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“But your are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

We thank God who blessed our Winter Bible Academy that we held from July 28-31. The title of our academy was “Eres especial tesoro” (You are a treasured possession). This academy was held at our house church. The people who participated were Cesar, Kelly, Victor, Fiorella, Sra. Isabel, Ana, André, Edy, Esteban, Eugenia, M. Isaac P., and Efrain.

On Thursday, we had the lecture,  “Jesus and Zacchaeus” (Luke 19) by Kelly. She shared her life testimony too. On Thursday evening, we had a memorization contest on Romans 8. First place went to Victor, second to Cesar, and third to Andre. After this, we watched a Christian film “Al Volante” (At the Wheel). This film reinforced the Zacchaeus message since it talks about a person that repented of taking more money from his clients when he sold cars to them, but when he repented, he gave back the extra money he had stolen.

On Friday morning, Cesar delivered the message, “Buscad primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia” (but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well) (Matthew 6:33). He wrote a sincere testimony too. At noon, Victor gave the message “Cinco panes y dos peces” (Five Loaves and Two Fish) (John 6). He received the message in his heart and shared his testimony.

On Saturday, we did not have any other activities, so everyone stayed and slept at the house for one day from Thursday to Friday. On Friday afternoon, everyone went back to their homes to rest on Saturday.  However, we met again on Sunday for the last message, “Eres especial tesoro” (You are a treasured possession) (I Peter 2:9-10) by Efrain. On Sunday, everyone participated except Fiorella who went back to Piura and Edy who had to travel too.

This academy was very meaningful because God raised messengers among the Peruvian students. Even though many new students did not participate, we mainly thank God because we could see how the word worked in each messenger. Also, we learned to serve, for instance, the sisters cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the men did the dishes.

After the Sunday message, we shared what we learned about the academy. Cesar, Kelly, and Victor said that they felt strengthened through the academy. They could also have the identity as people of God as his treasured possession. They decided to share the wonderful work that God had done in their lives. Ana renewed her faith and calling from God to share the gospel with her friends at the university. And Andre confessed that he hadn’t lived the life that praises God.

We pray Cesar, Kelly, Victor, and Ana may rise as shepherds of God's flock. We pray they may find faithful Bible students that they may take care of so that they might learn Jesus’ compassionate heart as a shepherd.

God bless you.

In Christ,
Efrain