Dear far flung friends and family,

Greetings from Coffee Country!

New Year’s Celebration
It’s hard to believe that January is already over! We started off the month by hosting a New Year’s Eve gathering here at our home.  There were various finger foods and treats, board games and fellowship.  We had an even better turnout than on Christmas Eve and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  As the clock ticked on towards midnight we gathered in the living room for a time of prayer of thanksgiving and asking for God’s blessing in the approaching new year.  As fireworks exploded around the city we greeted each other and celebrated the beginning of a new adventure.  Church began an hour later than usual that morning, and was also well attended in spite of the number of people traveling on vacation. Another blessing was the opportunity to share with our next door neighbors.  She was recently operated on and he was having back problems so they were mostly housebound.  They came over and had an enjoyable time as the church family took them in and made them feel at home.  He is very adamant about his Roman faith, but we are planting Gospel seeds as the opportunity presents itself.

Trip to farm
All work and no play makes for a stressful way of living, so we do our best to take breaks at various times in the year to take a day or two to change routine and catch our breath.  With the New Year started on its way and Sheri’s end of year vacation from the English language institute coming to an end, we took a few days during the week of Epiphany holiday to travel over to the state of Antioquia to spend some time with Sheri’s folks.  We left right after the gathering of the church on Sunday and took a new route – forgetting that many of the small towns along the way were having celebrations.  Traffic was heavier than expected and each town was a real slowdown, but we enjoyed the beautiful new (to us) scenery and eventually got back to the main road.

Traveling in Colombia can be unpredictable.  Heavy rains loosened up the soil and there were a number of landslides along the way.  We ended up just a few miles from the Stringer’s place when in the dark and rain we were going around a corner and the rear wheel went over something hard with a sharp bump.  Everything seemed normal at first but a few kilometers along we started hearing a strange noise, the rear tire was going flat.  We praise the Lord that the rain had stopped by then and we were able to get off the narrow road onto a fairly level place where I found the sidewall damaged, the tire destroyed.  After emptying the trunk (thank God the rain had stopped!) I got the tire changed and on we went.  We arrived very late at night but rejoicing to see Sheri’s folks and thankful for safety along the way.  The next few days were a time of relaxation and family time.  The return trip was comparatively uneventful, although I did have to buy a pair of new tires that we’d not been planning on buying any time soon. 

Seeds Sprouting
One never knows what effect one’s words will have.  At the wedding we had back in August we met a couple.  She’s been a Christian for many years, but he has not yet given his life to Christ.  Something I said in the wedding ceremony started him thinking, and we were set at the same table for the wedding dinner where Sheri and I were able to engage them in conversation, then we gave them a ride home as it was late and they’d gone in a taxi.  Much to our surprise one Sunday this month we looked up  and saw them coming in to the church’s meeting place with their 8 year old son and 14 year old daughter.  He is hungry for the Word of Life and we now have the opportunity to teach them more about Christ and His Way of LIfe.

When we moved into this neighborhood we started to get to know our neighbors. Our dog, Biscuit, came along soon after and opened even more doors for us.  Across the street from our home lives a young couple with children.  We’ve been able to interact a lot with them and Sheri has been encouraging the wife in her personal life as wife and mother and communicates with her via Whatsapp, an excellent way of using new technology to communicate the Old Old Story and the Good News. Recently she finally started putting some of Sheri’s suggestions into practice and is overjoyed at the results.  To us it’s “old hat”, but to her it has been a breath of fresh air. We rejoice at the opportunity of seeing the Gospel seeds that we’ve sown sprout and start to grow.  We eagerly await the harvest!

THANK YOU!
We are extremely humbled and grateful by your faithful prayers and support.  We thank each of you for being a part of our ministry and for lifting us up before the Lord. THANK YOU for making it possible for us to live and work here in Colombia.  THANK YOU for being a part of our ministry through your generous gifts and faithful prayers.  

In Christ,


Paul and Sheri Moreland

--   South American Christian Mission "... to prepare the saints..." Ephesians 4:12 www.sacm.net www.paulmoreland.com