August Report
August may have been the craziest month of our lives. It is hard to explain, but one thing is certain: we are moving forward, and the obstacles in the way are simply the things trying to stop that progress.
📖 Nehemiah 4:10 — "And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall."
The rubbish wore the people out and tried to stop the work. The difficulties of going forward for Christ try to do the same thing to us. But I am determined to push harder and seek God more, because if the enemy is not happy, God is at work.
This month our family, Pablo's family, and the church all moved at the same time. We had not planned to move into our home yet — we had neither the time nor the funds to get it ready — but we could not stay where we were renting. We moved onto the church property thinking it would be temporary, and after a few days the landlord forced us to leave. So we moved out to our place, which took an already hard situation and multiplied it several times over.
The house was far from livable when we moved in. Both families have lived in it all month while we remodeled around ourselves, and sickness went through the house on top of everything else. I won't go into every detail, but to say it has been tough is an understatement.
For me, the work itself is a challenge I welcome. What has been hard is seeing the conditions I have put my family in, and lately the stress has gotten to me. I have never dealt with stress like this, and I am learning how to navigate it. There have been several times I just wanted to run away from everything.
On the surface it sounds simple — trust God and relax — and believe me, there has been much prayer. But each morning you get up to a growing mountain of things that have to be done, and the problems seem to grow faster than you can handle them. There is no going home to rest, no fishing, no vacation, because of everything that needs doing and how tight finances are. So I pray, work hard, and try to stay calm day by day, looking ahead to the day the work is finished.
Through all of this, the church has kept moving forward and has grown both numerically and spiritually. We had our largest attendance yet — 71 — which is exciting to me because the church is not even two years old. But more than the number, I wish you could hear each member tell how God has transformed his life since joining. God has also blessed us with 100 new chairs donated by one of our supporters. We expect to receive them soon, and they are much needed; last Sunday almost every chair we own was in use.
Would you pray with us for three things?
That God would provide the funds to finish these projects so we can turn our full attention back to the church.
That God would unlock the system we use to get funds into the country. Our account was blocked this month, and it is extremely important that there be a way to send money here to cover ministry expenses.
That we would be able to build the staff house as soon as possible, so Pablo's family can have their own place and we can finish ours. Living all together is not healthy long term.
Thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord in praying for the work here. God is moving on behalf of your prayers, and thank you for giving faithfully. We have set out to see God do a great work here, and you are a fundamental part of it. We encourage you again to consider visiting and seeing firsthand what God has done — it would be a great encouragement to you.
For His Glory,
Benjamin & Bernice George
Comments