Making an Impact

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to partner with other SAM missionaries in a neighborhood health clinic.  Our teammates, Frank and Luz, facilitate the OANSA (AWANA) ministry in a poorer neighborhood of Santa Marta.  Through this ministry, they do community outreaches to help the meet the physical needs of the people as well as the spiritual needs.  Jon and I had both helped with this type of activity before, but this was the first time the youth took responsibility with some of the activities. Jon and I had taught our group of students how to share the gospel with braclets and 5 colored beads. This is an activity that Child Evangelism Fellowship uses in their backyard Bible club program.  For several of our students, this was the first time that they had shared their faith. What a powerful thing for these kids to learn and gain confidence in while they are young!  Jon and I were greatly encouraged by the students in our group as we saw them interact and share their Saturday afternoon with young kids they didn't know. There were several kids who made professions of faith and we pray that this will be the beginning of a life-long walk with our Lord Jesus. 

In addition to the evangelism bracelets, we also played games with the kids, sang songs, offered medical consultations and free medications, and cut people's hair. There were numerous volunteers from our church and it was exciting to see everyone working together to show the love of Christ.

Again thank you to all of you that are supporting us financially and with your prayers.  You are apart of the gospel being proclaimed in Santa Marta, Colombia.  We are so thankful for each and every one of you.

Prayer Requests:
1. Pray for those who received Christ as their Savior this past weekend. Pray that they would return and hear more about who God is and His plan for them.
2. Pray for our youth lunches that take place on Tuesday afternoons. We have been having youth from Jon's classes in the school over for lunch. This has been an encouraging time to get to know the kids better, practice English, and pray for them. Pray that it would be a beneficial time for them as we learn more about how to minister to their needs.
3. Pray for our upcoming youth retreat at the end of June. Our theme will be "Your Identity in Christ." Pray that the students' hearts will be prepared and that they would be able to
4.  The cesarian is on the 4th of May.  That time is quickly approaching and we are anxiously awaiting the coming of our little boy.  Please pray for a quick recovery for Amanda and smooth transition for our little American/Colombian boy.

 Amanda helping to get us ready.  Kids listen to pregnant women :)

The bracelets were quite a challenge to put together.  But we got them together 

 One of our youth, Angie, sharing the gospel using the wordless bracelet

 Even Parker is helping put the bracelets together.  He is a really good helper.

 We had a dentist come to help teach the kids how to take care of their teeth

 Some more of our youth teaching some fun songs about God

 Im sitting next to one of the youth of our church... I'm making her explain the gospel to me.  She did a great job.

 Sam was helping with the lice hair washing.  He's a good little helper too.

 One of the Doctors from our Church taking care of a young guy

One of the newer members of our church taking the opportunity to share Jesus with a young mom 

Wonderful godly woman of our church who is also a nurse helping wash hair 

Putting the beads on the bracelet...harder than it looks 

Hair cuts for the prevention of lice 

The psychologist from our school came to offer counseling as well

Things to Come

Well, we are coming into the home stretch as we await our 3rd child.  We think we might have even found a name for the little guy...but we'll reveal that one in a few weeks.  Our doctor has told us that we can have the caesarian as early as May 4th, so that time is fast approaching and I (Jon) am trying to fathom the idea of actually having 3 children.  I'm pretty sure Amanda is ready any time the baby is ready because as the time draws closer it's becoming increasingly more difficult to sleep and rest.  Amanda has also been battling constant dizziness almost every time she lays down and gets up for the past few weeks.  This has been a little discouraging to Amanda.  We went to to doctor to get some blood work done to try and discover why the problems persists.  She had some high blood sugar and high cholesterol, so we are adjusting our diets to accomodate this.  But thankfully, Amanda is such a tough girl that she is battling through this and still is able to take care of all of us.  She is such a blessing...She does this without complaint... I am so thankful for the godly woman that God has blessed me with.  We'd be lost without her.

God has been so gracious to us as He has allowed us to continue working in the school and church here in Santa Marta.  My times in the classroom have been such an encouragement to me and I receive such a blessing from them.  This time has been good for me to start to connect with some of the kids from the school and we really desire to have an impact for Jesus there.  I am working with the 9th and 10th grade students and I'm really thankful for the Colombian teacher that I'm working with Francisco, he has also been such a blessing to me because we are really starting to develop what I hope will be a great friendship.

It's interesting to think that we've been in Colombia for over a year now and we still feel like we are adjusting in some ways.  Thankfully, God continues to be graceful to our family.  He encouraged me 2 weeks ago when I had the opportunity to share the gospel in one of my english classes, and help to comfort one of the young guys at our school.  Because I am such a great sinner, it is good to be able to communicate God's never ending love and forgiveness with others.  I pray that I never forget how costly my life is, because when I do, I have the tendency for my heart to wander away from the one who loves me dearly.

The first Saturday in April we are taking our youth to another part of the city to help with a ministry called OANSA.  This is the Spanish version of AWANA and it's the ministry our teammates are involved in.  The team will be helping to lead a Health Mission to help the community and we are going with our youth to help minister to the children during this time.  We hope to be able to demonstrate the love of Jesus while we are there.  We are going to be teaching the kids of the neighborhood songs about Jesus as well as doing "wordless" bracelets with them as we teach them about the love of Jesus.

We want to express our heartfelt thankfulness for all those who continue to support us financially and in prayer.  We know that God has uniquely placed us here in Colombia for His purposes and His glory, and we desire that through our ministry here to Colombia, God will be glorified.

Prayer Requests:

1.  Please pray for Amanda.  As the time gets closer for the arrival of our little man, living becomes increasingly more uncomfortable for her.  Please pray for her and our family as our family will be going through another new experience here in Colombia.

2. The Esperanza church with whom we minister, is really struggling financially.  Please pray for God's provision for this church as it is a key church in this city.

3.  Please pray for our us as we continue to develop and learn how to minister here.  Pray that we are not only culturally sensitive, but we are sensitive to the fact that we are working alongside of other fallible children of God who need mercy and grace just as we do.

4.  We are still in the process of considering what God wants to do in us and through us here.  Pray that God will give us His eyes to see clearly His perfect will for our lives and ministry.


Below are some of the amazing kids that I have the privilege of being with during the week.  I pray that God will allow me to develop some lasting relationships with these kids.  I can't tell you how much joy I get from being in these classes.  I hope you can see how beautiful are God's creations in Colombia.

All these pictures are from the 9th grade class that I am helping with 

Dreaming of the Future

This past month our family had the opportunity to travel to Santa Cruz, Bolivia to meet with SAM's other missionaries and staff members for our SAM 2020 conference. The purpose of the conference was for the leadership of South America Mission to challenge us to think above and beyond what we are normally used to thinking about, and consider and dream about what we could experience in our lives and our ministries if we all lived a life totally devoted to God.

We were challenged by the chancellor of my seminary, George Murray, to really consider if we truly believe that Jesus is who He says that is.  The time that was we spent together as a mission was really challenging and refreshing.  God really blessed us with a renewed sense of His desire to work in us and through us. What we loved most about this conference wasn't that we now have some new ministry technique or some strategy that we are following, but first and foremost, we affirmed the truth that God is more concerned with who we are than what we are doing.

We spent a week praying and trying to see clearly where God is desiring to take us in our ministries. We are still wrestling with were God wants to take us this next year. We have several ministeries right now: teaching in the school, discipling in the school, the youth group at the church, and two church plants. We are praying for focus and clarity of mind as we begin this next year. Jon is really excited to be working in the school this year and having more of a presence with the students and teachers. We pray that this will be a great time to build relationships and bridge the gap between the church and the school. Amanda plans to help with the preschool classes until the baby comes in May.

Thank you so much for your prayers as we continue to grow and learn along with our Colombian friends.

Prayer Requests:


1)  Jon was able to share the gospel this week with a new student from the school.  He accepted Christ with Jon and we pray that this will be the start of a great new relationship. Pray that this youth will grow in his understanding of the Lord and that we can be an encouragement to him in his transition.

2)   Jon and Amanda will both begin discipleship groups in the next couple of weeks. Pray that the students come with prepared hearts and that their love for the Lord will grow. Pray also that the Lord would communicate to us what is most beneficial for them to learn.

3)   Pray for our time in the school's English classes. Pray that this will be a way for us to bridge the gap between our ministry in the church and the school. Jon will be helping with the 9th and 10th grade classes and Amanda will be working with the preschool kids.

4)  Over the past several months, we have been helping with two church plants. Our pastor has encouraged us to pick one and focus on that community. We are wrestling over which group to select. Pray that God would make this decision clear to us as we determine which location is best for us to minister.

We met in General Sessions several times a day to be encouraged and challenged in our lives and our ministries

Some of the wildlife near us

This is the Colombia field's attempt at humor

We brought in the Chancellor of Columbia International University George Murray to encourage us in our relationship with Jesus...It was amazing

This is a good look at the Bolivian and Colombian Missionaries, somehow though, we are not in this picture 

Kendall and our teammate Sam

Amanda is a good looking pregnant lady

The Joys of the Past Year

Greetings in the name of the Lord during this Christmas season.  We arrived in Colombia a year ago and have had a wonderful adventure getting to know the culture in Santa Marta, improve our Spanish, and begin our ministries here. We had anticipated this year in Colombia for a very long time, and we are very thankful for God's grace during this time.  God has demonstrated so much love to us through so many people in our lives.  From the people who are giving sacrificially and praying for us constantly, to the 4 amazing churches that have been instrumental in bringing us here and keeping us here.  We have been blessed through the support of your family, and we are thankful for each and everyone of you.

Our kids have settled in well and have really picked up Spanish. Everyone always comments on Kendall's wonderful accent. If only we had also started learning Spanish at the age of 4.  Kendall completed one full year in the christian Colombian school and will be returning in February.  We are also working on a homeschool curriculum in the afternoons.  Parker will join her next year at school, though I think he has enjoyed the one-on-one time with mommy while Kendall was gone during the day.

Here is a list our best experiences so far in Colombia:
1) We have been warmly welcomed by the members of the Esperanza Church.
2) Our youth program in underway and we are leading the students through an excellent discipleship program.
3) We have had the opportunity to help with two new church plants in the city.
4) Both of us were able to assist with small discipleship groups at the school during the week.
5) Evangelism Explosion was a great way to jump start our time here. A group of over 30 fifth graders spent  three months learning about the message of the gospel and how to share their new faith with others.
6) Kendall was able to perform in several preschool productions throughout the year and of course, loved it.
7) Jon helped with a two different youth camps, one with our church and another with a group of young people in the Guijira (basically the desert).
8) Jon was able to travel to Medellin to help with an evangelist campaign in that city.  Next year we will be able to help with a campaign right here in Santa Marta.
9) Baby #3
10) Jon was able to preach his first sermon in Spanish a couple of weeks ago.

In looking forward to the next year, we pray that the Lord will bless and strengthen our ministries and bring more people to a better understanding of Him.  We have been truely humbled by the privilege of working in Colombia.  Even though there have been times when we have wondered, "Are we really fit to be missionaries?", God has given us encouragement through His word, a teammate, or a kind word from one of the nationals.

Our main focus for the next year is to continue our work with the two church plants, develop the youth ministry, and serve the body in any way that we can.

Thank you so much for your prayers this past year. Please continue to join us in pray for the following:
1) The healthy pregnancy and arrival of Baby Howard in May.
2) We have had to change our Insurance and thus, our premiums have increased almost $300/month.  Needless to say, we are praying that God would provide this added support that will allow us to continue His work here.
3) Pray that our lives would be a testimony of God's work in and through us.
4) Pray that our church plants would grow as we think of more ways to reach out to the people of these communities. One area is a poorer neighborhood, while the other has more professionals.  Both places greatly need the influence of the gospel, but each has its own obstacles. Pray that the other leaders and us would know how to most effectively work in these areas.
5) Pray that  we would be an encouragement and help to the national leaders who we are working alongside.
6) Pray for the quick arrival of another family who is currently raising support in the States.

Kendall with a good school friend 

Tatiana putting in a hair braid.  Kenall is a little Colombiana. 

 Amanda with some of the kids she worked with doing Evangelism Explosion

 Celebrating our 1st Thanksgiving (El día de acción de gracias) with our friends 

 Getting ready for some woship time in one of our Church Plants

Doing an icebreaker.  Colombians love to have fun and laugh... So do we 

 Receiving Love

Giving Love 

Getting Ready for the Beach 

Today is the day of Salvation

There are certain things that you just know are going to be so good even before you do them.  So, I went into my latest adventure fully expecting God to do great things... and once again, I wasn't disappointed in the power of God's transforming love in the lives of Colombians.

I had the opportunity to travel to Medellin, Colombia at the beginning of August to partake in a church planting/evangelism/discipleship team from the US. The object of this type of trip is quite simple, to help an established church begin a new work in an area of the city that desperately needs followers of Christ.  First off, this city is unlike any that I have ever been to in Colombia.  It sits in a valley with beautiful views in every direction.  And from what I saw, it's one of the most advanced cities in Colombia.  At times I thought that I was in another country.  You have to love a city that has several Dunkin Doughnuts.

The hope during these trips is to equip Colombians to share their faith and to learn how to disciple a fellow believer.  We taught them how to use an evangelistic tool called the evangecube (http://www.e3resources.org/) and taught them how to use a series of discipleship materials that will help the new believer come to a much deeper understanding of who God is and what His purpose is for us.  We really tried to communicate the importance of discipleship, because many people here will do just about anything to help secure their salvation.  Medellin is an extremely Catholic city, and from what I saw, many of them would pray or do just about anything if they thought it would help them have access to God.  We had the opportunity to tell them that it was only through Jesus that we have access to God.  Discipleship is really the process where God's word can really start to strip away the lies and deception that we can earn our salvation by just trying to do our best.

I wanted to share one of the experiences that I had while I was there.  This picture shows just part of the family that lived in the house that we visited.  When we first arrived, we were met by one of the moms of the house.  When we told her why we were there, she left us and got all the rest of the members of her family that were living there.  So in about a minute, I had 4 generations of Colombians sitting in front of me as I shared my testimony of God's love for us.

You know when you're doing something or saying something, and you can tell that the person that you're sharing with is just being polite, but they really couldn't care less about what you were saying; well this was the total opposite of that.  Every single one of the 9 family members was intently listening as I shared about our problem (sin) and God's amazing solution to that problem (Jesus).  It was one of the those experiences that I will hold in my heart for a very long time because I could clearly see the penetration of God's word as one of the young mom's began to cry.  At the end, I asked if they would like to express their faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the entire household prayed with us to confess Jesus as Lord!!  The power of God's truth to change lives is truly amazing, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to witness God's power working in so many lives.

Since this time, I have had the opportunity to take what I learned in Medellin and share it with the many people here in Santa Marta.  I know that my Spanish isn't perfect yet, but I'm really trusting that God is going to communicate the truth of His word to the hearts of those who hear His word, even if all my words aren't perfect.  I'm so thankful for that. 

This was my first team that I worked with.  The lady on the left helped me with my Spanish which was a huge blessing.  I was so impressed with the young lady on the right though.  She was only 17 and had only been a Christian for a month.  She watched me share the gospel many times the first day, and on the second day, she was leading our team.  She had no fear at all.  So great!!  But the thing that brought such joy to me was that on her way home that night, her mom and her took out a cube, and led two guys on the bus to Jesus.  That's a disciple of Jesus.  She took what she knew about Jesus, and she shared it with others.  What a great testimony to all of us.  What a blessing to work alongside of Colombians to reach other Colombians!!     

 This was the other team that I had the privilege to work with.  All three were under the age of 22.  They had such great energy and they were so willing to learn and to use what they had learned to spread the gospel.  

Some young girls checking out an evengecard

A group of young ladies at our end of the week celebration

We just want to thank all the families and the churches that are taking part in what God is doing here.  We are so thankful for each and everyone of you.  We pray that God will continue to use us here to see many more Colombians become disciples of Jesus.

Praises and Prayer Requests:

1. Amanda continues to meet with a group of 10th graders at the school for a discipleship time. Pray that the girls would become more excited and interested in allowing God to work in their lives.  Even though they are young, God can use them in mighty ways.

2. We recently started small group bible studies with our youth at church.  We will be taking them through a program that, prayfully, will streghten their faith and help encourage both new and more mature believers.

3. Jon continues to meet on Wednesdays in one of the neighboring barrios.  This area is in need of an evangelical church. Pray that Jon and our Pastor Julio would have an effective ministry shepherding and teaching a group of young believers.