God is Good

Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ:

This is a short note to let you know God is listening, and to ask you to continue praying. As our church family continues to move through the very beginning stages of grieving the loss of Belen, Arianna and Dianna we also are witness to little and great miracles each passing day. Today we saw four of the teenagers be released from the hospital. Camila, Rebecca, Bruno and Freddy V. were all released. There were some tense moments concerning their release since this is a traffic case not yet resolved, but praise God that those who were able to make their release happen were mindful of how truly traumatic things have been for these kids. All they wanted to do was go home, and the fact that they were able to we know is due to so many of you interceding for them in prayer. Rejoice and praise God that four teenagers are now home, in their own beds, eating home cooked meals, and slowly leaving the nightmarish events of last week behind. Of course all four kids still have a long road to full recovery but we must rejoice in each and every small victory and we surely did that today.

Jonathan, Miguel, Ariel and Kevin continue to remain in four different hospitals around town. We ask that you pray for Jonathan, Miguel, Ariel and Kevin that the Lord would strengthen them with each passing day so that may one day soon be allowed to return to their homes as well. Miguel continues to be the most critical. As of today he still appeared to be in a coma when I visited but the medical staff would not release any information to me since I am not a family member. He did appear at least to look better than on Friday when I saw him last. Jonathan was joking quite a bit when I visited and he particularly enojoyed my rendition of the ring tone of the cop from the movie Mall Cop. It was a silly moment but it is encouraging to see the fun loving Jonathan we all know returning. His surgery went well but it seems his full recovery is going to take a while. Please pray for Jonathan and Rachel to have the necessary patience to get through a difficult time. At the same time we are thankful for Jonathan and Rachel's Christ-like spirit. Tomorrow I plan to see Ariel and Kevin to get a better idea of how things are going for them. I did see both of their parents today at a meeting for the parents of all the kids who were involved in the accident. Please pray for the unity of the parents as their stress and hurt could cause them to be hurtful to each other. We praise God though, that as of now all the parents have been wonderful examples of patience, faith and forgiveness! We pray that this same Christ-like spirit could continue on and on.

We again are so thankful for the 5 people who came from Sucre to help us. The church there with their own funds sent these 5 people including Josh and Julie's brother in law Eric, along with fellow missionary Juan, and 3 of Sucre's own youth group; Luis, Romina and Flor to help us including driving back to the site of the accident to recover the lost baggage. What a great blessing!!! We have also received word of a dear brother in Christ from Santa Cruz who is sending a car to Cochabamba to be sold so that the money can be used for the families and another brother from Santa Cruz is coming tonight. What is most amazing and humbling about these brothers and sisters who have come and are coming, is that after this terrible accident, they themselves all boarded similar buses on similar roads to come and be with us. This is a great lesson in faith and love for all of us!! I honestly don't think I would have it in me at this time, but these brothers and sisters have such a deep love that they are willing to do such a thing for us. Let us all praise God for the loving example of the Bolivian family in Christ!!

There is always more to tell you but I really do need to get some sleep. One more thing to mention before I go to bed, yesterday during church service there were many emotional moments but perhaps one of the most moving was when designated church members called each of the kids still in the hospital on their cell phones as we sang "Jesucristo Conmigo Va" (I Want Jesus to Walk with Me) and "Da una Sonrisa Mas" (Smile One More Time). It was probably the first and only time we have ever actually been glad for the proliferation of cell phones in our worship assembly!! We praise God that so many showed up for service yesterday despite knowing how difficult it would be and we praise God that Satan is not winning the battle. We are uniting not dividing and we ask you to pray that this unification would only continue and increase in strength.

We deeply love you all. Praise God for who He is and how He loves us.

La Familia Forbess