Category Archives: Mission Trip
Spiritual Fruit Abounding! — March 2025 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
What a year it has already been! Join us in rejoicing over God’s blessings on the ministry here in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
The Refuge Of Life Center
In February, we launched a nonprofit feeding and education center in conjunction with our church in the Café Madrid neighborhood. We are serving around 50 underprivileged children each day. We provide a hot meal (often the only food they’ll have all day), help with their homework, and—most importantly—offer them hope. The children receive daily time in the Word, along with mentorship, counseling, and practical discipleship tailored to their individual needs and maturity level. We’re already seeing fruit from this program!
A project of this magnitude is quite costly. A generous donation from Impact Others helped us start strong, and we’re now working toward launching small businesses to support local families and ensure long-term sustainability.
Discipleship Initiative
Christ’s mandate to make disciples has always been at the heart of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20) and the core of our ministry. This year, we reorganized our format and efforts at Ágape Baptist Church as a pilot program for our other ministries, and the results have been fantastic!
We meet in several small groups, each comprising 4–12 people, all of whom are reading through the Bible using the same reading plan. Each person highlights verses and passages that stand out to them, and we meet weekly to pray and discuss those highlights. Additionally, we incorporate outside readings to cover doctrine and the Christian life. It’s a reproducible and sustainable model, and I have high hopes for the long-term fruit it will bear.
Men’s Retreat
In March, we once again organized and hosted a camp for about 50 men from our churches. Over the course of a few days, we explored Scripture, focusing on the process God uses to form, purify, strengthen, and prepare us for spiritual battle. I thank the Lord for the way He is forging these men of valor!
Milestone Birthdays
We celebrated Aubrie’s birthday and Aris’s 10th in February, and in March, Amira’s quinceañera—a special Latin American tradition marking her 15th birthday and her transition into young womanhood. We’re proud of the godly young ladies our daughters are becoming!
Isn’t it amazing to be part of God’s work? We thank you for your prayers and financial support, which enable us to minister here in Colombia. This is eternal fruit—and it abounds to your account!
With Grateful Hearts,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.”
—Philippians 4:17—
An Exciting New Outreach! — January 2025 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
Sometimes, life gets so busy that certain things are left undone. It has been a few months since some of you have heard from us, so we are sending out this letter along with the last one which was never sent. Please accept our apologies!
With Impact Others in Mexico
I was invited to join a group from Impact Others / Christian Media International in Guadalajara for a few days in December. We visited missionary Sam Robles, assisting in accommodating a new place for them to house orphans. I also learned from their experience in order to launch similar outreaches in the next stage of our ministry here in Colombia. There are exciting days ahead!
Nonprofit Launch!
As we have mentioned in the past, one of our churches serves a very needy community, in which many of the children are left to raise themselves. Many go hungry every day. Many struggle with school. Many end up in gangs or start using drugs from an early age. We’ve decided to do something about all of this!
With the help of a large donation from Impact Others, we are constituting a nonprofit feeding and outreach center based out of our church in Café Madrid. In addition to holding regular services, we will provide daily meals, assistance with homework, discipleship, and other resources to help between 40 and 50 needy children every day. We are currently remodeling the facilities of the church building to better serve these dear kids and their families in a very tangible way. This nonprofit will be led by Nicanor Uribe and his wife, Lyda, who have been training for ministry with us during the past few years. Lord willing, we will launch mid-February. As you can imagine, there will be many ongoing costs with this project. We are stepping out in faith and trusting the Lord to provide.
Mass Media Outreach
Our television recording studio is in full use, and we are putting out content every day in which tens of thousands of people are hearing the Gospel. If you speak Spanish and would like to check out some of the devotional and preaching videos, along with interviews and question & answer sessions, check out our new YouTube channel (along with other social media platforms): @verdadenamorbga.
Family Update
Aubrie had a long-awaited extraction of her four wisdom teeth in January. She did great, though recovery has been quite a process! Pray for her.
We thank the Lord for your faithful prayers and support, which enable us to minister in Colombia and beyond. Thank you also for the special Christmas gifts many of you sent to our family. These special offerings met very specific needs!
With Grateful Hearts,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”
—1 Peter 2:9—
Church Growth and Special Visits — November 2024 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
The last two months have been full of ministry, special visits, and God’s abundant blessings. Rejoice with us as we review what the Lord has done.
Fourth Anniversary of Ágape
Agape Baptist Church, our current ministry base, celebrated its fourth anniversary in November. It’s so awesome to be a part of God’s work of seeing people saved, discipling them, training them, and launching them into Christian maturity and ministry. Every week, we witness between two and three hundred believers gather to worship, study, pray, and serve.
Faithful Churches & Ministers
The other local churches we have had a part in starting are also doing well. It is a joy to witness from a distance the pastors and leaders faithfully serving the Lord week by week. Many of them are also training their own groups of disciples and future pastors without our direct involvement. This brings joy to my soul! The success of our ministry doesn’t depend on us doing everything, but in this long-term process of multiplying faithful men and women for the glory of God.
Special Visitors
In the last two months, we enjoyed visits from several special guests. Dave, a representative of Christian Media International, was with us in October. They helped us launch our studio and media ministry and are now assisting us in expanding our non-profit outreach based out of our church in the Café Madrid neighborhood. I’ll share more on that later. In November, we enjoyed getting to know Chantha and Jake, pastors from a new supporting church in Illinois. We also had a great time with our Macedonia field director, Bruce Berry, who was with us during Agape Baptist Church’s anniversary. Additionally, we were visited by David Robles and his family, a Peruvian pastor who is praying about coming to work with us here in Colombia. We thank God for these faithful servants! It seems God brings just the right people into our path at the right moments.
Family Update
Aubrie and the girls are doing well, and we were blessed to celebrate Alethea’s seventh birthday in November. In the midst of a crazy ministry schedule, it was also nice to get away for a few days on a family vacation in October. I thank the Lord we get to do what we do, and for the people with whom we get to do it!
We thank the Lord for you all. We appreciate you faithfully holding the ropes for us with your prayers and financial support. We pray for you often. Feel free to reach out anytime if you need special prayer or just to say hello.
With Grateful Hearts,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:”
—Psalm 103:1-2—
Travel & Teaching — March 2024 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
God continues to open abundant opportunities to serve him here in Colombia and beyond. This year has been packed with travel & teaching. We are deeply grateful for your prayers and support, which have been instrumental in our mission work.
Training Pastors in India And Nepal
I was invited to train national pastors in India and Nepal in January. Over one month, I preached and taught 41 times in 8 churches and 11 different pastors’ and leaders’ conferences. Over 2,000 people attended, with 800 of those being pastors. We were in many regions, each with its own dialect and culture. The travel was strenuous, and the schedule was demanding, but God blessed us in huge ways! The theme of these conferences was Gospel-Centered life and ministry.
Multiply Conference in Chile
March brought a new opportunity to preach and teach in the annual pastors and leaders conference at the Chile Baptist Seminary, hosted by veteran missionary Jason Holt. It was a blessing to share with the Chilean pastors about evangelism and discipleship and learn from the ministry experience of other faithful missionaries and pastors.
Growing Churches in Colombia
We are thrilled with the spiritual and numerical growth of the churches God has allowed us to start in Colombia. We regularly witness new people getting saved, baptized, and joining the local churches, but it never gets old! The Gospel is changing lives! God has blessed our evangelism and discipleship efforts, and we’re always looking for ways to continue to push forward. There is still much to do!
Men’s Camp
The men from our churches always look forward to gathering collectively in March for our annual men’s retreat. We focused this year on living out the principles of the upside-down kingdom of God. Pastors Felix and Juan joined me in teaching, and the Lord worked in many hearts.
New Semester of Bible Institute
We also started a new year of Bible and ministry training classes in March to prepare our churches’ upcoming pastors and leaders. We praise God for the 40(+) students studying apologetics and ecclesiology this semester. Additionally, I gather with 25 men weekly who feel called into pastoral ministry. We go over doctrine, ministry ethics, and homiletics. Only God knows what the future holds for these faithful believers!
Building Prayer Request
We have mentioned the fundraising efforts to purchase our current rented facility for Agape Baptist Church. We praise God for meeting the initial goal and being able to start the paperwork process. However, the US dollar has lost about 25% of its value compared to the Colombian Peso over the past year, and it is now the lowest it has been in 3 years. Aside from affecting our personal finances, this significantly impacts the value of the funds we still need to bring from the US to Colombia to finalize the purchase of the building. Pray for this need.
For The Cause of Christ,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the ant of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;”
—2 Corinthians 9:11-12—
I learned to preach shoe-less and in a kurta (man dress) in India. All things to all men! 
What a great work God is doing in Chile! The night sessions were held outdoors. 
“We spent 15 years in a religion that only gave us more fear of eternity. Now we know Christ, his Gospel and his peace!”
-Luis Fernando giving his testimony before getting baptized.
Pastor Felix teaching in the men’s retreat. It’s been great seeing God’s work in him and through him during the past decade. 
It’s a great honor to teach and train God’s choice servants. Pray for his work in them. 
In February & March we celebrated birthdays for Aubrie, Aris (9), and Amira (14)! 
What a Year! — December 2023 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
We trust you had a wonderful and Christ-filled Christmas. As we reflect on 2023, we are constantly amazed at the goodness of God. He continues to pour out his blessing and cause the ministry in Colombia to flourish. Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support!
Celebrating New Milestones
The primary church we’re working at now, Agape Baptist, continues growing and reaching new people. Each month, our attendance average increases. We are witnessing new salvations, baptisms, and discipleship involvement. Many men are advancing in their ministry training. By God’s grace, we have around 250 people attending each week! We celebrated this church’s 3rd anniversary this November.
Exciting Building News
Despite concern over the recent devaluing of the US dollar, by God’s grace and through the generous donations of some of our supporting churches and the Colombian members of Agape Baptist, we have met our fundraising goal to purchase our current rented facility! We praise God for this open door. Pray for us as we work out the paperwork in the days ahead. As God leads and provides, we’re already making future plans to purchase an adjoining lot that will allow us to continue growing and expanding.
Opportunity To Train Pastors
God opened the door for me to travel to India and Nepal in January and February of 2024 with another missionary friend. He has been several times and wanted me to join him on this trip. Lord willing, I will teach around 500 local pastors in training seminars between 10-12 locations. Some of these areas have been affected by persecution and oppression. I pray that I can bless those leading Christ’s church in this needy area. Though traveling from South America to South Asia is odd, training pastors has always been at the heart of my calling. This is an incredible opportunity! By God’s grace, my primary travel expenses have already been taken care of by my missionary friend. However, I could still use some financial help to get around the country and try to be a blessing to the local pastors and hosts. We know where God guides, he provides.
Aubrie’s Health Update
Aubrie had a tumor removed in October. This turned out to be malignant, though it is a very treatable type of skin cancer. We were told that she would need another surgery sometime in the coming months. Thank you all for your prayers for this and the other health needs Aubrie has been facing lately.
We Thank God For You!
November marked ten years since we moved to Colombia as church-planting missionaries. Our hearts were full of dreams and expectations to spread the Gospel and God’s glory, but we didn’t know the full scope of what the Lord would do. Thank you for holding the ropes for us. Many of you have faithfully supported us since the beginning, and others have joined our team of partners recently. We thank God for you!
For The Glorious Christ,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alehea)
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
—Ephesians 3:20-21—
Our little family continues to grow. How is the time going by so fast?! 
Agape Baptist Church celebrated its third anniversary. Christ builds his church! 
Thanksgiving is just another ordinary day for most Colombians, but we had the privilege of hosting several ex-pat families for Thanksgiving again this year. 
We were blessed to host Pastor Alberto Gomez in October. He was the first to challenge me to pray about Colombia when I was a student nearly 20 years ago! 
We celebrated Alethea’s sixth birthday in November. How is she our youngest? 
The Vance Family 
