This last Saturday evening I had the opportunity to meet a new group of believers who gather together on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at the home of one of group. The home is located right on the edge of Los Pozos (The Wells) one of the largest market areas in Santa Cruz and includes, not only living quarters, but also two tiendas (small stores) where they sell musical instruments (from a quick glance it looked to be mostly drums!).
This group is not large. On Wednesdays there may be around 20 adults with a handfull of children. The Saturday night group consisted of eight or nine adults and three or four kids. I could not have been given a warmer reception. After being introduced to those who were there I was asked to share a few words of encouragement. I had not come prepared to "preach" becasue the pastor who invited me told me I didn't need to say anything except a few words. however from the context of the event I perceived that more than just a few words were expected and needed. so I shared a little bit from John 3 and how we are called to extend grace in the world and not condemnation. After my few words the people there expressed appreciation for my visit. Then I was asked to pray the closing prayer. I was surprised that I was the entire "program" for the evening.
This group, if I have the story correct, had its start from the circumstances surrounding a sick woman. One of her friends suggested that they call a pastor (Fimo Ramos) that she knew to come and pray for her. So they did. The sick woman was comforted by the prayer of the pastor and her friends appreciated the ministry to her. Even though the woman did not get recover (she died not too long after that) the friends asked the pastor if he could come and meet with them. So the new group was formed. There are eleven different families on the list with a total of some 44 names.
My hope for this group is that it can some day be organized into a functioning church. At the moment the pastor is going slowly, having a very deliberate discipleship focus to prepare leaders for when the time comes to formally organize. Would you please pray for this group of believers that they will sense the direction in which God is guiding them and for Pastor Fimo as he leads them.
Who am I?
- gordon elliott
- Monrovia, Liberia
- I live in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa with my wife and youngest son. We are recently arrived in Liberia where we are serving as missionaries with Evangelical Church Missions working under the Liberia Evangelical Mission. For most of the last thirty years we have served under ECM in Bolivia, South America. We are the happy parents of four children and the proud grandparents of two grandchildren.
No comments:
Post a Comment