June/July 2013 Update

Faith or foolishness? Matthew 17:20...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. " One of my favorite movies of all time is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  This is Indy's passionate pursuit for the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper.  In one particularly tense scene in the movie, Indy is confronted with crossing a huge chasm with seemingly no way to get across.  Desperately needing to cross, he remembers back to something his dad told him about taking a step of faith.  So Indy closes his eyes tightly knowing his next step might be his last and he does what seemingly seems like a terrible idea.  He steps where there is no step.  Amazingly, his faith is rewarded and one appears under his foot and his path is made safe. To many on the outside looking in, following Jesus is like doing what Indy did, taking a huge step into nothingness.  They look at us like we are idiots for stepping where there is seemingly no ground.  Even some Christians look at other Christians and think these blind steps of faith are absurd because they fly in the face of our North-American scientific, planned out, logistically planned lives.  We want to live by faith, but for added measure we do all that we can possibly do to make sure our "faith" doesn't fail us.  We trust that God is enough on one level, but for added measure, we work hard on our end too just to make sure.  Now I'm not saying a thoughtful and prudent approach to life is wrong.  But every now and again maybe God wants us to leave all our preconceived ideas about how He works and does things, and just follow Him. Totally empty and devoid of ourselves and our ideas, and just follow.  Sounds scary right? So... here's what happened.  A group of 11 South Africans traveling through South America and the Islands recently appeared in Santa Marta.  They were traveling with an organization called Global Challenge which basically sets groups loose all over the world with basically the clothes on their back, very little provisions for food and transportation, and they basically say, "God we're available, you can have us, but you're going to need to provide the rest!"... Crazy right?  Parents raise your hand if you'd let your kid travel a foreign land without plans, without knowing where you'd sleep or what you'd eat or how you'd even get there.   Any takers?  I didn't think so.  We take comfort in our plans.  Our plan is what protects us and keeps us safe.  Our plan is what makes sure we have food in our bellies and keeps us warm at night.   But this group of 11 stretched me.. Man did they stretch my faith.  They ranged in ages from 18-28 but each one of them had something very real... a child-like faith that God is who He says is.  Time after time I saw this group minister to people at such a heart level with the people of Colombia and I just stood back and watched God transform lives.  God used this group in so many different ways with the people, but God used them in my life in a dramatic way.  I don't want to put God in a box.  I want God to show off.  I want to live my life expecting God to do great things, but never losing that child-like enthusiasm and excitement of when He does something spectacular.  I have small dreams, because I'm so me-centered.  I want a God-sized vision for my life and the life of my family.  I want to be apart of something so huge that only God can pull it off.  I want to continually have front-row seats and watch God do only what God can do, change lives. So many thanks to all of you who are joining us in this journey.  Through your sacrificial support, people are hearing the good news.  Thanks for being apart of God changing the lives of the people here.  God is blessing us weekly with so many opportunities to share the gospel with hurt and broken people.  This past Sunday Amanda and I were in charge of the Sunday School lesson, and this always brings some fear into our hearts as the kids aren't always super responsive.  We have recently had an influx of new kids into our church, so we thought it was a good time to go over the gospel and what Jesus has done for us.  We have some great tracts called "Como tener Paz con Dios" (how to have peace with God).  It's a very clear explanation of the gospel and how much Jesus loves us and desires a relationship with us.  The exciting part of this for us was that two of the boys that I have been working with took this tract to our neighbors and went through it again with them!  I wasn't there so I'm not sure if a decision was made, but I'm so thankful for their love for their friends and their desire that their friends know the truth.  Please continue to pray for opportunities to share the gospel and the many opportunities we have to train people to share the gospel. Praises We have a friend from S.C. who is coming to help us with #4 baby in September.. Yay! Thankful for the many things that God is doing in lives of the Colombians. Praise God for the people that have heard and responded to the Gospel. God has blessed us with a great team here.  We are thankful for the love and encouragement that we receive through them. God has blessed me with the opportunity to serve on the Elder board of our church. Prayer Requests Please pray that God would continue to provide financially for us.  We are praying for more families that would partner with us to see God's word proclaimed in Colombia. We are getting ready for a steady stream of teams.  Pray that God would effectively use them . Pray for Amanda as we coming closer to the end of the pregnancy.   Pray for peace and love in the body. Pray that God would heal the pain that conflict has created in the body here. Kendall's 8th B-day     Logan lounging @ the beach

Evangelistic Outreach