Summer Updates

Hola from Cochabamba. Our Heavenly Father is good and has continued to bless our family with good health and spiritual blessings. We thank Him and give Him praise. We also thank you our supporters, our friends, our family and our brothers and sisters in Christ for your continued committment and prayers. Gracias!!

BABES IN CHRIST ARE BORN!

Since Talia became a sister in Christ in May. We have seen three new spiritual births, praise God! Gabriella the daughter of our landlady, Miguel who is Gabriella's fiancee and Sonia a woman who first came to one of our services by "accident". As Gabriella and Miguel are forming a family we are overjoyed that God will now be a part of that process. It is our prayer and fervent hope that through the transformation manifested in their life they may also bring many people from within their family and friends to Christ as well. As a church family we are also overjoyed to welcome Sonia into the family of God. She has had a very rough year facing many tough challenges. We pray that her new relationship with God will provide her a new joy and peace that gives her something to hang on to during difficult moments. Please pray for these three new family members, their names again are Gabriella, Miguel and Sonia. Please also continue to pray for Talia who was baptized in May as she also continues to grow and mature.

OTHER NEW FAMILY MEMBER ARRIVES IN AUGUST!

Okay, for those who may not have heard yet, we are expecting a new family member of our own in January! We don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl yet and we are not finding out because we like surprises. Jubilee tends to think it is a boy and has also chosen the name Chippy Chippy for him. We may have to overturn her name choice though :) So far the baby and Katie are doing very well. Please pray that Katie and baby Chippy Chippy continue to enjoy good health.

FELLOWSHIP AMONG BOLIVIAN AND PERUVIAN BRETHREN

During this time period we have also had ample time to strengthen bonds with the Christians in Bolivia and Peru. Jubilee and I along with Josh, Michaela and Eleana accompanied Katie and Julie to this year's Ladies Conference held this year in Santa Cruz. Attendees came from La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and from Cuzco, Peru. One of the most encouraging happenings was that one of our new sisters in Christ from Cochabamba who has reservations about the people from Santa Cruz was able to observe that as Christians those regional differences and stereotypes seem much less important. For those who don't know, between the highlands, valleys and tropical regions of Bolivia there exists great cultural and political differences. It was truly then a blessing for Christians of all regions to gather together in the name of Jesus to uplift each other in their spiritual walk and praise God as one body.

We also have enjoyed getting to know the members of the Sucre team on a more personal level. Angela has come and stayed with us two or three times now, as shopping in Cocha offers much more variety and affordability than in Sucre. She also put her artistic skills to good use this last weekend when she so graciously agreed to paint Jubilee's room with a Winnie the Pooh motiff. We have also had time to spend with Jenny and Eric and their son Sion during the Campaign in July as well as Ivan and Juan Carlos the two single men graduated from the school of preaching in Quito, Ecuador who now also work in Sucre. This weekend Katie and Jubilee also got to spend time with the Torres Family of the Sucre team, I was out of town however.

In addition to spending time with the brethren from La Paz, Sucre and Santa Cruz I was also very blessed to spend some time with the church family in Cuzco, Peru which I will write about in a later section. Please pray for not only the work in Cochabamba but also for the congregations that meet in La Paz, Sucre, Santa Cruz and in Cuzco, Peru.

GRAMMI AND POPS

We also had a very special visit in July, when Grammi and Pops Forbess came to Bolivia for ten days, (my parents). We picked them up in Santa Cruz where we stayed for four days during the Ladies Conference. Not only did my parents enjoy spending time with us but they also got to meet many people from the five congregations in Santa Cruz. In Cochabamba they were also able to spend time with the team, the church family and many other friends of ours. Of course their main motivation was to see that granddaughter of theirs and spoil her rotten. Fortunately, however, they were also able to get a real feel for the work here and bring that news back to our supporters in Chillicothe and Hamilton, Missouri. We would like to say a very special thank-you to our supporters in Missouri who think enough of the work here to have helped my parents make the trip so that they could learn about the work in a much more direct way.

Also of course thank you to you Mom and Dad, (Grammi and Pops). You faced uncharted territory to encourage us and we are so grateful that you did.

ROLAND BOWEN VISITS COCHABAMBA

In July the team also welcomed brother Bowen from the Austin Avenue congregation. He came for a quick week long visit and was able to spend about two nights in the home of each couple with the intentions of encouraging us in the work and as families. We are thankful to him and to Carol for doing without him for a week :) as well as to Austin Avenue for making the trip possible.

MORE TO COME....

As soon as I have a moment I would love to sit down and write much more about the past two months. Please continue checking the blog frequently as I will be posting pictures of the baptisms and other important events that have taken place. We love you guys and thank again for everything.

La Familia Forbess