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Happy Thanksgiving from Colombia!
Aubrie and I, along with our girls Amira & Anabel, want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for your friendship, your support, your prayers, and your heart for seeing God receive maximum glory!
Today is just another day in Colombia, but Thanksgiving is special to us for a few reasons. For one, we got engaged on Thanksgiving! I asked, she said yes, and it’s been a blur since then. Lol
But I give thanks most of all to our Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave his all, so that we might have life. We do not deserve his grace & mercy, but oh, what a wonder it is. Thank you, Jesus!
Do you know him today? Do you know where your eternal home will be? If not, there’s no better day than the present to know that you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you’re saved! Click here to read more about this or contact us and we can share God’s Good News with you!
Things That Are Different And Not The Same
Here’s a fun post for you. These are a few adjustments we’ve had to make here in Colombia having to do with daily life. This list is definitely not conclusive, but they are just some things we’ve found interesting and had to learn. 🙂
“¡Mira las monitas!” (Look at the little monkeys!)
At The Store
- Fruit is dirt cheap. Just be sure to wash off the dirt.
- Eggs are not sold nor stored in the refrigerated section but on a room temperature shelf.
- Milk is not sold in jugs but in bags, also on the non-refrigerated shelf.
- Cheese is used everywhere, but any type of yellow cheese is rare and expensive, that is if you can find any! (aka “Goodbye, Cheddar”)
- Mountain Dew and Red Bull both are sometimes available, and are less than a dollar for what costs $2-4 in the States.
- “Ragu” pasta sauce is imported and costs about $6 per jar.
- Bottled carbonated water is as common as uncarbonated water.
- Today we saw a tin of cookies (the same brand Aubrie used to buy for her Grandpa for Christmas at the Dollar Tree) for about $9.50 US.
- We won’t be eating those cookies.
At Home
- Hot water heaters are available, but not common. When we asked a real estate agent about this, he asked if the local water was too cold for us. We mentioned that we enjoy a warm/hot shower if we can get it, he gave us a serious look and asked, “But won’t that make you sick?” 🙂
- Tile instead of carpet, bars on windows instead of screens, and open windows instead of air conditioning (The AC isn’t too much of a problem since it stays moderately warm).
- Many friendly Colombian neighbors love to play music loudly at night. Salsa, Reggaeton, Mariachi… oh yeah.
- Rent is a bit cheaper than the US, but buying a house or property is much more expensive!
Around Town
- Traffic signals, lines, and signs are merely suggestions and often ignored.
- On a 3 lane road, many times there will be 4 small cars and a couple of motorcycles squeezed in between each car. True story.
- For a city of 2 million, I’ve only seen 1 small wreck in the week we’ve been here. Not sure how that’s possible as I’ve seen how people drive here. Lol…
- Seat belts are almost never used. Just hold on for your lives!
- Many people have multiple cell phones. In fact, there are over 49 million active cell phones and Colombia’s population is only 47 million.
- On many street corners there are people who carry 50-100 new-release movies with copies of the cover and a burned DVD in a plastic bag, selling them for 1-2 dollars each. Yes, pirated. Right next to the cops. They don’t sell many in stores. I wonder why…
- Public restrooms are between 25 cents and a dollar to use, toilet paper is rationed, and most public toilets do not have seats.
- People that are strangers will often stop what they’re doing for hours to help you. I find this unique and refreshing, even coming from the Southern US!Â
- As I mentioned in my last post, our little blonde haired girls are referred to as “Monitas” or, little monkeys. There aren’t many foreigners, even in our big city, so they get lots of attention!
- Colombians are very proud of their heritage and superiority in society (what people group isn’t?!). I had a taxi driver preach to me for 1/2 hour last night about how terrible each other Latin American county is, and how Colombia and its people, of course, is supreme in all things. I just smiled and said how much I liked Colombia. 😀 Inside I thought how great it would be if this man got the same passion for Christ and his glory… what a difference he could make!
Just because some people do certain things differently, doesn’t make them weird. Actually, it makes us weird, because we are prone to do things differently than them, in their own land. We try to have a student’s eye, watching and learning how people do things. We try to have a servant’s heart, helping and lifting up instead of expecting to be served. We try to have the Savior’s mind, who left it all, came to a different land, and gave his all for us so that we could be with Him.
5Â Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6Â Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7Â But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8Â And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9Â Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10Â That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11Â And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
Let us all have the eyes of a student, the heart of a servant and the mind of our Savior!
Feel free to share, comment, or add to any of this. God bless!
Hope In The Pope?
“¡Viva el Papa! ¡Viva el Papa! ¡Viva el Papa! ¡Viva el Papa!”
I tuned in yesterday afternoon in time to hear multitudes of Catholics from all over the world chanting in expectation of their new leader. Flags were waving all over the Vatican. The cry of the crowd was a cry of enthusiasm, expectation and energy as the new pope was to be revealed.
Then, as the curtains were pulled back, it was announced that the pope was none other than Argentine Jorge Bergoglio, who chose the name Pope Francis. Indeed, this man is the first Latin American to ever be chosen as Catholicism’s Papal leader.
He is a simple man, choosing to be as much among the people as possible, live a simple life, help the poor and deny many of life’s dainties for the “greater good.”
He led the people in reciting the Lord’s Prayer, then a prayer to Mary.
You could see expressions of hope on the faces of all who listened.
Hope.
…But is there hope in the pope?
I need to be careful here, because my intention is not to carelessly offend those that hold to the catholic teachings. But could I be so bold as to say, Catholicism, at its core teaching, is leading over a billion people to hell.
Why is that?
Don’t Catholics believe in God? Don’t they believe in the Bible? Don’t they believe that Jesus died on the cross?
Yes, they believe all of these truths.
But what is different between biblical Christianity and catholic teaching? Simply put, it’s a matter of do vs. done.Â
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Christian initiation is accomplished by means of the sacraments which establish the foundations of Christian life. The faithful born anew by Baptism are strengthened by Confirmation and are then nourished by the Eucharist.”
Their teachings go on to express that there are 7 sacraments of the church, and in keeping these sacraments you will have favor with God and earn salvation.
But ask any catholic if they know where they will spend eternity and they always reply, “I don’t know” or “you can’t know” or “I won’t know until after I die.”
Why is that? Because salvation is depending on what they do. They are initiated into the church as a baby when they are baptized, they go through confirmation as a child or young adult, and they take the communion. They confess their sins to the priest, pray to Mary, pray to the saints and other idols, and help the poor, but it comes down to one question: What is their salvation depending on? DO or DONE!?
Friend, there is no hope in the pope. He is just a man. He may be a nice man, but he is a man who is leading people down a religious road straight to an eternity that is separated from God.
Salvation is only by grace through faith. It is either grace or it is works. It cannot be both. Jesus already bought our salvation, and offers it as a gift to all who will believe on him. Why are you trying so hard to earn it?
If you have never been biblically saved, if you are still trying to work your way to God, if you don’t know for sure if you’re eternity will be Heaven or Hell, I challenge you to do one thing. Repent.
Repent of your sin and your faith in works or religion. Then believe on Jesus. Run to Jesus. Throw out any other hope that you have and cling to the cross where Jesus paid for your sins. He says he will forgive you. He will accept you. He will make you his child and an heir to all promises. He promises to give you life. Don’t wait any longer.
The Bible says in John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
You have God’s word on it. He never breaks his promises. Don’t wait any longer. Believe on Jesus.
Christian, maybe you agree with all that I’ve written here. Would you pray with me for the billions around the world that are deceived by religion? Would you pray with me that God would raise up more laborers to take the GOOD NEWS to them, that Jesus paid it all? Would you pray that God would open their eyes, that they would know the truth, and this truth would make them free?
Â
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:Â http://www.hellsgates.com/
If you are not able to attend, please pray that God does a magnificent work for his eternal glory.
Bogotá — Day 2
What a day!
We saw much of the city today, but honestly we have hardly scratched the surface. We walked around several important neighborhoods, saw huge plazas and big museums, and we were able to go up to Cerro Monserrate, a Catholic church on top of the mountain by the city. We’re finding that the Colombians are very good at their Teleféricos (cable cars) as this is the third one we’ve ridden so far.
Here’s a few things we’ve learned while here in Bogotá, many of which can also be applied to many other cities around the world:
1. People are Religious
This country is over 90% Roman Catholic, and it shows in many parts of their society. The Hotel we stayed at in Bucaramanga even had a chapel and held mass everyday for those traveling through. Catholics aren’t the only ones here, though. There are reports of Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witness, Taoists, Ba’hai, Atheists, several Evangelical denominations and others that claim this as their home. Everybody has religion. It’s that way in the entire world. So, what makes us different? Why would we want to come here when people already have something to believe? Read on…
2. Religion is Empty.
One person defined religion as “Man’s attempt to get to God.” But that’s just it… we can’t get to God. That’s why he came to us. Nearly every religion, including most of those found in this country, are based on works. My good deeds. You know, the scale system. Everything good I ever did is weighed against everything bad I ever did. Whichever is greater determines my eternal fate. If I were sincerely judged on that scale, I’d lose. There’s no doubt. I was talking to one of our taxi drivers about this today as I was explaining the Gospel. He seemed so intrigued that we could actually be saved in spite of who we are. It’s the beauty of God’s salvation. But religion…. religion is empty. It leaves you wanting. That’s because it can only give so much hope. What we need is a relationship. When Jesus Christ becomes not only a figure of our church but our Savior and Lord, that’s when we have hope of life. That’s when things become different. That’s what sets us apart. It’s not what I do, it’s what He has done!
3. People are Searching.
You remember all those religions I listed off just a second ago? You know why those places are filling up? It’s because people want something else. They want hope. The dead faith of their fathers has left them wanting, and they are willing to look elsewhere for the truth that’s missing. Unfortunately, what they find many times, and even what they take a risk on and sometimes change their entire life for, is just another lie. That’s why we need to get the truth in their hands. The harvest is ripe. People are searching!
4. Christ’s Church is Growing.
In spite of all the lies in this place, in spite of all the deception, in spite of all the false prophets, and in spite of the need that still exists, God’s is building his work here. There are quite a few good churches that we’ve found in this city. We hope to visit two of them tomorrow. Be praying though, that God would send more laborers here. Would you pray about coming?
I’ll leave you a few more photos before going to bed. We only have a couple of days left before heading back to Georgia. Pray that God would help us redeem the time. Love you all….
Three generations grace a busy sidewalk with sweet music. You should have seen the kid on the harp. He was flying!
Plaza Bolivar is a huge open place, surrounded by official buildings, churches and... pigeons. Lots and lots of pigeons!
It has been common for us to see people such as this man looking through the trash for something to eat. In fact, many do whatever it takes to get by. We've seen many beggars, street performers (acrobats, jugglers, unicyclists, musicians, etc...), windshield washers (they sneak up on you while you're at stop lights), and quite a few that just seemed to have given up. Some sleep during mid day, some swim through trash for a moldy piece of bread and some stare off into nowhere, wondering if anybody cares. Do you?
