God is so good. Our trip to Bolivia is less than one week away and we are finishing up all the details needed to head out next Thursday.
As we prepare to go, we have several praise reports to share. We have 17 wonderful people who will packing up this week and heading down to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Each of these individuals needed to pay for the entirety of their trips. Many chose to raise the funds needed and, as of this moment, we are only about $200 short of raising the funds needed for all 17 to travel. What a miracle! The airplane tickets alone for this trip are $1400 a piece so the task of raising support for this trip was no small endeavor. How good God is! Not only are the funds raised for these people, but the funds were also raised to pay the way for Pastor Gil and Jim and Genelle Billings, the missions directors. We are always amazed to see how God works and dollar amounts that seem insurmountable to us in our human perspective are just drops in a bucket to a Father who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
Beyond the amount needed to send a team down to Bolivia, we also felt the Holy Spirit’s leading to work to raise funds for the church building process itself. It was absolutely precious in December to hear Pastor Ruben Baldiviezo speak of how he and his church members have been fasting and praying that God would provide for their church project and that God would send people to help. We get to be a part of that answer to prayer and it is such a gift. To date, Lakeshore has brought in gifts of over $100,000 to this building project. I shouldn’t be surprised at God’s provision but there are moments when He takes my breath away.
We cannot express how honored we are that God chose Lakeshore to partner with this project and these people. This is not just a project to build one church building, but to be a part of building a church building for a church of missionaries. This church is a sending church and their desire is to reach the country of Bolivia for Jesus. The fruit of this project will be seen for years and years to come and WE get to partner with that harvest. We often shake our heads in wonder that God desired to reach the nation of Bolivia for Jesus and, looking over the world at his children, said, “I choose you, Lakeshore.” We are blessed indeed.
To each and every person who has given gifts, big and small, please know this is part of your inheritance. This is part of your heritage of faith. We may be traveling to Bolivia, but we are taking you with us. One sweet little girl gave a give of $2.11 to the Bolivia church fund raising. Is there anything more precious? To each person who gave, to each person who is praying, to each person who is loving on families who are staying here while spouses travel to Bolivia, to each spouse and child staying behind, please know that we are taking you with us. You are right beside us. You are a part of this building project, of the love we get to share with the Bolivian people, of the fruit we get to see later. You are on this trip with us, it is a piece of the tapestry of your Christian heritage and we could not be more grateful for you. May you be blessed 1000 fold.