New Church-San Ramon

great job translating, intern David!

I mentioned last week, that while the Olive Branch group was here working in the mobile clinic, that there had been about 2 dozen baptisms. Well, this Sunday the brand new congregation centered in San Ramon had their first worship assembly, and many of us Mision Para Cristo residents got to attend.

It was so special to be part of a group so newly alive! It was great to hear the preacher Sr. Bernadino explaining step by step each of the activities we would be engaging in as we met together as a family of God. Not every new believer could be there--as several of them had walked more than 15 kilometers to the mobile clinic. So already this young congregation was making plans to go visit and study together in the surrounding villages so that all the new believers could be "fed".

In the pictures, can you see the cardboard barrel that is being used as a table to hold the bread and juice for the Lord's Supper? This is one of the best parts, to me. These are the barrels that "the soup mix" came in. One of the first contacts Mision Para Cristo had with this region, was delivering and distributing this food aid. In a sense, these symbols of communing with Christ and other believers are resting upon another symbol (for those who had to unload these 300 lb. barrels) of compassion.

I have heard some people putting down these kinds of assistance--and certainly, we can all agree that feeding people for a few days does not solve the fundamental issues of poverty and hunger. Jesus even said, "The poor you will always have with you..." But he was also "...full of compassion and mercy". And here is a visible example of how showing others His compassion can solve the most important issues--those that lead to an eternal life. This congregation of new believers is literally sitting atop a foundation of compassion. Compassion of those who send money for food relief, compassion of medical providers and their supporters who impacted this town so profoundly, and the compassion of our Savior who  desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.