Sunday

During the summer in our city it isn't uncommon to feel like you live in a ghost town. People will leave for family vacations that can last 1-2 months. Our city of 2 million becomes a place of almost empty malls and streets with little traffic.

Unfortunately for us as missionaries, this also affects the house churches. Yesterday for example everyone who normally meets here in our house was gone on vacation. Even Bronwyn is at the beach for 10 days with her best friend and her family. We were ready to have a Blume family only worship. About 10:30 these guys showed up.

This is Eduardo, Alexandre and Rodrigo. These are our brothers from a recovery center that our church family is involved with. All three have battled drugs and alcohol and because of Christ they have come out of those addictions and live for Him now. Eduardo and Rodrigo are also blood brothers and through them their mom also gave her life to Christ last year. She is currently studying the book of James with Benay.

Benay and I love any moment we have with the men from the recovery center. They have so much to teach us about Christ's love. They have been to a spot where they literally had nothing. They allowed drugs and alcohol to ruin everything in their lives. In some way or another they found out about the recovery center. This place is a very spiritually disciplined place. Their weeks are strictly scheduled. They grow a lot of their own food. They pray and fast. As we spoke to these men (who were not Christians before they entered the recovery center) yesterday about their testimonies, I was happy to hear that no one at the center ever pressured them to accept Christ. They saw a difference in the men who had come before them. Lives changed by the power of Christ was their greatest example.

They have all graduated from the program and are looking to leave and find an apartment for the three of them. I'm going to take them this week to look at some apartments. They are also starting a home improvement business.

The reason we love being around the guys from the center is that they are always happy. They've seen the bottom. They've bought the lies of Satan and then experienced the free gift of Christ. They are on fire for Him.

We ask that you pray for them as they slowly leave the center. Pray for them to have strength to continue fighting our enemy. Pray for them to resist the temptations that will surely come in regards to their former addictions. Pray for them as they look for a new place to live and pray for them to continue being Christ to this world.