Mar
29
2008
Our coworkers have been pushing hard to begin Bible studies with the people in their neighborhoods. They have been working tirelessly to speak to every person in their surrounding blocks and give them an opportunity to start a study in Genesis. This week I spoke with Larry and he told me that they have seen the first reached. One man a few months back and just this week a lady accepted Christ ironically in one of the most Catholic portions of the city.
They do have their work cut out for them as they continue to strive away. The work has been very slow and painstaking, but it’s not us who does the work but God through us.
They have made clear that they are ready for us to arrive. It will not come to soon before we get there and are able to begin our acclimation process and start spreading this awesome news of Christ.
Pray with us as there are seemingly endless obstacles in front of us right now.
-Finishing language school
-Raising our needed monthly support to a full 100%
-And raising enough funds to actually move there
In the next weeks you will see our website make a dramatic change. Be on the lookout for our needs&opps page to return have be full of ways that you can get involved.
Comments Off | posted in Evangelism, Missions
Mar
24
2008
Today was a good day! Today I got up and read through a bit of 1 Corinthians 1 in English and Spanish. I was thoroughly encouraged by the thought of God being delighted to use my weakness to glorify Himself. I saw a bit of that last week as I fumbled through example after example of my weakness. God used that to connect with peoples hearts.
This afternoon we had an appointment with Crystal’s doctor to fill him in on what we learned in the states. It was a great appointment. God has given us the best doctor we have ever had. We sat for nearly an hour in his office just talking about problems, and issues and what his opinion about what we should do.
He did an ultrasound and thank God found nothing that was cyst related! Praise God for that!
Austin had little time with his doctor today too. He had to get a shot today, but that was all. His doctor made several comments about how much he was impressed with Austin’s development. One thing he mentioned was that typically patients who receive the shot he got last summer (the $8000 one), have to have it again between ages one and two. But because Austin is doing so well he is recommending that he not get it! That’s a huge praise too.
Thank God for good days
Comments Off | posted in Austin, Life
Mar
24
2008
Pascua or Easter in Latin America is a much different story than it is in the states. Is it a bad thing? Absolutely not, it’s called different culture. But it is a sad thing. Here in Latin America, pretty much no matter what country you live in, Easter is a celebration of Christ’s death.
While walking home on Wednesday night from my final day of helping my missionary friend with his evangelistic outreach, I walked past this interesting parade in downtown San Jose. Right next to the large Catholic church downtown, they paraded. Men dressed in ancient roman garb, and priests in their full holy attire, lead a crowd of mourners down the street. Young alter boys swung their incense candles creating smoke, and behind them, the palm bearers carried the casket with this statue of Jesus on top, followed closing behind by two thieves who were crucified along with Him. An amazing display of hopelessness.
Thank God we serve a Risen Savior!
Comments Off | posted in Evangelism, Missions
Mar
21
2008
Today would prove to be my most challenging day yet. Maybe I let myself get a little to comfortable, I don’t know.
Today I went out with the leader of the group, Wes. Wes is a seasoned witnesser. He’s been all over the world sharing his testimony. In fact his job/ministry is coordinating missions trip for youth groups.
His testimony proved to be a bit more complex than what I had translated before. Not his fault, not my fault, just confusion. I was frustrated because I kept fumbling over my words and verb conjugations. (For those of you who aren’t proficient in Spanish, there are more than 13 verb conjugations, so obviously room for confusion)
No one received Christ today, but we met 3 who are already saved.
My biggest challenge was when we started a conversation with a man who was a Jehovah’s Witness. He was very smart, and you wouldn’t have thought it. This man was working on a renovation project at a home, and knew and had memorized so much from the Bible. My hardest part was translating between Wes and this man, and then from this man back to Wes. My mind was running a thousand miles an hour, and I was really having a hard time understanding what he was saying.
In the end, we weren’t even able to get a full presentation of the gospel to him. He kept sidelining us with other issues, and just wouldn’t listen.
It’s times like these that keep us humble, remembering that it’s all about God and what He does, and not us. Thank God for that.
All in all this experience for me was amazing. I learned a lot, gained some confidence in my Spanish, and learned that I need to spend a lot more time studying Spanish. God blessed, He used me despite my inability to speak completely fluent, and He used these young people to spread his word!
Comments Off | posted in Discipleship, Evangelism, Missions
Mar
21
2008
After what happened yesterday, I was ready for what God had for today, and anxious to see how and what He would do.
After my hour and a half on the bus and a good tico lunch, we set out again to see what God would have for us today. This time I went with two teens from the Dallas area. Emilee, and Emily, one spoke Spanish, the other none.
We set out and saw God use us, and I believe that 4 people came to Christ that day, but the one story that captured my heart today was the elderly couple that we spoke with.
They were sitting on their porch watching life go by when we walked up. I told them that these two young ladies had made their way from Texas to share with them the most important news they would ever hear. With anticipation they invited us to sit on their porch with them. Emily began her testimony and we watched as the couple listened and hung on every word that they heard.
When Emily finished with her testimony, I took over with the Bible work, and went through twice asking them with ever thought if they believed and understood what the Bible was saying. In the end I asked them if this was a decision they would want to make today, and the both looked at me and said “Of course”. I told them that all they needed to do according to the Bible was confess-talk to their new found Friend about what they had learned.
Wow!
Comments Off | posted in Discipleship, Evangelism, Missions
