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Ica Trip

Here are some pictures from our Ica outreach on January 9-10.

CLICK HERE to see them and read more...


Robin and Americo travel to Ica every Thursday to have Bible studies with local believers. I went with them that day. The next afternoon, Friday, the whole team came and we all met up at the hotel to discuss our plans for the next two days.




The folks at the home where Robin and Americo do the Bible studies offered to cook us lunch on both days. They prepared typical Ican dishes. The food was delicious.






We held the outreach in a park in downtown Ica. There were clowns, skits, puppets, and music prepared for the kids. Afterwards we would have worship songs, mimes, and preaching for the youth and adults. Here they are warming up before the show.



Many kids came on the first day.






Americo sharing his testimony and preaching the Gospel at night.



Since the oureach events we were holding began in the evenings (5-6ish), this gave us a couple hours of free time the next day in the afternoon before lunch. Most of us went out to preach the Gospel. We walked through the streets surrounding the hotel and the nearby parks, handing out tons of tracts and getting into conversations with people.

Here I am in the main square right outside the hotel. I tried to open-air preach here but the authortities immediately stopped me. They would allow me to preach only on the conditions that I not get up on my stool, not draw a crowd, not attract attention, not disturb the peace--in other words they wanted me to talk to myself. Scrapping that plan, we decided just to do one-to-one witnessing.




Evening worship at the park.




I got the opportunity to preach the Gospel.




Some of the brothers and sisters doing mimes.

Christmas Eve Evangelism

Yesterday night I walked to Parque Kennedy and joined some of my brothers and sisters from Iglesia Bautista del Salvador in their usual Wednesday night evangelism. Shortly after I arrived many of the brothers left as they wanted to spend time with their families for Christmas. I stayed behind with some others as we waited for a good opportunity to open air preach. There weren't as many people in the park, understandibly, as midnight was just a couple hours away and most people were going to their homes.

We talked as we waited around, and then walked over to the Catholic cathedral and stood directly in front of it, across the pedestrian walkway. There was a life-size nativity scene display there and some people were gathering around to see it. As several people gathered in front of it, one of the brothers stood up on his stool and started to preach. He began by reminding them of why we celebrate Christmas, explaining the nativity scene. He then talked about why Jesus came, and spoke of the issues of eternity, talking of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come. The people around the nativity scene stood by and were attently listening. Across the street the church was having mass, and there was a good-sized crowd of people standing in the huge doorway of the cathedral, having arrived to late to find a seat. We couldn't wait for the service to be over and the people to come out.

As this brother was preaching two Catholic girls walked over to where I was and started to loudly complain and blaspheme and tell him to stop preaching. I started to witness to them, but left them alone after noticing the loudest girl was "special" and would not listen to reason. Pretty soon after a "serenazgo," or security guard, walked up to the brother and told him to tone down his voice and move somewhere else because he was disrupting the peace. He ignored him, didn't even look at him, and just continued to preach. The security guard persisted in trying to get him to shut up and leave, to no avail. He started to get frustrated and many people listening attempted to reason with the guard, telling him the brother wasn't breaking any laws, and that he should just allow him to preach. Then the "special" girl walked up to him and offered to go and call over some other "serenazgos" that were parked in a patrol car nearby. Some of them came over, and some personnel from the park in suits came over to talk to us as well. But they couldn't get us to stop preaching. These brothers get this kind of stuff almost every time they preach at this park, so they're used to it.

Well, about this time we had a pretty decent-sized crowd due to all the commotion, and even better--the mass was over and the people were beginning to come out of the cathedral. Most of them were headed straight in our direction. One elderly catholic lady started to loudly complain to the guard. A couple other people walked in front of the brother as he was preaching and started to curse and blaspheme and tell him to go away because he didn't "respect" their religion. One lady walked up to me and swore and cursed and told him not to preach. I started to talk to her. She said she agreed with what the Bible says and had repented. I told her that her mouth and actions contradicted her words and hypocrites will not enter heaven. As I was reasoning with her the Holy Spirit gave me several verses to share with her; it was amazing how I just remembered them in Spanish in detail. I shared the Gospel with her and told her that she had a mere intellectual belief but needed to give her whole heart and life to the Lord. She accepted a tract and then left.

Well...it was an interesting time spent yesterday night. Ephesians 5:16 says we need to be redeeming the time, because the days are evil. I can't think of a better way to spend Christmas Eve than proclaiming the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and exalting His name--all for His glory.

This was the highlight of my Christmas...the rest of it was pretty much "whatever." I just spent it having dinner with my aunt and cousins. Today I have to go to my other aunt's house for lunch. I don't really care much for this holiday anymore; the more the years go by the less appealing it becomes. I celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of my Lord Jesus everyday, so this day isn't really different than any other day for me. Just another opportunity to rejoice in the Lord and glorify His great name!

The Valley

Santa Rosa Last Week

We held a medical campaign last Thursday and Friday at Santa Rosa de Villa. A team of doctors came from the States to help. More than 400 people came to be treated. We witnessed to many, and made sure that each and every one of them at least received a Gospel tract.

Unfortunately, the pics from the first day (which was a much better day for us, imo) accidentaly got deleted from my camera, but I managed to take some on the second day.

The doctors in action:

Traige: where the patients first go to get evaluated.

The waiting room:

Reading our tracts while waiting...(above) never missing an opportunity to share the Gospel(below)

The "pharmacy"

At this moment I was a little bummed out about losing my photos.

Miguel having a good time...

The Atheist Starter Kit--Ray Comfort

If you are a beginner atheist, there's a belief system you should embrace and a language you should learn, or you will find yourself in trouble. Here are ten suggestions for the novice:




1. Whenever you are presented with credible evidence for God's existence, call it a "straw man argument," or "circular reasoning." If something is quoted from somewhere, label it "quote mining."

2. When a Christian says that creation proves that there is a Creator, dismiss such common sense by saying "That's just the old watchmaker argument."

3. When you hear that you have everything to gain and nothing to lose (the pleasures of Heaven, and the endurance of Hell) by obeying the Gospel, say "That's just the old 'Pascal wager.'"

4. You can also deal with the "whoever looks on a woman to lust for her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart," by saying that there is no evidence that Jesus existed. None.

5. Believe that the Bible is full of mistakes, and actually says things like the world is flat. Do not read it for yourself. That is a big mistake. Instead, read, believe, and imitate Richard Dawkins. Learn and practice the use of big words. "Megalo-maniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully" is a good phrase to learn.

6. Say that you were once a genuine Christian, and that you found it to be false. (The cool thing about being an atheist is that you can lie through your teeth, because you believe that are no moral absolutes.) Additionally, if a Christian points out that this is impossible (simply due to the very definition of Christianity as one who knows the Lord), just reply "That's the 'no true Scotsman fallacy.'" PLEASE NOTE: It cannot be overly emphasized how learning and using these little phrases can help you feel secure in dismissing common sense.

7. Believe that nothing is 100% certain, except the theory of Darwinian evolution. Do not question it. Believe with all of your heart that there is credible scientific evidence for species-to-species transitional forms. When you make any argument, pat yourself on the back by concluding with "Man, are you busted!" That will make you feel good about yourself.

8. Deal with the threat of eternal punishment by saying that you don't believe in the existence of Hell. Then convince yourself that because you don't believe in something, it therefore doesn't exist. Don't follow that logic onto a railway line and an oncoming train.

9. Blame Christianity for the atrocities of the Roman Catholic church--when it tortured Christians through the Spanish Inquisition, imprisoned Galileo for his beliefs, or when it murdered Moslems in the Crusades.

10. Finally, keep in fellowship with other like-minded atheists who believe as you believe, and encourage each other in your beliefs. Build up your faith. Never doubt for a moment. Remember, the key to atheism is to be unreasonable. Fall back on that when you feel threatened. Think shallow, and keep telling yourself that you are intelligent. Remember, an atheist is someone who pretends there is no God.

Last week...

A team from Calvary Chapel In The City in Boston came over to help us with construction in the church building we have in Santa Rosa de Villa. They stayed for about a week.

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We made a concrete floor in one of the rooms...

...And we worked on the roof...

All finished!




On Saturday we went to a park in Villa Maria for an evangelistic outreach. There were mimes, music, and the preaching of the Gospel!

Even Miguel liked the show...

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It was an incredible blessing having them here. I'm so glad to have met this group of men and women with humble hearts who were so willing to serve and obey the voice of the Lord. Please keep them in prayer!