Getting You Is Like Getting Two

John has been speaking with and interviewing people while he is in Colombia. Today he was able to pass a few of the stories on to us. He has been able to meet with several widows whose husbands were pastors. One woman he talked with said that her husband had been taken by the guerillas and cut up into 30 pieces which they placed in a garbage bag and handed to her. The persecution for pastors and missionaries is very heavy there. One pastor told John that for the guerillas getting a pastor was "like getting two."

So what do we do here? How can we as Christians respond to this woman who is left alone to care for her children after her husband was so brutally slain for being a pastor? How do we support pastors who are afraid of trees because this is where the guerillas typically hide? How can a strong body of believers form under these conditions? And what is our responsibility to them as a fellow part of the body of Christ? "There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:25-27

David and the Women's Faith

John is traveling to Colombia this week to meet with some various ministry partners. We have been connected with Colombia through friends at Voice of the Martyrs for some time now, but one of the people that John will be meeting with is a man named David Woodworth. David was in Cuba and was arrested on the night that Fidel Castro took power. A group of women, convinced that he had been taken to be executed, got in a car and began to drive around, praying that God would show them where he had been taken. God stopped the women by a house and told them that he was inside. With more faith than I can imagine, the women got out of the car, approached the house, and pounded on the front door until it was opened, then demanded to see David. The people inside the house were shocked and could not understand how the women had known that they did indeed have David inside.
David went on to teach John's parents in Bible School and now is a missionary in Colombia.

Birthday Time

Today is José F's 9th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JOSÉ!!!!

(and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!)

Birthday Time

Today is Julio's 8th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS JULIO!!!!

Missions Fair

I was able to take part in a Missions Fair at Palm Beach Atlantic University today. It had been a while since I last set up a booth, but I think that I am getting better at it every time. Being back on campus and having the opportunity to reconnect with so many people that I have seen travel to Bolivia in the last two years was so encouraging. The passion and excitement in their faces and voices is still so clear. I think I especially enjoy sharing my story with PBA students because I started out the same way they are. I went to PBA and I went on a mission trip to Bolivia. I certainly wasn't planning it at the time, but now here I am full time staff. I wonder where each of them will go and what lasting impact this will have on each of them. God has crazy cool plans for each of us if we are willing to follow Him.

Birthday Time

Today is Isaias' 9th birthday.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS ISAIAS!!!!