Category Archives: Camp
Blessings and Burdens — June 2024 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
The past couple of months have been blessed, though filled with trials. Through it all, we praise God for his goodness and faithfulness as we minister in Colombia. He continues to work in mighty ways. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support!
Ongoing Church Ministry
I’m genuinely amazed at how Jesus continually builds his church. Besides constantly witnessing new spiritual births as people believe the Gospel, we see them grow and work together in Jesus’ mission. Week by week, people are bringing their friends to Jesus. We’ve been busy with special events, too. We recently celebrated Children’s Day, serving over 100 kids from the community and sharing lots of fun and the Gospel. We showed a Gospel film; many people brought lost friends and family. God is working, and what a blessing to be a part of it!
Exciting Youth Camp
At the end of June, we hosted our second annual youth camp, in which over 50 teens and young adults gathered from the various churches we have started here in Bucaramanga. We studied the life of Daniel and were challenged to live counter-cultural lives. As these young people feel the reality of living in modern Babylon, many made decisions that will change the course of their lives and their eternity. Praise the Lord!
Pray For My Father
My dad, Richard Vance, was taken in May to the hospital with a severe infection, sepsis in his blood, and several other issues. He came very close to death a few times over the following weeks. After several surgeries on his foot, and after the specialists determined it could not be salvaged, his leg was amputated just below the knee. He was diagnosed with neuropathy and Charcot bone degenerative disease. He is now on the long road to recovery, therapy, and life adjustment. Lord willing, he will soon be transferred temporarily to a rehabilitation center. He has had an excellent spirit through it all and seems to be at peace with the change. I went to spend a week with him in June between our ministry busyness in Colombia, and I am so glad I did! Pray for him and my mom in the days ahead.
Family News
Aubrie and I recently celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and our second daughter, Anabel’s, 12th birthday. Time is just flying by! We also enjoyed a visit from some of Aubrie’s family. We even took her uncle to try paragliding over the city!
Praises and Prayer Requests
- Lord willing, we’ll finally sign papers to purchase the building for Agape Baptist Church in July. We praise the Lord that the exchange rate has improved by around 10% since our last prayer letter. We were very concerned about this matter earlier this year, but God’s timing is perfect!
- In August, we will once again host a team from Medical Mission Outreach to offer an optical clinic and outreach for our community. Pray for the logistics of the trip and the souls of the people we will serve.
- Aubrie is still needing another surgery for her skin cancer. This will likely be before our next update.
For The Name of Christ,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
—Colossians 3:17—
What a blessing to serve kids from the community on Children’s Day! 
Showing the flim “The Case For Christ” 
Pouring into the next generation of youth for the glory of God. 
Not only was I able to go visit my dad in June, I also got to see my brother, sister & mom. A rare event to be all together! 
I thank God for excellent in-laws! 
After 15 years of marriage to Aubrie, there’s still nobody I’d rather do life with. I thank God for my wife!
Baptisms, Blessings, and Burdens — September 2023 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
Different Look, Same Gospel
Sometimes, the ministry looks different overseas than in the USA. Sometimes, the ministry even looks different from place to place in the same city! For instance, in the past month, one of our churches baptized several new believers in a nearby river, another did baptisms in a portable wooden and fiberglass baptistry, and yet another baptized converts in an inflatable jacuzzi. Though we adapt to the culture and the available resources, what unites us is the same faith in the same Gospel!
Successful Youth Camp
In August, we organized our own youth camp for the first time. Several dozen teens and young adults from our local churches gathered over three days to learn about our new life in Christ. It was a joy to lead this camp and see God work in the lives of many of these young people. I was also blessed as some of the other pastors we’ve reached and trained over the years helped me preach through the book of First Peter with these teens. Not too long ago, these pastors were curious university students investigating Christianity themselves!
Building Project Obstacles
We have recently faced challenges in purchasing our current rented facility for Agape Baptist Church. We are getting close to our initial fundraising goal of $200,000, and we have recently received several designated gifts from our friends and supporting churches. However, the owner has raised the asking price in our negotiations. At the same time, the dollar has come down about 25% in value compared to the Colombian Peso since last year. With those factors, we still need around $45,000. We need your help! Would you consider giving a tax-deductible gift toward this need? Gifts can be sent online or by mail to MWBM, Inc. PO Box 519, Braselton, GA 30517 and marked “A. Vance- Building” in the memo. The clock is ticking to finalize this purchase before the end of the year. We are looking for other options, but our current building is still the best fit. May God’s will be done!
Family News and Needs
In August, we enjoyed another visit from my Mother-in-law, Juanita. She is always a blessing to us. And, like the rest of our family on both sides, she has always supported our move to the mission field so well. It has been said that parents and grandparents often sacrifice more than the missionary families themselves.
Despite the many recent blessings, our family is facing another challenging season. We have felt the weight and pressures of ministry, spiritual oppression, financial hardships, and health needs. On top of all the other medical issues Aubrie has already been facing, she has a skin tumor that will be removed in October. It will be sent to pathology to see if it is cancerous. We appreciate your prayers for this and many other needs.
Thankful Hearts
We thank God for being our faithful and strong rock through every stage of life and ministry. He is worthy of all praise, and no sacrifice can ever be too great for him. And once again, thank you for your faithful prayers and support. May God bless, guide, protect, and provide for your needs.
For Our Faithful God,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”
—Psalm 9:1-2—
Pastor Nelson baptizing one of five new believers at North Baptist (Café Madrid). 
Pastor Félix baptizing one of four new believers at Lighthouse Baptist (El Faro). 
Pastor Juan baptizing one of five new believers at Agape Baptist. 
The youth camp, “Reboot” was a great success! Thanks to those who prayed and gave. 
Our girls love their “Mamaw!” 
Every year on the day our son passed away, we look for a boy or two to give a small gift to in his honor. Our neighbors sure enjoyed this tradition! Amaziah would have been four in September.
Class, Camp, Celebration, & Challenge – A Machine Gun Update
Hey friends! There has been much going on lately in the Vance family household. God has been good (what’s new there?!) and we’ve been enjoying each minute. This post is simply to get you all up to speed on some amazing recent events… (I alliterated it for my preacher friends, so bear with me).
Class
The past week was both exciting and exhausting as I was privileged to teach a 14 hour modular class at the Our Generation Training Center on Evangelism & Leader Training in Catholic Cultures. God really blessed as we went through the Master Plan of World Evangelism and some of The Gospel According to Rome. I’d definitely recommend both of these books if you are serious about both learning how Jesus trained leaders to reach the world, and how to deliver the Gospel to those that are close yet still depend on works.
Camp
My family and I will leave Monday morning to spend a week with teens and college students from around the country at the OG Student Leadership Camp. I was at the very first camp that was held 9 years ago just before I spent 6 months in Peru preparing for the mission field. The camp helped me tremendously as I was able to get around missionaries that were getting the job done in reaching people and training men. It was encouraging to see how God was using other young men, and now I’m able to return on the other side of that equation. Please pray that God works in the lives of the many teens and singles that will be there. God has a plan for each of them. Pray that some are saved, some are called, and all would be surrendered to God’s will for their life!
Celebration
This Sunday our little Anabel turns 1-year-old! It’s crazy how time flys by. It seems like just last week that we brought her home from the delivery room. It seems like just yesterday she was starting treatment for her tumor (which is doing fantastic, by the way), and it seems like a few minutes ago she was an infant. Now she’s trying to talk, walk (she’s getting close!) and she’s growing up into a little lady. Wow… We joy in the fact that God has entrusted our children to us, and we take very seriously our responsibility to shepherd their hearts and guide them through their childhood years toward knowledge of, and commitment to, Christ.
Challenge
In our last prayer letter I mentioned that as of right now, it looks like we’ll be moving to Colombia in November. Well, that is becoming more of a reality each day! Our support continues to steadily rise (at 79% now!), and our setup fund needs are being met, little by little. We just received the girl’s passports this week and will be getting our religious visa for Colombia very soon. Here’s the challenge: Would you pray that everything goes smoothly in these last few months? There’s much to do, still some money to raise and lots of traveling to do on deputation between now and then. Secondly, would you pray that God would send more people to Colombia? The need is great. The laborers are few! If we were to plant a church for every 50,000 people, we would need at least 940 churches throughout the country! Maybe God would have you to come and help us.
We love y’all and would love to hear how things are going in your lives. What can we pray for you about? Keep your eyes on Jesus… He’s coming soon, we must be busy in the work he has left us to do. God bless!
The Vance Family 
