GOD’S BLESSINGS

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4:35 ESV)

God continues to work here in Colombia! We arrived in Colombia on January 25th, and then I left for the Colombia Baptist Seminary on February 5th. I had a good group of students for the first course of the year, and we are blessed to have 32 students studying on campus in Tenjo.

Pastor Alfredo has been super busy with getting the new building ready. We had our first service last Sunday! There is still a lot to be done, but the main space is useable. A group of about 20 people was working every night on the building for about two weeks to get ready for Sunday, and the transformation of the building has been surprising. We are thankful to each church and individual who has given! Let me know if you are interested in giving towards the completion of this project.

First service in the new building

CROSSROAD MISSIONS TEAM

Our sending church, CrossRoad Baptist of Ames, Iowa, is sending a missions team to Santa Marta (March 9-15). They should be getting here this afternoon. Please pray that God would protect us and use us to reach people with the gospel. They will be helping with the new building project, sharing the gospel through three outreach events, and Pastor Will Hatfield will be teaching and preaching tomorrow.
Download this letter as PDF

CRISTO REY

Our church currently has eight home groups that meet bimonthly. The group in the neighborhood of Cristo Rey (Christ King) has been a special blessing. This group is comprised of about 30 people, the majority of whom are not believers. They have been meeting weekly to hear about “Encounters with Jesus,” an evangelistic study. Please pray for their salvation, and that God would allow this group to become a new church plant in the future. We will be doing an outreach event in Cristo Rey next Wednesday (March 13th) with the group from CrossRoad.

CULTURAL NOTE

The cost of electricity increased by 35% in 2023 here in Santa Marta. That makes this the Colombian city with the highest cost for electricity. This definitely makes you think twice before turning the air on!

KIDS’ CORNER

Jason has continued to excel at chess. He’s playing a regional tournament this weekend. If he wins, he may be able to go on to a national tournament in Medellin. Pray that God would allow him to do his best and learn spiritual lessons from these competitions.

Blessings,
Jonathan, Holly, Marcos and Jason