Bill and Lena's fancy slideshow update from October, 2017

The past six months have been some of the most challenging and most fruitful of our lives. We have seen more salvations, baptisms in the Holy Spirit and disasters than I can remember. We want to thank you for being partners with us in it all. The new disciples that are being made and the hungry mouths that are being fed will thank you, with us, when we meet in heaven. Please click the big picture, below, for a quick rundown of all that has taken place or for an impressive array of photos that will amaze you! If the picture doesn't click, try here.

What Jesus Said

This from Lena:

From the time I first discovered the power of the Word of God as a young believer, I have been captured by the power of Jesus’ teachings.  “Guard your heart against all kinds of greed!” (How many kinds are there?  I could think about that a good long time!) It’s always fresh to me…no matter how many times I read it, I come away knowing I have only begun my journey of obedience…seeking the Kingdom of God first of all, making sure that I am more concerned that my cup be clean on the inside than the outer appearance.  I chuckle to myself when people talk about how gentle Jesus was, knowing how many times I have been rocked and threatened (but also amazingly comforted) by his words.  The gospels are a plum line by which we must consistently be measuring our lives, and I find myself more often than not wincing as I sneak a peek at the slant of my life.

During some times of prayer walking, I began to dream of how we could begin to reach out to university students in our mammoth metropolitan area.  I began to formulate the idea for an evangelical Bible study in which we offer a chance for university students to practice their English and at the same time examine the teachings of Jesus for themselves.  Seeing as how subtlety has never been my strong point, I thought that sort of fit my personality: “I have English, I want you to think about Jesus!”  That was when “What Jesus Said” was born!  We (meaning me and one super-faithful young lady from our church who has a really gorgeous smile) hit the streets and started to invite. 

We have been meeting since November, and the group has grown.  One girl we met is actually Peruvian, but grew up in Columbus, Ohio!  She not only attends the group, but now she also attends the church plant we support.  Our group has consistent attendance from young believers, with a sprinkling of those who are seeking.   We are excited about the possibilities!  We are also looking to open two new groups before long with two different young leaders in other locations. 

This has been the easiest evangelical program I have ever had the joy of promoting.  When I tell people about it, they often ask if there is a cost, and are shocked to find that it is free!  Please pray for us that we reach many with this tool, and that it opens up opportunities on campuses all over Lima!

This from Bill:

Working with college students and teaching in the Seminary, I am frequently confronted with the idea that the Bible is just the invention of men. This morning, in my quiet time, I was reading Galatians and noted that Paul confronted the same issue! That lead me to the following thoughts:

^{Gal 1:11} “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.” – People often say that they don’t trust the Bible because it is just teachings of men. Paul addresses this directly, continuing to say, ^{Gal 1:12} “I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” Paul is saying that he is a prophet like Moses; that is, just as God and Moses met on the mountaintop, where God revealed the Law to Moses, Jesus did the same with Paul, explaining the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith. Paul didn’t just think of it. He didn’t make it up. Jesus revealed it. Some people, even some Christians, are not comfortable with that. They like to think that the Gospel evolved, naturally. It did not. It was a supernatural, burning bush, shining light, knock-you-off-of-your-horse-on-the-road-to-Damascus epiphany (God appearance). 

The question is, does God really speak? Does God really appear on the scene? The notion of the Gospel being invented by men or just a collection of human teachings presupposes that God does not appear on the scene, or that God does not talk or reveal things miraculously. In Paul’s context with the Galatians, some humans have added to the Gospel, to make salvation a thing of grace plus works. Their fallacy was thinking that they could add to what Jesus had miraculously revealed (like they could improve on His revelation). The modern day fallacy is that God doesn’t reveal anything; i.e., that Moses never saw a real burning bush and that Paul never actually met the resurrected Christ. Paul’s first-hand testimony to the Galatians doesn’t allow for either.

University Evangelism

This from Bill:

Lena and I began the past year with a strong emphasis on University ministry. Here, in Peru, we call Chi Alpha, La Red Universitaria de Las Asambleas de Dios -- the University Network of the Assemblies of God. It's been an exciting experience for both of us. Lena is doing multiple evangelistic Bible studies with students from various campuses, and both of us have taught at churches and national youth leaders conferences about how to start a campus ministry. The pictures above and below are of us teaching on Evangelism. These pics were taken at the "Christ - Light of the World" church in Trujillo, which has six small groups on 5 campuses! I'm a big fan of using a white board, instead of PowerPoint slides (because I like the organic nature and the intentional emphasis on content over form). After I teach, I take a picture of the white board and invite the students to do the same. Looking at these boards reminded me of what a great time we had! After taking the college students and leaders through some basics of university evangelism, we hit the streets and had a blast talking with people about Jesus. I was very proud of Will, my younger son, who (with unassuming warmth and friendliness) is an incredibly effective evangelist! 

For this event, we were joined by our friends Shawn and Melissa Pallotta, who (along with their kids) have a very prophetic ministry. Shawn and I taught on making godly decisions.

Some of the evangelism themes we covered included: 

1) The power of your personal testimony (Rev. 12:11). 
2) Basic components of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15). 
3) Apologetics -- explaining why the Christian faith is reasonable (that is, it's requires faith, but not blind faith). Also, Jesus claimed to be God, therefore he is either a Liar, a Lunatic or the Lord (hint: it's the last one!)

4) The best 3 questions to do Evangelism: If you died tonight, do you know where you would go? If you were in front of Jesus and he asked you why he should let you into heaven, what would you say? And, the best question of all: How can I pray for you?

Peruvians love their late night soccer matches, which provides a great way to make friends and share the Gospel with your neighbors. These pics are of Colton (above) and Antonio Pallotta (below) playing.

Colton and Antonio also teamed up for some street evangelism, outside the C&T Restaurant.

Sinless

This from Lena:

I was in the market today and noticed as one of the vendors bowed her head to pray before she ate her lunch.  I was touched at her reverence, and asked her if she was a believer in Jesus.  I wasn’t really looking for a witnessing situation—just a moment to connect with a Jesus lover. 

The conversation continued, and I asked if she was an evangelical believer.  She said no, but that she was a Christian.  I had never met people here before saying that they were Christian, but denying being an evangelical, apart from an occasional Catholic.  I asked her what she perceived the difference to be, and she informed me that she doesn’t sin anymore.

Really.

I told her that First John was a great book in the Bible, and that it says that he who says he is without sin is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.  She looked shocked, and questioned my version of the Bible (just for the record, she was King James only, but in Spanish).  She was new to this path, but not very shaken by my challenging words, and invited me to come to her church so I could understand better.

I left my new friend, telling her that I wasn’t interested in an argument, and I encouraged her to get into the Book herself, so that she could start to sift things that are taught in regard to the true teachings of Christianity.  I was afraid to push her—I have heard stories of people starting out with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the Mormons, and becoming disillusioned when they realized that what they were learning was not true, and throw all of it out together.  I left a bit deflated, and angry that someone had routed a soul’s honest attempt to follow Christ as a repentant sinner.  Now she is “sinless.”  I feel sorry for her family and friends, who now have no way to speak into her life, as she is currently completely free of sin!

Peru is a minimally literate country.  Latin America in general is not a print-rich region of the world, but compared with the rest of Latin America, we fall toward the very bottom.  This creates vulnerability among our believers, because many of our brothers and sisters here have never read an entire book of the Bible---and I am talking about faithful ones!  These are the 20% who do all the work, lead the worship, and facilitate cell groups.  So what happens when a false teaching comes along?  The heresy sensors don’t go off, and the church is often fighting off bad teaching.

Bill and I are passionate about Peruvian believers becoming strong in the Word.  This is one of the reasons Bill is teaching in the seminary this year, even though it comes at a high cost in time and effort.  We need pastors and leaders who handle the Bible well and teach their people to read it and study it for themselves.  This is also a reason why I am doing an English conversation group based on the life of Christ aimed at university students (nonbelievers and believers combined).  We want to get people into the Word by all means possible until it penetrates—separating even the bone from the marrow.  It never fails to do the same for me!

Lena teaching university students about discipling new believers in Argentina

Bill giving our first pitch to Peruvian youth leaders on the importance of university ministry

Kingdom of Heaven Lessons in a Baby Church

This from Lena:

We have been enjoying a fresh season these last 8 months of seeing a baby church take shape!  We are part of an international team of missionaries who are working together to sort out the difficult task of forming our identity as a church and how we present it.  One of the great joys of this process is seeing people come to Christ and being witnesses to the transformation that is taking place—and also the great responsibility we have to correctly present the Kingdom of God to these baby believers!  As I have specifically focused on the Kingdom of God in my recent studies, here are a few scripture points that have stuck in my heart. I wanted to share them with you, too!

In the Kingdom of Heaven…

Mark 1:15 Repentance is a precursor for citizenship.  We can paint things as pretty as we like, we can try to de-uglify sin and make it sound as though they have just made an oversight until now….but if the recognition of our own sinfulness is not there, followed by sincere repentance, we run the risk of misrepresenting the gospel.  I remember being 18 at an Amy Grant concert, trying to convince myself that I was fine—that my dark little teenaged soul didn’t need rescuing (yeah-back then there was an altar call after an Amy Grant concert!  And tracts on the way in!).  It was a horrible experience.  I was so glad to finally walk that humiliating walk to the altar and lay my burdens down.  We need to not cheat others of the revelation of their own sin and need for a root change of heart.

Luke 11:20 Demons gotta go.  I am not sure why, recently, we have had so many encounters of the demonic kind—but we have had many in the last 8 months.  I think it is interesting that demons can even sit through a sermon politely, but once the individual starts doing serious business with God, demons get pretty angry about the breach of contract.  At first, I wanted to try to make sense of the fact that in 20 years or more of ministry, I have not seen anywhere near the consistent appearances I have seen in the last 8 months.  Now, I sort of wonder what was wrong before, that they were comfortable to hang out around me.  Perspective!

Luke 9:2 Citizens of the Kingdom of God are supposed to be praying for the sick!  I have heard testimonies galore of healings and I have been present for some healings…but I want a lot more.  I think we should be totally going for it.  I have heard that Heidi Baker became determined to just keep praying for healings until she saw them up close.  She prayed for hundreds before seeing anything.  I don’t want to quietly accept sickness.  If we don’t ask, we won’t receive.

Matt 21:31 Audacious sinners of the past who are now obeying Christ passionately are entering the Kingdom quicker than good religious talkers.  I think we all better take note of this one. What a dangerous place it is to be where you know how to play the game all too well; that is, to make people think you are on Jesus’ speed dial, when you are just playing a game.  It doesn’t matter if you are a missionary, pastor, worship leader, or the church’s accountant.  Obedience is where the blessing is—in the secret place, where nobody knows what you are doing.  But someone does. And we are not talking about yesterday.  Today.  Now. 

Matt. 13: 1-23 You’ve got to sow a lot of seed to get some of it to stick. People are hindered from entering the Kingdom by  a variety of things—sometimes they are just blind to the truth because they are so lost in sin and haven’t been made desperate enough yet for an alternative.  These folks are the blank stares and social smiles we get when we try to evangelize.  Then there are those you have a good conversation with, but it goes nowhere. It may not have been because you did a horrible job—which you might have. But even the fact that you were trying calls them to wake up to their real need.  I am convinced that a lot of people don’t let on that they know Jesus is real because they know life is going to change radically the minute after they give their life to him.  Let’s not lie—that is very true.  You might lose your friends, your addictions (those are DEFINITELY gonna have to go), your comforts, or even your job.  All this to say—sowing is hard work, and you don’t have any control over the soil you are preaching to.  The only thing we can control is how much seed we scatter.  Let’s scatter a LOT.

Matt 13:31-2 Some of that seed you scattered is going to surprise you with how big and well it grows. If you scatter enough seed, you are going to get to see some folks really explode.  Maybe they will even pass you!  In our later years of campus ministry, Bill used to tell our university students that they were his last hope for greatness!  He said it jokingly, but he meant it.  “Grow as far as you can grow little seed!  Pass me up!”  That should be our heart for all we nurture in Christ.

Matt 13: 24-30 You don’t really know who’s who until the end.  I suspect that this dynamic is a little like reading our donors list.  We realized long ago, and with great humility, that some of the sweetest little ladies on Social Security are the most faithful and have been the longest, steadiest supporters. I think it will be that way at the final judgment.  I try to warn myself periodically to not become Miss Fancy Pants Missionary—because there may be some rude awakenings at the end, if I see some surprises up ahead of me in line!

I hope this list at least gave you something to think on.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to help form a new church and disciple the new citizens.  Blessings to all of you!

One of our sweet young believers giving her testimony of how the Lord has been changing her life!

Crying Like a Baby in Moquegua

I cried about 10 times each day of our clinic health outreach with HealthCare Ministries of the U.S. Assemblies of God and sponsoring missionaries Chris and Debbie Bowser.  We were in Moquegua, Peru, where our friends and colleagues are planting a church, and wanted to do something to bless the people of Moquegua.  Moquegua, like so many small towns in the countryside of Peru, has limited healthcare.  Anything that requires a specialist means a 4-hour drive to Arequipa.  I primarily worked the optical room, which was surprisingly dramatic. These are the reasons why:

1.       Smiling Aymara. The mountain people of the Andes are stoic, to say the least.  It is often very hard to get them to smile at all when there is a camera around.  They have very hard lives, many just barely meeting the most basic of their needs.  Many of the older Aymara people would come with an intense desire to see.  There were maybe 10 older saints who came with a burning desire to read the Word of God.  As they would try on the reader glasses, the smallest hint of a smile would begin to spread across their face as they read in Spanish John 3:16… “For God so loved the world (cue the start of a grin) that he gave his one and only Son (cue the tears—more ours than theirs, but sometimes together).  Outstanding.

2.       The blind see. One boy came in who was 19 years old.  Right about Hannah’s age.  He also had another thing in common with Hannah.  He was practically blind without glasses.  Once we began the exam, it was obvious that he needed a super-strong lens. He also told us he had never owned a pair of glasses (we were told over and over again by the people of Moquegua that most of them cannot afford to buy a pair).   My daughter has had a pair of glasses perched on her nose or lenses in her eyes for 15 of her 18 years.  All those years, this boy who needed it just as bad as she did went without, and somehow managed to learn to read and write.  I asked him if it was the first time he had ever seen that clearly.  He said “Yes.” No emotion.  I had a complete breakdown and had to fight to pull myself together.  Dear Jesus, what must it be like?

3.       Just-in-time medical counsel.  One lady came in with her 4 year-old son.  He was a little charmer, but with a lazy eye.  As our time together unfolded, she admitted that he had been to see an ophthalmologist, and that he had counseled her to have an operation done right away.  She was worried that her son could lose her sight in the operation (before you judge, you should know that we saw a number of patients whose operations for cataracts and the like had been botched and left people blind), and wanted to wait until he was a teen.  We were able to be strong in advising her that if she waited, it would be too late and he would become permanently blind, like several other patients we had seen that week.  I told her that it was a God thing that she came to us, because it was clear that she was headed in the wrong direction.  We don’t know what she will do, but she at least knows. 

4.       The chance to be the hands that bring desperately needed relief.  One man offered as we were fitting him for glasses, “You know, I come from WAYYYYY far up in the farmland!” We asked him how he found out we were there.  He said that his family, who lives in Moquegua, called him when they heard about our clinic on the radio, and he rode 8 hours to get to us.  He had a family member standing in line (which by the second day started forming at 3 in the morning) to save a place for him.  Can you imagine wanting a pair of glasses so bad that you would do that?

5.       The Spirit of God was amazingly present, and He used us over and over again to share the gospel, call the backslidden back home, and sometimes just to speak a simple but powerful word of encouragement.  I felt the power of the Holy Spirit many times throughout our week in Moquegua.  I felt like a pump that had been seriously primed.  The awesome thing about ministering hours on end is that your soul also prospers in the middle of it!  Many moments there was a prophetic spirit that took over as we ministered.  One lady came back the next day to tell our counselor who led her to the Lord that she felt a strange heat in her body, and that she had come back to life again!  God is SO good.

6.       We had unknowingly walked into one of the most desperate health concerns of the people of Moquegua.  This mountain town is dry, sometimes windy, always dusty, and relentlessly bright with sunlight. It is ideal conditions for the development of cataracts and something called a pterygium, which is a fleshy growth over the surface of the eye that begins as the body’s self-defense against the sun and wind, but can end in blindness.  We didn’t count, but Jenny (our nurse optical team leader) and I are fairly certain that at least half of the people we saw over thirty—probably more—had one or both of these conditions.  By God’s amazing grace, we had a ton of eye drops to ease the dryness and sunglasses.  What a wonderful thing to be the means of relief for someone in pain and discomfort (almost all our patients complained of a lot of burning and pain).

I came home exhausted, but full--cried out, but still so moved.  There were tears of relief that we found anything at all that helped (only a few went away with no improved sight), tears of compassion when we listened to their sad stories,  tears of joy when a soul found it’s way home to the Father.  It was a great, sobby, sappy week.  So glad I went!

'

Jenny our optical team leader in action.

I had to have a pic with this lady.  She was a hoot along the lines of the woman with the unjust judge and begged us for help when we told her we didn't think we had the right lenses for her grandson. Praise God, we found something that worked!

The mayor of Chen Chen (burb of Moquegua) officially thanking us for coming at a Mother's Day event just outside of his office which we transformed into a clinic for five days.  He also joined us for our end-of-clinic banquet.

Bakersfield First Assembly Missions Team

A missions team from Bakersfield First Assembly came down and worked in the Catacaos, Piura, heat to raise the walls of a new high school and bring healing to sick families. Thanks to all of them for joining us in the mission of spreading the good news of Jesus to Peru and blessing the poor through Latin America ChildCare.

Please click the link to see photos of the team: Bakersfield First Assembly Missions team

Reaching or Becoming the Lost

Abi let's her light shine on the 4th of July.

This from Bill:

I wanted to share some thoughts that ran through my head this morning as I read the Bible. The  following verse jumped out at me (don't worry, I'll translate it): 

2 Cor. 6:14 No se asocien íntimamente con los que son incrédulos.

There is a small conflict between the concepts of reaching the lost through friendship and becoming the lost through friendship. 2 Cor. 6:14, in the NIV reads, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” It  is often used in counseling couples against an interfaith marriage (especially given the marital meaning of intimacy). But, it has also been used more generally, as in the example of entering into a business partnership with an unscrupulous partner. The Message (by Eugene Peterson) phrases verses 14 and 15 this way, “Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands?” The interfaith marriage or unscrupulous business partner are very real and appropriate warnings which can be taken from this verse. The NTV (the Spanish translation quoted above) jumped out at me as I was reading it. My translation of the NTV sounds like this: "Don't have an intimate association with those who are incredulous (that is, with those who are critical of the faith)."

Hanging out with people who reject you is painful. As such, some Christians try to hide what they think, feel or believe about many topics, in order to avoid the ire of their so called friends. I say, "so called friends," because I don't believe it is possible to have a real friendship with someone who views the philosophical foundations of your life as foolish or stupid. To pull that off, one would have to be a hypocrite—either not saying what he/she really believes or not really believing it. The Message’s phrasing of verse 15 sums it up well, “How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands?”

It is hard for an honest person to be friends with dishonest thieves. The latter keep stealing from the former, then laughing at him for his gullible foolishness. It's possible to be an acquaintance with theives, but you have to keep your doors locked. As the NTV puts it, one can’t "associate intimately" with such people. An intimate friendship, in this case, is speaking about much more than mere acquaintanceship; rather, it's about opening up one's life, living without barriers, unlocking the doors. The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary supports this, stating, "Paul has just appealed to the Corinthians for mutual openness in affection and in speech. His own heart is open wide to them, but both he and they know why they cannot reciprocate as fully as they ought. Some of them have an uneasy conscience about their continuing pagan associations.”

Real friendship requires reciprocal trust and respect. Real friends let their guards down and value one another. It is possible to be friends with somone who disagrees with your faith, as long as that person values who you are and respects you. But, if that person is opposed to your faith (incredulous), such that he/she speaks ill of it and anyone who adheres to it, then you cannot be real friends with that person--unless you are a glutton for punishment or hide what you believe.

The latter is the option that many Christians take. They live and speak like people in the world, in order to reach those in the world. It is analogous to becoming darkness to reach people living in darkness or to putting a basket over a candle. The latter example is rather funny, since it is nonsensical (you don’t light a light and then obscure it). But it goes beyond nonsensical to dangerous, since the basket will either snuff out the flame or the flame will set fire to the basket. In Luke 8:16, Jesus says, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” The bed statement would have been ridiculously obvious to Christ’s listeners, since beds were predominantly made out of straw. So, not only would the light not shine, it could end up burning down the entire house. That’s the danger of trying to hide the light within. If one tries to snuff-out or obscure the fire within, it will only come to a tragic end. It is also, as the verse points out, incongruent. Obviously, if one is trying to reach those in darkeness, at some point one needs to turn the light on. When that happens, a few will be grateful, but the majority will find that it hurts their eyes and they'll blame the light-bearer for their pain. In John 3:19-21, Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (NIV)”

In other words, “Ouch!” They are going to cover their eyes, scream that you are hurthing them, then blame you. In fact, those who dislike the light will eventually go beyond blaming to accusing. In Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (NIV)”

It is really hard to rejoice when people persecute you and “falsely saying all kinds of evil against you,” but according to Jesus (and I think He can be trusted on this subject), it’ll be worth it.

Today, those who have a strong opinion that is opposed to the politically correct teachings of the world (especially the part of the world that is located in Hollywood, California), are declared to be intollerant and irrelevant. As such, many Christians stray away from such topics in an attempt to win their friends and co-workers. Unfortunately (as detailed above), it is a failed methodology. It’ll destroy you. You can’t squash what you are in order to win others to what you are. That's nonsensical and dangerous. When you put on a mask in order to suppress what you really believe, you endanger your very being and may become that which you emulate.

I’m not saying that we can’t be acquaintances with people who do not share our faith. We have to be. Who else is going to tell them the truth? (See 1 Cor. 5:9-13) But, there is a big difference between an acquaintance and an intimate friend.

It is important for us to take heed of Paul’s advice against being “unequally yoked,” or (as the NTV puts it) having an intimate association with those who are incredulous. We cannot hide the truth in order to make it known. In our attempts to reach the lost, we don’t want to become them.

The Purpose of the Law

This from Bill:

Back in 1985 or 86, I had a conversation with a friend at Seminary that has bothered me ever since. She contended that one could be saved by obeying the O.T. law. From her reasoning, she felt that God would have been unjust if He knowingly gave people a law that wouldn’t get them into heaven. I countered that the law could not save anyone and that it was never intended to, quoting Galatians 2:15-16 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified (NIV).”

In spite of my persuasiveness, she did not budge. Her position has bothered me ever since—which is another way of saying that after 25 years, I still can’t let the conversation rest. The crux of the argument has to do with the real purpose of the law. Was it a list of things that people needed to do to get into heaven? The answer is no. The purpose of the law was to reveal to arrogant people that they are not as holy or righteous as they think. So, every time I see this topic addressed in the Scriptures, I yell, “Aha!” and highlight it in my Bible. Today is one of those days.

I’ve been reading the book of Romans in my quiet times—comparing the Nuevo Traducción Viviente (NTV, the Spanish versión of the New Living Translation) to the NET Bible. (For an explanation of the two, please see the boring footnote below.) The verses that would have confirmed my victory in the discussion are Romans 3:19-20. Since I’ve been reading in Spanish, I’ll include for you (at no additional cost) my quick and easy Spanish translation.

Rom. 3:19-20--19 Obviamente, la ley se aplica a quienes fue entregada, porque su propósito es evitar que la gente tenga excusas y demostrar que todo el mundo es culpable delante de Dios. 20 Pues nadie llegará jamás a ser justo ante Dios por hacer lo que la ley manda. La ley sencillamente nos muestra lo pecadores que somos. (NTV)

Bill’s quick and easy translation: Obviously, the law (of Moses) applies to those to whom it was given, because it’s purpose was to keep people from making excuses and to demonstrate that the whole world is guilty before God. Nobody will ever stand before God justified (or righteous) because of their obedience to the law’s mandates. The law simply shows what sinners we are (or, that we are sinners).

In my opinion, this is one of the most theologically significant quotes of scripture. Some thoughts include:

1. The law was never intended to bring one to salvation; rather, to open one's eyes to the condition of his/her heart, soul, and (lack of) character. 3:20, in the NET Bible reads as follows: 3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Or, as the NTV puts it, “The Law simply shows us what sinners we are.” The revelation that we are sinners, the awareness that we’re not as good as our excuses make us out to be, is the impetus for running to the cross. The law reveals that we are sinners and that revelation makes us desperate for the grace that Jesus gives. So, in this way, the law really does have a significant (though painful) part in bringing us to salvation.

2. Bob Comfort is a famous evangelist who argues that we should bring the 10 Commandments into the evangelism discussion whenever possible, to reveal to people that they are not as good as they think. He makes a great point. Otherwise, people define "good" in self-serving ways. It falls clearly in line with Hebrews 4:12, which says that God’s word discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. That is, God’s word clearly reveals our hypocrisy. As such, our evangelism discussions would be benefitted by memorizing the 10 Commandments and the Romans Road. (I tried this with a taxi driver last week and found that I could only list 8 of the 10 commandments—and only with great difficulty.)

3. Some say it is better to keep people ignorant of the law, so they won't be accountable. But, Rom. 2:11-16, especially verse15, shows that of the law is written on the hearts of all people to justly hold them accountable. “They show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend them... (NET).”

So, to my friend in Seminary (whose name I can’t remember), I say “Take that!”or “Touché!” (which looks a lot like “touchy,” pronounced with a French accent). To the rest of us, these verses remind us that God gets to decide was “good” is. The fact that we don’t cuss or smoke anymore is great, but it is not the same as achieving righteousness in the eyes of God. True righteousness is the gift of God, which we receive by putting our faith in Christ. So, it’s time to put a smile on our faces and look like the refugees that we are. We are people who, by grace, have just walked out of a burning building without getting singed. St. Paul says in Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

(Caution—the following discussion is boring and technical and may be skipped by those who prefer pithy conversations over technical ones: The NET Bible is a modern translation that can be accessed for free on the web and which gives a lot of footnotes about the translation process. For example, the NET Bible may discuss why there is a variation between two common translations (e.g., why the NIV is different than the King James) and why/how the NET translators chose their version. In terms of dynamic equivalency (the translation philosophy of trying to accurately convey the meaning of whole phrases, rather than a word for word translation), the NET bible is the latter (i.e., more didactic—being closer to the NASB). The NTV is the opposite—sometimes going too far in their attempt to clarify what the text is saying. I’ve enjoyed reading the NTV and the NET, together, because the practice of translating the NTV’s Spanish has produced a lot of questions about what the original Greek or Hebrew is really saying. As such, the NET’s translation footnotes have really come in handy.)

A Tale of Two Histories

Willy, at age 7, is the budding Evangelist in the family. Recently, he was playing in the park and mentioned Jesus to his friend. The boy said, "Who is this Jesus guy you keep talking about?

Willy replied, "Don't you know Jesus? He's God. He made us and the world and everything!"

The boy responded, "God didn't make us. We came from monkeys and the big boom!"

Willy, never having heard of the big "boom," was as perplexed as his friend who had never heard of Jesus. Willy came home and told the rest of us, "That kid really needs to learn about Jesus, because he thinks we came from monkeys."



It's like Charles Dicken's "A Tale of Two Cities," in which the city was the same, it was the perspective of the people that was different. In this case, you don't have two "cities;" but rather, two "histories." THE original history is Willy's, who has been brought up to believe in a loving God who protects him and wants what is good for him. The fruit of that is that Willy is a generally happy kid. Why be afraid when God is on your side? The other history is that of the other boy, who was brought up to believe in unexplainable physical processes that have the power to create or destroy--entirely without love or reason. As such, the other little boy has a surly and cantankerous outlook. The explanation for where we come from shows on the faces of each child.

I'm proud of Willy for sharing about Jesus and, even though he climbs like a monkey, he didn't come from one. Below is a letter Willy wrote to Jesus, back when he was just starting the first grade. It reads, "Dear Jesus, Thank you for coming into my heart. Love, Will." Ironically, he spelled "heart" as "hert." If you pronounce it "hurt," it would be just as true.

Taxi Tales

One of the really wonderful things about life in Lima is that a person can get into a taxi at whatever moment, and launch into a conversation about practically whatever topic you like, and you will find a willing conversation partner. Enjoyable for most, but a jackpot for those of us who like to talk about Jesus!!

One day, I was on my way to a meeting with my pastor’s wife, and met a taxista with whom I had a great conversation. I have found myself, in the last 6 months or so, speaking strongly about the nature of salvation to those I witness to. I have gotten the rather strong impression from several people that they got that whole holiness thing confused—that they somehow have the impression that they have to get their lives together first, and then they will be good enough to go to God, do the church thing.

It is easy to talk about the Lord here—and even more so, because I am a missionary. When I get into a taxi, I often get asked, “Why did you come here from your country?” My reply is almost always “The call of God!” That leads really easily into a little history of our call, and talk of spiritual things.

This particular day, I found a taxi driver who had gone through some difficult life challenges recently, and we talked extensively about the nature of salvation, how no one is good enough to merit salvation-how we are all sinners, in need of a savior. He began to weep, and as he drove, he asked if there might be a prayer or something he could pray to make a decision for Christ. I honestly thought he was joking, or had done it before, but he assured me that he had never prayed a prayer of salvation before. I couldn’t believe it! What an awesome moment.

We made arrangements to take him to church, but as happens often with follow up, that was the last I saw of him. Of course, the best is if we can manage to tie people into a congregation, but we must leave these things in the hands of the Lord when things don’t go according to plan, as we would like. But what an awesome moment! Makes a missionary girl all smiley inside!!

Land of the Living

From Lena:

Recently, our family had a rousing discussion of the phrase, "land of the living" as used in the psalms of David. Was he speaking about the here and now land, or heaven?
I believe that David had prophetic insight into the nature of God. Life is at the core of God's identity, and whether we are speaking of life here on this earth, or life eternal, God is at the heart of it, doing His work, making things live and breathe.

It reminded me of an experience we had recently when we began to work with Feed My Starving Children, in the hopes of seeing feeding programs started in our Piedad schools. It is an incredible program that provides much-needed vitamin enriched food for children in neighborhoods just like the ones where most of our schools are located. At the beginning, one of our schools had difficulties because the kids rejected the food for it's flavor. Without gussying it up, it tastes like.....vitamins!! One of our directors was deeply disturbed over the situation, as she knew that the nutrients provided by the food were desperately needed, and she was tired of seeing the children come to school listless and having difficulties concentrating for their nutritional lack.

She went to her knees, and that night, had SPIRITUAL WARFARE DREAMS over the issue.
She awoke, a recipe in mind, and the rest is history. The kids are now eating well, have better color, and ARE GROWING.

I found myself thinking, why in the world would the Enemy want these kids to be malnourished? How does that help him? The truth is, he is the Enemy of the God of the Living. He is a life thief, God is the life-giver. When children have the right food, they can think clearly, absorb the truth of the Word, and understand it. When they are malnourished, they walk around in a cloud, just surviving. If their brains don't receive the appropriate nourishment, there are thoughts they will never think...dreams they won't dream. Promoting LIFE--by nourishing little brains that otherwise will not achieve their potential--is an act of taking territory for the Land of the Living.

I was recently in Iquitos, in the school where this took place. The kids couldn't wait for lunch, and they very happily made every last drop of that vitamin-enriched food disappear(as well as with a healthy dose of the garlic, chicken broth, and onion combo that they love so much here). They recited Bible verses for me--some were so moving, I wish I had recorded them! Good nourishment helps them to not just put the words in their heads, but to think about them and live them. The God of Life has taken some territory for the Land of the Living! How exciting to be a witness of it.

Click the link to see pictures of our feeding program in Iquitos: http://picasaweb.google.com/BillandLenaPics/FeedingInIquitos#

Do You Like to Walk?

Last night,we packed up the whole family to go and minister in a church plant somewhere in San Juan de Lurigancho--a huge community within Lima of some of the poorest people of the city. We arranged to meet the young pastor at a grocery store,and would go on with him from there.
He approached the car, all smiles, a truly engaging young man. I was already thinking that the evening would be a blessing. As he piled in the car with the rest of our clan, he asked us, "Do you like to walk?" I thought that was supposed to be a joke, as he is quite jovial, and likes to surprise people. I laughed!
Then we started the steep drive up the hill, and he began to talk of the little church plant that he started a few months ago. The church was meeting in a house (I immediately smiled inwardly. I love the warmth and intimacy of church in a house). We would park the car where a friend of his would watch it, and then hike up the hill the rest of the way with instruments and little kids.
I started laughing as we trekked the rest of the way up the hill, super-thankful that I had not worn heels. I would have gone rolling down the hill, or given up and gone barefoot.
We had a ball. The people were young, lively, and fun. They were packed into a little sitting area about the size of an American bedroom, in unfinished brick. Some came from other little mountain tops, which means they had to really hike it, arriving breathless--a group of maybe 30 people. The kids were wearing their best clothes, and looked great. Hannah gave it all she had musically, even though her voice was suffering from Lima smog. Their new sound system was hooked up and ready to go, and we blasted the neighbors a little Good News! Bill preached up a storm with an evangelical message on the Prodigal Son. And then 9 folks prayed to recieve Christ.
The call was so moving, I think a few were getting saved all over again, but that is just fine with me. It was a lovely night, and the presence of God was there. They gave us a bowl of soup with some interesting looking animal organs in it, and sent us on our way.
We got home with some very tired kids. This morning, everyone was a little slow out the gate, I had to spend about 40 minutes looking for various uniform parts, and the price of the night before was evident. But what fun it was last night, and what a privelege to bring the Good News to such precious people. I loved it.

Salvations & Salud (Timberline Medical Clinic)

Salvations & Salud

We've recently returned from Iquitos, where we hosted a medical mission team at our Latin America ChildCare school. (Salud, the word used in the title, is Spanish for health.) The team was from Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado (http://www.timberlinechurch.net). They were 30 hard working people with purpose. In Iquitos, on the Amazon river, among the poorest of the poor, hundreds of people received medical treatment and over 100 received salvation! It was an incredible experience--especially following the 100 salvations we saw with our last missions team just a few weeks ago. God is moving in Peru!

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

That is what we saw this week! It was the realization of our dreams for ministry in Peru. We are grateful to God and our friends. Hallelujah!