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The Most Action-Packed Update, Ever!
September 1, 2014
Dear Friends,
Brace yourselves — This is perhaps the most exciting prayer letter we’ve ever written! The past two months have been packed with God’s grace and blessings. Here is a quick rundown summary.
Church Launch
The Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro had its first official services on July 13th with around 40 in attendance. Several acknowledged their need for salvation, repenting and believing on Jesus that day! There have been new visitors every week and many families and individuals are plugging in with personal discipleship, helping around the church and bringing their friends. Pray especially for a few young men who have shown interest in going further. Christ is building his church!!
Surprise Funeral
Just days before the inauguration of our church, a Colombian lady contacted me from the USA whose mother was back in her hometown of Bucaramanga visiting family, and suddenly passed away. Both the daughter and this woman had been recently saved and were attending a good church in Florida, and I was asked to perform her funeral. The wish of this woman was that her lost family members would hear the Gospel preached at her funeral. What God did was truly amazing. By our best counts, about 120 people showed up for the service at our church (which really only holds 80), and heard a clear presentation of Biblical salvation. Dozens of these decided to place their faith in Jesus alone for eternal life. It was amazing! What an honor to this lady who had just been saved one year before. God is good!
More Lives Changed
We have seen several receive Christ and become born again in the past month, including religious people, who realized that Jesus is the only way, He is enough and that works do not save; also Atheists, who understood that there is a God who created them, loves them and died for them; and even an ex-paramilitary hit-man, who found a new beginning and new life in Jesus. God’s power has no limits. He is mighty to save all who will believe.
A Productive Visit
Our pastor and several from our home church came to visit in July. They helped get out thousands of invites the weekend before the big church launch and were a tremendous help to get the building ready for all the people. God worked through them and in them. Please pray especially for two of the young men that desire to return here or another place as God leads to work as full-time missionaries. If you would like to bring a group to Colombia, please get in touch with us, or see our website with details about a trip for students and singles June 15-25, 2015. We would love to have you!
Prayer Requests
- Growth of the church numerically and spiritually
- Families and individuals who are in discipleship
- A new youth outreach starting this month in the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood of our city
- Additional monthly financial support. At this point we have many more plans but are only held back by lack of funds. Would you consider partnering with us, that fruit would abound to your account? No amount is too small!
- Aubrie and the new baby — they are healthy and in the 2nd trimester already!
We love you and pray that the abundant grace of Almighty God would fill you, bless you and enable you to continue laboring for his Worthy Name!
Aaron & Aubrie Vance and family
Click for a printable PDF of our prayer letter (with pictures!).
Thank you for all you do to make it possible for us to be here! How can we be praying for you?
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:
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- Anabel and Amira, all ready for Sunday church!
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- Zach is working hard at PCC studying music. Love that guy
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- 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…
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- The Parade of Nations at Grace Baptist. This was cool.
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- 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!
An Experience That Will Change Your Life
Last Fall, after thousands of man-hours of planning, preparation & training, our home church hosted an event entitled “Hell’s Gates.”
Over the course of 7 sell-out evenings, more than 3,500 people walked through this outdoor reality drama depicting the end times. Many of these people left eternally changed. All of these people left challenged.
This October, you will have a chance to experience that same heart-pounding, thrilling journey of Biblical proportions. If you live anywhere near Atlanta or North Georgia, you MUST plan to be there. Bring a friend. Bring your family. Bring your church. You don’t want to miss it.
In anticipation of larger crowds, this event has been expanded to 11 nights. For detailed information and to buy individual or group tickets, visit: http://www.hellsgates.com/
If you are not able to attend, please pray that God does a magnificent work for his eternal glory.
I’m In The Lord’s Army. YES SIR!
Ever since I can remember, Vacation Bible School has always been one of my favorite times of the year. From the awesome Bible stories, memory verses, fun songs, prizes, skits and more, it’s always such a blast! Please be in prayer for my home church as they kick off their annual VBS tonight at 7 PM.
It is always humbling to think of so many kids coming into the church and hearing the Gospel clearly for the first time. Pray that everything will go smoothly. Pray for all the counselors as they work with the children that are being dealt with. These children’s eternity is at stake!
May God move in their hearts.
May the Holy Spirit convict them of their sinful state and need for Christ.
May all their trust be placed in what Christ has already done to pay for that sin.
May Christ be magnified, glorified and exalted above all else!
June Prayer Letter Update
Click Image To See Our Prayer Letter Full Size (With Pictures!)
June, 2011
Dear Pastor, Partners and Praying Friends,
Deputation Update
We sure have been blessed by the Lord’s goodness! The past couple months have been amazing and busy as we have started full-time deputation. My last day of secular work was May 6th, and he has continued to provide for us over and over. Our travels have taken us around GA, OH, TN and SC. We’ve met many new friends and were encouraged by the desire of several of them to partner with us financially. I have been doing my best to work at least 8-10 hours per day calling pastors to fill up the rest of our calendar for deputation. We know God has the meetings we need. Please pray that He opens the right doors for us.
I was recently able to preach a Spanish church fellowship hosted at the church I started in Dawsonville, GA. It was great to see our good friends and see that the work there has even grown! They’ve seen several saved and baptized, and had more families join the church. It’s great to know that Christ is still building His church.
Out Of The Mouth Of Babes
Amira (who is 14 months old) was sitting with Aubrie the other day while I was calling pastors downstairs, and she kept saying and signing “more dad, more dad, more dad.” Now, if that doesn’t make you want to take a 10-minute daddy-daughter break, I don’t know what will! ☺ She’s growing well, talking to anybody who will listen, and even starting to potty train! (That tidbit is for all the ladies out there).
Colombian Culture Corner
Colombia, just like many cultures, has quite a few sayings and idioms. One of these is “¡Del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho!” (Translation: From what’s said to what’s done, there’s a big gap. Basically, it’s the same as our saying: “Easier said than done”). How true!
Prayer Requests
1. For more meetings to open up for deputation
2. For safety on the road as we travel to many different states this summer
3. For financial support to start coming in (now at around 10%)
4. For God to start preparing hearts in Colombia to receive the Gospel when we arrive.
5. For more people to surrender their lives to take the Gospel to the world. How about you?
For Christ and His Glory,
Aaron Aubrie and Amira Vance
“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Philippians 1:20-21
The Vance Family 