This month Dave will starting his leadership training ministry, Piedras Vivas, which literally means "living stones." The title comes from the Old Testament where the Israelites would erect standing stones to mark the place where God did something miraculous, something worth remembering. By the New Testament, they became known as "living stones." Peter calls us to be living stones, demonstrating to others the remarkable work God has done in our lives. Dave's desire is to use this ministry to train and equip local pastors with education and resources that might otherwise not be available to them.
Saturday, Dave had a "kick-off brunch" inviting leadership from our church plant, Roca Viva Iglesia Bautista, as well as some pastors and contacts from other local churches in the province of Cartago. Max, our lawyer and friend from another church plant spoke with Dave.
We had 9 men who attended the brunch and hoped that some of them would be interested in taking the one year leadership certificate program consisting of 6 bimonthly seminars. To our pleasant surprise, all of them signed up for the program which will be starting next week! Some of these men have little in the way of Biblical training and it is Dave's goal to provide education and resources through the ministry of Piedras Vivas. Each man was also given his choice of 2 books dealing in areas of spiritual growth, family, and faith. Also, two men won an illustrated Biblical study dictionary in Spanish.
The winners of the Spanish study dictionary of the Bible, Jeffrey and Luis, with Dave.
We were blessed to have the brunch in the restaurant of one of our church leaders, Alfredo and his wife Mara. Like many small business owners, Cafe Mara is the converted home of Alfredo and Mara. They live upstairs and renovated the main floor, garage, and backyard to have their own business. They graciously serve the church and our ministry with their hearts. We so appreciate having generous couples like Alfredo and Mara to work along side of.
