Dear partners in proclaiming the good news in Colombia,

Greetings from rain soaked Pereira! The long dry spell appears to be at an end and the rains have come in with a vengeance. Spring has sprung here in the southern region of the northern hemisphere, and has brought plenty of April showers!

House Hunting
As we’ve mentioned in prior emails, we were informed that the house we’ve been living in for the past couple of years will be asked for around the end of the year, so we’ve been hunting for an affordable and livable place to purchase instead of rent – if that be the Lord’s will. So far we’ve found a lot of places that won’t fit our needs (a Colombian’s idea of “good sized house” and ours are very different) or that are simply way out of budget. We are confident that in God’s time we’ll find The Place He has for us which will be a blessing not only to ourselves but to many others as well as it will be used also in our ministry. Please pray with us in this matter, that we’ll have discernment and wisdom in making such an important decision.

Lent, Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday
Colombia is still a nominally Roman Catholic country. Lent is still an important part of the cultural makeup, although not as much so as in the past. Still, the sales of fish products and eggs tends to be higher during this time of the year than is usual.

Holy week, the week between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday, is the biggest travel and holiday season of the year after Christmas and New Years. Hotel rates, air fare and bus fare and other travel expenses tend to be higher during that week as Colombians flee the cities and head to vacation hot spots such as the Caribbean Coast, San Andrés island and other tourist attractions around the country and abroad. Our Royal Enfield mechanic, for example, rode from Pereira to Peru, spent a couple days and then rode his motorcycle back home, arriving Easter Sunday at 8:00 p.m. in time to get in to work at 10:00 a.m. the next morning.

For a bit of perspective on this matter, Colombia has a population that is almost 50,000,000 people. According to official statistics, there were over 9,000,000 vehicles traveling Colombia’s highways during Holy Week. In fact, some of the members of the church here were traveling on Resurrection Sunday. But we praise the Lord that there was almost record attendance to share the message of our hope in Jesus Christ and our joy in His Resurrection.

Studies
Sheri is taking classes again this year, getting closer to fulfilling the graduation requirements for her degree. This, of course, takes a lot of time in study and fulfilling the course requirements and is also an added expense. In spite of this she continues to work alongside me in our ministry and continues to teach English at the Colombo Americano. I praise God for the energy that He provides her to continue strong in all these areas.

Health
Health services here in Colombia can be quite good or very lamentable. Over the past couple of years the company that has handled our health insurance here has been getting worse in taking care of their clients. So this year we signed up with a new provider. In March we went for our first “get acquainted” checkup and had complete blood and urine work done. We praise God for the good results of the exams and the excellent health He has given us. We are following up on a couple of areas, but expect things to work out well.

Upcoming Visit
The countdown has begun! In six weeks a short term missions team from Summit Christian College in Gering, Nebraska will be flying into Colombia. They will spend time with the missionaries in Medellin and then come to Pereira for a period of time before returning to the U.S.. Please pray with us for Hunter, Wyatt and Chris as well as their faculty sponsor Andie. Pray also for us and for the people here as our desire is to see these young people blessed by their time here as well as for them to be a blessing to those whom they meet.

Upcoming “Home Service”
In September Sheri and I will be traveling to the U.S. for our tri-anual visit to our supporters and family and friends. We have a good portion of our travel plans solidified, but are still waiting to here from some of our supporting congregations and individuals. It is our desire to be able to visit each of you in order to report directly to you on the things God has been doing through our ministry since our last visit to the U.S.. We’ll be sharing our itinerary once we have it solidified.

Gratitude
As we contemplate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior we are reminded of the importance of gratitude. First to God for His never failing love, mercy and grace. Also to Jesus Christ for His obedience – even to undergoing death on the cross. And to God’s Holy Spirit for His redemptive work in our lives. We are also grateful for the bonds of brotherly love we share with each of you. We rejoice that together with you and the people here in Colombia and others around the world we form a Royal Priesthood of believers dedicated to serving our Living God.

And of course we are grateful to each of you for the part you play in our lives and ministry. THANK YOU for being a part of us, for investing in the work we are doing for the Lord here in Colombia. May God’s richest blessings in Christ be yours as you continue to serve Him in your own part of His great harvest field.

In Christ,

Paul and Sheri Moreland