Popayán
Newly arrived in Popayán, in the south of Colombia, we created a video to present this city and our current situation. We also talked about the vision God gave us for Popayán and some prayer requests.
Transformado.
A song was composed especially for the first discipleship program at Antorcha Bible Institute and recorded by one of our colleagues. The lyrics were written according to the motto, with words from Romans 12:1-2. At the end of the program, we created this video with the song and impressions from 4 months.
Interview with the disciples.
At the end of the discipleship program, we conducted a short interview with the participants. Here are some results.
Who are you?
What is your name, where do you come from, what do you like to do and what are perhaps your strengths/weaknesses?
"My name is Ivan Enrique Pavajeau Ibarra. I belong to the Kankuamo ethnic group. I am rather matter-of-fact and serious and I am 18 years old. I live in the Cesar region in the village of Pueblo Bello. I like to play chess, read the Bible, listen to music (worship) and think about the things that happen in my life."
Ivan
Why did you come here?
What expectations did you have of the discipleship program? What goals and visions might you have?
"First and foremost, I wanted to change my spiritual life, i.e. give up sins and bad habits. I wanted to learn more about the Word of God and prepare myself for the ministry God had given me. God put the calling to be an evangelist on my heart. I wanted to grow in my faith and better understand God's purpose for my life."
Ivan
What have you learned?
What do you take away from the discipleship program? Has anything changed in your life?
"I have learned to really appreciate being a child of God and also to rely on the Holy Spirit. My guilt no longer weighs heavily on my shoulders. I became free from addictions and experienced God's presence in my life."
Ivan
Have you discovered something new in yourself?
Do you have a gift or talent that you didn't know about before? What do you wish for the future?
"As God promised me, I am discovering gifts of the Holy Spirit and have experienced the gift of praying in tongues and the word of wisdom for the first time. God has shown me more, but I don't understand it all yet. I am now also more open to sharing with others and I discovered my talent in writing poetry for God."
Ivan
How will your journey continue?
What will you do when you get home? Is there anything you would like to do differently?
"I want to live differently, I want to live more firmly in faith so that I don't fall back into bad habits of the past. I want to continue to apply what I've learned and, for example, share the good news with my family and other people. I have missed my family a lot, so I want to spend time with them first and foremost."
Ivan
Nicolás’ baptism
During our first year in Colombia, we were able to accompany a new disciple of Jesus at his baptism. We asked him to tell us how he experienced it.
My name is Nicolás and I am 28 years old; I want to tell you what God did in my life. Years passed, and many challenges, dangers and joys accompanied them. Although I lived alone, I always noticed that I was blessed, that I was not alone, that when the storm came I had a coat, and after several years (10 years) I found the Caste [the church], a wonderful place, and best of all I got to know the word [of God] and learn from it, every time I began to notice the change in my life more, hence my decision to get baptized.
However, I believed that by accepting God in my life, everything would be easier, even though I already knew it would not be the case, due to comments and experiences of others. Now I am in a constant struggle against sin and my duty to share the word of God, I feel a great conflict because my sin accompanies me and contaminates my life, and today [October, 2 2021] at 2:30 a.m. I am writing this for those who want to start a true life with God, I invite you to be brave, read the word [of God], this will be the key to face sin and give us paths of joy... As it says in the book of Proverbs 3: 1 - 2 "My son, do not forget my teachings, and may your heart keep my precepts; for they will give you long days, years of life and well-being." His promise is clear and as he told that woman [that was accused of adultery] "go my daughter and sin no more."
He is the source of wisdom, we just have to stop and listen.
God bless you!
