Category Archives: Iglesia Bautista El Faro
Back in Colombia, Huge Building News, Exciting Ministry Days — March 2023 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
Hello again from Colombia! We returned to the field in February after a great furlough. It’s so good to be in the place where the Lord has called us. We hit the ground running, and God is already working. I’m excited about the days ahead.
Exciting Building News
We have had some significant developments since our last letter. Several gifts have come in for our building fund for Agape Baptist Church. In addition, we received a generous matching-funds offer from Calvary Baptist in Ashland, OH. We now only need around $45,000 out of our $200,000 goal. But we urgently need your help. We only have until July to finish raising these funds. Would you consider giving toward this project? Whether you can give $50 or $5,000, every little bit helps! We plan to purchase the same church building we rent, which is also the site of our Bible Institute, medical clinic outreaches, recording studio, and more. If extra funds come in, we will put those aside for a future purchase of the adjoining lot as we grow. Gifts can be sent Online and by mail through Macedonia World Baptist Missions (PO Box 519, Braselton, GA 30517) and marked “A. Vance – Building.”
Strong Churches
We are so encouraged by the growth of each church we started here. Even in our absence, most have seen new people saved and added to the membership. In fact, our current main work, Agape, is now running around 180 people, and we will be adding another service starting in April to accommodate more growth.
In March, we had a joint men’s camp, wherein 65 men from our congregations came together to speak of the theme, “United For His Cause.” Each of our lead pastors shared a message on unity and the Gospel that brings us together.
Family Update
Our girls are back into the homeschool routine again here in Colombia. They were sad to leave our sending church’s school, Lighthouse Christian Academy, where they enjoyed time with new friends and awesome teachers last year. Such is missionary kid life — lots of transitions, hellos, and sad goodbyes. Aubrie is doing a fantastic job teaching the girls.
We still have pending doctor appointments to pinpoint Aubrie’s autoimmune condition and treatment plan. We’re looking for just the right doctors to help her. Until then, we take one day at a time!
As far as my arm after the accident over a year ago, the doctors just gave me a clean bill of health in March! This is a miracle because there was virtually no progress in bone healing for over six months, and the plan was to do a bone graft surgery this year. I’ve adjusted to permanent limited mobility.
Thank You
We couldn’t be here without your prayers and financial support, and we don’t take it for granted! Thank you for your faithfulness. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Let us know how we can be praying for you!
Grace and Peace to You,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;”
—1 Thessalonians 3:9—
I joined a group of pastors on a trip to Israel in January before returning to the field. It was a life-changing experience that will forever mark me! Seeing the land of the Bible has brought the Bible to life and will help me as I teach it to those who will teach others also. Jesus is building his church! Pray for us as we add another Sunday service on Easter. Man Camp 2023 — “United For His Cause” Praise God, Aris got saved & baptized in January! What a precious moment. Aubrie had a birthday in February, Aris turned 8 in February, and Amira turned 13 in March. Wait, we have a teenager?!
Tickets Bought, Building to Buy, & Feliz Navidad — December 2022 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
This has been such a strange year. We have experienced many blessings, but we’ve also gone through many dark trials. Such is the Christian life. We long for that final day in which we are forever with Christ. Until then, we faint not!
Tickets Purchased For Our Return!
We are nearing the end of our 2022 furlough travels! Lord willing, we will return to Colombia on February 8th. The last 2-3 months have been the busiest by far. But God has blessed us in remarkable ways. During this furlough, we had 97 meetings in 40 different churches in 11 States. We’re thankful for the chance to visit some long-time supporting churches and add a couple of new monthly financial partners. We only lack around $400 per month to meet our monthly support goal.
Growing Ministry & Big Opportunities!
All four of our churches and Bible studies have grown since the start of our furlough. New salvations, baptisms, church members, and people training for ministry have been evident in each congregation. What great joy to hear these dear believers are walking in truth (3 John 4).
We’re on our way to meeting our goal of $200,000 by mid-2023 to purchase our current building for Agape Baptist Church. Pray if God would have you or your church invest in this opportunity to continue to reach Colombians with the Gospel for generations to come. You can make your tax-deductible gift Online (www.mwbm.org) or by mail (MWBM Inc., PO Box 519, Braselton, GA, 30517) and mark it “A. Vance — Building.”
Here is a quick video I recently recorded from the church building:
We also look forward to hosting another team from Medical Mission Outreach to do an Optical clinic from June 22- July 1, 2023. If you are interested in joining this trip, find more information on their website: www.medical-outreach.com.
Aubrie’s & Aaron’s Health
We still have no definitive answers concerning Aubrie’s autoimmune condition. She has gone through five levels of testing to pinpoint the issue but to no avail. As of now, we plan to follow up with rheumatologist and neurologist specialists in Colombia. Pray that we find some answers soon.
In December, I also had more imaging and tests done to see how my arm was healing after being run over by a truck in January 2022. Unfortunately, one of the fractures in my forearm still hasn’t progressed as expected. We’re still looking at a possible bone-graft surgery next year to fill in the gaps. They also suspect I am developing Dupuytren’s Contractures in one of my hands which may require surgery in a couple of years if it worsens. We long for that glorified body!
¡Feliz Navidad Y Año Nuevo!
From our family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May the peace of God keep your hearts; may his grace be sufficient in your needs; may his love define your identity; may his power fill your lives; and may his Word sanctify you in every good work. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
In Christ’s Perfect Love,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;“
— 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 —
Our 2022 Christmas Card We thank God for the Cox family, a new missionary family who has come to work with us in Colombia for a few years. Each of our four girls joined me on a trip this year. Aris went with me to PA and she caught a big catfish on the way! I participated in Agape Baptist’s second-anniversary service in November. Christ is building his church! Jaime was baptized in November. We never get tired of seeing God change lives! Our youngest, Alethea, turned 5 in November. They grow so fast!
Vance Family to Colombia — September 2022 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
Colombia Trip Update
I traveled back to Colombia for a brief trip at the end of August. I preached and taught 12 times in 10 days in three of our churches, counseled several families and church leaders, and encouraged the men who are training for ministry. Additionally, I met with my surgeon and had a court hearing related to the accident in January in which I was run over by a delivery truck. It was a busy yet very blessed trip! One of the highlights was meeting with 20 new adults and their children who were in the middle of a new member’s class. These are mostly new believers, and all were reached since we left in May for our furlough. Christ is building his church! We’re already looking forward to our return early next year.
Medical Update
The orthopedic specialist who operated on my arm this January mentioned that I may need another bone graph surgery if one of the fractures doesn’t improve by December. Though I’ve learned to live with the pain and limited mobility, I would love to avoid this surgery if possible. Pray for healing.
Additionally, at the beginning of September, Aubrie tested positive for some type of auto-immune disease. More tests need to be run, but it appears we may have a long road ahead of us. There are many unknowns. Lately, it has just been one thing after another. May God’s grace be sufficient moment by moment.
Furlough Update
We are about to shift to another gear of our furlough, also known as “mission conference season.” From September through November, I will be traveling up and down the east coast and participating in several back-to-back conferences, both as a speaker and guest missionary. Pray for us during this busy time. May Christ allow us to encourage his churches and raise awareness for the cause of world evangelism. Pray for Aubrie and the girls, as they will mostly stay close to our home base in Georgia while the girls are in school. It’s hard not to be together.
Building Update
We are thankful for a couple of churches that have already sent in special offerings to help us with the $200,000 needed to buy the building we currently rent for our latest church, Ágape Baptist Church. This is also where we have our Bible College, big community outreach efforts, and television recording studio. We still have a long way to go, but I am confident that the funds will come in God’s timing. If you would like to make an eternal investment in reaching many people for years to come, you can send donations through our Mission Board and mark the checks or online giving “A. Vance – Building.”
Thank you once again for holding the ropes for us. God is using your faithful prayers and financial support to help us reach and train many souls in Colombia and South America. This is all spiritual fruit added to your account!
With Love & Grateful Hearts,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”.
— Philippians 4:18-19 —
Our first church in Colombia, El Faro, celebrated its 8th anniversary in July. Our newest church, Ágape, has had standing room only for most services! Praise the Lord for Felipe, another young person who recently accepted Christ! It was great to be in GA with Pastor Alfonso and the Spanish ministry I started in 2006 for their missions conference in September. A benefit of furlough is spending time with family. We got to celebrate my dad’s (Richard Vance) birthday in person. There is still so much work to do for Christ in our city of Bucaramanga. (Nicknamed: La Ciudad Bonita / The Pretty City)
God Blessed More Than We Expected! — Church’s First Anniversary Report
We have been amazed at what the Lord has done in the past year in and through our first church plant, Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro (Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church) in Bucaramanga, Colombia. People have been saved, believers have grown through discipleship, leaders have emerged and begun to be developed, and the church has grown.
For our anniversary, we expected a good crowd, but we were blown away by how many people came. By our most accurate count, 140 people gathered together to celebrate what God has done in our first year! Many visitors came for the first time, the gospel was preached, professions of faith were made, believers were strengthened, and King Jesus was lifted high!
Following are a few pictures of our special service and a video we showed highlighting our first year.
- What a group!
- Happy about what God has done
- Preaching the Word
- We are out of space! (In fact, they told me about 30 adults and 22 kids were outside this room)
- Lifting high the name of Jesus
- One of our men always stands out front and passes out tracts before and after the service
- Kids having fun in their service
- Say cheese!
- One of our members had a special cake made with photos from all last year.
- Grill team working hard
- Ready to pass out a tasty meal
- Yum!
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Please pray for us in the days ahead. As you can see, we have run out of space, but praise the Lord, we were able to rent another larger building just around the block. Construction work is underway to adapt the building to our needs and get it ready for move in by the end of the month. Our people are very excited and all are pitching in to see Christ’s church expand and his Name lifted high.
The church has given sacrificially toward the many expenses of moving, but there are a few major things we would still like to purchase and we only lack the funds, namely a permanent baptistry and kitchen installations. If you would like to give a one-time gift toward these needs, you can send a check marked for us to our mission agency, Macedonia, or you can give online here. If you plan to give toward a specific need, write us a note to make sure it goes toward the right project.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. God has blessed, and much fruit has been added to your account. Great days are ahead!
Vance Family Footnotes
• Wednesday – Sunday of this past week was spent in Zachary, LA at Grace Baptist Church. I don’t know of many other churches that are so given to missions! What a blessing it was.
• On the way to Louisiana last week I was able to stop by Pensacola Christian College in FL to see my brother Zach. He’s a music major in his 3rd year there… love that guy!
• We’ve picked up two new supporters (and a couple other “hopefuls” as well!) over the last two weeks. I believe this puts us right at 50% — Praise the Lord!
• Iglesia Bautista El Faro, the Spanish church we started in GA celebrated their 6th anniversary last Sunday. It really killed me not to be there, but I was told that the Lord really blessed in a great way! The Lord is doing such a great job through Pastor Alfonso.
• Hell’s Gates, an outreach event at our home church, has also gone very well. My pastor told me today that 84 people have made salvation decisions so far this month! If you haven’t been yet and live anywhere near Georgia, you should definitely make plans to go. There are only two weekends left. Let me know if you have any questions.
• IN THE NEWS: Please be praying for Colombia as they begin peace talks with the FARC rebel group today in Norway. This has been a highly anticipated event that has brought many mixed feelings amongst Colombians. May God’s will be done.
• VIDEO: Why You Should Bring Your Young People To The Summit
• PAST POST TO CONSIDER: Colombian Fruit
• FROM THE WORD: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10
• Some pictures from the week:
- Anabel and Amira, all ready for Sunday church!
- Zach is working hard at PCC studying music. Love that guy
- Grace Baptist in Louisiana took the missionaries skeet shooting during the missions conference. Can you believe that I missed all 50 skeets?! Man, I need to practice…
- The Parade of Nations at Grace Baptist. This was cool.
- Thank God for modern technology like Skype. I get to chat with my family all the time when travelling my myself. Notice the little eyes behind the couch. 🙂
Thanks for keeping up with us. We’d love to hear from you… just comment, message or email us to let us know how we can pray for you. May God bless!