Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you very much for your support as you pray for the work God is among the displaced indigenous people here in Bogota, that the word of Christ would speed ahead and be honored, and that the gospel would advance throughout the world unhindered. May our desire to see people from every tribe, nation, people, and tongue worshiping around the throne. And that task is accomplished through the faithful preaching of the Christ throughout the world. God is faithful. He will be with us as we go forth.
The focus of my work is with the displaced indigenous in Bogota. They live in several shelters and a park.
We visit them each week for evangelism and discipleship. We have a few Colombian believers getting
involved in the work as well which is a tremendous blessing. We would like to see local churches here in
Bogota becoming more involved. We recently did a relief project for two of the shelters providing rice,
panela, flour, cooking oil, and soap to 760 families. This will help alleviate some of the material needs.
Pray that it will also help us to maintain a presence among them. To enter the shelters, we need permission from the indigenous leaders, so pray that they will continue to allow us to enter. Pray that as we sow the word, people will clearly hear the gospel and come to trust in Christ.
Also, please continue to pray for the Wounaan. The Wounaan live in the southern part of Bogota. There is a small Wounaan church there, but hundreds of Wounaan that live there still need to hear of Christ. Pray for the Wounaan church that they may be strengthened in the Lord and as they seek to reach other
Wounaan with the gospel, not only here in Bogota but also back in their own territory in western Colombia. Pray for my visits with them. Pray for “Silas” as we read Scripture and pray together.
Please continue to pray for “Mike” and his family. He is a Puinave man living here in Bogota. Life is hard for him as he seeks to eke out a living providing for his wife and daughter. Pray for me as I visit with him each week to read Scripture and pray together.
Continue to pray for the ministry in Las Cruces, a neighborhood in eastern Bogota. There is a new church plant there. On Saturdays, they have a children’s program. They also have several other Bible studies throughout the week and a church service on Sundays.
Pray that they will be able to reach many in the neighborhood with the gospel. Pray for us as we seek to plan for the coming year. Pray for wisdom in how to use our resources and time. Pray for more
opportunities to preach the word. Pray that hearts would be open. We have a couple that is retiring in December, so pray for them as they transition back to the States and for us as we will be short two people.
Recently, 4,000 more displaced indigenous have entered Bogota. Pray that we can have the opportunity to sow the gospel among them. Pray that more local churches and national believers would see the need among the displaced right here in Bogota and seek to see them reached with the gospel. The displaced here live in poor conditions. They don’t have much hope. Let’s tell them of the hope that can be found in Christ. Thank you for your prayers.
Prayer is a critical part of the missionary task as we depend upon God to cause the increase as we plant and water. We need to pray, and we need churches back in the States to pray for us. So thank you for praying for us. To God be the glory.
Here we see another parable Jesus told concerning the kingdom of God. He compares it to a grain of mustard seed, the smallest of garden seeds, that is sown on the ground, yet when it grows it becomes larger than all the other garden plants with branches large enough for birds to nest. The theme of sowing continues. But this parable speaks about how the kingdom of God starts small and grows into something great. As with the previous parable, we see that the kingdom is something that God gives. We sow the
seed, but God gives the increase. The mustard seed was the smallest seed the Jews used in their food gardens, but it was a pervasive plant, growing in one season as high as 10 feet. Christ’s kingdom is like that. It started out small with a few believers in Israel, but it has grown and continues to grow worldwide. The expectation at the time was for the kingdom to come in a grand and visibly glorious way. But it didn’t come that way. It had a humble beginning. I believe we can also see in this parable how sometimes even the small word of the gospel can take root and grow tremendously in someone’s heart. That should encourage us to sow the word whenever we can, knowing that God can use even brief words to change lives.
Another thing we see in this parable is God’s grace for all peoples. The imagery of the birds nesting in its branches is an Old Testament imagery to the gentiles (Ezek 17:1-24; 31:1-14; Dan 4:10-21). This parable is saying that all nations will find protection and comfort in the kingdom of Christ and will find a home there. May our hearts desire be that people from every tribe, nation, people, and tongue find rest in Christ. May the kingdom of our Lord reach to the ends of the earth.
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