Ministries and Christmas Preparations

Tonight we had our second leaders' meeting this month, with the leaders of the different ministries of Templo Cristiano Libertad discussing the progress of their respective areas and plans for the holiday season and the new year. 

One of the biggest areas of growth is that of children's ministries, which has been put in charge of one of the newer sisters in the church. Right now the children are preparing to present dramas at the Christmas posada, which will be December 20.

As a church, we are preparing our annual offering of blankets, which we collect and distribute to the needy both in and outside of the church. We are aiming to help at least 50 families this year; for those of you who don't know San Pedro, yes, it gets really cold! 

A new ministry in TCL is part of compassion ministries, and involves taking food to our local hospitals (there are 4 in San Pedro) to distribute to the people who are there caring for sick relatives and friends. At the same time we minister to these people with the Word of God and prayer.

Another ministry which has been going on for several months now is "Operación Canasta" or "Operation Basket". In the church are two baskets that are filled each week with non-perishable food and grocery items and then distributed to those in need. We are mainly reaching older couples who have been abandoned by their families and are unable to work, and who completely depend on this ministry.

El Calor Dinner

On Friday we held our end-of-season gathering for El Calor: a meal, a short devotional and some songs, and fellowship. Please be in prayer for the new season which gets underway Monday with preseason training, and for the upcoming tryouts on December 15th.

General Update: Discipleship, Outreach and Expansion

We have been discipling a new couple in the church and this past Monday, Luis decided to give his life to Jesus. He was so eager to be baptized that he didn't want to wait for a baptismal service so we filled up the tub we're using and he was baptized.This coming Saturday we are continuing the effort to evangelize couples and are having a special dinner and outreach for new couples, hosted by the youth group. Please be in prayer for this event, and look for more information and pictures from the evening next week.

Also a short soccer update: El Calor was eliminated from the playoffs last Saturday with a 10-1 global score in the first round. Although we're disappointed, we're also proud to have made it to the playoffs in the first season after ascending to 2nd Division, a feat that no other team has ever accomplished. The team had a week off and the preseason starts this Monday. We are waiting and praying for the new players who will arrive and ask that you be in prayer also, that God will send the necessary people and that he will open their hearts to receive his Word and be saved. Thanks to an unexpected offering, we are also in the process of repairing and expanding the clubhouse, and hope to double the number of players who stay here. We are also expanding our asylum facilities and are waiting on the arrival of more children and teens who need to be rescued from violence and drug trafficking.

Thank you to those of you who support these ministries both financially and in prayer; may God bless you many times over and above what you put into the work here.

General Update

Hi everyone!

Here's what's been happening in San Pedro the last little while, some upcoming events and a testimony. We're glad to have Stephen back after his yearly trip to the States; he said his time there was a blessing and is happy to have had the opportunity to minister and be ministered to.

We're keeping working on the church building, trying to finish up final details little by little. This past week some of the men of the church met to install rain gutters (yes, it does rain here!). This summer we have had quite a bit of rain and it tends to leak into the church, but we hope to have solved the problem now.

We are getting ready for a March for Jesus here in San Pedro tomorrow afternoon. Our youth group has been busy making signs and preparing to participate in the march, which starts at a local high school and ends with a service in the evening. Hopefully I will have pictures to post in the next couple of days.

And finally, some good news in the form of a testimony. A little while ago Marcela received a message from an ex-Calor player named David that said, "Sister Marcela, I'm really happy because I have become a Christian. All of the teaching and prayer that you gave us when I was on the team have finally paid off!" When he was on the team, David was a boy who, with almost every sentence that came out of his mouth, cursed or said inappropriate things. It was difficult to deal with him but we never lost hope that the Word of God would bear fruit in his life and with those around him. So it was very encouraging with he told use about his relationship with Jesus and how his life has changed because he's serving God.