She's Back! (Kristin)

In January, I wrote about Taiza (pictured on the right), one of the girls I do Bible study with in the favela. Basically, Taiza "disappeared" after the start of my Bible study with these two girls. You can read the post here. Well, I'm very excited to share that she is back and has been faithfully attending Bible study for several weeks now.

Her first week back, I took Maria and Taiza to the mall for Bible study and pizza to celebrate her return. I asked her why she hadn't come back sooner and she replied that she was embarrassed. I told her that she should never be embarrassed to come back to people that love her. She had tears in her eyes as we talked about God's grace and His work of salvation on the cross.

I can see her growing in her understanding of the Gospel. She has professed her faith in Christ, but has much to learn. Every week, she prays that God would give her the strength to stay on the right path, to continue Bible study and to surround herself with people who want her best. She lives in a very dark world.

Please continue to pray with us: 1) that God would continue to open her eyes to his Truth, 2) that the power of the Gospel would continue to break the bonds of sin in her life, and 3) that God would keep her safe in the shadow of His wings as she grows.

Dona Ana (Jeremy)

In my last post, I made reference to Dona Ana (the director of the community center) and to the pain that she has been experiencing in her legs. Her doctor placed her on some medication which was intended to treat this problem. However, these drugs really messed with her stomach - creating a lot of pain in her stomach and destroying her appetite. About two weeks ago, she went to get this checked out and discovered that she has stomach cancer. We still know so little, as she is waiting to receive back the results of her exam. But, I wanted to ask those of you who follow the blog to be praying for her. I can see her fighting to maintain her characteristic optimism through all of this - attempting to assuage others' fears by masking her own. However, this is an extremely difficult fight, as she doesn't even know the extent of the problem. I know that this lady, who has prayed for so many people over the years, just needs some people to do the same for her right now. I hope that we can be that for her. As we find out more, we'll keep you posted.