Category Archives: Colombia
Update – Funeral Service
Thank you all who prayed for the funeral this afternoon. Honestly, it was an incredible service and it was such and honor to speak God’s Word.
There were over 100 people inside our building and another dozen or two outside. I though we only had space in our church for 80. I guess I was wrong!It was packed.
We sung a few songs, shared a testimony of the deceased’s salvation and love for others, and I was able to share a Bible message of hope and salvation from John 14:1-6.
What God did next was amazing. A large number of those present decided to make a profession of faith in Jesus alone for salvation. Most had heard that Jesus died on the cross, and had some form of religion, but they admitted that having religion and trusting in our own works is simply not enough. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! They repented and believed in Him.
We praise Jesus for the work he did today and pray that this fruit will remain. Many expressed their desire to continue with us and grow in their new life.
What an honor to this elderly saint (who herself accepted Christ just last May!) that new birth would take place at the service celebrating her death.
God was glorified. The family was comforted. God’s family grew by a bunch.
Thank you for praying! Please continue to pray for this family, both those that started new life today and others who are still grieving their loss.
I stand in wonder of His grace to allow us to be a part of something much greater than ourselves.
I snapped a few pics after I finished preaching before we dismissed. Enjoy…
PS – The visiting group from our church in the States made it in just fine. Pray for a productive and fruitful trip, and for the upcoming official inauguration this Sunday!
Urgent Prayers Are Needed For A Special Opportunity Today!
Hey friends,
Just a quick update to let you know a little of what’s going on in the days before our church’s inauguration. We’re excited about what God is going to do on Sunday the 13th.
We have had another big opportunity dropped on our doorstep. I received a call two days ago from a Colombian lady living in the USA. Her mom, who also lived with her in the US, came back to Colombia to visit family. She arrived Sunday in Bucaramanga, where we live and minister, and that day had a massive heart attack and brain aneurism. Sadly, this dear lady passed away early yesterday morning. Her daughter, the one who called me, found our information online and asked if we could do the funeral at our church. Both the lady who died and her daughter are believers, but nearly all of the family here in Colombia is not. The dying wish of this lady was that the Gospel would be preached to her family at her funeral.
Today, Wednesday, at 3 PM Colombian time, 2 PM Eastern Standard Time in the US, I will be preaching this funeral. This will be the first service officially held at our new church building. The family expects around 50-80 people to attend, almost all of which would be family.
Pray as I preach the Gospel, honor the deceased, comfort the family and encourage these dear people to place their focus, their faith and their life in Christ. He gives hope. He gives peace. He gives life.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13
Thanks and God bless you all!
– Aaron & family
PS – Also be praying for my pastor and a group from our church that is already on their way here for a visit. We will pick them up from the airport immediately after the funeral.
May-June 2014 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends,
Ministry In Colombia
Excitement is building here in Bucaramanga, Colombia. We are gearing up for the launch of our church, Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro (translated Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church), on July 13th. As we continue to make contacts and conduct a few home bible studies/discipleship around the city, we are also doing mass literature distribution. This includes a campaign in the church’s neighborhood, wherein we’re distributing flyers to 6,000 homes each week about the inauguration with a unique devotional thought and “hooks” to get people interested. We’ll do this for 4 weeks total, to the same families. Also, we have another 10,000 tracts and 10,000 invite cards that are being passed out all over our city. That’s a total of 44,000 pieces of literature! Pray with us that the Holy Spirit would bless these seeds sown and that we will see some fruit from this effort.
In addition, we are making contacts through a Facebook page and website that we set up for the church. Many have shown interest and expressed their plans to join us! You can check it out here: www.luzparasuvida.com (this means “Light For Your Life,” a motto for our church).
Be in prayer for my pastor, Charles Blackstock, and a small group from our sending church that will be coming down for a short term trip from July 9-18. They will be here for the launch of our church! I will post updates and photos about the church inauguration on our personal ministry website: www.bemagnified.org where you can also sign up for email updates to keep up with the latest.
Special Family Announcement
Just before Father’s Day, we discovered that God is entrusting us with another child, due in February. We give the Lord thanks, and pray for a healthy pregnancy for Aubrie and the birth of this blessing, Lord willing here in Colombia. Amira and Anabel, our daughters, are excited about getting a new little sibling. Amira says that Jesus already told her it’s a boy. 🙂
To Our Rope-Holders
Thank you for praying for and supporting us. You make it possible for us to be here. God is adding fruit to your account in Colombia! Also, thank you to those that sent a special offering to offset the church launch expense. It will be a wonderful blessing to the work God is doing here in the lives of many Colombian people.
As a matter of prayer, we have recently been endowed with many added expenses and our cost of living and ministry has increased. As such, we are praying for additional monthly support. If we were in your church during deputation and you were not able to support us at the time, perhaps now God would enable you to do so. Would you consider bringing this before the people?
Our schedule would allow us to speak to your church through Skype on a Wednesday or Sunday evening if this would interest you. You can always contact us through email (aaronlvance@gmail.com) or a phone call/text (678-696-0082). We’d love to hear from you! We pray for you and appreciate you holding the ropes for us. May God richly bless you as you serve him where he’s placed you.
Love In Christ,
Aaron Vance & Family
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Click for the printable PDF of this letter (with pictures!)
March – April 2014 Prayer Letter
Dear Prayer Partners,
6 Months There, Now 6 Here…
Ten years ago I spent 6 months in Peru, South America for missions training and hands-on preparation. It was an amazing time in my life that God used to teach me and mold me into who I am today.* Well, 6 months have now gone by since our family arrived in Bucaramanga Colombia for long-term church-planting ministry. It feels like just a short while, but at the same time it feels like we’ve been here all our lives! In other words, it feels like home.
God has been working mightily lately. The past couple months we have seen blessings with both ministry and with our own family. In March we enjoyed a visit from my Mother in law, our first from the USA! In April I was able to travel to Chile for a very helpful Latin America church planters conference with many other missionaries. Aubrie and I also celebrated our fifth anniversary in April. Our children are growing and adapting well to life here. God has been good to this family!
HUGE NEWS…
We just signed this week on a building to rent for our first church in Colombia! This is a blessing as it takes us one step forward in our ministry goals. Within a few weeks, in June Lord willing, we will hold our kickoff service. Please pray that as we share the Gospel, God would work in many hearts and build His church. He is worthy!!
Special Projects…
Several have asked me to share special financial needs as they come along. In the coming weeks I’ll be buying 80 chairs, basic sound equipment, 20,000 pieces of literature, nursery supplies and much more as we get ready for the first service. If you would like to help offset these expenses, we have set up PayPal on our website for secure online giving through Macedonia World Baptist Missions, or you can send a check to MWBM at the address below with our name in the memo. Thanks for your help!
We had been saving funds for a vehicle but will use this money to go ahead with the church plant and wait for God’s timing on our own transpiration. We have been using public transportation here and will keep doing so until we have the funds for a car.
We express our heartfelt thanks to those of you that support us regularly with your prayers and financial support. God is already adding fruit to your account and we are most grateful that you have chosen to hold the rope for us! How can we be praying for you?
Prayer Requests…
- Church kickoff within a few weeks
- More people saved, baptized and discipled
- Young men that I can begin to pour my life into
Servants Of Our Great King,
Aaron Vance & Family
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:1-2
_________
*PS – if you or a young person you know is interested in missions, I highly recommend they check out the Our Generation Training Center!
Click to see a printable PDF copy of our letter (with pictures!)
Prayer Letter for January-February 2014
Dear Prayer Partners,
Ministry Update
Hello again from beautiful Bucaramanga, Colombia! The Lord has opened many doors for us since our last letter. We have seen people trust Christ as well as new discipleship and home Bible studies started, including one in our own home. As we establish these contacts, we plan to officially open a church within the next couple months. It is exciting to be a part of God’s work. Consider coming to join us!
I returned this week from an evangelistic campaign on the other side of Colombia where I was able to preach several times in small villages in open-air meetings and from house to house. Many attended, with over 30 trusting in Christ for salvation, and we were also able to encourage new believers. These campaigns were in preparation for church plants by the Colombian national pastor who invited me. Though I spent dozens of hours in buses, taxis, motorcycles, riverboats and on foot, this trip was a tremendous blessing! The culture, accent, and the weather is much different on the Coast than here in the mountains where we live. Thankfully, the Gospel message works the same!
Family Happenings
February kicks off the school year here in Colombia, so our girls began attending a nearby preschool in the mornings. They are learning well and have fun playing with the other children. Meanwhile, Aubrie is meeting with a personal tutor at the same time to improve her Spanish. I’m proud of how they are all coming along in the language and culture! When explaining to Amira she would be wearing a uniform like all the other children, she exclaimed, “Oh Yeah! Everybody likes Unicorns!” She still gets excited about wearing her unicorn each day. Ha…
Colombian Culture Corner
Many everyday words in Colombia are very vulgar and offensive in other Spanish-speaking countries. Coming from pastoring the Spanish ministry in GA with people from many different countries, it has been an adjustment using these words. It’s all part of learning the culture. We just have to be careful for the words that work the other way around! 🙂
Prayer Requests
- New converts, discipleship groups & Bible studies
- Wisdom as we choose a location for the church
- Financial support — We could use several more partners as we launch the church
- That God would continue to glorify himself in us!
Love In Christ Jesus,
Aaron Vance & Family
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” 1 Timothy 2:3-6
P.S. – Our new field address is: Carrera 51 #50-103 Bucaramanga, Santander Colombia You can also call us any time on a US number that rings on my cell here: 678-696-0082 or email us: aaronlvance@gmail.com
Click to see a printable PDF of our letter (with pictures!)
The Vance Family 