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!)
Feliz Cumpleaños, Aubrie!
Y’all don’t mind if I brag a little on Aubrie, do you?
Today, February 10th is a very special day… It’s the anniversary of my wife’s 22nd birthday!! ((I think that’s when we were supposed to stop counting… Lol))
Aubrie, you’re amazing and I love you with my all! You’re the best wife I could ever imagine, the best mother to our girls, the best looking, most compassionate, most loving person I’ve ever met. I couldn’t imagine my life without you.
Thank you for sticking with me, and not giving up, even through the hard trials we faced last year. Thank you for your heart. Thank you for being 100% supportive in the ministry The Lord has placed us in. Thank you for your excitement in reaching people with the Gospel. Thank you for your love for God and his Word. I thank Christ for you.
You’re my companion, my best friend, my sweetie. Happy birthday. I look forward to getting old, sore and wrinkly with you. Ok, maybe not so much the “sore” part, but you know what I mean.
Yours for life,
Aaron
To Our Child We Never Met
“January 19th is your due date… Congratulations!”
This news was somewhat of a surprise to us, but we were excited to be expecting our 3rd child.
However, we never got to meet this blessing. On May 26th, 2013 (our second daughter’s birthday, no less), we spent the day in the hospital where we learned that the pregnancy was lost. Though very hard to see at the time, we now know it was in God’s plan.
Because of the loss of our baby, the doctors found out my wife had a painful disease called endometriosis, and they were able to do an operation to relieve some pain before it got worse.
Still, January 19th has come, and it’s hard not to wonder, “What if….?”
God has taught us to lean more on him this past year than any other. He has given us consolation with with we hope to be able to help and encourage others going through the same issues.
Following is a something I wrote down in honor of our little one. We called him/her Agape (Greek for perfect, unconditional love). But Amira, our oldest, called her little sibling Cookie. 🙂
So, to “Agape Cookie Vance” ..
Dear child,
You were ours for a moment;
So swift and so fleeting.
Now, your home is distant,
Our hearts left bleeding.Questions bombard, we wonder
Who you would’ve grown to be.
Tall or short, a him or her…
We never got to see.We never saw you walk,
Run, play, fall or cry;
Never heard you talk
Or sing pretty lullabies.Doubts fill our minds,
What did we do wrong?
The sorrow echoes inside.
A never ending song.But then a voice whispers
“Be still, my child, be still.
Your baby is in my arms,
Be still, trust me, be still.“I knew about this all along.
Nothing takes me by surprise.
You did nothing wrong,
Just lift up your eyes.“You see, I too, lost my son,
Jesus Christ, on Calvary.
He did for the wrong you’d done
To redeem you back to me.“Separated for a moment,
He returned soon again.
Reconciled those that trust him,
Saving them from their sins.“You, too, shall see your child,
Not there on earth, but here.
So fear not, I know it’s wild,
But have faith, you’re near.”So I keep my eyes and focus
On him who is my rest and peace;
On the one who died for us,
His love poured out, all to see.He is worthy of all I can give,
He deserves all worship, all praise.
For his name I choose to live
Telling of him all my days.I choose to trust his heart, his mind;
He knows much more than I.
Sweet peace in Him I find,
We’ll all meet one day in the sky.So, my child, hold on!
We’ll join you as soon as we can!
You’re safe in God’s loving arms.
We know it’s part of His great plan.By Aaron Vance
January 19, 2014
The Vance Family 