The Toyota Tundra that God gave us at the beginning of the year is running like a champ and has been quite the missionary truck. With it we were able to open the colporteur work in a number of communities as well as the city of Riberalta.  On Sabbath afternoons during the second semester, Lyli and I took a group and drove to the prison in Guayaramerin, where by God’s grace we formed three separate Bible study groups in different cellblocks, all with a very positive response. On our way to the prison we dropped off another group at a cattle ranch to give Bible studies to Maribel, the mother of two girls in our primary school. On November 21 she and her oldest daughter were baptized along with seven of our boarding students on the same day that we dedicated our new school chapel!

Next year we intend to extend our outreach to serve the communities around us, and God certainly seems to concur. Within the next couple months, Steve Wilson, a pilot friend of ours with his family will move to the school to open the aviation program. During the last few months they have already made several medical evacuation flights, one was a six-year-old boy who pulled a kettle of boiling water off the stove on top of himself while his mom was distracted in the other room. We have cleared a good portion of the old runway that was dozed out several years ago, and Lord willing, the airstrip will be finished and authorized for use some time during this next school year. In addition to the med-evac flights, the plan is to organize students and staff into flying missionary squadrons to do medical work in the villages over the weekends. Please join us in prayer for missionary volunteers and funds to continue the work.

I also dream that God will send someone to open a small lifestyle clinic close by to work independently but in connection with the school. A house with a few guestrooms and equipped to do hydrotherapy and message would be sufficient to open many doors in the community and also provide our students with invaluable learning opportunities in medical missionary lines. Our frontage property with the main highway is one possible location.

The agriculture program is another area that needs a lot of help, but we have reason for encouragement. This year our rice harvest fed us the entire year and planted next years’ fields with surplus to spare. A brand new Massey-Ferguson tractor, brush hog, and disc-plow is taming the jungle down nicely.  The Lord sent us an agriculture enthusiast from South Africa, and although he was only with us for about six weeks, the garden showed a marked improvement with his patient attention. His name is Clinton Herman and he is currently working on residency papers in Santa Cruz, and plans to be with us this next school year.