Back in Bolivia

As of this writing I am back in Bolivia after an absence of two and a half long but very enjoyable months of travel in which I was privileged to see many of you, although briefly. I want to thank each one of you for your interest and support in my work here, whether it has been through donations, words of encouragement, your faithful prayers, or a combination of all of the above. May the Lord richly bless you all!
So much has happened since the last time I wrote. Some amazing things are happening. Not only here in the mission field, but everywhere I go I see God’s hand like I’ve never seen it before. There is a movement afoot, a spiritual awakening, and I want to be right in the middle of it! Over the last two months I have been to Colombia, Honduras, Belize, Mexico, the Generation Youth for Christ convention in Baltimore, and to various churches throughout the northwest and California, and nearly everywhere I go I see young people excited about serving others and sharing the Word of God.
In Bagota, Colombia, I met a group of young people who are working to penetrate the national television networks with programs on health and the Bible. In Honduras I met the Zwiker brothers from Switzerland. After attending the European Bible School, they felt impressed with the need for many other similar centers to equip young people as missionaries through practical instruction combine with active service for others. Together with José Suazo, they founded VIDA International, a Missionary training college that uses an English language school and agriculture program to impact the local communities. Damaris, one of our graduates from the high school here in Bolivia, continued her education at VIDA. When she came back to teach classes for us last year, she told us stories of doing medical-evangelism in a hostile community. Although she and the team she worked with faced fierce opposition, God worked on the heart of the local radio station director to give them an hour of prime time to share their program on health and advertise for their seminars on Bible prophecy. Not long afterward, some violent young men, stirred up by some of the disgruntled local clergy of other denominations threatened the missionary team with death if they did not leave. They arrived armed at one of the homes where the team was treating a sick man, but Damaris and the others were able to escape unharmed, passing by the gangsters as though unseen.
In Belize, a new and similar school will soon be opening. This December Jeff Sutton went there to search for land for the site, and the last I heard was that someone donated 80 acres complete with an airplane hangar and runway! In Baltimore a week or two later, I met some youth-group leaders from Belize and we were able to put them in contact with the new project. GYC Baltimore was another incredible experience. God’s Spirit was there! I had the privilege of joining a group for organized prayer, and I was surprised by the bond of fellowship I experienced with total strangers as we united in earnest prayer, seeking God through repentance and humble confession, and asking for the blessings of His Holy Spirit to transform and empower our lives.
Right in my hometown of Oroville, a Bible-worker and colporteur training school called the Oak is in the Acorn is involving local youth in active ministry. I was so encouraged to hear the stories of some of these young men, how God is using them to bring hope to people who are desperately looking for answers in these uncertain and difficult times. And all of this is just a quick overview. I have over thirteen pages of unfinished stories that I want to share with you, along with probably at least that much that I haven’t even begun to write yet. God is clearly working. Or maybe I should say, God’s people are finally letting Him work through them.
At the same time, of course, Satan is furious and clearly active to conquer human hearts, to bring in division, quarrels, confusion, deception, and compromise, and to preempt the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit with a false revival and interest in an experiential spirituality that is full of power, but void of true Christian love, that love which enables obedience to God’s holy law through a living connection with Christ (John 14:15, 15:9-15).
So, the new school year begins in a couple of short weeks, and the staff is arriving early to prepare and plan and seek the Lord together. We have a group coming from Weimar Academy to help build the church in Yata. They were only able to raise a little under half of the $20,000 needed to finish the project, but we should at least have a roof to meet under! A big thank-you to all of you who have contributed to that project.
Well, I have a flight to catch to finish the last leg of my trip back up to the school. I’ll try to get another update out before another three months go by. And by the way, if you have any exciting things to share that God is doing in your life, make sure to tell somebody! I for one would love to hear about it. May God bless and keep you.