what the church looks like in Oasis

Do you ever get so behind in blogging that you have zero desire to start? Well, that's where I am right now.

Okay, so God is really growing the church in Oasis. It is just simply unbelievable to think that a few months ago there were only 1 - 4 people that showed up or sometimes NONE! And this past week we had 40 adults and at least 30 children. Before the service we are now having Bible study/discipleship classes. Here is the schedule in case you are interested:

Sunday afternoons:
3 p.m. Ladies Bible Study, Men's Bible study and Teen's Bible study! There is also a small activity time for the little kids so that the parents can come to the studies. We meet in a small community center that is very third world. The lights don't work so we open the wood planks (windows) for air and light. The floor is concrete (praise God), but usually covered with a thin layer of dirt. The benches were hand made by a mission team. They are nothing fancy, but serve the purpose. The women meet in the community center for the women's study led by me (averaging 15-20 women each week). The walls are made of a very cheap ply-wood, but they serve the purpose to provide a structure and a place to have church.

The men meet outside in the dirt for the study led by John. They sit on the benches and try to focus as dogs and children run by constantly.

The little kids meet in some kind of small classroom that is also concrete with no lights.

The study last for 45 minutes and women are straggling in until the very end (along with nursing babies, toddlers and stray flea-infested dogs). We usually have at least one dog interrupting. It is impossible to keep them out.

The women don't have Bibles so everytime someone new comes in I have to stop the study and give them a Bible (which is only New Testament) and explain to them where we are and what we are talking about. This happens at least 10 times during the study.

The study ends with me praying...the same way it began. No one wants to pray out loud probably because they don't know how to yet. I did have one woman who prayed last week, but it turns out she is Jehovah Witness.

Anyway, we meet for service at 4 p.m. All the kids and adults gather in one room and we have a time of worship. John usually sings (No, that is not his gift). He has now recruited a guy to sing and play guitar, but he came 20 minutes late last week so John had to lead half of the singing. He is such a good sport about it.

After worship the kids separate and go to there own classes. Children from ages 6-10 go a class with a national woman named Christina. We are trying to train her up to be a leader. She is happy to do this and doing a great job. John has to prepare everything for her in advance and he hands it to her each week and tells her what to do.

There is a similar class for children ages 1-5. They usually just color the story and have no interest in listening what so ever! We don't have the time, resources, or money to do fun little crafts every week. They are happy just coloring.

The service is preached by a national named Victor. He has a passionate heart to see the people walk with Christ. John tells him what to preach every week and Victor happily shares the message to the people. These people adore him. He is now going out there early every week to invest in the people, pray for them and share there needs.

Next week we are having a Choclatada and gifts for the people who attend church (not the whole neighborhood). All of the members are going to bring sugar or chocolate or something for the choclatada. I have no idea what it really is so I will let you know once we have it. They were SUPER excited to help out and have this event!

Another important note is that 7 people have decided to be Baptized in January. Also, we had a tithe offering for 2 weeks in a row. The first week we collected 13 soles, but 10 were contributed by us and Victor. Last week we collected 30 soles (5 from Victor). That is a total of $10. So we went from $3 to $10 in one week. Wow! They are already starting to be invested in the Church and obey the word of God.

Things are going fast, but slow at the same time. My entire group of women said they do not read their Bibles and 90% said they didn't own a Bible. Although we are constantly giving Bibles, we aren't sure what's happening to them. John wants to start a program that if they read 4 books of the new testament (the Gospels) and 2 of the old, he will give them a Bible.

Anyway, that is a quick glance of the ministry so far. We can't wait to see what God has in store.

We have 5 more areas waiting for us to come and plant a church. Can you believe it?