Oasis Update

Things are really looking up in Oasis, once again. Your prayers are making ALL the difference. We had about 30-50 people come out for the service on Sunday. We have a new location in which we are meeting. It is a sand-lot with no roof or walls. Well, we have two walls because we are backed up to a day care and someone's house. There is an official sign that marks our "area." The sign says Baptist Church - Jesus The Rock! :) We have benches to sit on, Bibles and PEOPLE!!!!! We are doing a Bible Study at 4 p.m., followed by an actual service at 5 p.m. John announced it that this week that we are going to have a men's and women's Bible study starting next Sunday. To which I promptly replied, "But who is going to teach the women?" And his response, "You are!" LOL!!! So I guess starting this Sunday I will be teaching a women's Bible study again in the afternoons. Let's hope I can make it without having to run to the side of the car to lose my lunch like last Sunday. That was fun given there are no bathrooms, sinks or anything that makes getting sick easy.

Last Sunday, a visiting American gave a woman in our church some money to make Chicken and Rice and Salad for the entire group. WOW! It was delicious. We had a great turnout and everything was calm and peaceful (no begger's brawl like at Christmas time). We actually got to sit around and enjoy the food and fellowship. We were the ONLY gringos eating the food (something I'm sure we'll regret in a few days), but I am glad we ate. She didn't seem to understand why the other gringos weren't eating and she kept asking over and over why they didn't want to eat. I had 2 plates! :)

The afternoon was such a delight.

The study was dynamic and the people are really starting to learn how to study the Bible (we have taught them how to study the Bible with nothing except the Bible using something called SPECKA that we learned in training). One woman, Judith, opened up and gave a testimony about how her life and heart have changed so much since the church began. She said she is not the same person anymore and that God is doing miracles in her life. It was touching. A few other people shared about the radical differences they are seeing when Jesus touches a person's life. WOW! The truth of Christ is REALLY touching their hearts.

This weekend, or next, they people of the church want to host a movie night in their neighborhood to raise money for the church. They are TOTALLY invested in growing up "their" church. We are not providing funds, so it is up to them to make this happen. They are going to cook food and sell it all day and then sell tickets to their movie night. I think they are going to show Fireproof. John is really excited to see their enthusiasm.

And speaking of enthusiasm, John has been training up a guy to lead worship. Last week the gentlemen took the initiative to find 8 new songs that he liked. He printed out the words and made copies for everyone - just like John had done in the past. We don't even know where he found a computer or the money to print the copies. But he did it with enthusiasm. His whole family came out to see him lead worship. The only bummer was that another national who LOVES attention, actually took over the leading of worship (not his job), so that the guy who organized everything couldn't introduce the new songs or sing. He only played the guitar in the backseat quietly. To be completely honest, I was really irked! On a lighter note, John did not ask this precious guy to step up and add new worship songs, but he just did it all on his own. We can't express how wonderful this is to see a national taking ownership and initiative. :) WONDERFUL!

Praise God for the progress we are seeing and the work that He is doing!!!

P.S. For those of you from McComb who are reading this, Jad preached on Sunday and he did an EXCELLENT job! I think things are going well for him on ALL fronts!