July 2022 Update

Greetings in the Name of our Lord! Thank you for praying for me and for the work God is doing in Colombia and around the globe. Prayer is a vital component of the missionary task. So thank you for holding the ropes for those who have gone down into the well. Pray for me as I seek to reach the displaced indigenous of Bogota. Pray that the word of Christ would speed ahead and be glorified, that the gospel would advance unhindered. 

My wrist is healing up nicely. My mobility is back, but I still need to build up my strength. I should be done with physical therapy in August. Pray for a full recovery. 

 

Continue to pray for the thousands of displaced indigenous. They are living in very poor conditions. One group has moved into a shelter. We recently did a relief project for them. This has helped establish a few more contacts among the indigenous there. Pray that these contacts will grow and lead to the spread of the gospel. Pray also for the other group living in the park outside the city. Some of them have plans to return to western Colombia at the end of the year. Pray for wisdom as we plan how to make use of our time with them while they are in Bogota and how to continue with those who remain here. 

 

Continue to pray for the Wounaan. I am still meeting with “Silas” and his family each week to study Scripture and pray together. Please pray that many Wounaan would come to faith in Christ.

Pray for the work in Las Cruces. Pray for Daniel and his family as they seeks to reach his neighborhood with the gospel. I have been helping him on the weekends with a children’s Bible study and an English class. Pray that many in the neighborhood would come to know the Lord.

Continue to pray for my visits with “Mike” and his family. Life has been hard for him, and it is difficult to make ends meet. Pray that I can clearly communicate the hope of the gospel. 

 

The third week of August, I will be traveling to MedellÌn for a meeting with the urban indigenous team. Pray that our time will be fruitful as we make plans regarding indigenous work in the urban context. Part of our team works in Bogota, the other part in MedellÌn. So this will be our first meeting together.

 

Again, thank you for your prayers. It truly is a critical part of missionary work. Pray for me as I seek to reach the displaced indigenous with the gospel. Pray that the gospel would be clearly communicated and understood. Pray that the eyes of people’s heart would be open to receive the gospel. Pray that lives would be changed, that people without hope would come to have hope in Christ, and that true churches would be planted. Pray that the Name of Christ would be magnified among the nations. 

In May, we looked at Jesus’ calming of the storm, how He cares that we are perishing and in His mercy can help us by doing what only God can do (Mark 4:35-41). Last month, we saw the mercy of Jesus toward a demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). This month, we will look at what follows (Mark 5:21-43): Jesus’ authority over disease and death.   

 

Jesus and his disciples cross back over the lake. Once on the other side, there’s a crowd of people around him. Jairus, a synagogue official, comes to Jesus begging him to come to his house to heal his daughter who’s on the brink of death. So Jesus goes off with him. 

 

In the crowd of people that’s pressing up against them, there’s a woman who’s endured a hemorrhage twelve years. She’s spent all her money on doctors but has only gotten worse. She says to herself, “If I can just touch his cloak, I will be healed.” So she reaches out and touches his garment. Immediately, she is healed.

 

Jesus, knowing that power had proceeded from him, asks, “Who touched me?” The disciples respond by saying, “Don’t you see the crowd? Why are you asking who touched you?” But Jesus continues to look around for who touched him. The woman, with fear and trembling, confesses the whole truth. Then Jesus says to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.”

 

Before he could finish speaking, someone from Jairus’s house came to say, “Your daughter has died. Don’t bother Jesus anymore.” But Jesus says to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.” (With what kind of faith? The same kind the woman had). So Jesus continued on with Peter, James, and John to Jairus’s house. 

 

When they entered the house, Jesus takes the child by the hand and says, “Little girl, get up.” And immediately, she got up and began to walk. And everyone was amazed. 

 

Throughout these episodes in Jesus’ ministry, we see his tender mercy to help people who are perishing. He confronts and conquers destructive forces of nature, demonic powers, disease, and death. He can and does deliver people–people beyond hope–by doing what only God can do. Simple faith in Jesus who conquered sin and death can save. And with simple faith in Jesus, we can go in peace and be freed from our affliction.