I strongly believe that Latin America is one of the ripest areas in the world for church planting. The countries are open. The people are receptive. The Gospel is starting to take root. I believe we are on the verge of seeing a massive revival!
If you get a few minutes, I want you to check out this a brand new website chock full of resources for church planting in Latin America. It’s called The Latin Bridge. You see, in order to see this revival come to pass in our generation, we need more laborers and we need to get the right tools in those laborers’ hands.
If you or somebody you know are interested in becoming a church planter, or if you’re a layman or pastor that wants to have a part in seeing people reached with the Gospel we’d like to be a bridge. Check out the website here!
When we went to Colombia in February on our survey trip, one of the many things that stood out to us was the wide variety of fruits there. I just read this article this morning and thought I’d pass it along. Get to know 11 interesting fruits that you’ll find if you ever come visit us…
Colombia is best known for its wide variety of orchids, as well as its other species of flowers, birds and butterflies. What some people may fail to explore are all the exotic tropical fruits of Colombia.
The colors, smells, flavors and textures of the fruits that flourish in this rich area are not to be missed.
Here are some of my favorites:
Cherimoya (Photo: little blue hen)
It has a green exterior that looks like it is covered with soft thumb prints, same interior as the guanabana. The fruit is fleshy and soft, sweet, white in color, with a sherbert-like texture.
Some characterize the flavor as a blend of banana, pineapple, papaya, peach and strawberry. Others describe it as tasting like commercial bubblegum. Mark Twain called the cherimoya “the most delicious fruit known to men.”
Granadilla (photo: quinet)
Hard, round, usually orange exterior best eaten by using your fingernails to crack the skin, then sucking the snot-like crunchy seeds out from the inside. If you can get past the visual, it’s incredible.
Guanabana (photo: clandestino_20)
Massive green fruit with soft thorn-like pieces covering it. The inside is a white fleshy substance with black/brown seeds.
Its flavor has been described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple with sour citrus flavor notes contrasting with an underlying creamy flavor reminiscent of coconut or banana. The Guanabana tree is a miraculous, natural, cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo.
Brazilian Guava (photo: keetr)
Guava fruit generally have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less sharp.
Guava pulp may be sweet or sour, off-white to deep pink, with the seeds in the central pulp of variable number and hardness, depending on species.
Lulo fruit and juice (photo: Luna sin estrellas)
Looks like and feels like a small orange tomato. The fruit has a citrus flavor, sometimes described as a combination of rhubarb and lime. The juice of the lulo is almost always used as a drink since it is usually too strong in flavor to eat.
Mamoncillo (photo: iguana_box)
The fruit, somewhat like a cross between a lychee and a lime, has a tight and thin, but rigid layer of skin, traditionally cracked by the teeth. They grow on a branch like grapes and are green in color.
Maracuya (photo: Vic Lic)
Similar appearance to the granadilla, interior and exterior.
Pitahaya
Pitahaya (photo: pellesten)
Cactus fruit which are sour and refreshing with a juicier flesh and stronger taste. The fruit must be cut to get to the fleshy center which is eaten together with its black crunchy seeds.
Tomate de Arbol (photo: Luna sin estrellas)
An egg-shaped edible fruit that looks like a tomato. The flesh of the tomate de arbol is tangy and variably sweet, with a bold and complex flavor, and may be compared to kiwifruit, tomato, guave or passion fruit. The skin and the flesh near it have a bitter taste and are not usually eaten raw but in juices with cinnamon.
Uchuva (photo: Mataparda)
Its most notable feature is the inflated, papery calyx enclosing each berry. Inside the skin is the tart, tangy, cream pulp (technically the seed coat), which is sucked by putting the whole fruit inside the mouth. It is bright orange and sweet when ripe but can be extremely sour and face-puckering also.
Zapotes (photo: leoncillo sabino)
This unusual fruit is round with a rough brown skin. The pale orange inside also has a slightly rough texture and a sweet, malty taste. There are a few large black seeds but they are easy to remove.
Head to any of the local fruit markets to get the freshest and cheapest variety of these exotic fruits, or try them in juice form from street vendors and restaurants. They are much more refreshing and revitalizing then coffee, or cheese bread.
Or, if you visit the coast, you can find many of these fruits hanging from the trees, waiting for you to pick and eat them fresh.
Aug 2
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I know, I know… She’s the cutest girl you’ve ever seen. 🙂 It’s amazing how much Amira is growing every day. Aubrie and I are honored to be her parents and constantly pray that God gives us the wisdom to train her up in the way she should go.
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
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With about 3 months left until local elections in Colombia, at least 21 political candidates have been assassinated just this year by illegal armed groups. Perhaps they stood for issues that were against the group’s agenda. Perhaps they were vying for control over an area already controlled by these groups. Perhaps they were simply in their way. At this rate, I really don’t know why anybody would have a desire to be in the Colombian government!
It burdens me when I read headlines like these about Colombia or other parts of the world, knowing that they so desperately need Christ. If we could only get them the Gospel it would change everything!
Check out what Paul said in 1 Corinthians:
“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:9-10
If you are familiar with the story of the Apostle Paul, you’ll know that God really took him from one extreme to the other. He killed, imprisoned and persecuted God’s people until Christ became his Savior, upon which time he then became a catalyst for new church plants, leader training and early church edification. Not to mention God used him to pen at least 16 books of the New Testament portion of the Bible. Incredible.
Now, though the people who are responsible for the violence in Colombia aren’t necessarily targeting Christians (though they’ll take out whoever stands in their way), could you imagine what God could do with their lives if they ever became HIS disciples!? That passion that once was used for a violent political agenda would be channeled into a purpose for God’s glory! We would never know the full impact of a life that is won for Christ. As one man put it, “You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can never count the apples in a seed!”
But what is standing in the way between these extremist groups and others becoming sold out for God and where they are now?
They don’t have the Gospel!
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
“If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” 2 Corinthians 4:3-5
The Gospel is what changes people. It is the story of Christ’s undying, sacrificial love demonstrated for us on the Cross, paying for our sin. It is the truth that only He can save, only He can change, and only He can give us hope.
The Gospel is powerful.
The Gospel never changes.
The Gospel is our most effective weapon against the dark forces that have blinded the world.
The Gospel is what needs to be preached.
But, the Gospel is being hidden.
We haven’t taken them the hope we hold so dearly in our own lives. How shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach except they be sent?
Pray that we can get to Colombia soon. Will you pray about coming with us?
Every little bit helps! Thank you for your donation.
The Vance Family 