I got to teach ladies class on Tuesday, and the lesson was titles “God, I give you thanks.”  We talked about how many times when we feel like we don’t want to attend services or feel discouraged, it is because we have forgotten all of the great things that God has done and continues doing for us and we forget to give thanks and meditate on those things.  We talked about how in the old testament, Jews gave thanks for God’s creation and all of the ways that he helped them (out of Egypt, etc.) and in the New Testament we give thanks for salvation.  We talked about the sacrifice Christ made, how he was cursed, put to shame, etc. to redeem us.  The last section of thanks was “Everything Else” because we know that everything good comes from God and he blesses us with many wonderful things, both physically and spiritually.  In the second part of the lesson we talked about what we do when we want to say thanks to someone.  We usually say something like “Thank you so much.  It’s beautiful.  That was so thoughtful of you.” and then we send a thank you note or a small gift to show our appreciation.  We divided this into 1 - saying thank you (Prayer), 2 - Complimenting the gift (how wonderful creation is, how great our blessings are), 3- Complimenting the giver (God is an awesome, great, loving…God), and our gift back can be in our singing, our daily walk with God and many other things.  Finally we talked about how we feel when someone gives us something and we don’t have the chance to say thank you.  It doesn’t feel good.  So we need to take time to say thank you to God!

Well, it’s been so long between my updates that last time I wrote I assumed I had already told you about two new sisters in Christ, and I hadn’t!  That means I need to update more often!!

One is named Magdalena.  She became a Christian while Chris and Lee (from Giovanni’s supporting congregation) were here visiting.  She has 6 kids, and began working in the church from day 1.  David and I and Giovanni and his family all arrive really early so we can get the chairs situated and ready for services, but at least twice a week Magdalena beats us to it!  Some times by the time we get there, she’s already swept and cleaned and has everything in order! 

Iliana also decided to become a Christian.  The first of her extended family was baptized during our gospel meeting in April, but they have struggled (we now have 8 members from her family, not including her) to remain faithful.  When she decided to become a Christian, Carolina warned her that this was a commitment to God for the long term.  Yesterday when Giovanni and Carolina visited her she told them that she was going to make some changes, and wanted to be a true, faithful Christian and an example to her family.  What a great way to begin her walk with God!

Finally, please pray for our congregation and their health.  We had quite a few members absent from services on Sunday, and everyone we visited said that it was because of the rain.  During our gospel meeting, many of our new members came from an area a ways from our location, so they might walk 30 or more minutes to get to services.  With young ones and in the rain, I have to say I can’t blame them.  They worry about their kids getting sick, and the older members worry about falling. 

Today our congregation held a family seminar.  We had 12 congregations attend totaling about 155 adults and kids.  Everyone met together at the beginning, and then the kids went to have their own service while the parents had another lesson.  It was a great time to get to fellowship with neighboring congregations and study some practical things that all parents and kids need to know to face the world today.

We also had a baptism today.  She is a family member of several of our members, and has been visiting for a while.  We are very excited and know that you will rejoice with us!