They are people. They have names. As I mentally start to process everything I experienced in the last week in Barranquilla, Colombia, that’s all I can think of. They are people, and they have names.
Last Monday, I posted a lot about multiplication and math facts. But sometimes we tend to give our “mission trip report” based on the numbers. How many people were saved. How many people heard the Gospel. How many people were in attendance at the new mission site. And truly, those numbers were incredible. Our team of forty-four North Americans shared the Gospel (at last count) to 3033 people. Of those people who heard the Gospel, we were able to see 2136 people make professions of faith in Christ. That’s 2136 people with names, ages, addresses, and follow up information given to the local pastors. That’s 2136 people who now have their name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life that weren’t recorded just one week ago. Our team worked in twenty barrios across Barranquilla, and throughout the week, seventy-four “Yo Soy Segundo/I am Second” discipleship groups were started! Yes, the numbers are good. But these numbers represent people, and they have names.
My team of six, from our Firewheel youth and adult worship team worked in two areas throughout the week, Malambo and Ciudadela. As I said in a previous post, I worked in Malambo three years ago, and the church I helped start then was now birthing a second generation church. But let me tell you about the people. The stories. Their names. Their needs.
Pastor Jesus Donado (pictured above) is the new pastor of the mission site in Malambo. What a cool name he has, literally meaning “Jesus donated!” The name of the new mission church is Bautista el Gran Trono, literally meaning “The Great Baptist Throne.” Please pray for this pastor, his wife Candida, and the church workers who will be following up and discipling these 100 new baby Christians in his barrio.
Lizardo de la Cruz Avila - This is the first person I was able to share the good news of Jesus with on Monday morning. She was already a Christian, but she asked for prayer to be more bold in sharing her faith. I asked her who she planned on sharing the Gospel with, and she quickly said the first person who needs to hear is her next door neighbor. Pray for Lizardo to get involved in the local Bible study group and new church plant that is being started in Malambo.
Gustavo Carmago – accepted Christ on Monday – our Independence Day. We spent time training him on presenting this newfound faith on his own. Before he left, in simple terms, he could share his decision of accepting God’s free gift of forgiveness on his own. He asked prayer for strength and boldness to share Christ with his wife and three daughters, who are deep in the Jehovah Witness faith.
Esneider Castro, Audy Castro, Jose Ivan Garcia, Liliana Paencia, Neiver de la Cruz, and Shirlys de la Cruz, and Juan Dios Castro Acosta. Juan is 58, and the partriarch in this family of seven. How awesome it was to sit outside under a shade tree, initially with only six of these seven people. They knew the story of Jesus dying on the cross, but they had never connected the dots that He is offering to everyone a free gift of salvation that is not works-based. We trained them all to share their faith using the E-Card, and just as we were finishing, another family member walked into the circle of chairs. How amazing it was to watch one of the brothers, Jose, articulate the plan of salvation. Before we left, one more name was written in ink, on top of the six family members who were initially sitting there.
Ruby Baron – please pray for this decision to solidify in her life. We talked to her on her front porch, and although she seemed to make a genuine decision for Christ, I ask that you pray for her specifically. Only God knows the position of her heart when she prayed with us, as He does with everyone. At times she seemed a little distracted, looking away and down the street to the hustle and bustle of the other team members.
Luis Carlos Lopez Martines – We shared with Luis at the same time of sharing with Ruby. However, unlike Ruby, he was clued in on our every word. I prayed to receive Christ, and when I pulled out an E-Card to train him how to share this faith in Christ with others, he told me, “Oh, I have one of those.” I was a little confused and shocked. However, then the real story came out. A few minutes earlier, another team member shared the Gospel with him, and he just wasn’t ready to make a decision. However, as the Bible says, some sow, some water, and God gives the increase. And that’s exactly what happened with Luis Carlos. I told him God wants us to be a shining light in the world. Before we left to visit with other people, he worked through the E-Card and was able to share the Gospel with my translator, Christian. I wondered if would really share with anyone. Then about fifteen minutes later, I looked up to see Luis Carlos sitting in front of another home, getting a pedicure, and sharing his E-Card with the lady doing his feet. In the heat of the day, I had goose bumps all over and a huge smile. Please pry for Luis Carlos to be strong in his faith and bold in his witness. He also asked pray for God’s blessing on his fish business. He is a street vendor in Malambo.
Yoveli Arayou Caballero is a young girl who was also present when we shared with Luis Carlos and Ruby. She has a strong Jehovah Witness background, and she prayed to receive Christ. However, when we asked her what day would be good for the Malambo’s mission pastor to follow up and do a discipleship visit, she hesitated to commit. She walked away knowing how to use the E-Card, but only God will be able to water that seed and grow Yoveli into a true disciple. Pray for her and her family.
Pastor Evelio and his wife Luz Elena Gonzalez will be shepherding the new mission point in Ciudadela. (The picture above is from the Victory Service on Friday night when we commissioned all the pastors and their families in their new work. Luz Elena is the lady in the front in the purple with the black purse.) The name of their church is “Para el que cree, todo es possible.” What a great name for a church, and how true: For those who believe, all things are possible! Please pray for them as they begin to do follow up visits with the 90 professions of faith in their neighborhood.
Mirella Jolis, age 49. Mirella was the first person I was able to share with in the Ciudadela barrio on Wednesday. As we were breaking up into teams, deciding which team was going to work on which side of the street, she walked up to me and asked, “What’s this all about?” So on the side of the street, with beads of sweat pouring down my back, I shared God’s love with her. After about thirty minutes of talking , she prayed to receive Christ as her personal Savior.
Jorge Bevnal is a 38 year old from Ciudadela. (Above) He saw all the commotion in the street, and when we were dividing up into the smaller teams and deciding to where to work, we apparently walked right by him. He wanted to talk to us, but he figured perhaps we were going house to house. So what did Jorge do? He planted himself down on his small patio, shirtless, and decided to “take a nap” to see if we would walk right by him. I started to walk around him, then I peeked over to see if his eyes were open. I could see he was awake, and Thais, the national who was leading us through the neighborhood, asked if we could share our story with him. Jorge sat there, eyes glued on every word I shared. He then said that the night before he had a dream that a ghost (which he named Lincoln) was fighting for his soul. He had woken up in the middle of the night, screaming and fighting this evil spirit who was trying to take control. He had prayed that God would help him fight Lincoln off, and then we showed up in his barrio!
When I asked Jorge if he wanted to pray to receive God’s free gift of salvation, he asked if he “had to right now.” Interesting. I could see a tug of war for his heart, and I told him so. I asked him, “The question is, Jorge, who is going to win that tug-of-war?” That is what God used to break his heart. Jorge accepted Christ as His Savior, and the change was immediate. After he finished praying, he shared with us that as he prayed and asked forgiveness of his sins, he literally felt the burdens being lifted. And when he asked Christ to come into his life and be Lord, he said he felt the Holy Spirit come in. Now mind you, I did not even tell him yet about the Holy Spirit! He then immediately started asking us deeper biblical questions. Questions like, “How do I know what God wants me to do now?” “What happens if I sin again, because I know I will?” We spent the last hour of our visit with Jorge doing discipleship, answering his questions by showing him God’s instruction manual, the Bible. Jorge asked prayer for boldness to share Christ with his neighbor, his brother, and his friend. He came to the evening discipleship (Yo Soy Segundo) group, and I have no doubt that I will meet Jorge again in eternity. What a total God story he has!
Henry and Mariella (above) are a brother and sister in Malambo, and they are now my brother and sister in Christ, too. Henry requested prayer for boldness in sharing his new faith with his girlfriend.
Delna Garcia is an older woman. I started sharing with her how I came to Christ as a small child. Just then, her husband appeared at the door. He was excited to hear from us, but he also told us “I’m a Catholic for life. It doesn’t matter what religion you are, you just must repent and give your life to Christ.” He was in a hurry, but we asked as many follow up questions as we could before he left on his motorcycle, to be sure had Christ in his life. I have my doubts about Delna’s husband. He had all the right answers about salvation and God’s free gift of forgiveness, but the interaction was so brief, I just don’t know. But then again, I don’t need to know. I need only to be obedient to share the Gospel. God is in charge of the rest of it.
But Delna, on the other hand, I have no doubt. She told me she knew all about Jesus dying on the cross for our sin. But she never realized her faith was not in Jesus Christ, but her faith and way to heaven was in her good works. She prayed to receive Christ, and then uttered almost exactly the same words that Jorge Bevnal uttered the day before: “When I was praying, I felt the burdens being lifted right out of me!” She held out her arms, and although we were all sweating profusely, she had goose bumps everywhere, even on her head at the base of her hair. It was amazing! I wrote down all the verses that we had looked at, even using her Catholic Bible, so she could share them with her husband. Please pray for the Garcia family!
Ana Zapata, Yakelin del Rosario, and Edwin Zapata (above) are one of the final families I was able to share with in the barrio of Ciudadela. I shared my testimony with them, and then began sharing the Evangecube by asking one simple question of each of them, “If you were to die today and go to heaven, what answer would you give God for why He should let you in?” Each of them had a different answer, and they were all works-based answers. They retrieved a Bible out of the back room, and I shared with them Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, John 14:6, and all the verses in Romans.
By the time we finished, Ana (the 73 year old mother of Yakelin and Edwin) had John 14:6 memorized and was quoting it for us. They all had prayed to receive God’s free gift of salvation and the excitement in their eyes was beaming. I asked them what I could pray for them about, and Yakelin’s request was for her health. She is struggling with diabetes. Ana asked prayer for boldness to share with her other children (she is the mother of eight adult children, all living in a small little cinderblock home, doubling as a school in the front room.) And Edwin just began to cry. The smile could not be wiped from his face. He just wanted me to thank God for this free gift and for me sharing my gift with him.
The three of us held hands together, crying, and praying. The change was so evident. So convicting. Please pray for salvation to come to the rest of this family.
These are just some of the names that God allowed to touch my heart this week. We had seven other teams in eighteen other barrios. Each of our team members has similar stories as mine and yet very different. These are God stories. Ones we can’t make up or even orchestrate. These are people. They are God’s people now, and they have names.
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com
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