Latin American Child Care Making a Difference

This has been a busy day. A pastor came to pick me up at 11 AM to minister to the middle school and high school kids in the Moreno Prince of Peace Christian school. Then at 12:30 PM the 1st through 7th grade kids filed into the same auditorium for a second service.

Finally at 2 PM they brought in 90 little kids from 3 years old through Kindergarten for my third service there with Felipe and Perfume. (Photos) The smallest children just love to touch Perfume, the skunk. This school was in disastrous condition and about to close in 2006 when I took Pastor Caleb Klinge from Novato and Pastor Steve Reyes from Sonoma and a group of their people to minister there. These churches came to their rescue with a burst of financial help. We also prevailed upon Latin American Child Care (LACC) to get involved. Now Missionaries Ed and Cecilia Dabello who represent LACC are here doing a great job in this needy neighborhood in the city of Moreno. There are about 450 kids in all grades. These lives will have hope because somebodyv… through LACC has invested in them.

Now it’s 2 AM and I am back in my borrowed apartment on the fourth floor under the huge water tank at the Martinez church. Tonight I had the joy of ministering in the Catedral Emanuel in the city of Pacheco with my dear friends Pastors Alberto y Ermelinda Aranda. They called a special service just for me this Wednesday night. The church was crammed to the doors with about 400 people! What a fiesta! Unbelievable musicians! A guitar player that is absolutely awesome! Fabulous harmony in the choir! Well over an hour of spontaneous worship! While the choir sang a beautiful rendition of “The Savior is Waiting to Enter Your Heart”, Pastor Alberto gave an invitation to the visitors to come for salvation before the sermon. The Holy Spirit was at work and 9 responded. (Photo)

After the sermon and an extended time of earnest prayer, an elderly brother, Alberto Dacosta, (photo) came to tell me that he was saved in the huge stadium services that I was directing way back in the 1980s with Jimmy Swaggart. Alberto has served God faithfully all these years along with hundreds of others, some of them in the ministry. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18) and He has proved faithful to His word. Praise God!

Ralph