Justo Pillman is working as an AFLC Short Term Assistant in Ecuador. He has a number of new interesting posts on his blog at:
http://justopillman.blogspot.com/
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Greetings on another rainy day. I haven't taken special notice, but it seems like it's rained every day this week so far and today is on exception.
On Tue. I had a good opportunity to talk with Pastor Santiago about his perspective on the retreat from the past weekend. He knows more of the situations of each person who went on the retreat and it was exciting hear in more detail how the Lord was working.
On the way down, I sat next to Giovanni in the bus. He is responsible for most of the activities with the youth in the church. We had such a sweet time fellowship in the Lord. He has a passion for serving the Lord, and it was so encouraging to hear how the Lord has lead him and his young family. He and his wife have a 1 year old son so far and are committed to having a godly family. Even now, they are praying about homeschooling.
While we riding in the bus and riding bike, Pastor Santiago was following behind in a pickup. Santiago had asked JP to bring his pickup in order to carry the bikes. JP has had many financial difficulties and struggles with thoughts of suicide. During the many hours in the truck together JP and Santiago were able to have some excellent conversations and Santiago was able to give godly counsel. Please pray for JP that he would find freedom in the Lord.
C is around 14 and lives with her mom and sister, but has never met her dad. He lives in the US and has no obvious plans to return to Ecuador. She is looking for acceptance. On the first day we arrived in the jungle, we went to a large stream and some began jumping off a rock into a deep pool. C's desire for acceptance from people was so strong that she was one of the first to jump off the rock. Unfortunately, she couldn't swim well, and Santiago had to jump into the water and rescue her. Over the next couple days of the retreat, C's attitude began to change. She realized the we accepted her as she is, and learned that she can find confidence in the Lord. Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in her heart and that she would find her confidence, acceptance, and purpose for living in the Lord.
R is an exchange student from Germany. She doesn't know the Lord, and has many questions. During the week, Geovanii was able to have some deep conversations with her. Pray the Lord would touch her heart.
J is about 15, and lives with his godly monther. His dad died a few years ago. During lunch one day on the retreat, I asked J about his goals for the future. He said he wasn't sure what his goals were. I encouraged him to consider making some goals. I encouraged him to start with small goals and then consider more long term ones. He seems to know the Lord, so I suggested a good goal could be to read a book of the Bible from start to finish, and/or memorize a chapter. He likes computers, so I suggested a long term goal could be to learn a programming language. I challenged him to look for goals that focused on serving the Lord and people. Please pray that he would catch the vision the Lord has for his future and press on to the goal.
In Christ,
Justo
