I was remembering an old saying when I was growing up…March comes in like a Lion and out like a Lamb. I think that was in reference to Spring and all that entails in the US. We want to share with you our own version of how March came in as a lion and out like a lamb.
WEEK 1
The first week of March we welcomed our dear friends and mentors Brad and Karen Thompson from Texas to come and share their wisdom, their experience as parents of a beautiful adult daughter, Hali, who has special needs, and to encourage others.
Here is just some of what we were able to do with them in their 5 day visit.
We hosted a volunteer appreciation event for all our volunteers who serve on the disability team throughout the church. Brad and Karen shared words of encouragement to everyone, while Clever shared the vision for this next year. We also had the special honor of having our head pastor, Taylor participate as well!
We hosted a parent support group for parents with kids with special needs who attend our church. We had a great turn out for this event and parents left feeling supported and encouraged.
We recorded our 3rd video small group curriculum for parents with special needs. Brad and Karen have so graciously offered to record all their wisdom into 3 separate small group curriculums so that we can share this with so many more families. We are excited to see the results of this final small group video series done more professionally, and are praying for their return in fall to re-record the previous 2 series that were recorded in their home during the pandemic. Our desire is that these videos not only bless our families at CDV but can be a resource for other churches to use as well.
WEEK 2
Week 2 presented us with an opportunity to share our experience at a 4 day long conference called ACH (Christian Alliance for Orphans). The conference focused on how the local church can participate in the call to help serve with vulnerable populations. This includes, foster care, adoption, mentoring, and disability. We were able to share how the local church can be a support for people who are caring for a loved one with disability. It was a great opportunity to share with other churches and organizations the importance of including people with disabilities in the church body. We are grateful for the opportunity and look forward to further opportunities like this in the future.
WEEK 3
The 3rd week we were full force participating in our central churchwide serve day. Lisa and Kaleb served with the children’s ministry and Clever served in wheelchair distribution. Our church on that one day reached over +15,000 people doing acts of kindness to everyone with no expectations in return. It was a beautiful outpouring of our Fathers love for us to share with others.
Along with the serve day, we had our wheelchair distribution partner Free Wheelchair Mission present the entire week performing an audit on how we are doing. We have been able to grow and improve our area of service to the community thanks to the direction and guidance of Free Wheelchair Mission.
WEEK 4
The final week- Holy Week really was just as busy as the entire month. In between fun Easter activities such as egg hunts and coloring eggs, we also served in our Thursday and Friday night special Good Friday services in the children’s ministry with kids with special needs. Saturday and Sunday were finally days of rest and a very special way to thank God for his precious son-the Lamb of God who died on the cross for us and defeated the grave and rose again. What a gift….
Overall, we have found that indeed this month was about ONE LION and LAMB. The Lion of Judah and the Precious Lamb of God….Jesus. We do all this because of Him. What a gift it is to be able to share with everyone we know the importance of the gift of His life for us. We thank you so much for continuing to believe in what we are able to do here to make a way for all people with disabilities and their families to have a place to draw closer to Him.
Many of you know that we are a missionary family that receives 100% of our financial support to live here from the generosity of others. We know that you have many options of worthy causes and we thank you for your generosity in supporting us both financially and in prayer. If you know anyone who might be interested in joining our team, please share this blog with them and send us an email to reach out to them.
Together we can continue to make an eternal impact for the Kingdom of God. Thank you and may God bless you richly as we continue serving people with disabilities in Peru in 2024.