Patty, our first grade teacher has been the subject of much
prayer. She had surgery three weeks ago
to remove a large tumor from between her right kidney and the spine. The doctors have determined that the tumor
was malignant. Now they are considering various
options.
Please be in prayer with
us.
Alberto and his family were among the first to respond to
the Gospel when we came to Portachuelo.
They have been an important part of the work here. Alberto has his ups and downs. When he is on top of things he is a real
asset to the work. We have often asked
for prayer for his son, Hilton. Hilton
has been battling a drug problem for years.
He has been in at least four different rehab facilities and run away
each time. He goes home and causes chaos. He continually steals to support his
habit. Right now he is in the local jail
for six months. The family has enjoyed a
period of peace. Soon he will be out and
they are anxious about the future.
Please continue to pray for this situation.
In two weeks the school will be having our winter
vacation. Yes, south of the equator
winter comes in the summer time. The builder
has promised to finish the stairs for the new classrooms during the vacation. The stairs are usable but they need to be
finished with ceramic tile. The builder
hasn’t been real good about finishing things.
Many of you have prayed for Fabian over the years. He continues to make bad choices. He seems to have steady employment in the
city. He has learned to lay ceramic
floor tile and is in demand for that skill.
The people he chooses to associate with are not a help to him. Several months ago we had to tell him that he
is not welcome to stay overnight at our house any longer. We haven’t seen him since then but he has
called and said he is trying to avoid the people that are a bad influence. Some of those people are in Portachuelo so he
doesn’t come here anymore. Continue to
pray.
Oscar Asaeda, is a new student in our junior class this
year. His father is a doctor here in
town and director of one of the hospitals. He spends a lot of time in our house with our
Oscar. Last week was Teacher’s Day. The junior class prepared a meal for the
teachers at the doctor’s house. His
mother was in tears as she shared with Marion the relief she felt that her boys
had a family with other values to associate with. Pray that the seed sown will find good soil
in the heart of the hearer.
For two weeks the students have been involved in interschool
sports competitions. These competitions
are required by the government. They take
a lot of time away from studies. Our
teams have started winning some of these games and have to travel and sometimes
stay overnight in other towns. The
parents pay for their kids’ expenses but the teachers who accompany them have
had to pay their own way. We have been
looking for ways to help with the extra expenses to the teachers when they have
to make these trips. Marion has started
selling ice cream at the school. On
Mondays the upper grades have classes until 4:00 PM. Marion
and Rosario make goodies to sell on Monday afternoons. This provides funds to cover extra expenses
at the school.
Marion
and Rosario with the Monday goodies. I have the responsibility for
quality control of the goodies. I know its a nasty job but someone has
to do it. So far the quality has been excellent and the products are
rated "yummy".
If you would like to share in this project funds should be designated for Merlyn Schultz, the roof project and sent to: 
