Dangerous Job

This past week I saw something interesting - and frightening at the same time. We saw some painters working on a six story building. The painters worked in pairs. One man stays up on the roof and makes sure the ladder is secure and also is in charge of raising and lowering the five gallon bucket of paint for the man below.






The other man climbs down the ladder. With one arm he hangs on to the ladder, and all the painting is done with the other hand. As you can see, there is no safety equipment - not even a security rope for the painter. He just climbs up and down the rope ladder right out in the open.





Update:

A few weeks ago I told you about Juan and the robbers that tried to take his motorbike. The bullet wounds have healed up nicely. But, apparently, the bullet did some damage to one of the nerves that control the muscles in the wrist. Juan can close his fist but is unable to lift his fingers and wrist in any kind of upward motion. He is wearing a cast for the time being and may have to get some therapy. Please keep him in your prayers. Juan had been hoping to go into the medical profession. If he does not regain the motion in his hand, he may have to choose a different life's work.

Elections

Next May, the people here will vote in their local mid-term elections. The streets are already filled with posters and ads for all of the candidates from the three different main political parties. All the candidates are already campaigning to get as many votes as possible.

How does this affect the church work? Much of the campaigning is done on Sunday when people are off from work. For several Sundays now, Juan has had to postpone the beginning of the service while we wait for a candidate's parade to go past the church. This video was taken from the door of Juan's church.

As you can tell from the video, it gets VERY loud and the parade is quite long. Those people who don't have speakers blaring, are honking their horns and playing their radios full-blast. It is impossible to begin services or to concentrate on the Word with such a racket going by.

After the parade is past, your ears continue humming and buzzing for a while from all the loud noises. When we start singing our hymns -- it sounds very sweet!





In other news:

We want to again thank all of you for your prayers for the work here and for our safety. On Friday night, one of our members, Juan Fransisco, received a gunshot wound. Bible class had finished and he had already taken one person home on his motorbike. He was coming back to the church to pick up a second person to give them a ride home. Some other men on another motorcycle began following him, pulled out a gun and shot him in an attempt to steal his bike. Juan was able to continue riding his bike and arrive once again at the church property. There the members that were still around attended to him and took him to the clinic. Thanks to the Lord, the bullet exited his body and all he needed were some stitches.



We are all rejoicing and giving thanks to the Lord for His loving protection of Juan. Please rejoice with us that Juan is well and recovering. The Lord sent his holy angels to watch over Juan. And we thank you, also, for all your faithful prayers.

Do You Know Jesus?

Remember playing games with your friends and cousins when you were little? What great fun to be done with chores and homework and be able to go outside and play. What's even better, is when your friends and cousins live nearby and can come over every day and play.

We easily remember happy play days of our youth. How often did we talk to our friends and cousins about the Savior and witness to them about forgiveness and the promise of eternal life? Not very often, I have to admit.

Alexsandra is a beautiful example of a young girl who not only loves to play with her cousins but also loves to tell them about Jesus. At eight years of age, she is already witnessing to her cousins, sharing with them the basic teachings of the Scriptures. After play, she invites her cousin to sit with her and read about the creation of the world, the life and death of Jesus, the meaning of His resurrection. Her great joy in her own salvation compels her to share this wonderful news with others.

What an inspiration for others to see her witnessing. With what ease and zeal she speaks to others of Jesus - introducing her best friend to those she loves most.

Dear Father in heaven, thank you for this beautiful child who speaks so easily of your love. Help me to also have the heart of a child, to speak to others without fear, using every opportunity to share your love with others. For Jesus' sake.

Prayer for Latin America Traveling Theological Educators team

Lord of the living harvest, bless the labors of the LATTE team, a team of missionaries aiding in the seminary training and continuing theological education of national pastors throughout Latin America.  Bless especially their efforts to use modern technology and the internet to offer their classes in various countries at once in the near future, even as rising travel costs make it difficult to be present personally and teach their students face to face.  Thank you for giving us modern technology to be used as a tool in the spread of your saving gospel.

Amen.

The Lord bless you with his Peace,

NW

Prayer suggestions

What a marvelous blessing prayer is! Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, invites us to pray with the same confidence and persistence as dear children talk to, ask and thank their loving father. Jesus teaches to call on God as "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:9). "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give hims a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

Occasionally brothers and sisters in Christ ask us what they should pray for on behalf of our mission. Following are some suggestions, but is by no means exhaustive:

• Pray for the Latin American national churches that are striving to grow and become self-supporting sister churches of WELS: the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mexico, the Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church in Puerto Rico, and those in Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Brazil.
• Ask God’s blessings on the LATTE team as they help spread the gospel in Latin America: Missionaries Schlomer, Martens, Retberg, Strackbein, and Wagenknecht.
• Thank the Great Shepherd of the sheep for the seminarians and national pastors serving him in the Dominican Republic: Rona Abraham, Obed Bazin, Julio Corporan, Alexander Torres, Freddy Aquino, Robert Helve, and Elise Abraham.
• Call on our God of grace to bless Missionary Monday's ministry, to watch over the Monday family and to grant them joy.
  
• Pray that the Holy Spirit would strengthen and keep the members of our congregations -- most of whom are first generation Christians, or at least first generation confessional Lutherans -- in the true Christian faith until they receive the crown of life in heaven.
• Ask our loving, perfect Father to help Christian parents raise their children in the "training and admonition of the Lord".
• Seek the Lord's favor on Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) congregation in Moca as they look for their own permanent building to dedicate to the Lord's service.
  

The Lord bless you with his Peace,
NW