As we get ready for our second Encounter Retreat, we ask that you lift up the participants listed below and also those of us who will be leading the activities over the weekend. Our national cell leaders (José Luis, Adriana, Aldo, and Sandy) will all be there to help in whatever way possible. Pray that we can all encourage an atmosphere where people can have a personal encounter with their Creator and walk away walking lighter, having left their past at His feet. Pray that the Lord will also encourage us in our personal walks with Him. Pray for the logistics of the entire weekend and for safe travel to and from the site of the retreat. You are doing battle with us! Thank you so much!
Larisa is a walking miracle. In the past two years, she’s gone from not being able to walk to driving again, after a bad car accident almost a year and a half ago. She is growing and learning more and more every day and is excited about the life the Lord has planned for her. Please pray for continued healing and mobility, as well as growth in her walk with the Lord and wisdom in raising her two daughters.
Larisa’s oldest daughter, Amy, was baptized over a year ago and is currently one of the apprentices for the youth cell. She is in college studying business. Please pray for her relationship with her mom and for a growing passion for young people. We see her co-leading the youth cell in the future. Also, pray for her studies and that she will continue to excel in school.
Norberto is Amy’s boyfriend of seven years. He is studying to be a doctor and was baptized by Steven Wells shortly before they left the country. He has had a tendency to disappear for a few months every now and then, especially when he and Amy are having troubles. Pray that this retreat will be a time for him to commit himself even more to God and his family. Also please pray for his relationship with Amy.
At 15, Leo is the oldest of the Betanzos family. His parents attended the Encounter Retreat that we had last June. He is pumped up about the new youth cell and the possibility of co-leading it in the future. Pray that the Lord will grow that desire in him. Also please pray for his family as they are in the middle of a financial crisis that sometimes doesn’t allow them to get to church or cell group during the week.
Diego, Leo’s younger brother, is another walking miracle. He has leukemia at a young age and the doctors didn’t expect him to live. Praise the Lord, he is alive and well today! However, many of the financial struggles for the family started when he was in the hospital. He is several years behind in school because of the time he wasn’t able to attend. Pray that he is able to continue learning and growing and can become the leader that we see in him.
Just the mention of Rosa’s name brings smiles to the faces of all who know her. When she first started coming to cell group, she was in the midst of depression brought on by the death of her husband. Since then, the Lord has transformed her into a bundle of joy. She is hosting a cell group in her house now and has encouraged many people in her neighborhood with her amazing testimony. Pray for her health and her continued influence on the people that surround her.
Martha was baptized last fall at our church retreat. She is generally working two jobs, which makes it hard for her to attend cell group and church, but she comes whenever she can. Specifically pray that she will be able to attend the retreat and that the Lord will touch her in a special way. Pray that her commitment to him and to his family will grow more and more and that she will become an active part of this church.
