{June 10. 09} For the last 9 days the roads have been blocked by the campesinos requesting that the department give them more for their Prosol. They wanted it increased from 2000 bs ($285) to 6000 bs ($855) yearly. The Prosol was started to help rural farmers get better tools and to buy livestock. The problem is the Prosol comes out of the Dept. s budget and the government cut the dept's. budget by 50% so the funds are not there to give an increase. Therefore the Campesinos blocked all commerce into the city to demand the increase. They and the dept. leaders had there meeting yesterday and agreed to try to find away to increase the Prosol in the coming months.

{ June 7,2009 } What a great weekend so far, we had drama team come to the plaza in San Lorenzo on Friday and we had a good turn out and the drama was fantastic . There were several decisions Then Saturday night we had a full house for the youth ministry. God is so Good!!

{May-19-09} Hello Prayer Partners, Greetings from Southern Bolivia where we are now in the midst of winter. Which is not much different than a winter in Texas. We are all doing well health wise, except Sheila, she has been suffering from some form of allergy, we think, for almost a month...... We have been busy planning for Brandon's Graduation on May 23. We are planning a dinner and I will give him his diploma and a message from God's Word. He is then leaving on the June 11, to go to Pensacola Christian College, where he has been accepted into a work program for the summer. Brandon has been our music leader so his leaving will affect the ministry. I have been practicing the guitar a lot more and some young people have expressed an interest in learning also...... We also, as a church are planning a Mothers Day dinner. Mothers Day here in Bolivia is May 27. Our dinner will be on the 30th. Since we do not have to many mothers attending, mostly young adults, we thought it would be a good idea to have a dinner for their mothers. The youth will do all the preparing, cooking, serving. Sheila will have a message and and the youth will do some specials songs for their mothers...... One last thing we have been actively seeking another place to meet as a church and we think we may have found the house. The owner is doing some repairs now and he set a price and we accepted. However his wife wants more for rent. When we told them we could not pay more and we would just keep looking and they could rent to someone else. The husband said "no, you stop looking"..... So please pray for Sheila, the graduation, the Mothers Day Dinner, and a new place to meet..... Please note we have a new mailing address; The Ackerman's Casilla #490 Tarija, Bolivia South America..... For His Glory, Matthew 5:16 Rick Ackerman

{4/15/09} Wanted to share some good news with you, we had been invited to Iglesia Gracia Abundante in Tarija for several meetings during the Resurrection week celebration beginning on Thursday and ending on Sunday night. There was a competition between the Baptist churches with dramas. Would you believe it, our group from San Lorenzo won the drama competition. The kids were really pumped up. The preaching was also very good.

{3-18-09} Dear Prayer Partners, Greetings I hope this update finds you all well and lacking nothing. We are all doing fine here, fall is in the air, the leaves are falling and the nights are definitely cooler. As was to be expected the ministry took a hit during carnival. But we are slowly recuperating from this, however it is somewhat discouraging when you see those who have made progress in their spiritual walk in the past months fall back. We still have one more major fiesta during Resurrection Week then we will be through with the fiestas for awhile. We have discontinued the Hora Feliz in the plaza, and in its place we have started a Sunday school on Sunday mornings. This way we can better serve those who are faithful in coming and also more kids from our neighborhood can participate. It started out smaller than the Hora Feliz crowd but we are thankful for the 11 God sent our way. Last Saturday a young man named Rafael accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior during our youth meeting. What a blessing it is to see someone turn to Christ! We recently heard of a story of a young toddler who drowned and the priest came and told the mother when she asked if he would go to Heaven. He said emphatically “No” the child was born out of wedlock, was not baptized in the church and therefore was going straight to hell. There is so much pressure for these people to conform to the Catholic Churches traditions. Your prayers mean so much to us please continue to pray for us and the ministry. At times I feel like God placed us in the most religious places on earth. The people are so strong in their traditions and it seems the Catholic Church is stepping up its pace in trying to affirm these young ones into their religion. But we know religion has never saved anyone, The Bible says only through a personal relationship in Christ can one have Eternal Life. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 For His Glory Ricky Ackerman

{March 2, 2009} Things have calmed down after the vote for the constitution and it will take months for them to work out the details. But now carnaval is here therfore the differences are put aside to celebrate and give offerings to Pacha Mama or Mother Earth. At the beginning of the month they symbolically released the devil from a cave and gave him the keys to the city to influence the festivities. Thankful on March 1 they put him back in his hole “symbolically” and put their fiestas on hold, for now. However Bible believing Christians know that we are to “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

{1/26/09} Well the votes have been counted and Bolivia now has a new constitution. I will write more later.

Dear Prayer Partners and Family, the meetings went very well Praise the Lord!!!! the first night we had 21 accept the Lord, at first we thought it was 16 but some 5 more decision cards came !!!! The second night at the end of the movie "The Light of World" by Chick Publications a big thunderstorm hit and the lights went out and no one could hear because of the sound of the rain on the tin roof and we could not see either. So the people kind of scattered in the dark. Then last night we had a very nice drama, specials, and some good preaching from Brother Robert, who is a national. Last night was special too as 13 people accepted the Lord. There may be even more that received Christ but the Lord knows the exact numbers. What a blessing and encouragement this meeting was to us and our little group here in San Lorenzo. Now we will begin visiting and discipling those who gave us their addresses as we have all these decision cards and we want to follow up. I am sure we will encounter some very tense situations as many of these individuals come from very strong Catholic families. Just as Jesus said "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division" Lk 12:51 Please keep praying for these new souls saved because it will be very difficult for them as their family will not rejoice with them but condemn them. For His Glory Brother Ricky Ackerman

{12/10/07} I have been asked: "what do I do if I want to send your family a package". If you desire to send us a package the best way is to send it to us through the US Post Office it usually takes 3-4 weeks . However on this end our packages are opened up and inspected, they are looking for things that can be resold and are of $100 value or more. Bolivia has a 30% import tax and many business try to get around this by buying stuff over seas and sending it in the mail to avoid this tax. The main things they look for are electronics. So to avoid any problems just remove any items from their original packaging and write on the international label, that you will use, a value that is less than $100, and that they are gifts for personal use. The mail is pretty secure we have received every package that has been sent to us so far. Praise the Lord! Please use our correspondence address under the link "Contact Info." Brother Ricky

"The Ezekiel Option" by Joel Rosenburg: a work of fiction but based on Bible Prophecy.

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