Pray for Carlos Bonilla and Mayra Giovanetti in transition to Columbia to work in ministries of discipleship

They write – Throughout this US/PR assignment, we spent the first six months in Puerto Rico (December 2016-June 2017). What an awesome opportunity to visit many churches, friends, and family as well as to prepare Mayra’s mom to sell/move out of her house in Caguas. It was a painful process for all involved, and in the end, we just kept Mayra’s rocking chair and a few suitcases and boxes in a storage space. We are not sure if they survived the hurricanes, but that’s what we left behind.

We spent the second six months in the USA (June-November 2017). What a joy to also visit so many churches, friends, and family. All in all, we slept in more than 80 beds, traveled about 45,000 miles (72,000 km) by air and by land, and shared 1,095 meals with people we care for and deeply love! We truly appreciate the empathy we felt from all of you in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria through Puerto Rico. …

This has been an emotionally/spiritually exhilarating year, while also being a physically exhausting one… We left Nicaragua in December of 2016 and have seen God at work each step of the way… Our spirits are recharged… Now it is time to let our physical bodies to recharge… Hence, we will be changing gears at our temp home in Florida (January onwards) before embarking on our new assignment to COLOMBIA…

UNIBAUTISTA (the Baptist University) invited us to accompany them in the program of discipleship, especially among ethnic groups in the Guajira Northern Region of Colombia. We will also provide support for the Global Baptist Peace Conference to be held in Colombia in 2019; hence this new assignment covers two of our Focus Impact Areas (FIA) within the Responding to the Call (RTC) initiative: Discipleship and Peace and Justice. While being “champions” for global discipleship, we will be traveling from Colombia to other Iberoamerica and the Caribbean countries–as well as other regions–to share the Bible study materials we have prepared: Of the Way. We are the first commissioned global servant unit assigned to live and serve in Colombia by ABFMS since 1814, yet we recognize the long-standing ministry of our Puerto Rican colleague Walla Febres and her Colombian husband Leo Florez, with whom we will join efforts in discipleship with ethnic groups in the country.

We pray the Lord will keep recharging us physically, spiritually, and financially as we complete this 2017 and head into the New 2018. To serve internationally, all global servants need to be at 100% before departure! The one Who was born in Bethlehem is more than able to provide for everyone… May He provide you a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New 2018 in this post-Hurricanes era for so many of us. Please, “stand in the gap” as we keep recharging for service.