Jesus knew who these people were. He had just been with them the day before on the other side of the lake. Actually the day before they were a part of a crowd of more than five thousand who had come to see him. They had left their homes, and many walked a long distance to see him. And there Jesus performed a miracle. He fed them all. Jesus turned 5 loaves of barley bread, and 2 small fish into enough bread and fish to feed them all until they were full. Many in the crowd believed in Jesus because of this miracle.

And so the day after, some of these people thought that Jesus may have crossed the lake. And so they went across the lake in boats, and found Jesus there.

Jesus said to them ¨I tell you the truth, you aren´t looking for me because you saw me do miracles. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisified¨. (John 6:26)

The reason these people were looking for Jesus is because they wanted more food. Jesus did not want people to seek him for merely bread and fish.

Jesus then says: ¨Don´t work for the food that spoils. Work for the food that stays good always and gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because on him God the Father has put his power.¨ (John 6:27)

Jesus said to work for food that stays good, and gives eternal life. You may be wondering what is that work. I was wondering when I read these words from Jesus. I thought ¨well what work is required of us?¨.

And that is the same question these people asked Jesus. They asked ¨what are the things God wants us to do?¨ (John 6:28) Its a good question.

And Jesus gives the answer. Jesus said, ¨The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent¨. (John 6:29)

Well who is the one that God sent? Jesus is speaking about himself. Because the One that God sent was Jesus, God the Son.

And so the people said ¨What miracle will you do? If we see a miracle, we will believe you. What will you do? (John 6:30)

The funny thing is these people had witnessed the miracle the day before. They had seen how Jesus fed them, and more than 5,000 others. But here they ask for another miracle. Is it possible they are just wanting more bread and fish?

The people continued and said ¨our fathers ate the manna in the desert. This is written in the scriptures: ´He gave them bread from heaven to eat´¨ (John 6:31)

Then Jesus said, ¨I tell you the truth, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven; it is my Father who is giving you the true bread from heaven. God´s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world¨. (John 6:32-33)

The people said, ¨Sir, give us this bread always. ¨(John 6:34)

It seems that when the people hear the word ¨bread¨, that gets their attention, because that is what they are wanting. But they do not understand what Jesus is saying.

Then Jesus said, ¨I am the bread that gives life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you before, you have seen me and still don´t believe. The Father gives me my people. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them. I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do, not what I want to do. Here is what the One who sent me wants me to do: I must not lose even one who God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day. Those who see the Son and believe in him have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. This is what my Father wants.¨ (John 6:35-40)

Some people began to complain about Jesus because he said, ¨I am the bread that comes down from heaven.¨ They said, ¨This is Jesus, the son of Joseph. We know his father and mother. How can he say, ´I came down from heaven´?¨ (John 6:41-42)

These people still did not believe in Jesus. They had seen a miracle, and heard him speak, but did not believe.

And this raises another question. What does it mean ¨to believe¨ in Jesus?

I think a good answer to this question is from another part of the book of John. It is when Jesus is speaking to a woman named Martha.

Jesus said to her, ¨I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will have life even if they die. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Martha, do you believe this? (John 11:25-26)

Martha answered, ¨Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the One coming to the world.¨ (John 11:27)

Or here is another example. Many of Jesus´followers had just left him, and stopped following him. And then Jesus asks his disciples a question.

Jesus asked the twelve followers, ¨Do you want to leave, too?¨ (John 6:67)

Simon Peter answered him, ¨Lord, where would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One from God.¨ (John 6:68-69)

Nicky Cruz - testimony of a former NYC gang leader.

tomorrow

One thing I have been thinking a lot about is how uncertain tomorrow is, or any coming day. We just don´t know what tomorrow brings. We hope it is good, but often it is not. Many things come unexpectedly. Could be something that effects the entire world, or our country, or our family. Many people (Christians included) have lived, and experienced things that we do not want to experience. To see a spouse or child suffer from a disease, and sometimes then die. That is one of my greatest fears is that something would happen to Eliana. I would much rather suffer myself, than to see her suffer. But we just don´t know what will happen in the future. We don´t know when our own lives will end. One thing I have been wondering about is what kind of persecution me and my family will face. Eliana and I are Christians. Our Savior, Lord Christ, was persecuted. He said the same would happen to those that follow Him.
What kind of natural disasters are ahead of us. Or wars, or depressions where there is not much food? My purpose in writing this is not to make anybody depressed.
But here is my questions: Are we ready? Are we ready for tomorrow, and for whatever comes our way? God does not want his people to be afraid. He wants us to know that He is in control. Yes, many things happen that God hates, but this is a world that has fallen because of sin. This is not the world that God originally made. Its a world turned against God. Our hearts have gone bad. But God has not left this world. He is still seeking people. He continues to bring people to Him that He has chosen to be saved. And we are saved by believing in Jesus Christ. The only reason that a person can be saved is because Jesus Christ died for their sins. A person can do no work, and do no good deed that will get them into Heaven. Salvation is Gods business, not ours. Our salvation was paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ. That may sound weird, but its true.
I want to get back to the original question. Are we ready? Not physically ready, like having money saved up, or something. But are we ready spiritually. Are we trusting God? Whatever difficulties we will face, God will be there. God knows our thoughts and everything we do. He sees each step we take, and knows the number of hairs on our head. He cares about us.
I think if we can walk through our trials and sufferings with faith, that would make all the difference. To know that God is in control. The apostle Paul said that he learned how to be content in any situation. I think he learned how to have joy even in the worst of sufferings, and Paul certainly knew about suffering. But Paul also had a deep peace and joy from knowing that his soul was safe. I think that is what we all need. A saved soul, which produces a thankful heart. I hope we all have hearts that are filled with peace, and joy, and love. And that we are not afraid of anything that can happen in the future.

Pro Choice

The U.S. Presidential elections are coming up. You might hear the phrase ¨pro-choice¨ when a presidential candidate is speaking about their stand on abortion. Basicly it means this: They don´t necessarily agree with abortion, but they trust mothers and families to make the right decisions. They don´t think it is necessary for the government to get involved. They think that the ¨liberty¨ to have an abortion needs to be protected.
Pro-choice does have a nice ring to it, but I have some statistics to show you.

Statistics just for the United States:
Why women have abortions: 1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient).

Likelihood of abortion:An estimated 43% of all women will have at least 1 abortion by the time they are 45 years old. 47% of all abortions are performed on women who have had at least one previous abortion.

One baby is aborted every 26 seconds
137 babies are aborted every hour
3,304 babies are aborted every day
23,196 babies are aborted every week
100,516 babies are aborted every month
Almost 50,000,000 babies have been aborted between 1973 and 2007.

64% of women who experienced one or more abortions “felt pressured by others” to have the abortion.
Statistics from http://www.mccl.org/abortion_statistics.htm and http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html

So a presidential candidate that has a ¨pro-choice¨ stand on abortion thinks the mothers will do the right thing, and the government does not need to get involved. Babies are not being aborted because the mothers life is in serious danger, or also because of rape/incest. The vast majority of babies are being aborted for the simple fact that they are not wanted. The mother, parents, or family do not want their lives to significally change because of a baby. They are selfish. If someone is not able to take care of a baby, then why can´t they put the baby up for adoption?
My wife is pregnant, and I will soon be a father. I have felt the fears that most people feel. When the baby comes, Elianas and my life will significantly change. But never would we have someone kill our baby so that our ¨plans¨ are not interrupted.
Really it is not my opinion that is important, but it is Gods opinion. What does God think when a baby is killed? Does He only care about the babies that have been born, and not about those that haven´t been born yet? I will tell you that God does care. God cares about the babies that are in a mothers womb. The approximately 50,000,000 babies that have been aborted in the United States between 1973 - 2007; God cares about them. The parents may not have cared about the baby, but I know that baby is loved by God. And because God cares, will He not deliver justice for the murder of those babies?
God does not just judge people individually, but He will punish an entire nation. How many times did Israel turn away from God, and God punished that nation? God would allow other nations to invade Israel. Terrible things would happen because Israel decided to turn against God, and do all these evil things. And do we think that God will not do the same to the United States? Has God forgotten about these babies? Of course not! I believe that Gods judgement to our country is just around the corner. I don´t know how He plans to do it, but I know that God will not forever allow the United States to do the things that they are doing without being severely punished. Can Gods judgement be avoided? I know that in the Bible a nation would find out about Gods coming judgement, and they would stop the evil they were doing, and so God would not judge the nation at that time. But when the nation again turned to its evil ways, Gods judgement came. I think that only if our nation turns from its sin, will that deter God from punishing our nation.
Many people think that nothing can bring the United States down. People think ¨we are the strongest country in the world, who can hurt us?¨ But God is who first blessed this nation, and He has the power to take away everything from us. Why has there never been an enemy nation invade the United States? Because God has not allowed it. But if God allows a nation (or group) to cause damage to the United States, it will happen. And the United States will not be able to stop them, because God is using that nation (or group) to punish our nation.
But God does not forget about the people that have turned away from sin, unlike the others in the country. So those people should not be afraid.
It is so important to have a good leader in our country. A president that wishes to please God, and make the right decisions. The United States has certainly been a country that has stood for many good things. When Hitler and the Natzi´s were trying to exterminate all the Jews, millions of young American men were headed overseas to fight, and they did fight, many losing their own lives. But God was with them, and they won the war. God hated what the Natzi´s were doing, and God punished them because of the bad things they were doing. One of the nations that God used was the United States. But now we must turn from our sin, or our nation will also be judged.

Ethiopia: Attack on Church Leaves 4 Dead, 70 Injured

By Michael IrelandChief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service ETHIOPIA (ANS)
-- Last week, Christians gathering at local churches in a southern region in Ethiopia were enjoying singing and worship when, without warning, hundreds of men armed with machetes and clubs leapt through the open windows and indiscriminately began attacking everyone present. The attackers barricaded the doors to try to prevent people from escaping.
Envoy Ministries (www.envoyministries.org ) says that when the carnage was complete, there were three Ethiopian church planters (missionaries) dead, one more person died March 9, and more than 70 were injured, with 40 people sustaining serious injuries. The death toll is expected to rise. Hundreds fled the area and are being cared for by Christians in other towns.
David Hunt, President of Envoy Ministries, says the attack occurred on March 3, when initially three people were killed. One person later died of wounds sustained in the attack, and seven people remain in hospital.
Hunt told ASSIST News: "Three days ago evangelists began flowing into a nearby town and in one day more than 30 evangelists begged to be sent back into exact area. Yesterday we committed to support the first ten with $60 monthly -- today the 10 headed back to the area saying 'We are ready to lay down our lives.'"
The Envoy Ministries website says that why such brutal attacks would take place is hard to understand, except that as the Gospel has flourished in Ethiopia and as people put their faith in Christ, others, violently opposed to the Gospel, do anything they can to stop the proclamation of the Gospel.
The site goes on to state: "However, Jesus said, 'I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.' Truly we are seeing that being borne out in the Church in Ethiopia and in the lives of our brave brothers and sisters in Christ."
Envoy Ministries says: "We have been in communication with the church there, nearly every day with news of the latest developments. As we learned of the devastation and impact on the Christians, we immediately sent $10,000 to help care for all affected. We have committed to cover the medical costs of those injured and to assist the 190 people who fled. Although this is not enough to cover all the costs, we believe we must do what we can and we invite the Christian public to join with us to care for them as long as they need help."
In speaking with the Ethiopian Christian leadership, Envoy Ministries says of the church planters that: "They consider that they have already died and have counted the cost to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. They said they are encouraged by the response to the Gospel in this region and for every one who died; there are 20 more ready to go in their place. They asked us to help provide for at least 50 church planters to return to preach the Gospel. They said, simply, 'We are inspired to go and work more.'"
The church leaders also asked if the ministry could help re-build the churches that were attacked.
Envoy Ministries says: "Our response was, 'You pray and we will share with our friends.' It now costs around $1,000 per church as they supply the land, the labor and the lumber. Our goal now has been elevated, as more churches have been destroyed and now we have 17 churches to rebuild."
The ministry asks believers in the United States "to first pray for the church in Ethiopia, for all those who are suffering and lost loved ones, and to join us in provision as we endeavor to care for all those affected. Thank you and God bless you."
Envoy Ministries says it is Christ’s messengers of hope to the lost and His emissaries of encouragement to the persecuted.
"We are called to serve in His name... and we are commanded to share His Gospel. "
¨Our ministry impacts lives, communities and nations through Bible distribution, church planting and providing practical helps to suffering and persecuted believers."
Envoy Ministries International is "called to be God’s trustworthy envoys of hope to those who are lost and hurting."

Elianas parents are away on another mission trip, and I will be taking care of the animals, which are in the backyard. That includes about 80 guinea pigs, 13 rabbits (includes 7 babies), and 3 chickens (including a rooster, which doesn´t just crow when the sun comes up). The food is alfalfa, a special pellet feed, and corn. The rabbit babies are just about a month old, and are already eating solid food. Elianas mother sells the guinea pigs, and I imagine will sell the rabbits. She enjoys having them, and does a good job taking care of them. That is all the news I have for now. Any news from the United States?

Lima

Here is a picture taken yesterday

from a house that overlooks some of Lima. A lot of people live on the mountains. Although there are roads that go up into the mountains, most people do not have cars. So there are lots of stairs, and so people climb those stairs everyday. For some people, they probably climb 150 stairs or more to get to their home. Our church is just a 6-7 minute walk from here.

Today

Today Eliana and I went and visited a family we know to see how they were doing. One of the daughters recently had surgery, and so she is recovering from it now. I am not sure what kind of surgery she had (my spanish is not that good, so I miss a lot of things), although we watched the video. The doctor used one of those video scope things, and so got to see the surgery from the inside, which actually was interesting. I think that takes a confident doctor to tape the surgery, and give it to the patient, because then they could see any mistakes that were made. We don´t really know all that family, just the mother and one of the daughters. They really are very nice people.
Other than that, we spent a little time in the church. They had a supper in the church, and so we ate potatoes with a special cream, which is delicious. Eliana did a lot of things today, and so she is tired. So I am glad that she is going to rest this evening. Have a good night.

p.s., That family has 2 little dogs, and here is a photo of me with one of them.

Tonight

Tonight Eliana and I went to another church. The pastor is the father of one of Elianas friends. Actually it is the friend that made Elianas wedding dress. She does that for a living. Anyways, the pastor actually came and picked us up in his car, so we did not have to take a bus. So that was nice. Before we left, Eliana spoke to the youth. She passed out pieces of paper, and had them write questions on them that they would like answers to. And then the papers were collected, and Eliana went through them one by one, and answered all the questions. I thought that was a good idea. They had some good questions, and hopefully Elianas answers helped them out. Well it is almost midnight, so I am headed to bed. Good night.

Long time no see

Eliana and I are doing well. She is almost 2 months pregnant. This second month has been pretty hard for her, because of all the changes her body is going through. So hopefully at the 3 or 4 month mark, that will change, and she will feel a lot better. She was taking some prenatal vitamins, but a doctor said not to take those until the 3 month mark, but to only take Folic Acid for now. That is one thing that all doctors agree on: to take Folic Acid.
It has cooled off some here. The summers here get hot. But the homes here are made out of cement and brick, and that seems to keep things cooler inside. We recently were able to buy a new bed. The one we were sleeping on wasn´t very nice. But this one is a nice one, I think it is full size, and its comfortable. And it has a 10 year warranty, so thats good. Eliana is taking a nap in it as I am writing.
Eliana and I have been working to plastic wrap a lot of books that their company has. The books collect dust, and so they need to be wrapped in plastic wrap. And I think today there is 100 more books coming from Argentina. They like to order books from Argentina because most Peruvians think they are better quality books. By the way, the books they sell are legal books, and they sell them to lawyers, universities, etc. They would like to be able to get books from Spain, but for some reason it is hard to get books from there, possibly because they are more expensive.
Yesterday Eliana and I were at Ace Hardware (they have 7 stores in Lima). I bought some cucumber seeds, and so today I planted them in Elianas mothers garden. I remember the cucumbers in my parents garden, and they grew so fast, and covered a lot of ground. So I am hoping that these will do the same. There is not much greenery here, because we hardly have any rain, so even cucumber vine would be nice to look at.
The other day Eliana made a potato cream. She told me how she made it, but I forgot. Her family doesn´t really like it, but I thought it was really delicious. I think most Peruvians eat rice everyday, but I am not a big fan of white rice. But eating the rice with the potato cream was delicious. If you want to know how to make it, I´m sure she would tell you.
I hope everyone is doing well, although I know that many in my family are going through tough times. But just so you know, you´re not a lone. Many people you see with smiles on their faces are going through real difficult times, but they just don´t want others to know about it. But our God is good, and He cares about the details of our lives. You know I saw some photos of distant galaxies, and the diameter of those galaxies are 65,000 light years or more. Our God made all those! And not only that, He made us, and has not left us a lone. Although we may not see him, and sometimes we see no trace of Him... He is near. The video I posted on the last post, I really like the part when the guy portraying God is acting like he is pulling on a rope, and pulling the lost girl to Him. I think that is good, because it shows how God is involved in our lives, and how much He wants us to know Him, and to be with Him. The temptations and the evil things in the world were keeping the girl from coming to Him. Isn´t that how it is in all our lives? Money, sex, pride, unforgiveness, etc,; all these things fight against us. The girl was trying to get free from all those things, but wasn´t able. And that is when God jumped in, and took her place, and she was freed. That is what Jesus Christ did for us. He died for all of us, the sinners. He took our place, so that we could be free, and be forgiven, and able to be friends with God.

Drama Skit

I saw this skit posted on another persons website, and wanted to also put it on mine. It is a skit performed to the song ¨Everything¨ by Lighthouse. The man in the purple and white robe is portraying God. It is such a wonderful skit, and I hope that you like it too. Might not be suitable for children.

Family, please get ready to welcome a new member.

For all the family who are reading this, Eliana and I have some special news. Eliana is pregnant, and we are expecting a baby in approximately 8 1/2 months. Eliana and I are both happy, and wish very much to have our little baby in our arms. I told Eliana that when my family see´s our baby, we should give the baby a kiss, because might not see him/her for a while. She said it is the same with her family, and how everyone is so excited to have a baby in the family. I want very much to be a good father. I know Eliana will be a good mother. Please pray for the health of the baby, and also for Eliana as she goes through this pregnancy. Thank you so much :)

what could a little lie hurt?

I wanted to write about something, and hope that it is of help. I want to write about lying, but I don´t want to just say that it´s a sin, and that is all. I think a lot of times we lie, because we underestimate God or simply do not trust that He will come through for us. Or we lie to gain the approval of others. I have done all those things. But God has also taught me a lot. There have been times that I told the truth when it meant that it might cost me a lot. But there have also been times when I let God down, and caved in under the pressure, and lied. I think that God allows satan to test us to see if we will tell the truth. And I think that satan tells us lies to scare us, and sets us up, and then the time comes when we have to tell the truth or lie, and the decision is ours. satan can only lie to and try to scare Christians, he cannot actually make them sin. The Bible says that God gives us a way to escape all temptations.
I think satan likes to tell us things like ¨its such a small lie (or exaggeration), it doesn´t really matter¨, or will get us to justify it in other ways.
In the Bible, after Jesus was arrested, one of his disciples, Peter, had went unnoticed to where Jesus was, and was waiting to see what would happen to Jesus. But some people noticed that Peter was a follower of Jesus, and when they asked him, he said ¨No, I do not know Jesus¨. When the pressure was on, Peter lied. I am sure all sorts of things were going through Peters mind. He had just seen Jesus get arrested, and possibly seen Him get beaten. Jesus Himself had told his disciples that He would be killed. I imagine that Peter was worried about being arrested, and possibly also being beaten or killed. And also Peter made the decision to lie, and not once, but 3 times. And Jesus was in eyesight of Peter, because when Peter lied for the third time, it says that Jesus looked straight at Him. And then Peter felt horrible.
You might say, ¨well that is different, Peter was denying Christ, and that is worst than any lie¨. But I think when the pressure was on, and Peter had to make the choice between telling the truth and lying, I don´t think he realized that the lie would actually be denying Christ. Peter was trying to protect himself, and did not realize the magnitude of what He was doing. And after he had lied 3 times, he realized what He had done, and he felt horrible.
What I want to say is that I don´t think we realize the consequences that can come from even what we consider a small lie. And in Gods eyes, I don´t know if a ¨small¨ lie even exists. I imagine that no lies are small to God. Peter lied, and realized that what he had done was a huge mistake, and regretted it very much. But how many times do we lie, and then never regret it?
The reason I am writing about this is I think that lying can cause us to miss out on a lot of things. When we are faced with a decision to tell the entire truth, or to tell part truth/part lie, or to completely lie, I think a person needs to have their faith in God, because then they know they can tell the truth, and that God is in control, and the outcome will be in Gods hands.
I will use an example from my own life. Although I have lied more times than I can count, here is a time that I did not give in to satans lies and temptation. When I was in Iowa before our wedding, there was lots of stuff to do to get ready to come to Peru, including getting some documents ready. Something that was always in the back of my mind was ¨maybe I need a special document or visa to be able to enter Peru to get married¨. I know in the United States that a foreigner cannot enter the United States on a visitors visa to get married. So I thought the same might be in Peru. And so I tried to read about it on the internet, and didn´t find anything. I emailed a Peru consulate in the United States, but got no reply. So I never got an answer to my question, and I think that is what God wanted. On the plane to Peru, we have to fill out paperwork to have ready for the Peru immigrations. And one of the questions is ¨why do you want to enter Peru¨. The truth is that my fiance is in Peru, and we are getting married, and we wish to then live in Peru together. But the visa that I am entering the country with is a tourist visa, and to me it doesn´t seem like marriage and living in Peru falls under the category ¨tourist¨. Anyways, I had a choice to make. I could either be honest and write ¨marriage¨, or lie and write something else. All sorts of things went through my mind. I pictured myself in front of the immigrations office, and what would he do when he finds out that I want to get married on a tourist visa? I thought about Eliana waiting at the airport, and wishing so much to see me, but I am detained by immigrations until I am eventually sent back to the United States, and how hard that would be on Eliana and I. All that might sound strange, but those were my fears, and it was very real to me. I had to make a choice to take things into my own hands, and sin, and in my own mind I would then have a better chance of getting through immigrations to Eliana. Or I could write ¨marriage¨, and put everything in Gods hands, and know that He is in control. And that is what I did, I wrote ¨marriage¨ in the line. And while standing in line for immigrations, I was really nervous, but you know what happened? The immigrations officer asked no questions, but stamped my visa, and sent me through. It turned out that I never needed a special document or visa, and that I could get married on a tourist visa.
All the times I have lied, those were opportunities that God gave me, but I failed. Those were opportunities to trust God, but I chose to take things into my own hands. But this time was different, and I did not give in to the temptation, even when the stakes were so high. God does not allow us to be tempted with more that we can handle. God gives us a way out of all temptations. And my way out of this tempation was to write ¨marriage¨, and let God have control. And because I trusted God, my faith became greater, because I saw how God helped me. God is trustworthy. Although He may allow us to go through difficult situations, He will not forsake us. Although we may see no trace of Him, He is there, and in control.

p.s. Jesus Christ was obedient even to the cross. He knew that God wanted him to die for peoples sin, and so Jesus went willingly to the cross to be executed. I wonder how many times satan whispered in his ear ¨you know, you don´t have to do this¨. Jesus Christ experienced temptation, and I imagine so much more than we will ever experience. But Jesus always stood strong in the face of temptation, and never sinned. People made fun of Jesus because He said He was the Son of God, but when He was hanging on the cross, He did not use His power to bring Himself down. Jesus said that there were armies of Angels ready to fight for Him. I think that when the Angels saw the King of Kings crucified on a cross, they were dressed for battle. But Jesus never gave the order to fight. If Jesus had not died on the cross, we could not be forgiven, because our punishment would not have been taken. But Jesus died on the cross. He was obedient all the way to the end, and accomplished what He came to accomplish.

We´re back

This game is used with sheets, and a team has to use the sheet to throw a water balloon over the net, and the other team has to catch it with their sheet. We were playing the youngest team, and we had launched some balloons so far that they couldn´t catch them, so we were happy about that. But then we launched one that didn´t even get over the net, and that is why we were laughing.

I don´t know how many games of volleyball I played.

Playing goalie. I´m not good at it. We lost.

A relay foot race.

This race looks too difficult for me.

Kayla in the river. She is a very sweet girl.

Me with nephew Gabriel.

Eliana speaking to the youth.

We are back from the campout. Although we had a good time, we are glad to be back, and be able to sleep in a bed again. Between 60 and 70 people were there from various churches, but most were from our church. Every morning we were up at 6:00 a.m., except most slept in a little longer on the last day. There was a river nearby, and so that is where we could swim or bath. That area gets a lot of rain, and the river kept getting more and more water. It was only probably 3 feet deep, but the current was so strong, I didn´t want to try to cross it. We stayed in the calmer spots. We played a lot of games. We played soccer, volleyball, had foot races, etc. And also everyday there was time set up for Bible study, and prayer and worship. Also everyday there was new Bible verses to memorize. There was 4 different age groups, and usually everyone broke up into those groups for Bible studies. One of the things that the groups studied was the life of Jacob, and then there was a competition between the groups, and they were asked questions, and the youngest group won.
There were all sorts of different people at the campout. Some people that were really interested in growing spiritually, and others who were not interested. There is a group of 3 girls between the ages of 15 and 16, and to me they really stood out. For their age, they seem to have such a hunger to grow spiritually, and to know God more. And I think their lives are a witness to that. I think they help each other, and encourage each other, and that is one of the reasons how God has worked so much in their lives.

One thing I have realized is that it is not easy to search for truth, and to know God more. Not only in my own life, but I believe that to be true in everyones life who is truly wanting to grow spiritually and to please God. Although in cartoons, satan is shown as a creature that really is not so bad. But satan really exists, and he is against God, and against any person, especially those that wish to know God, because those people are a threat to him. satan wishes that as many people as possible go to Hell, and so he is always working to harden peoples hearts so that they are not willing to accept the gift of salvation. He wants people to love sin, and to never turn away from it. He does not want anyone to ask God for help, but wants everyone to live independant lives, and have no need for God. I believe God is able to help those who truly want His help. Anyways, I want to say that those who are truly seeking God; satan is there to fight against them. And that is why I say it is not easy to seek God, and to search for truth. A person that wants a heart that is pure and good, that is exactly what satan is against, and he will fight against you with the hope that you will give up. But God is greater than satan, and with His help, we can have victory over satans attacks and lies. Another thing I want to say is that all Christians struggle with temptation, and I want you to know that what you are struggling with is not something that only you struggle with. But it is something that is common in the lives of Christians. satan likes to tempt Christians to sin, but we are no longer slaves to sin. Sin no longer has control over us, but the Bible says that when we are tempted, God always gives us a way out. God is always there, and gives us an opportunity to have victory of the temptation. But I know how hard it is to have victory over many temptations, and to fall in them time and again. And I am glad for Gods grace, because He forgives me. But because He forgives me, that does not give me freedom to sin. The truth is that God has changed me so that I do not like sin. And I think that the sin in my life is becoming less and less because God continues to change me. And God is able to work in my life because I want Him to do it, and I ask Him to do it.

I read something about the apostle Paul in the Bible. It was about the book of 2 Timothy, which was a letter that Paul wrote to another Christian named Timothy. Paul wrote that letter when He was in prison in Rome, and is possibly the last letter that Paul wrote before he was killed. It does not say in the Bible how Paul was killed, but other writings say He was executed in Rome. One of the things that Paul wrote was that he has fought the good fight, and he has kept the faith. What a wonderful thing to be able to say at the end of your life. ¨I have kept the faith¨. What is more important in this life? Paul wanted to please God, and his faith brought him through any difficulties that came his way. Ship wrecks, being whipped various times, almost stoned to death, cursed by God knows how many people. But Paul kept going, and it cost him everything. Imprisoned in Rome, it cost him his freedom. He could no longer visit the churches that he started and loved so much. It cost him his possessions. He didn´t even have a shawl to keep him warm. And in the end, it seems it even cost him his life.

Paul had courage, and he was not ashamed of Jesus Christ. After his conversion, he spent his life telling people about Jesus Christ. I read a tshirt that said ¨courage is being one step ahead of fear¨. I don´t know if I believe that. I think that true courage comes from faith, and knowing that God is in control, and whatever happens, God is there with us. Knowing that even if we die, it is ok because we have eternal life with God.