Did you hear that they almost closed the borders to the Gospel in Bolivia? My heart breaks to think that this neighboring country has made such a drastic decision. My heart and mind floats to my own country here in Perú. What if they close the borders here? What if my time here is limited? Am I investing every ounce of strength and energy into reaching this world for Christ and the Gospel? What if you and I only had one more week to make a difference for Christ where we are? Would we do a better job? Would we take our job more seriously? How would it change our perspective and priorities? I was amazed and grateful to read that after a day of praying and fasting, Bolivia’s president went on national television to announce that they will be adjusting the law not to be quite as strict—whatever that means. Please pray for this country as well as our Perú. May He find us faithful ever hour of every day.
Christmastime is always the perfect time to evangelize! Summer hits, school’s out, everyone’s free, and it’s the perfect time to do outreach work! We did our best to use each activity as a means to get the Gospel to our community. For a special day in our kids’ outreach ministry, we were blessed with almost 300 in attendance! Most of our visitors were people from the community. Getting to share the Gospel with them was such an honor. Personally, I was able to lead 7 ladies to the Lord on this day alone.
Our youth put on a special banquet this year to honor the elderly of our church. It was a joy to see our young people serving and loving on the elderly. The spirit was very sweet!
One of my favorite nights this year was Christmas Eve. We had a special music service, Luke 2 was read, and we celebrated with traditional Peruvian hot chocolate and fruit bread after the service. While many of our regular church members were out due to the holidays, our church was still full of people from the neighbor-hood who got to hear the good news of Christ.
Please pray for the new area we are located in called Bello Horizonte (“Beautiful Horizons”). There are many strongholds the Devil has placed here: alcohol, drugs, prostitution, bars, and billiards. Our desire is that our church will be a beacon of His light and that many can come to know Him.
I had my first official ladies’ meeting with all our ladies during December! It was a wonderful time of fun and fellowship. This past year we’ve been able to start two different Bible studies, along with the time I have with them in Sunday school each week. Many of our ladies have grown much spiritually. It’s thrilling to see them walking with Him, rejoicing in His goodness, and trusting His heart in the tough times. I would covet for prayers especially for me as I lead our ladies. I feel very unqualified to lead a group of such fine women. Last week I had several ladies come up to me and ask if I would be willing to have a special prayer meeting for their husbands. Many of their husbands still do not come to church. It was an honor to hold a special prayer meeting with them and plead to the Lord for the lives of their husbands and families. Would you pray specifi-cally for Andres, Agusto, Luis, and Ruben? These are four men we are asking the Lord to change.
This April I am stepping out in faith to take a short furlough and visit a few churches. I have a ladies’ conference in Indiana, where I have been asked to speak April 13 and 14. I would covet your prayers for this conference. I know that I am nothing on my own, and I need the Holy Spirit´s power to fill me in a special way. I would love to see the Lord work in a miraculous way. Also, if I can be a blessing to you and your church in any way, please let me know. I would love to see and serve each of you.
Thank you for praying for me. I can’t say enough how much I need and appreciate each of your prayers. The Devil seeks to devour and destroy. I often beg God to keep me faithful day by day. We need Him. We need His power. We need His touch. Thank you for going to God on my behalf. I am honored that you would spend your time seeking His heart for my good.
I will also be republishing my book FLOW. If your church would like to order some, I would be happy to offer you the best discount I possibly can for ordering in bulk. Would you be so kind as to let me know if you are interested?
Living His dream,
Heather Kokubun
