Wednesday, November 30, 2022

November 2022

Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well and had a wonderful Thanksgiving. God has been so good to us. We have much to be thankful for. Please continue to pray that the word of Christ would speed ahead and be glorified, that the gospel would advance unhindered. Thank you for praying for me and for the work God is doing among the indigenous peoples of Colombia and throughout the world. Pray that the name of Christ would be great among the nations. As we enter advent season and celebrate the incarnation of our Lord, let us remember why He came and look to His work on our behalf on the cross. He is our hope. 

Please continue to pray for the Katíos. Pray that we can clearly communicate the hope we have in Christ. For the Embera groups living in the park just outside of the city, we were able to help them build a herb garden. A missionary serving in another part of Colombia is a physician with expertise in the medicinal qualities of various herbs (e.g. rosemary, basil, lemon grass, and mint). After planting the garden, he instructed them in how to use the various herbs and instructions on basic hygiene. We have also been able to teach several Bible stories to them. Indigenous leaders from three Embera ethnic groups worked together on this project, and we hope that it will open up door for gospel conversations among all three group.



For the Embera in the shelter near downtown, we are continuing to meet with a few families to teach Bible stories and provide a few material needs. As of now, we are not able to enter the shelter and have been meeting with people on the sidewalk. We are seeking to mobilize local churches to help in the indigenous work in Bogotá, and at the beginning of the new year, we are hoping to use the building of a nearby Baptist church to help serve the Embera better. This will give us a location from which to work, and may help get Colombian believers involved in the indigenous work. 


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. And now we are studying 1 John. 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. They have recently moved to a neighborhood a bit further out. 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 December will be fruitful as we proclaim the good news of Jesus. May the grace of God be with you all.






John begins his first epistle by declaring who Jesus is. He proclaims Him as that which was from the beginning (1:1) and as the one who is the eternal life that was with the Father (1:2). Here, and throughout his gospel as well, John proclaims that Jesus is God. There was never a time when the Son was not. He is the eternally begotten Son of God in whom the fullness of deity dwells.  


But John also proclaims that the Son of God is also man. John is writing as an eyewitness to what Jesus did and taught in His earthly ministry. He saw the miracles with his own eyes. He heard His sermons and teachings with his own ears. He touched Him with his own hands. He knew Jesus was real flesh and blood.


John proclaimed Jesus as the God-Man, truly God and truly man. Jesus was from the beginning. He was with God. And He was God. All things were made by Him. Without Him, nothing was made that was made. Then, He became flesh—a real human being, yet without sin. He lived a perfect life for us. He died on the cross for our sins, bearing the wrath that we deserved. It is His blood that cleanses us from all sin (1:7). He rose again the third day. He ascended to His throne where He rules and reigns. He is interceding for us before the Father (2:1). And He has promised to come again. That is the Jesus that John proclaims as an eyewitness. It is that message that we have heard and in which put our trust (John 20:29). And as John proclaims Jesus to his readers, so too we proclaim Jesus to every tribe, nation, people group, and tongue because God has said in His Word that anyone who believes in Jesus—the same Jesus that John proclaims—will not perish but will have eternal life. So in missions, we must be about proclaiming who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He has taught, for it is this message that brings lasting hope, joy, and life. 





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