Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Wow, I feel like its been ages since we sent out a newsletter for our ministry here in Bolivia. There is so much going on, finding the time has been pretty hard. We've had lots of transitions, errands, government procedures, family matters, even a natural disaster.

You may have seen that on our facebook that with hard consistent rains here, the river on the mountain recently overflowed and flooded the town of Tiquipaya (about 5 minutes from us). Please be praying still for this town and all those who have been affected. There are houses that were covered in around 18 feet of flowing mud. Lot's of people are without homes and belongings, in a place where no one has insurance or emergency funds and no other options. Many churches are trying to help with relief efforts, but cleanup must wait until everything settles in the next few months, then they will excavate and dig out the town. This is due to simple structure homes without foundations, dirt and rock roads, and walls that narrowed the flow of the flooding making it much more destructive. Your prayers for those families is very appreciated.

All that said, what is life like for the Powells now, what's going on? Here are the highlights:

En Su Palabra - Misión Tarija
In connection with our partnering church here in Cochabamba (En Su Palabra), we are leading a mission trip to the city of Tarija in July. We are excited about the trip and hope it will be a first step to a missions minded body of believers. On the agenda is a wide array of evangelist activities from VBS to Workshops for leaders, parents, and families. Please be praying for this trip and for all those involved.

The missionaries we will be working with in Tarija

Rimber
Most of you know who Edson is. He was the first person we led to the Lord here in Bolivia and also like a member of our family. I love him like a son and am the only father he has in his life. His family a little over a year ago took in a little boy who is 7 years old and has severe delays. He cannot communicate, and if very behind in regards to his studies and even simple motor skills. However, he isn't without hope. We recently had him go through some diagnostic testing here and the specialist is confident he can learn to communicate and complete normal tasks with the right kind of therapy. The only problem is that Edson's family does not have consistent income and they have little to no resources. They can't afford the therapy. Our budget with our ministry is at it's limits and we cannot take on the extra costs. The recommended therapy is two sessions per week at a monthly cost of 550 bolivianos (about $80 a month). Please let us know if you'd like to sponsor a portion of this cost to help Rimber and his family.

This is Rimber with Lola when we took him out to lunch  one day with our family. 

Misión Ágape - School help and English Class 
In our efforts to grow the Church in the neighborhood of Condebamba, we are looking for ways to connect with more families and see that connection comes through meeting needs. So, while looking for ways to meet real needs and help families and individual succeed, we are about to open the church up during the week to provide tutoring and English classes. Hopefully, this will give us a bridge to meet families in our area while meetings some needs.

Marriage Supper Club
We recently started a marriage supper club with 3 other couples here. We are excited about this opportunity to invest in couples younger than ourselves and in their relationships. We will meet once a month for dinner and discussion and another time once a month for an activity like bowling, a movie, etc. The idea is for this to be as relational as it is ministry, to grow together as living testimonies of Christ and the Church.

Guitar Classes
As we are always looking for ways to invest in the community and meet new people, we have started providing free guitar lessons on Tuesday nights that are followed by a short devotion. Our friend Daniel Miranda is leading it. So far we have a group of about 5-6 youth.

Not New But Worth Your Prayers Too
Misión Ágape is still ongoing with our weekly Bible study on Thursday nights, plus we will begin a monthly night of worship/prayer. We still frequently do counseling and discipleship throughout the week. Things are well at En Su Palabra, where Seth is serving as the associate pastor and directing ministry for young adults (ages 17-25), and coordinating ministries for ages 12-35. Ashley is teaching second grade at Carachipampa Christian School, where our kids are attending as well. Our kids are loving the American style schooling, and Ashley is being challenged in new ways as an educator.  Its been a big change, but overall a great blessing.

We've had nearly 10 baptisms at En Su Palabra in 2018.  We praise God for these professions of faith in Christ. 

Housekeeping
As most all of you know we recently transitioned from Ripe for Harvest (RFH) to our home church of Immanuel Baptist Church (IBC) of Hattiesburg. Most of our supporters have helped us with quick transitions and no lapse in support. However, there are a few gifts still going to RFH. We will attempt contacting you again to help you with this, in the meantime if you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. Also, a few stopped donating with RFH but have not set up their giving yet with IBC. Please let us know if you need help, as we depend monthly on your support for ministry and for living.

Furlough 2019 (January - June)
Sometime towards the end of January 2019, we will begin our second furlough as a family. We will be visiting the states for about 6 months. (Seth will be making at least one trip back to Bolivia so as to not lapse in duties in ministry.) We are looking for help with the following: 1. Affording housing for 6 months, ideally cheap or free missionary housing in either Hattiesburg, MS, Mobile, AL, or Birmingham, AL. 2. Transportation to borrow, rent, or purchase; something dependable and something we could travel in (as we will be making visits to Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Virginia.)

And if you've read all this, thank you! We can't wait to reconnect face to face with everyone in just 10 more months.  We're blessed by your investment in the gospel in Bolivia and are praying for our amazing supporters in the states.


God Bless!!!
The Powells

PS: Want to partner with our ministry financially? Click HERE!