May 2021 update

 May 2021 update

James helping with washing a sock

I (Bryan) continued teaching at the Pan de Vida orphanage as well as the Esperanza Para Ti orphanage. During my free time, I started leading Bible studies with my neighbor Roman and 2 of his daugthers.

It started shortly after one of neighbor’s daughters ran away from home in distress on May 2 and came to our house and sought out help from my wife Brenda. The girl spent a couple of hours with my family and I to escape from the issues at her home.

This family has been experiencing personal issues. A lot of the problems are rooted in Roman’s (the father) alcohol and drug abuse. After hearing about the problems that the family has, I prayed about doing a Bible study with them. Almost everyone in the family expressed an interest in meeting with me. They know nothing about the Bible. 

I started doing a Bible study with Roman and 2 of his daughters. We started reading the book of John. Also, I led Roman on a study of the first chapter of Proverbs regarding the importance of acquiring wisdom. They eagerly read with me and we had good discussions.

Toward the end of the month, Roman decided to destroy his idols of the Santa Muerte (Holy Death).  A few Christian friends and I went to his house to witness the smash fest.

 Before the main event started, I had the honor and privilege to do a Bible study with him.

 Together, we read and discussed John 1:1-13. Then I shared with him the story of Gideon tearing down his family's idol before he started on his crusade to free Israel. 

 I shared with Roman the story of Gideon's house cleaning to encourage him. Roman was nervous. 

 He had bought the idol 7 years ago. He and his wife Sandra had prayed to it. He also had a car sticker decal and a necklace dedicated to it

 Lately, he felt compelled to destroy them. His Christian friends told him to free his family of its bad influence. Roman and his wife both said that they felt a bad presence in their house and couldn't sleep well. It also affected the behavior of everyone in the family. For example, 1 day, Roman attempted to burn down his own house! There was much fear in that house.

 I walked with Roman to his house. I reminded him about Gideon. At his house, 2 of Roman's Christian clients, a married couple, were there waiting for us. Roman does construction work. I started talking to the husband named Geraldo. He said he works for the Gideons International. 

After some prayer, the unclean material was brought out to the front of the house.  The Gideon worker brought down the hammer. 

Idol destruction

I invited Roman and his family to church.  Sandra and daughters came with my family and I, but Roman wasn’t able to attend due to work.

 Also, during the month of May, Brenda also had the opportunity to read the Bible to Sandra.

 On the last day of May, I had a surprise Bible study request from Roman. He showed up wanting a Bible study – I don’t recall that we agreed to one. We continued with our reading of John. We also discussed the 10 Commandments.

Roman told me that the day after destroying his idols; he saw a shadow passing by the front of his house. He thought someone was outside of his house looking for him. When he went outside, he didn’t see anything.  

Roman and his family need prayer. Roman still struggles with drugs and alcohol and the family continues to have personal problems. 

Ariadne used donated foam to make a cactus