And the angels are still singing... :)

Luis applied to attend our school after classes had already been in session for a couple of months. When we asked him why he wanted to study at UETIRG, he told us he wanted a different life, different than his father who got caught up in the drug-world. He told us "I want to learn to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong." We had to remind Luis of that answer multiple times throughout the year as we endeavored to instruct and guide him. Because of his personality and habits, he was quite a handful to say the least. But praise God, for his patience with us, and the patience he gives us, and above all, for his mercy and forgiveness and the new life in Christ Jesus!

Ruth Noemi shakes hands with Pastor Freddy

This young man was accepted because of an oversight. Usually we don't take primary students in the dorm. But Bismar is 16 years old, and no one realized until after he was accepted that he was only a seventh grader. As we began to see the way God was working in his life, we quickly realized that our "mistake" was really providential! God is so merciful and so amazing!

Eight of the ten students who were baptized this month holding their baptismal gift, a copy of "The Great Controversy."The two other candidates were baptized the previous Sabbath. 

THREE SABBATH PRAISES

Sabbath peace and greetings to all of you in Christ! We welcomed the Sabbath this evening singing the hymn “How Great thou Art” accompanied by rolling thunder and lightening-gilded clouds. What a spectacular God we serve! For the vespers meditation, I invited three people to share something about how great God has been for them this week. The first to speak was Javier Esteves, a brother from Puerto Rico who left his family business and came to spend this entire school year as a volunteer along with his wife and two daughters.  They have been such a blessing. Well, we have been praying for Javier’s brother-in-law, Daniel Ramon, who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive, mutating form of leukemia. After one dose of chemotherapy, instead of a lower cancer-cell count, the cancer had increased dramatically. The doctors told him to go home and enjoy what was left of his life the best that he could. Daniel decided to go to the U.S. and see if he could get an alternative treatment.  Meanwhile, we kept praying that God would be glorified through this difficult situation for the salvation of souls, and for Daniel’s healing. This morning they called Javier with the word that the cancer is in remission! We serve a powerful and merciful God!

Next to speak was Paulina, one of our seniors. She was thankful that we were able to burn our 3.2 acres of chaco and get it brushed and cleared in one week’s time. This was a miracle because the rainy season arrived emphatically with a deluge and the rain continued for over a week, saturating the brush that we needed to burn in order to plant the rice. Usually rainy season is a bit more gradual in its arrival. Finally we had a full day of sun. We were all praying fervently. We needed at least two more rainless days to be able to burn. The next day was Thursday, and after a morning of hot sunshine, there were systems developing to the west and to the southeast. Soon the sky was black and as the breeze picked up, we could see the rain falling not far away. Many of us stopped what we were doing and prayed for God to hold back the rain. Well, the storm passed by and left us dry, and Friday morning dawned hot and clear. In the afternoon we lit the chaco and by four in the afternoon it was all burned! Every day for the next week we worked from five to eleven o-clock a.m. to get out the firewood and pile and burn the brush and limbs that didn’t burn the first time.    

            The third praise this blessed Sabbath sat a few feet away from me with a huge smile on his face. His mere presence was a testimony to the healing power of our merciful Creator. Some of you may remember Mr. Antonio? While, last Sunday he was run over by a motorcycle. He was helping Mirta set up her vending table at the roadside cafeteria in Yata, when a young girl just learning to drive careened out of control and slammed into him. Praise God that one of our service-day teams was in the area at the time and was able to administer first aid. He seemed to have a dislocated hip and possible fractures in his leg, wrist, and finger as well as internal injuries. The x-rays revealed no fractures however, and when we brought him to the school to convalesce he made a rapid recovery. By Friday he was able to walk on his own and felt good enough to come praise the Lord with us to welcome His holy day!

            All this is just a drop in the bucket of blessings that God is pouring out and will continue to pour on his children that love him and seek Him with a whole heart.

International Missions Festival reminds us of our true citizenship...

Mexicans, Colombians, Bolivians, Puerto Ricans, Americans, but above all Christians and citizens of the heavenly kingdom!

My lovely wife at the booth representing the Heavenly Country. Knowing that any food we might serve would never do justice to the celestial cuisine, we only offered books, DVDs, and bible studies. We pray that each one will find the way to the Celestial City and be able to taste and see for themselves!

The United States serve to visiting guests. Each person was awarded a small "passport" as their meal ticket and were "stamped in" upon arrival at each country! (With exception of the heavenly country)

Wilfredo, myself, Diego, and Reinalda pose for a quick shot with the bowl of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. :)

The Puerto Rican crew!

The president recieves The Great Controversy!

"We need to be more aggressive in the mission that Christ has given us to take the gospel to the world. He is just waiting to do great things for us!" Warren's message (watch video below) was still fresh in my mind Sunday morning as I walked the two-kilometers out to the main road with my colportuers. Here at UETIRG Sundays are dedicated to service projects and outreach, and my group had an appointment to give a Bible study on Revelation with a Brazilian lady in Guayaramerin. When we reached the main road, all the traffic seemed to be going the other direction toward Yata and Riberalta. Finally an empty taxi going counter-current stopped and picked us up. The driver informed us that the president, Evo Morales, was on his way and would be arriving at Yata at 11:00 a.m. He would then continue on to Guayaramerin for lunch and to give the dedication speech for the new and only paved highway in northern Bolivia.

So it was true! We had received word just the night before that the president was coming, but such reports have circulated in the past and the promised visit never materialized. Today, however, the road was lined with welcome banners. We had been told that the schools in Yata would be lined up to greet the president, and that we should be there too! Suddenly I was struck with an audacious thought. Why not send the students with some copies of the Great Controversy! Just maybe God would give them an opportunity to give a copy to the president or at least to someone in his entourage! Yeah right. That's crazy. my built-in thought-auditor nearly succeeded in stifling the idea. But Warren's story came storming back to mind. Why not? The president is a real person! He needs to know about this final conflict just as much as anyone! As soon as we arrived in town I sent a text to the teachers still at the school and asked if one of them at least could take a group of students to wait for the president and to take along a half-dozen copies of the Great Controversy. Then I called my students into a huddle and we prayed. We prayed for our Bible study and for the people we would meet that day, but we also prayed for the president, and that if it was God's will that the students who went to see him would have a chance to testify and glorify God.

That afternoon Jerry sent me a text. "I shook the presidents hand!" Impressive! But it was the next message that really got me excited! "One of the girls gave him a Great Controversy and he accepted it! I got pictures!"

Wouldn't you know it! I have to smack myself. Why don't I pray bold prayers more often? Why don't I seize the sword of the Lord and press the attack, "turn the battle to the gates"? (Isaiah 28:6) Why don't I wake up and realize that the best defense is the urgent offensive ordered by our Captain Jesus Christ. "GO!"