To the Harvest Conference report.

It is indeed a thrilling thing to be a missionary serving God on the mission field.  As we served the Lord throughout our deputation ministry we used that time in churches to share our heart for the people of Uruguay.  Before that, when we didn't yet know where we were headed, we would listen intently to each and every missionary and ask God, "Is this where you would have us to go?" 

Often times, especially after a missions conference, we would become overwhelmed by the need for world-wide missions and we would chomp at the bit to get out of Bible College and to the field.  It was hard to be patient and wait on the Lord but we knew we must or we would be unprepared for what lay ahead.

This week of missions conference was very interesting, it was as though God cut a new facet into our lives as missionaries.  It certainly adds a new dimension to missionary life to have a missions conference on the mission field.  While sitting in the services listening to Pastor Daniel Lopez, missionary from Peru serving here in Colonia, share different needs world-wide I found myself praying for the Uruguayans to hear and to see and to go. 

Details are important to God and He certainly didn't hesitate to work through even the smallest things in this conference.  Our original special music schedule had to be changed and when I printed out the conference booklet all the missionary quotes ended up on different pages than I had intended.  It turned out that the changes made to both the music and the booklet fit better with the preaching.  Since we had no idea what Missionary Jeremy Estrema was going to preach it made it fun to see how the little adjustments would play out with the messages, and/or with Pastor Daniel's missions presentations.

I'm very thankful that God gave us the idea and burden to have this missions conference.  The preaching this week was some of the best we have ever heard on missions.  We trust He is at work in hearts helping them to beat along with His, giving compassion for the lost, helping eyes to focus on the need for workers in the harvest fields world-wide and loosening the grip of fear of living without money, family, and all things familiar.  Our prayer is that each and everyone of us that attended the conference would live in open handed surrender, that we will say Here am I Lord, send me, and that we will follow through.  

Kaitlin and Amparo Lopez took the kids to China via the story of Hudson Taylor.  Each child got their own "passport".  They also learned more about our guest missionaries Jeremy and Katie Estrema.

Having fun together during lunches at our house.