Pastor Victor and his wife Damaris traveled to Managua last week for her final medical exam. Thankfully her exam went well and she is doing well. We will be getting her test results this week and get them communicated up the river. Victor was actually concerned about a growth on his abdominal that turned out to be a intestinal hernia. Thankfully we were able to get him into surgery almost immediately. It was difficult because they had to travel back to Walakitang. Praise God they both are doing well.
Because of there extended stay we got to visit with them more often. One exciting story they shared was in the community of Linda Vista (45 minutes further up the river). During Victor’s last visit there was a big movement of the Spirit and twelve people came forward wanting to be baptized. On top of that three couples made decisions to get married. Pretty awesome! They are going to travel back to Linda Vista to have a big baptism and marriage celebration in the coming month.
On this visit Victor also got his official pastoral I.D. card from Verbo church. It may sound simple, but this was a huge thing for him. Along the river you can say you are a pastor left and right and offer help, but most people actually want to see something identifying you as such. It is such a remote region that having a way to identify yourself is so important. They were both very proud of the card.
We also sent up several things for the church. We sent a sound system for the church, a set of soccer uniforms for the community, some used clothes and shoes for donations and a used digital camera for the church to use.
We had a very encouraging visit. Please keep praying for the church along the Rio Coco. It is great to get encouraging reports, but the reality is, it is a battle up there. Life is hard and people are oppressed, but the hope of Jesus is greater than anything this world can offer!
