Christmas Outreach to the Villages

      I want to thank you so much for standing in prayer with me for this Christmas outreach on the Shishinahua River. We ministered in three villages making hot chocolate and serving panetoni (Spanish Christmas fruitcake), which is very traditional for a Spanish Christmas. Then we did a Christmas art project for children and adults and ended the evening with the movie, The Nativity Story. I was so thrilled to see that most of the adults participated in the adult art project in each of the communities and seemed very happy to do so.

Adult Christmas art project in Tapishica

     

Children's Christmas art project in Tapishica

     The villages that we ministered in were New Hope, Tapishica, and San Francisco (our first church plant). I had hoped to minister in Santa Rosa and Yarina, where both villages that were once very open to us are now less open, as is Santa Rosa or not open at all as is Yarina. Nilton, who is taking the lead in coordinating contacts with the villages, did not recommend going to these communities since they would not receive us well. Instead he urged us to concentrate on New Hope and Tapishica since these two villages are open to us and Tapishica would be a new work since we had not ministered there before.

Manuela mixing the cacao for the hot chocolate in Tapishica

Manuela (left) and Doli (right) making the hot chocolate in Tapishca

     There are only six families in Tapishica, which is an extension of the larger community of San Pablo, and were very happy to participate in all that we were doing with them. After the hot chocolate, panetonis, and Christmas projects I took the opportunity to explain the movie they were about to see of the birth of Jesus since most did not know it or know it well. As I was explaining it I also highlighted why Jesus was born and what that meant for all of us. Afterwards I offered to lead them in a prayer to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior if they were ready and understood that all of us are sinners and need His salvation. Without hesitation they all immediately agreed and wanted to pray! That is nothing short of the results of our combined intercession for this outreach and I can't tell you how grateful I am to those of you who stood with me in prayer. That is why we do what we do. It's all about bringing people to the Kingdom of God and having them experience a life-changing relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords.

     We are planning to start discipleship classes with these new believers on my next trip, January 11. This is very encouraging and between Nilton, the two young men from the parent Assembly of God church that San Francisco is a part of, and me we will strengthened and train these brothers and sisters as well as in New Hope while continuing to build up the believers in San Francisco and New Jerusalem.

Sharon helping with the adult art project in San Francisco
(Sharon's white mosquito net is in the background)

     Thank you so very much again for all that so many of you do to support this incredible work. God is moving and is bringing more workers in to shoulder the load and it is truly an answer to prayer. God bless each one of you in every way for this New Year and always for participating in what God is doing in this part of the world. Let's charge forward to seize what God has set before us in this New Year to glorify His name!

In Him Always,

Sharon Malcolm

Missionary with

Go To Nations since 1998