Last week Jonathan had an endoscopy and yesterday we received the results.   The GREAT news is that his esophagus was perfectly clean and the biopsies didn't contain any eosinophils (which are the blood cells that were attacking the esophagus and causing all the problems to begin with).  He even gained about two lbs. while on his liquid diet.  The doctor said several times, "Today, Jonathan is healthy."  Praise the Lord!!!

You've also been praying for our church, Comunidad Cristiana Camino de Vida, as we looked for a new place to meet.  We all felt certain that God was the one who closed the door for us to meet at the school.  We all knew that He has been preparing us for something bigger and better.   We are all convinced that He opened the door for us at the nearby movie theater!  

Of course, change is change and so we're also working hard to prepare for new realities.  We are training new teams of greeters and ushers and audiovisual workers, etc.  We're starting our services an hour earlier to accommodate theater hours.  Several in the church who own buses have agreed to provide shuttle services.  (And for those who have their own transportation, there are 3 free parking lots available for use.) We are giving up the two small rented apartments for mid week ministry in order to rent the cinema for 3 hours a week (which is still a bargain price of only a little over $100 for 3 hours) and so people are stepping up to offer their homes for mid-week services/ministry.  Everyone is excited!  Our first service at the movie theater will begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 1st.

Our plan is to ramp up the discipleship efforts in the areas that the church currently serves as we expand our vision to include newcomers so that we can truly reach Medellín for Christ and bring about the much needed spiritual transformation here!

Thank you so much for your prayers during this very busy time...and thanks for your ongoing prayers as the church makes this transition.   (One more note, the theater only writes one month contracts, so please pray for our future contracts.)

Two weeks ago the church opened The Center For Family Development that we told you about in an earlier newsletter.  There are about 15 children participating in this pilot project and we all know the challenges they face.  Gang activity is very high in that neighborhood.  We have to choose carefully which path we walk to get there...in order to avoid the spot where drugs are used and sold.  We know that most of the kids live only with their mother, or their grandmother or their aunt.  We pray that God will use this ministry as one of the tools to help them escape the most likely cycles of their lives.

We know it is possible because, Thank GOD, He is bigger than us and bigger than all of these kid's problems!  We are encourage that about 40 people in our church have committed to "adopt" these kids (i.e. help to pay the expenses of the Center on behalf of the kids each month).  Juliana is doing a great job as the assistant English teacher. Please keep these kids and this ministry in your prayers.

You've also been praying about the air pollution problem in the city.   Two days without cars (the day we wrote to you and then again on earth-day) may have helped the situation a little.  What has helped it most is the rain that we've been getting.   While there don't seem to have been lasting measures to alleviate the problem, at least we are all still breathing a little better...for the time being.