Christmas together

We decided to bring the two churches I am working with together for a small Christmas celebration on Saturday and Sunday.  We had to transport the Big Tree people to the Chinjala church which was a bit tricky in itself but it all worked out. After starting off at 9:15 am we didnt actually get to Chinjala until around 1:30! We started the services around 2 pm; had 2 full church services complete with lots of singing, some preaching, and all sorts of excitement. Saturday finished around 11 pm amidst heavy rains but no one seemed to notice. After some sleep, we started up again at 10 am with some more church singing, choir groups, testimonies, and preaching. It was a wonderful time to think of God being manifest in the flesh and the fantastic gift of salvation His life, death, and resurrection presents to mankind. Every "gift" has a cost and we learned the price paid for the "gift of eternal life" was at Calvary. Wow! Humbling. Many people came to call on Jesus and receive the free gift. So thankful to see our Lord working among the people and bring forgiveness of sin, hope of eternal life, and peace to the heart.

Sunday School

I know we just posted about Sunday school last month but it always thrills me to see little children learning from God's word at an early age! We normally have more children but because of a nearby funeral and recent heavy rains, there were some that didnt come. Please be praying for our little group to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and that they will willfully follow the ways and words of Jesus!

crowded room

With the rainy season upon us, we were not able to meet under our Big Tree. We are in the process of building a church building but it is not yet completed. So, this last Wednesday we all crowded into a woman's house and attempted to have a Bible study. There were about 22 adults and maybe 8-10 children packed into this small room... although a bit tight, the real problem was the lack of lighting. The only light source came from the open door... as you can see in the picture, it was pretty dark and many had no light to read their Bibles! Always some sort of challenge around here - it turned out to be a great Bible study (although, who knows,  maybe everyone was sleeping) and I believe we were all encouraged and challenged!

Sunday School Dance

This last Sunday the teacher taught the children a song and small dance. They were suppose to sing the song as they danced into the church (or under the Big Tree in our case) but it didnt really work out. Nonetheless, it was fun to see the kids enjoying their time learning lessons from the Scripture and trying to put something together. They were not real loud about what they were trying to sing and apparently my video didnt pick up anything... maybe higher quality next time!?!

Our little church building - progress!

We have been meeting for the last 3 months under a tree but with the onset of the rainy season it really is not practical. So, we have decided to build a church - certainly not as cumbersome as stateside: no building permits, inspectors, or worrying about financing with the bank! Our little group of people have already cut the poles and bamboo and hopefully will have the grass cut soon (for the roof). The holes are dug and as you can see in the pictures, the "frame" of the building is complete! It is roughly 5 meters wide by 12 meters long. It may not look like much now but in the next couple weeks it will really take shape and be a place for the people to gather together to learn of Jesus and worship our God for the next many years to come!We expect our little "bush" church will be able to hold around 60 adults and possibly even more. Expansion is not usually a problem since it is just a matter of getting some new poles/bamboo and making it work! 

We are excited to see our Lord work in the hearts of these people. There are times when an inward expression of your faith and love for Christ can take on an outward action. We believe the work being done on the physical building is just a small sign of what is happening to the inside of these people! Praise the LORD!

frame of church

future Baptist Church building