Rick and Jackie Washburn                                                                     March 16, 2010

         We had a good Christmas season with some special services in the new work and also a get together with the pastors and their wives. Jackie fixed some different food for them to try and it was an enjoyable time. I was able to give a devotion to try and encourage some of the pastors who are going through some difficult times. In the new work we had a special service on the 24th and the 31st.

La Campiña - We had a high of 34 in this new work and the past five Sundays have had an average of 30. Thank you for your prayers that our attendance would be more stable. Seven people have put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior in the past couple of months. We are working with some of them in a discipleship program. One lady that was saved was brought by her mother. Marta is so excited about her decision to accept the Lord. More people are getting involved with inviting people to the services to hear the Gospel. Every Saturday we meet at 3 P. M. to pass out tracts and invitations to the services. It is just a small group but it is a beginning to share Christ with the lost.
         We are preparing Bible Clubs in May for kids from 6 to 12 years of age. We will meet for the five Saturday's in May to share the Gospel with the kids in the neighborhood. We are praying to reach some of the kids and also to be able to get into some new homes to share the Gospel. It looks like we are going to have sufficient workers, which is great for a new work. Also during Holy Week we are having an evangelistic meeting with Pastor Gustavo Arango preaching for us. The people do not work on Thursday and Friday so it is a good time for a meeting. Pray that the people will work to bring the lost to these meetings. If we have a good crowd, it will be a challenge to get everyone seated. Hopefully we will have that problem. The place where we meet is very small but we need to keep going forward until God gives us a place with more room.

Maranilla - We were invited to visit a new work that pastor Fabio Carballo started a while back. A young couple is now living there and working with this new church. The town is about an hour away from Medellin. They had about 20 people for this special afternoon service. The man in charge is Bro. Luis and his wife's name is Yuri. Please pray for them.

Cartago - We also made a trip to Cartago to visit Pastor Elias and his wife Cecilia. He invited me to preach on Wednesday night and the church was full. We just got the news that their Charter was approved to show that their Church is legal and registered with the government. These papers might be more difficult to get in the future from what we are hearing.

Thank you once again for your part in the ministry here in Colombia. We count it a privilege to be co-laborers with you in the Lord's work.

 Rick and Jackie Washburn                                    E-mail: ricksr@vandaliabaptist.org