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Care To Join Us?
Dear Friends,
Funny, the biggest event of the last few months we cannot share with you in our newsletters. I will simply say that we travelled to a Carribean country where democracy does not exist. Get the idea? It is a place that we as Mobile Teams will continue to visit.
We look forward to sharing with different churches about that work in a more secure setting than a newsletter that travels the world by internet.
Darien amazed at his new truck and trailer.
As exciting as that work is, it is by no means all that has gone on in the last few months. In December, we again "Celebrated Christmas," by providing gifts for needy children. We came far short of our goal, but we managed to provide a merrier Christmas for 400 kids around Colombia and a few in that other country. Gifts were given with one hand and the Gospel was presented with the other.
For 2009 we are looking at starting a new program in Bogota’s major shopping malls to bring in more gifts. Like in North America we hope that people will drop off gifts and sponsor children in the different ministries that we work with. Please be praying that God will open doors and give us favour as we speak to the mall managers.
Medical Missions
Our boss Carlos meeting with volunteers in Bolivar City.
In November we returned to Bolivar City for our second major Medical Outreach of the year. Now, having read our September newsletter, one might wonder what we do with carpenters, lawyers, veterinarians, electricians, and other assorted professions in a Medical Outreach.
The answer is simple. Whatever we can do, any service that we can provide or any presentation that we can organize that has the end result of drawing massive amounts of people is something we want to facilitate. If we can draw people by providing free healthcare for the family dog or repairing their blender, then we do it and have a ready made audience for our evangelistic teams and children’s programs.
Patty, James & Darien learn to make Gingerbread cookies, Daddy directing.
Last year, (between the two outreaches) we blessed several thousand needy people with medical attention, clothes, food, small appliance repair etc. As a result more than a 1000 people responded to the Gospel.
In Nov. we focussed on three neighbourhoods, adding the area called Usme to the outreach. Such was the success in the latter, this May we will be holding another outreach focussing only on Usme. Please be praying for us as we prepare for this endeavour. We have already begun the process of organization and are looking for needed donations of medicine, clothes, food, finances, etc.
Welcome to the 40th Floor! On April 1st Patty turned __ years old. Although the event has been somewhat traumatic for her, the surprise party we held a few days later, with 25 friends and family, showed her just how special and blessed she is!
One Team - Many Events
In January we were privileged to run two events and be able to blend them together. We hosted a YWAM DTS (Discipleship Training School) outreach team from Minneapolis, MN for 18 days and during that time we held a Vacation School of Missions (VSM) for some 140 students from various local congregations.
Presentation at the Mall.
The VSM is a 10 day introduction to missions for people who wish to get involved full or part time in Missions or Community Outreach. We bring in teachers from all over Colombia and teach some classes ourselves. This time we added several days of lessons and workshops presented by the outreach team. It was an opportunity for the DTS Students and staff to become teachers and get a taste of "the Big Leagues."
The dynamic was wonderful and proved once again that the only thing required to pull off big events is a Word from God and a healthy dose of insanity.
To the Streets
Andrea with one of the Presidential Guards.
As you can see by the picture here we try and take outreach teams to some tourist sites - like the presidential palace. However, our first goal is to take their world view...... and destroy it!
Most Christians have never really seen the world’s problems and need. They have grown up in developed countries with the TV as their only window to the world. Coming to Colombia is their first chance to see these needs with eyes and skin attached; to see the world as Jesus sees it. The team was able to minister in several very different situations. The first was with Auxy
and the kids in Beautiful Flower. We spent the day with them, first presenting dramas and Bible lessons and then the afternoon just hanging out in a field, playing games and spending time with a lot of love starved children.
Teams members visiting with a family in the slums. Dad is a pickpocket, Mom sells pot, but believe it or not they take good care of their kids. Now we just need to find them new jobs!
From looking over an expanse of two million people living in poverty we moved on to a small country church where we spent a day teaching their youth some of the team’s dramas. This enabled the youth to take new skills on their own outreach the following week.
Next; a small city church with a big vision. We ministered in the Sunday service, but it was the afternoon outreach that blew us away. The Pastor had gone to one of Bogota’s largest shopping malls and obtained permission for the team to present all of their dramas and testimonies in the mall. We were able to witness to more than 600 people!
Bath time, open air bucket shower. (Temp 12c/54f)
This single mom supports her three children by recycling material that she finds in the garbage.
During the week we went to the city centre and visited several of the inhabitants. Parts of inner city Bogota look like war zones and the children reflect that reality. We visited some of them in their homes and the team was able to see what many of them live with daily.
All of these are "heart opening experiences." The people involved are never the same and never again content with the ordinary. God uses them just like He wants to use you. Care to join us?
Love in Christ,
Darren, Patty , James & Darien
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