake up in our prison ministry.
Around 10pm a large truck arrived at Santa Monica prison and 20
of our ladies were told they had just 5min to gather their things
before being moved to the new Virgen de Fatima prison. It was a
traumatic experience for them, but perhaps even more traumatic
was what was waiting for them at Fatima.
Whereas in Santa Monica the girls have a large communal patio
with grass and a few trees, in Fatima all the girls have is a
concrete courtyard the size of a basketball court, with concrete walls and no shade. It is a very
harsh and depressing environment.
Many of the girls were just starting to grow in their faith and Mary and I were very aware that they
would need encouragement at this time. We have not been given permission to have a group
Bible study just yet, but for the time being we are going in to visit the girls individually on a
Wednesday morning. In this kind of situation, God really is their only hope. Mary and I are trusting
that in the midst of their difficulties, the girls will come to know God like never before.
In Santa Monica all is well. Yesterday we were given permission to have a photo day with the
girls, so that they can send photos home to their families. Below right is a photo of me with some
of the Filipina ladies.
Vision Fest….
Thank you so much for praying for the Vision Fest,
God really amazed us with His faithfulness!
This was the first event of it’s kind here in Lima, one
which sought to gather youth from various churches
with the single purpose of worshipping God together.
A large focus was on the concept of worship as it is
expressed in our service to the poor.
More than 700 young people attended the concert
and 185 signed up to be a part of the new
movement “Fe en Accion” (Faith in Action). “Fe en
Accion” seeks to equip young people in the area of
social transformation, so that they can go back to
their churches and help bring about more effective
and lasting changes in their communities.
I was privileged to be asked to share my testimony of
my experience as a volunteer with World Vision. It was
the first time I had spoken in front of so many people
in Spanish, but thankfully it went really well (see
picture top right).
I am also so proud of Jaime. He did such an amazing
job organizing the event. It was incredible to see the
fruits of his hard work over the last few months.
Yet now the real work of training the 185 youth
begins. Please trust with us that God will give Jaime
and the team wisdom as they put together the
curriculum and invest in these young people’s lives.
In the Community….
I continue to enjoy my time serving in the two children’s
libraries. I am constantly learning and growing in my
know-how of how to work with little ones.
As I may have mentioned before, the kids in the Simon
Bolivar library really tend to be quite a handful. Two
weeks a go I started a good behaviour competition,
promising prizes to those who managed to keep all their
“good behaviour points” after a month (I subtract points
every time on of the kids breaks one of the library rules
and add them whenever I see them behaving well).
This last Wednesday we had a record 22 children in the
library and virtually all of them behaved really well. The
older kids are now even helping the younger ones in an
attempt to get more points. I am just trusting these new
initiatives will become habits over time.
God has also been amazing in His provision for our little
libraries. Two weeks ago I received an email from Pastor
Wolfgang Beyer saying that there was still finance left
over in the Peru mission fund and that he was willing to
send it if we needed it. It came at the perfect time!
I am now able to buy stationary for the libraries, as well
as an illustrated children’s Bible read to the kids. Thank
you to all who contributed to the Peru fund all those
years back. It is still being a blessing!
Thank you…. Thank you so much for standing with us in faith and prayer for the work that God is doing here in
Peru. Jaime and I are so thankful for all that you sow into our lives and ministry.
Thank you for every encouraging email, every prayer, every gift. May God honour your
faithfulness and fill you with joy knowing that lives are being impacted on this side of the world
because of you!
Much love, Jaime and Kim
Some prayer requests…. The ladies of Fatima….
Please pray for the ladies who have been moved to Fatima prison.
Pray that God will give them the grace to keep strong under such
difficult conditions. Please also trust with us that we will have favour
with the prison authorities and that we will be allowed to start our group Bible Study there soon.
Some Prison back-up….
With Mary and myself now going into prison twice a week, we are really needing more people to
help us in this ministry. Please pray that God will bring along a godly woman who can help us
carry the load.
Library wisdom….
Please also continue to pray that God will give me wisdom in the work I am doing with the kids in
the libraries. May these children come to know God’s love and goodness.
Jaime and I would love to hear from you: please write to us at [email protected] or you could
call on +51 990 50 1552. My skype name is kimmysol.