Greetings!
Benjamin Franklin once said the only things certain are death and taxes. As we completed our taxes earlier this month, we rejoiced that Mr. Franklin doesn't have the final word on these things! We'll admit that he was right about taxes but there is no need for despair! Thanks to Jesus' death and resurrection, we have hope that goes way beyond death! In fact, death has been conquered - once and for all - giving everyone who believes in Jesus eternal life! In that recognition, we hope that you also had an enjoyable celebration of His resurrection.
Mr. Franklin may not have been completely right but here are some things we know to be certain...
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In December, Yenni and her family, moved to the city of Pereira for her husband's job. Prior to moving, Yenni had been the director of Children's ministry at the
Camino de Vida
church in Medellín and it was hard for her to leave. However, Yenni realized that this was an opportunity to be a witness for Christ wherever she goes. In January she joined the Community Church Planting (CCP) movement that we are overseeing here. Every Friday, Yenni joins the other 14 members of the team via skype for training and encouragement.
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In accordance with CCP training Yenni began praying and going out into the community in search of people of peace. One day she said she walked so far that her feet hurt. She had been praying the whole time that the Lord would lead her to the right person but finally, she had to sit down and rest. There were some children playing in the park and Yenni started talking to one woman named Sandra there. In fact, Sandra opened her heart to Yenni, sharing her problems and concerns allowing Yenni to tell her about Christ and pray for her. Sandra said was amazed that she had felt comfortable enough to share her heart with a stranger...but now she and Yenni were friends and they started going on prayer walks together. Through those walks they met other women and decided to open a prayer group in Yenni's home. The second week, everyone brought someone else to the prayer group and it has continued to grow.
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During Holy Week a group of youth from Medellín went to work alongside Yenni and her family in Pereira (about 6 hours away). During their evangelistic impacts in various parts of the city they reached 84 new people! Yenni has begun visiting those contacts in their homes and has found them to be very open to the Gospel. In fact, more than one have told her, "God put you in my path for a reason."
Yenni is like many of us and many of the people in our churches. She isn't a pastor. She isn't theologically trained. She is a lay person with a open heart and a willingness to respond to God's call. In Matthew 28: 19-20 Jesus commissioned us all. He said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." And then He made us a promise saying, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Let's be obedient and trust Him to keep His promises! Through Yenni's story, we can see evidence of the concept of
Prevenient Grace
; no matter where we go, God goes before us preparing others to receive Him.
Yenni says, "I give thanks to God because He keeps His promises! He took me out of my Comfort Zone and moved me to a Zone of Faith. I didn't know anyone in Pereira and no one there knew me but I knew that God would do wonderful things...and He is doing wonderful things! Praise GOD!"
This is only one of many examples of what God is doing through the CCP movement that we have the privilege to lead!
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Thank you so much for praying with us for Hans Tanner, our friend who had a paragliding accident. Exactly one month after breaking his foot, his back and his ribs, he
walked
out of the hospital (with the aid of crutches) and is now home in South Carolina. He is still experiencing some paralysis but we thank God for his miraculous work in Hans' life! and continue to pray for complete healing and adjustments to life's new realities.
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We ask that you would also please pray for the city of Medellín. In recent days gangs have been fighting for control of different parts of the city. A student came to Ricardo today after class asking for advice because five people were killed in his barrio this weekend and the gangs have imposed a 7 pm curfew on all residents. Shortly there after we learned that two people were killed and four injured just up the road from the seminary. We don't know yet what the repercussions will be here. Pray that the Christian community will stand tall and be salt and light in the midst of such darkness. Pray that the cycles of death will be broken once and for all in this city!
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God has a purpose for our lives
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Despite a very busy month, we've never doubted His presence nor His call on our lives. We are more certain than ever that God has called us here for such a time as this!
In addition to overseeing the CCP movement, Ricardo began teaching Pastoral Theology at the seminary this month and he is writing a Wesleyan Theology course for the Pastoral Formation project. In fact, we are both very involved in the day-to-day operation of the office for Pastoral Formation here. Ricardo reviews all manuals for theological content and Beth reviews them for design elements (in addition to managing the finances). We are excited by the quality and dedication of our team! (Here they are celebrating Ricardo's birthday.)
In addition, Beth taught a class on budgeting and accounting to the church planting team as we work to help them develop all aspects of the ministry and is overseeing the development of the website that will be used to distribute course materials for both Pastoral Formation and CCP. This is so important because we are investing in the present and future generations to fuel and sustain a biblical movement to reach Latin Americans for Christ through developing and empowering leaders and planting healthy churches!
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Of this we are certain, that we can never thank God enough for His many blessings! We are thankful that God us called us to serve Him in Latin America and we are thankful that He has chosen you to walk alongside us as part of our support team. Your prayers, your notes, and your financial gifts are a huge encouragement to us! Thanks for remembering our family (the picture is of us with some of Beth's extended family celebrating Easter together), our teammates, our work, and the people of Colombia and Latin America in your prayers!
We have one final request for both prayer and/or action. For the past three months, giving to our ministry support account has been significantly down. Would you please pray for this need and pray that God will direct us to the right sources for the additional funding that is needed? In the meantime, if you would like to catch up on a previous commitment, you may do so by
clicking here.
If you or your church would like to make a new commitment, then you are invited to
click here.
May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace,
Ricardo, Beth, Juliana and Jonathan Gómez
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