Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Perfect Patience

Have you ever heard of the Nazarene Church in Cali, Colombia?  I bet many of you have…it has quite the story!
 In 1987, a new guy took over as pastor of the local Nazarene Church.  After pastoring the church of 15 total members for quite a while, he began to feel a burden on his heart for the city of Cali. He prayed and cried out to God for something to happen, for his church to grow, for a breakthrough on reaching the lost, but many years went by…
The Original "House of Prayer" in Cali
 Yet, God was not ignoring his plea.  God WAS teaching him and all of us the task (and sometimes it can be a real task) of patience.  All things only happen in God’s perfect timing.

Well, apparently, Cali became ready for this miracle eventually.  Miracle upon miracle began happening.  God was using this local church to reach thousands upon thousands!  Last year alone, the church added 3,000 people to its average weekly attendance, which has now topped 12,000.  That is over 12,000 people who will no longer be entering the gates of hell but rather those blessed pearly white gates of God’s perfect heaven!  God used Pastor Adalberto Herrera and his very small church to make a huge impact for Him in the cold and often forgotten city of Cali, Colombia.  Praise the Lord.
The latest "House of Prayer" in Cali
On a smaller yet still impactful scale, God is also teaching Mike and me this patience.  We are in quite the “unknowing” time of our lives right now and we ask for your prayer as we wait on God to help us make some decisions. We are entering a point where we will learn how God will provide financially in this chapter of our lives.  We suspect that God will either provide Mike a bit more business or open a door to some sort of part-time of full-time job.  Additionally, we have learned that God could have something in store that we have not considered.

And now some really exciting news!  For those of you in the following areas, Pastor Herrera himself will be in the USA sharing with us his story, inspirations, and more.  This is a unique and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I hope all of you can participate in.

Nov. 8  -  Portland, Oregon  -  Portland Church of the Nazarene
Nov. 9  -  Boise, Idaho  -  Eagle Church of the Nazarene
Nov. 11  -  Columbus, Ohio  -  Westerville Church of the Nazarene

Each will run from 11:30am – 4:00pm local time and costs $20 per person, which includes lunch.  We will also have Extreme volunteers at each event if you are interested in talking about future short-term or long-term opportunities or just want to say hi!

Please email me here if you are interested in more details on a conference.  And, remember, all things only happen in God’s perfect timing!

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