The Fishers in La Paz, Bolivia

I’ve been reading The Collects of Thomas Cranmer.  If you don’t know him, Cranmer was an English Reformer, and wrote or edited, well, collects.

So, what are collects?  If you don’t know them, they are written prayers, said by pastors or priests in liturgical churches.  There is usually a different one for each week and, after reading each prayer and its accompanying devotion and history, I find they quickly become a prayer from the heart as well!

This precious volume was a gift to me by a friend from our church in Davidson, NC.  His name’s Bill, and I thank him, but that’s not why I am writing this post.  The reason I am writing this post is that this week’s collect is a prayer I would like you to lift up before the Father on behalf of a couple of churches here.

First, there is La Iglesia Bibilica de Mallasilla.  In case you think you recognize the name that is the little town in which our school is located.  Anyway, LIBdM (for short) is definitely a church in its infancy; they just had their third service!  This body of believers is the result of seven years of missionary discipling work by some SIM missionaries here (not to mention the previous who-knows-how-many years Bolivian Christians here had been praying for this!  Lift them up, daily.

Second, God had laid it on our hearts to start a Community Group (about which I will write more later).
Suffice it to say we have begun a monthly fellowship here in our home, mainly as an outreach to the English-speaking community.  We would ask your prayers as well.

The collect is located in the ”asides” (that’s off to the side, by the way - of course) portion of the blog.
Just look to your right and lift up Christian community in La Paz.  And, while you’re at it, lift up your own
church or small group as well!

God bless you!