JANUARY - MAY NEWS UPDATE 2008

Samaritan´s Purse January to April

During these months we have been busy working with children from all over Cajamarca State. We have been able to distribute ten thousand gifts given to us by the Samaritan´s Purse program. These gifts were distributed in seven provinces.
We reached villages where nothing of this sort had been done before. We were so moved by seeing the kids´ gratefulness to the Lord for these gifts.
This is the fourth year Alonzo is heading up this program in cooperation with five other pastors from different denominations. Our congregation "Los Rosales" is our headquarters for this program and we are so happy to have worked hard for these fourth months.

Deacons training at Los Rosales Church, February.

During this month I did a special workshop directed to men nominated to become deacons. Seven men attended this course and three of them will be voted upon to become deacons. The material of these lectures was sent to Bill Green in Costa Rica, and after he has made his additions and edits we will publish it to be shared throughout the reformed family in Latin America.

Seminary Classes during March to April

During March and April we had a set of lectures on Systematic Theology. Our guest professors were Tim Foster from Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC), Savannah, GA; and Wes Baker from Perumission Trujillo. Tim lectured on Covenant Theology and Wes on Ecclessiology.

IPC team visit, April

A team of eight people from IPC led by Frankie Daniel visited us in Cajamarca. They helped us finance the roofing of the third floor for our kids SS classrooms. Not only that but they also poured cement and dug our future garden. They proved to be tough men and able to work hard, I think we lost the competition, but they were also a little taller than us!!! Thank you very much dear brethren for this great help.

English classes, May

From the 4th week of April, our friends Chris and Ava Barnes came to help our church´s ministry in enabling the youth of our neighbourhood with their English skills.

At church: they are teaching two classes, the lowers (down stairs classroom), and the highers (up stairs classroom). The lowers class is made up of 13 students and are taught by Ava. The highers are 18 and are taught by Chris. All the young folks are learning quick and are so happy for this opportunity afforded to them by the church.

At the Ramirez home: Four English teachers receive advanced English classes through a selected reading program. This is to enable English teachers to improve their skills in teaching in their schools or colleges.

At El Ingenio School: This is a school in our neighbourhood which caters for very poor children who come from the outskirts of Cajamarca city. Here the Barnes´s teach from Monday to Wednesday and Friday, eight classes altogether. The kids´ and teachers´ testimony is that they feel privileged to have American teachers for English as they cannot afford to pay an English teacher!! This work enhances the ministry of our church as it is seen not just as a spiritual community but also as a serving and enlightening community.

We praise the Lord for this great ministry of the Barnes family amongst us and in our neighbourhood. May He increase the harvest through this service.