This past Sunday I took a volunteer to visit the León XIII church for worship.  Since I had given two Pastoral Care for Women classes there, I now know a number of the church members so the visit was a good time to catch up with them.

          What a blessing to see how God is at work in this church which so many work groups (especially from ABC of Great Rivers Region) helped build.

• The sanctuary was full and the worship service was joyous.  There was Sunday School upstairs for the children.  I also saw a lot more men present.

•  Maureen, one of my former students was very shy and had low self-esteem – and now she is on the  worship team, singing in the front of the congregation.

• Melissa, also a former student had reconciled with her husband after our “Healthy Relationships” course.  She now has a two-month old baby boy as well as a teenager. 
  

• An older woman who dropped out of a course due to family problems used to come alone but now has her husband sitting next to her in church, praising the Lord with enthusiasm.

• "Paula", daughter of a former student is a teen mother and the church continues to encourage her. 

• During a baby dedication, Pastor Sonia told the young mother that even though the baby's grandmother and great grandmother are Christians, that she, too, needs to follow Jesus in order to guide her child to Christ. 
  

•  The church was still glowing from their previous day’s activity:  an evangelistic event they sponsored that featured a Christian motorcycle gang riding through their rough neighborhood (where some people openly offered to sell them drugs).  Everyone had pitched in either by going out on the streets or preparing food for the program.

            God's Resurrection Power is at work in this world.  Let us rejoice as well as allow ourselves to be channels for God's grace.  You have already served as God's channels in León XIII through your partnership in prayer and financial support.  Thank you! 

P.S.  There is a golden opportunity to double the effect of your partnership donations through June 15th.  Please check out www.internationalministries.org for details.