Category Archives: Children
New Recruits!
The Vance family, decked out for Boot Camp!
Wow, what a great week at Vacation Bible School! We were honored to be at our home church’s summer kids program most nights this week and let me tell you, God worked in amazing ways! The theme was “Boot Camp — Get In The Lord’s Army.” Several hundred kids attended, over a hundred teens and adults from Lighthouse helped pull it off, and at least 44 kids spoke with counselors and made professions of faith, making Christ Jesus their Lord and Savior.
It was very odd to just walk into a VBS at Lighthouse and not have much to do with pulling it off. Very different from years past, no doubt. We were able to help with crowd control and decision counseling, and praise God, both Aubrie and I were able to lead a few children to Christ!
Pastor Blackstock also announced that the offering from the penny march would go toward my friends Will Hill (missionary to Japan), Beth Johnson (missionary to Morocco) and us (missionaries to Colombia, of course). What an honor! Thank you guys, we love you!
Remember what Christ said:
“Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10
I’m In The Lord’s Army. YES SIR!
Ever since I can remember, Vacation Bible School has always been one of my favorite times of the year. From the awesome Bible stories, memory verses, fun songs, prizes, skits and more, it’s always such a blast! Please be in prayer for my home church as they kick off their annual VBS tonight at 7 PM.
It is always humbling to think of so many kids coming into the church and hearing the Gospel clearly for the first time. Pray that everything will go smoothly. Pray for all the counselors as they work with the children that are being dealt with. These children’s eternity is at stake!
May God move in their hearts.
May the Holy Spirit convict them of their sinful state and need for Christ.
May all their trust be placed in what Christ has already done to pay for that sin.
May Christ be magnified, glorified and exalted above all else!
Leaving Our Comfort Zone
I turned it in today.
My notice.
Many saw it coming, but it took quite a few by surprise to see it so soon.
For the past two years, in addition to pastoring the Spanish Church at Lighthouse Baptist, I’ve had the privilege of working at Children’s Medical Services as a Bilingual Program Associate. I’ve enjoyed helping families that have kids with varying disabilities and special healthcare conditions. I’ve been able to assist them with case management, interpretation with doctors, and intermediation with nurses, hospitals, specialists, pharmacies and so much more. Since this is a government job I have had the luxury of being able to pastor the Spanish church at the same time without worrying about conflicts on nights and weekends.
Unfortunately, the Monday-Friday, 7 am to 5 pm schedule doesn’t work as well with scheduling deputation meetings.
So, I put in my notice today.
We don’t have much support at all right now, but we do have a big God. There’s nothing too big for Him. It’s time to get out of our comfort zone and step out by faith.
Pray that we can fill up our calendar with meetings. Fast. 🙂
The Saddest Letter
Read the article below reposted from “Encouraging Words by Cary Schmidt.”
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SADDEST LETTER I’VE EVER READ by Cary Schmidt
I recieved this letter from a young lady last week—a Bible college student who grew up in a Christian home and Christian school. I believe it’s the saddest letter I’ve ever read and right on the mark for so detailing the experiences of so many young Christians. I asked her permission to post it. Please read. Her words will greatly challenge you as a parent or pastor:
Dear Pastor Schmidt,
A few years ago, I read your books Hook, Line, and Sinker, Discover Your Destiny, and Life Quest. I found them to be extremely encouraging and instructive. These books showed me that not only do you have a real heart for young people, but you also understand us well. I am writing to ask you to consider writing a book to our parents and youth workers. Let me explain.
I am a junior at a well-known Christian college. I grew up in highly respected “fundamental independent Baptist” churches, and went to excellent Christian schools. My father has been a Christian worker since before I was born. One would think that my testimony would go something like this:
“I was saved when I was about 5 and I had dedicated my life to God and I have been growing a lot and serving Him and now I’m studying to serve Him full time.” But that isn’t my story. Actually, though I did make a profession of faith when I was very young, I didn’t get saved until I was 17. Since I was 12 and now on into college I have struggled with “serious” issues. And I found out when I went to college that I am not the only “good kid” who is or has struggled with or is still struggling with serious stuff. We struggle with issues like eating disorders, depression and suicide, cutting, pornography, gender identity, homosexuality, drugs, drinking, immorality, and the list could go on. We listen to “wild” music, we idolize pop culture’s heroes, we watch dirty sitcoms. We have no discrimination in our entertainment, dress, or any aspect of our lifestyle. Obviously, I’m generalizing our problems—you would not find that every Christian young person from a conservative background struggles with all of these issues, and praise God, some of us do not struggle with any of these issues.
My point is that the problems that are supposed to be bad kid’s problems belong to us too. Unfortunately, our parents and youth workers don’t know that we struggle with these things and they don’t know what to do with us when they find out. Quite frankly, I believe that if you grabbed the average Christian school teacher or youth worker and asked them, “What would you do if you found out that one of the kids you work with was a homosexual?” they wouldn’t know what to say.
My point is not simply that they don’t know what we struggle with or how to deal with it. I think there is a pretty simple reason why “good” kids struggle with such serious stuff. And that there is a solution. At the risk of being blunt, I’m going to be blunt.
Our parents did not spend time teaching us to love God. Our parents put us in Sunday Schools since K4. Our parents took us to church every time the doors opened, and sent us to every youth activity. They made sure we went to good Christian colleges. They had us sing in the choir, help in the nursery, be ushers, go soulwinning. We did teen devotionals, and prayed over every meal. We did everything right. And they made sure that we did.
But they forgot about our hearts. They forgot that the Bible never commanded the church to teach children about God and His ways. That responsibility was laid at the feet of our fathers. Unfortunately, our fathers don’t have time for us. They put us where we are surrounded by the Bible. But they didn’t take time to show us that God was important enough to them to tell us personally about Him. So to us, Christianity has become a religion of externals. Do all the right stuff, and you’re a good Christian. So, some of us walk away from church. Some of us stay in church and fill a pew. Many of us struggle with stuff that our parents have no idea about because they hardly know us.
I think these problems stem from first, our detachment from our parents, and second from our misunderstandings about the essence of Christianity—a relationship, not a list of rules. I worry that many young people like me are not even saved because of their misunderstandings about Christianity.
I know that this has not been a well articulated treatise, but it comes from my heart. If you are able to help us and our families, we would be so grateful. I realize that probably, there is no way to fix the fact that kids my age are detached from our parents or to straighten out the crazy stuff that we struggle with. The alienation is fixed, the scars are permanent. I know our situation is not hopeless. God is at work in my life and my generation, among those of us who have struggled and are struggling. But maybe our younger siblings can have some help that we never had. Maybe you can write a book for our parents that will grab their attention and help them see that this is serious—that their kids need them, desperately.
I guess I’ve run out of things to say. I must say I’m a little hesitant to share my name with you because that attaches me with my parents, who are, by the way, good people. Thanks for everything you have already done to help Christian teens and their families. I’m eager to see what else God will do through you.
Sincerely,
(Name Removed to Protect Anonymity)
All I could say when I read this letter was, “WOW! She nailed it!” Let this insightful young lady’s words sink in, and let God help you evaluate your own parenting and influence.
Are we teaching kids to simply appear and act right? Or are we teaching them to LOVE God and KNOW Him personally?
What are your thoughts?
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Check out Cary Schmidt’s follow-up articles here:
Response #1 To The Saddest Letter
Response #2 To The Saddest Letter
New Friends and Random Photos In Bucaramanga
We were so blessed today to go to yet another children’s home in Bucaramanga, this one full of only special needs kids (and some adults). There were 82, all with varying chronic healthcare conditions. Although we were met with smiles and hugs that would melt any heart of stone, it was so sad to see many of these children go without some basic needs. Almost all of them were abandoned by their families. Here, maybe even more so than in the States, when a child has special needs, many times they are considered a waste of time and less than a real person. How sad. I’m glad God didn’t think I was a waste. These kids need to know of a God that loves them and has a special plan for their lives.
We were able to take them a few things to help out with the kids’ basic necessities and give a little money toward getting them proper care.
This two year old was the youngest at the Iris Foundation. Isn't she cute?
Sonya was a hoot. From the moment she saw me she tackled me, grabbed my hand and was pulling me everywhere. Did my wife get jealous? Did she intervene and save me? Did she try to stop Sonya?? Nooooo.... she laughed, grabbed the camera and took pictures. haha
This is Maria, the director along with one of the foundation's oldest residents. Maria sure loves those kids and the kids love her. Please pray for Maria's salvation.
A HUGE pile of DMEs (Durable Medical Equipment) was just donated to the foundation. Working around this stuff everyday, I can tell you this pile of stuff easily totals in the hundreds of thousands of US dollars. What a blessing!
Random Stuff Around The City…
We haven't met too many strangers in this place. People in this precious city are so friendly! We have had so many folks go far out of their way just to help us and to be a blessing to us.
Traffic in Bucaramanga.
Éxito is a very popular grocery/appliance store in Colombia. We've found that it's one of the closest things to Walmart there is here, along with another store named Carrefour. Both of these carry a few imported items from the US, though most everything is from Colombia.
A very common sight is to see people walking around with opened umbrellas, especially on a bright and sunny day. Can't be getting a tan now, can't we, right?
for about 35 cents each, and hoards of other fruits I’ve never heard of.”]
The Love Birds... And no, our hair isn't actually blue. It must have been the lighting 🙂
The Vance Family 