Luis F., the Cora Indian boy mentioned in our last newsletter, got his lab results back. Much to the surprise of everyone involved, his tumor was not malignant. He does have serious damage to his knee, but physical therapy is going well thanks, in part, to a much loved and well used donated bicycle. Please continue to pray for Luis’ healing.

Juan, the boy who was abandoned in the local hospital for over a month with a broken leg, also got his much need surgery after his grandmother showed up to sign for him days after we sent out our last newsletter. Thank you for praying for Juan.

Pastor Gregorio’s wife, Matilde, was diagnosed with a tumor in her uterus. It has been removed, and they are awaiting the lab results. Mati was very nervous about her operation. As they were about to wheel her into the operating room, she overheard the surgeon ask one of the nurses if they had her blood type on hand. The nurse confirmed that they did, but later came back to announce that indeed they did not. The doctor was upset about the oversight, but announced to all that they would just have to risk it. Praise God the operation went without incident and the tumor was given to Pastor Gregorio in an old jam jar so that he could take it in to a lab for analysis. Our Cofradia pastor and his wife have asked for your prayers. Would you please continue to pray for them?

Luis V. spends 7 months of every year working in the tobacco fields of North Carolina. It was there that he first gave his life to the Lord. The remaining 5 months of the year are spent with his family in a village east of Cofradia called Santa Fe. Luis ‘walked the Christian walk’ while living in the U.S., but returned each year to live a ‘worldly life’ in Santa Fe. At times, he would preach to his unsaved wife, but when she would ask for permission to attend church in Cofradia, the answer was always no. Several months later, and only after much pleading, Luis finally gave permission to his family to attend church. Our truck picked them up Sunday morning and, much to Luis’ horror, drove right through the middle of town. Everyone saw them and knew where they were going. Too embarrassed to get back into the truck the following Sunday, Luis sent his family ahead and came to church by himself on his bicycle. This continued for months…

Today, Luis V. and his wife do regular visitation in the towns of Santa Fe and Paso Real. In fact, Luis is often the driver of our truck that goes out to pick up people for church each Sunday. To God be the glory!

Jonathan’s Corner:
Jonathan and his friend have been driving motorcycle to the river to swim. Often, other boys go along on their bicycles. As a mother, I try to warn Jonathan of all possible dangers, “Watch for cars! Stay together! Don’t fight in the water!” What warnings would you give? The other day, some older boys went on ahead of Jonathan. As they rode, they came across a bag of used disposable diapers. Being boys, they hid in the bushes until Jonathan and his friend came by on the motorcycle at which point they started bombing Jonathan with the diapers. I didn’t mind so much about the diapers, but I was concerned that Jonathan might have gotten distracted, jerk the handle bars, and wipe out on the asphalt highway. So, I guess the warning I should have given was, “And don’t get distracted by dirty diapers flying towards you!”

Isaiah, Cecilia, Mirna, and Aide were baptized last Sunday.  Please pray for them and Nora, who was suppose to get baptized, but didn’t show up.

The Cofradia grades 4-6 Sunday school class was studying the life of Abraham and how, like him, we are ‘blessed to be a blessing.’ During this study, a Sunday school class in Winnipeg decided to ‘bless’ our Cofradia class with a generous donation. The Cofradia kids, in turn, decided to use the money ‘to be a blessing’ to the children at an orphanage in the state capital. We rented a mechanical bull, bouncer and a two-story inflatable slide. We also served all you can eat hotdogs, chips, pop and cookies. Believe me; a fun time was had by all!

A personal friend of ours emailed us the other day.  She wrote that her son, Kevin, had recently confessed to being possessed by 12 demons, being the leader of a drug ring, an alcoholic and a drug addict.  The mother is a Christian and has asked for a lot of prayer as they work through this.  The son wants help, but says he can’t ‘change sides’ because then his friends would be tortured.  Would you please pray for this family right now?  Pray for protection and wisdom.  Also, if you would like to send an encouraging note, we would be more than happy to pass it on to them.

In a previous letter, we mention Luis, a 14 year old Cora Indian boy with a possible tumor in his knee.  Saturday, he received his much need operation and the doctor confirmed that he did indeed have a tumor.  It was given to us in an old jam jar with, as we later discovered, a leaky lid!  We brought the tumor to a lab this morning and will pick up the results Friday.

While visiting Luis in the hospital, we met Juan, a 15 years old boy with multiple fractures in his thigh.  Juan needs an operation, but since his admittance to the hospital on November 7th, no family member has come to visit him, let alone to sign the proper permissions forms. So there he sits in a room day after day with  nothing to do.  There isn’t even a T.V.  Today, we brought Juan some markers, pencil crayons, paper and small Sega games (the kind that come in cereal boxes.)  The boyish smile these small gifts brought to his face was priceless!  Please pray that someone from Juan’s family would show up soon.

A Saturday in November, as part of an evangelistic conference, we had our first service at the new church.  It was everything we had hoped for.  The facility is in no way finished as it is still missing a roof, bathrooms, permanent light fixtures, etc., but no one seemed to mind.  Rather, everyone seemed encouraged to see the progress and the plan for the future.  Nearly 200 people attended and the atmosphere was celebratory.  After the service about 1/3 of the people came forward for prayer.  To save a couple thousand dollars, we would like to purchase the steel for the roof before the new year when prices increase.  Many donations have already been received, but if there is someone who would still like to give to this project, we sure would appreciate it.  Your donation can be sent to the support address below with a separate piece of paper designating it to the Cofradia church roof.

Finally, we would like to thank you for standing behind us for so many years.   We appreciate each of you so much.  Thank you for your gifts, prayers and notes of encouragement.  If you would like to see photos of the baptism, orphanage outreach, new church or Juan go to elias.vineage.com.

Have a Merry Christmas and God bless!

Love,

Dave & Kathy Elias and Jonathan

Jonathan’s Corner:

One day, during our visit to Canada, I asked Jonathan, “Are you rich or poor?”  “Poor,” he answered.  A little shocked by his answer, I asked, “When you are in Mexico, are you rich or poor?”  “Rich,” he answered.  “Well,” I asked, “What happens between Mexico and Canada that causes you to go from rich to poor?”  Jonathan quickly replied, “Oh, I have to change my pesos to dollars!”