We're back! ...again
We are finally back in Colombia and gearing up again to reach our community through street invitations, Bible studies, and evangelism. Our next major goal is to start a new church in our neighborhood of 200,000 people.
The Neighborhood of Verbenal
We planned a short furlough last summer. Jonathan was hospitalized. Our furlough was extended. We found out Anna’s mom (Gerd) had ALS. We returned to Colombia for three months. We couldn’t get visas, so we returned to the United States. Gerd’s health quickly declined. Jonathan returned to Colombia for all of July. Anna and the girls stayed behind to take care of Gerd.
4th of July with Anna's parents
While we were frustrated and feeling pretty useless as missionaries, we’re now sure that God was being very good to us by giving our family a little more time with Gerd. Unfortunately, Gerd passed away on August 9th. God was very kind to her by keeping her suffering very short. We’re all dealing with Gerd’s passing well. We know she is in heaven, but it’s still hard when you lose someone you love so much.
Upon our return, our church organized a special time in
Sunday school to pray for our future ministry plans
Visas Approved
After the funeral and helping Anna’s dad get set up for this new phase of life, our visas were finally approved for 9 months instead of the normal 3 years. We aren’t sure why, but that means we’ll have that stress and expense to look forward to in a few months. Definitely be praying for this and other legal hoops we have to jump through. It seems like things are getting more difficult in this area.
First Mission Trip
Our church in Bogotá is taking its first missions trip to Santa Marta, where we will help other local churches put on an evangelistic camp and serve in the local community. Pray for this trip between November 30 and December 7. You can pray for the group by name using the list below. These church members have really surprised us by raising all of the funds they need to go on the trip, and Albeiro and Natalia have done a great job leading the team.
July: Jonathan returning to Colombia, scouting Santa Marta for church's first mission trip, meeting with pastors of a local church plant
Building Fund - Matching Gifts
If you’ve considered giving to the Colombia Building Fund, it’s time! A church in Texas is offering to match the next $30,000 in giving! You can learn more about this need at www.BuildingFund.co.
A lot we hope to be able to purchase next year
Activity in the Park
Last time we wrote about a kids activity in the park. The kids activity in July, invitations in the streets, and connecting the soccer school to the church led to many new guests at church and at least 5 salvations.
Park activity (left) and soccer school (right)