October 2022

Greetings! Happy Reformation Day! I hope everyone is doing well. Please continue to pray that the word of Christ would speed ahead and be glorified, that the gospel would advance unhindered, that many would come to faith in Jesus, and the gospel will demolish any and all barriers raised up against it. Thank you for praying for me and for the work God is doing among the indigenous peoples of Colombia and throughout the world.

I have been doing a lot of travel recently. First, I went to Guainía, a small jungle town in eastern Colombia. While there we taught the stories of the Fall and Cain & Abel in Spanish and helped the indigenous leaders to translate them in their languages.

 

I then spent a week in Costa Rica followed by a week in Quindío. Both of these trips were retreats with other missionaries (a singles’ retreat and a prayer retreat). It was a good time to get away for a bit and relax. We were also able to pray and study Scripture together. In Costa Rica, we were at the beach. In Quindío, we were in the middle of the Colombian coffee region.  

 

Please continue to pray for the Katíos. Last week, many of them were involved in protests that became violent. These protest have subsided for now. Pray that we can clearly communicate the hope we have in Christ. We are also seeking to mobilize local churches to help in the indigenous work in Bogotá. We recently had a meeting with a local pastor to discuss various possibilities regarding this.

 

Continue to pray for the Wounaan. I am meeting with “Silas” and his family to pray and study Scripture. We’ve gone through Ephesians, 1 Peter, and a few chapters in Isaiah. There is a small Wounaan church, but there are still many Wounaan in the neighborhood of the church, as well as in western Colombia, who still need the gospel. Pray that many will come to know Christ.

 

Continue to pray for the ministry in Las Cruces. Pray for Daniel and his family as they reach out to those living in this neighborhood. They have a small group of believers that are possibly becoming a church. They also have a weekly activity for children. Pray that many gospel seeds would be planted and many new believers will result.

Pray for me as I reach out to “Mike” and his family. Life is really hard for him as he struggles to make ends meet. Pray for me as I visit with him each week, that he would come to embrace the gospel.

 

Pray that God would give us the wisdom we need to effectively communicate the gospel with the displaced indigenous and that He would open up doors of opportunity. Pray that many would come to know Christ. Pray that churches would be planted, churches that are healthy doctrinally and that seek to reach the lost around them.

 

Thank you for praying for me and for the work God is doing in Colombia. Pray that November will be fruitful as we proclaim the good news of Jesus. May the grace of God be with you all.

It is in Jesus' name that the nations will find hope. Therefore, in missions, we must preach Jesus without wavering or compromise. The gospel is the goods news of who He is and what He has done for us. We are to boldly proclaim Jesus as truly and fully God and truly and fully man. We are to proclaim His sinless life, His vicarious death, His resurrection, His ascension, and His return. Jesus is where our hope is found. If we fail to proclaim Him, we fail to give the hope that the world desperately needs. 

 

This hope that Jesus provides is for the Gentiles. It is for every tribe, nation, people, and tongue (Rev 5:9; 7:9). The promises made to Abraham were not limited to the nation of Israel but extends to all people groups (Mat 1:1; Gen 12:3; 17:4). That is why our Lord sent us to the nations (Mat 28:18-20). The mission of the church is the Great Commission. 

 

It is in Jesus' name that the Gentile will hope. We live in a fallen world that's broken by sin. By nature, people in this world are without hope and without God (Eph 2:12). In His ministry on earth, Jesus offered broken people hope—people devastated by disease and sickness, people oppressed by Satan, people crushed by the legalism of the Pharisees. Jesus is so full of mercy, grace, and love that's impossible for Him to be more merciful, gracious, and loving than He is. It is this mercy, grace, and love that gives us hope and bids all who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him to find rest. As we work to help desperate people in a broken world, we help with physical needs where we can, but we must proclaim Him as the only way to find true hope. "Let us therefore holdfast the confession of our hope, for He who promised is faithful" (Heb 10:23).