Lord prepare me, to be a Sanctuary...

As Christians, most of us have heard and read about the sanctuary that the Israelites built after they escaped slavery and used as their system of atonement.  God had instructed them to build the sanctuary to remind them of their coming Redeemer.  But, did you know that there is also a sanctuary in Heaven?  The earthly sanctuary was actually modeled after the one in heaven, it was a “copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5).  It symbolized the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary and each element within it pointed to our Savior, Jesus.


There is a wonderful article that goes into detail about what each item, piece of furniture, element of the sanctuary symbolizes.  Whether you are familiar with the sanctuary or not, we encourage you to take the time to read the article.  It tells the beautiful story of Jesus and His love for each of us!


One of the things that we have dreamed of is having our own sanctuary set at Eben-Ezer.  We love the message of the Sanctuary and see it as a wonderful way to share with others the story of Jesus and the promise of Salvation.  This year, that dream became a reality!  We were blessed to host Antonio Zabala, a friend and fellow missionary here in Bolivia who is also a talented carpenter.  Brother Antonio was here for a month and spent that time ministering to our staff and students through construction and sharing his love for the messages and wonderful truths we can learn through the sanctuary story.  It was a blessing and an honor to see our students working alongside Antonio as he shared not only his talents and abilities in construction, but more importantly his deep love for serving Jesus.  Every day, every step of the process he would remind the kids that this work was not just construction…but that it was sacred, a holy work for the Lord.  For him, his talents were not given to him to serve himself, but to use to bring glory and honor to his Savior.  It was a true privilege to work alongside, learn from and serve with Antonio.


We are so excited for opportunities to use these beautiful pieces of furniture to reach others for Him!  Our vision it take the set to local churches and indigenous communities to share the story with them.  We are praying for the ability to purchase or make costumes that will allow us to give the story a more realistic feel.  We pray for opportunities to start sharing this wonderful blessing with others during the 2025 school-year!