Christmas is past, one week to go!

As Christmas has come and gone and everybody has taken some time to spend with family and friends, we draw near to our departure for Colombia. We continue to pray for a safe trip and for a fruitful time in Medellin.

We have already received great news and one answer to all our prayers:
As we discussed in previous items on this blog as well as in church, there was concern about our use of the conference facilities at the Commercial Center in Sabaneta. This center was sold to new owners and there was significant uncertainty if we would have been able to still use it without cost. God has answered all the prayers! We recently received news from Diego that the new owners has given permission for us to continue using the conference rooms! Praise the Lord, for He is almighty!

This week ahead is our last week of preparations. The final things that needs to be done is really just some packing of bags. This will include many gifts that we use during the ESL sessions, as well as gifts to our hosts and host church.

God willing, on Friday 06 January 2012 we will depart by car from Revelstoke on our way to Seattle. Please pray that God will provide a window in the weather that will allow us to make it out of here safely.

Please also continue to pray for the outreach in general: for salvation to come to many people directly or indirectly through the work that we will be doing there. We may not even meet the people or know that they are drawn to Him, but just being there opens doors for individuals to be reached by the local church in Sabaneta and Poblado.

Also pray for our work and the work of the Colombians in El Pacifico, the poor barrio in the hills on the outskirts of Medellin. This is where a volunteer program is reaching out to local children who live in poor conditions and often with poor parental care.

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Please pray for our team members individually, by name. This includes the group from Ottawa that will be joining us this year. The names are on the bookmarks that were handed out at church, but here are the pictures again (Barb is not going anymore, but will be involved in our weekly prayer group chain, please contact her for information):