Weekly Bible Verses: John 20:19-31: You May Come to Believe

John 20: ¹⁹When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” ²⁴But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
²⁶A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

News from Our Missionary Sue Hegarty in Costa Rica

Dear Friends,

 

The Pastoral Care for Women program celebrated World Day of Prayer on March 2^nd with a special event.  This year´s theme  “I was a stranger and you took me in”  is based on Matthew 25 and focused on France.

The women worked hard preparing the decorations on the walls and tables.  We did an introduction to French culture, worshipped and did a Bible study on Matthew 25:31-46 and Leviticus 19:33-37, then looked at immigration realities around the world before spending time in prayer. 

We also compared the theme of being a stranger with those who had immigrated to Costa Rica.  In my Bible study group, I had a Nicaraguan woman who works as a maid sharing stories of how employers didn´t like that she was “legal” because then they had to pay her more.  There was also a well-educated immigrant from Colombia who spoke of her family coming to Christ in Costa Rica.  We saw both the good and bad sides of being a stranger and were called to be open to help any stranger in our midst in Christ´s name. 

Last night the Pastoral Care for Women committee evaluated the World Day of Prayer celebration at our monthly meeting.  A first-timer commented that she liked how we studied about our prayer concerns (got to know and understand them better) before praying.  Informed prayers are important, I think, so I hope your Sue´s News updates help with that.  I´d like to add a short list of requests:

·   For Katy´s continued adjustment to Costa Rica  (PTL for her new music teacher!)

·   For inspiration as I continue to rewrite class plans, so that they can be the best.  I now realize that we need to include visuals – both in the teacher´s guide as well as for class presentations.  In Cuba this would have been impossible, but now I need to look at things with new eyes.

·   For God´s provision as I seek committed support to reach 100% of my personalized support goal by October 1.

As we celebrate Easter, may you celebrate both Jesus´ sacrifice of great love for us as well as his saving victory.  May we be aware of sharing this love and hope with those around us.  Thank you for your sustaining prayers and financial support which allow me to share in Costa Rica.