Childlike Faith: A Prayer Letter Repost

The following is an excerpt from the latest Happ family newsletter. What is your special story or memory from this past Christmas?

The Sunday before Christmas, [4-year-old] Jordan made a birthday card for Jesus in her Sunday school class. On Christmas Eve, when we explained that we would be lighting the Advent candles and singing to celebrate Jesus’ birth, she ran to get her card. Then she did something that was so sweet that we just have to share it with you.

She held the card high above her head, “so Jesus can see it,” and then pressed it to her chest, “so He can come into my heart.” It was so simple and so precious! There was no doubt in her little mind that Jesus exists, no doubt that He would see her, no doubt that He’d hear and respond. Of course He’d accept her; He loves her!

That is the kind of childlike faith that Jesus urges us as His followers to have. He wants us to trust Him implicitly, to follow Him without wavering, to believe that He really does love unconditionally, and to love as He loves.


A faith like Jordan’s is beautiful and wonderful, but even childlike faith must be nurtured. It must be educated and matured, for we are not to remain as children. If we were, Paul would not have admonished the Corinthians for being unable to handle the “solid food” of his spiritual teaching.

There are millions of believers in Latin America whose faith could be classified as “childlike.” We rejoice at this statistic, but we also know that it means there is a lot of work to do to nurture and mature the faith of those believers.

The mission of LATN/ProMETA is the same as Paul’s charge to Timothy, to “entrust [his teachings] to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2b), and well it should be! We’ve witnessed firsthand the abuses that take place within the church when the people and their leaders are not instructed in the Truth.

By making it our goal to provide sound theological training to the leaders of leaders in the Spanish speaking world, we are multiplying our effect across the globe. As our students share what they’ve learned with other leaders, their congregations, their seminary students, and their families, they are nurturing the childlike faith of those around them. The Church is growing in the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord, and we believe He is pleased!

We Want More Traffic!

We're not talking more rush hour traffic in downtown San José, Minneapolis, or name-your-city... we're talking ReachGlobal Latin America website traffic.

YOU -- the RGLA staff -- can help us increase our visability and site traffic, by posting the links to new content and new stories on your Facebook pages, blogs, and Twitter accounts.

Ready to get started on Facebook? It's easy.

1. Log in to your Facebook account and head to your profile page.

2. Choose the option at the top of your wall to share a link (or enlace if your page is in Spanish like mine!)

3. Copy and paste this entire URL into the box (it's a new story that was posted to the website just today): http://www.efca.org/reachglobal/where-we-serve/latin-america/get-involved/latin-america-opportunities/peru/upriver-reach

4. Click the blue button on the right to attach it.

5. Add an optional teaser to the box that appears, such as:

Imagine having five people praying over you in three languages, confronting the spiritual oppression that threatens your well-being. Read this story by a short-term member about his experience sharing God's peace in Nueva Italia, Peru.

6. Click the blue button on the right to share it on your wall.

Now all of your friends can check out the latest story.

But wait! There is another, very easy way to repost another friend's post on Facebook -- no copying of links required. Just click on the word "Share" (or "Compartir" if yours looks like the example) under the link (above Gordon's name in this example) and repost on your own wall.

Please support the region in this effort to build interest in God's work here in Latin America. Going forward, I will regularly send out emails with links to new stories that we would love you to repost.

Contact me (melissa.putney@efca.org) with any questions. Thank you for your help!!

Passion, Pursuit, and Encouragement for the Journey -- A Blog Repost

Did you know that many of your fellow teammates on the RG LA staff are blogging on a regular basis? Don't forget to keep up with one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, and share in the journey together.

Below is a recent blog post written by Cathi Duggan in Costa Rica:

I tend to be energized by spending time doing what I love -- listening to women, reaching out to others, feeding the multitudes, and opening my home to strangers I've never met. The early part of my week was a little disappointing.

(OK, more than a little) as my car broke down, and then I was unable to spend time in La Carpio. Apparently, four days without water in that barrio had provoked a protest of sorts, and the road was being blocked. For many of my friends, Twitter followers, and family, that would signal relief at 5:30 AM and a quick return to bed... I put on running clothes, grabbed the dog's leash and ran, and while running, prayed for a peaceful resolution (and abundant water to flow into that community soon) to this problem. The kids were happy that I chose to pick up their favorite doughnuts on my way back, and we spent a cozy morning together!

Does our Heavenly Father feel the same when He pursues the the thing He is passionate about--US--and we have something that impedes our time with Him? I believe so. Creating a space or place to meet Him (whether it is indoors or well, on a long morning run), being intentional, and seeking His face demands commitment... but the benefits are beyond compare!

A double blessing was waiting for me today. A listserv sent a reminder for a call-in meeting and, although I rarely take time to look at non-personal or urgent emails in the morning, this particular email caught my attention. It was strange to open it, see our family's picture on the margin... and realize, this meeting was occurring in Charlotte, NC, around lunchtime, and I could be a part of it via our stateside phone.

Although the connection failed midway through the call, this divine appointment encouraged me and the other ladies who intentionally put aside time to be together, learn from God's Word and one another, and pray. I am not alone on this planet, my Heavenly Father has placed others along the hills and valleys of my life so I may be encouraged and, in turn, encourage others. For some that means a slice of homemade pizza and a brownie, a cup of coffee, and for others a listening ear, a hug or a smile. My friends and family know me too well--for me, any of those work....

"Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." I Thessalonians 5:10-11

A Snapshot from Venezuela

By Mike Gunderson

On the way to preach in one of the churches in Valencia, Venezuela, I had the privilege of worshipping with the Emanuel EFC, also in Valencia. On the surface, the church is not highly impressive, and there were only about 50 people in the first of two services.

I should have known that there was more beneath the surface, though, when I saw their church vision statement painted above the platform:

Una iglesia discipular, celular y misionera

(A discipling, cellular and missionary church)

It has a nice ring, doesn't it?

Pastor Abdy with his children & Mike

As I spent more time with the lead pastor of this church, Adby Perera and his wife, Paola, I understood that there is a lot more to Emanuel Free than meets the eye.

This church of around 150 members has 40 people in its music ministry -- and 15 of those are trained to lead worship! Every Sunday they send out at least one team to help lead worship in church plants and smaller churches in the community.

Abdy's church has a ministry called "volunteer missions training." Trainees receive basic training in preaching and evangelism, and they preach, evangelize, and do street theatre in public squares. If the police come, they disband (although, thankfully, most of the persecution in Venezuela today is mild and subtle).

The volunteer missions training is VERY hands on. Pastor Abdy shared, "I don't like cold-call evangelism, but I like what it produces in the 'missionaries' that go out." On five Saturdays during April and May 2010, Emanuel Free preached and shared in different public squares... and 48 people came to Christ!

The same training is being used in a number of churches and there are many new Christian converts. A once bi-vocational pastor started the program a few years ago, and today ten house churches have been born out of it. Now, he's a vocational pastor and just finished his "licenciatura" (bachelor’s equivalent). (Good thing he is qualified now!!)

Conference -- Missionaries & Pastors

We heard similar stories from other pastors, too, although with a curious twist to the story... No one really knows how many new churches there are in the association! They know that the number of official churches has dwindled (a story for another time), but the number of unofficial churches has grown dramatically in the last half decade or so. Praise the Lord! Some spoke of 80 unofficial churches and church plants, others of 100, and still others spoke of numbers over 120.

The number is not the most important thing. What is exciting is something that we see in church-planting movements around the world (not just in Venezuela) -- the movement becomes decentralized and growth grows beyond control.

• There is a growing number of house churches led by bi-vocational pastors.
• The ADIEL of Venezuela is now offering an accredited bachelor degree program in a local church-based training format.
• And we were thrilled to see that they have two missionary families in India and two families in the process of being sent to Europe.

So many exciting things!

We all left Venezuela very encouraged by what God is doing through our Venezuelan brothers and sisters. We are proud of the faithful missionaries who God has used and continues to use for His glory in Venezuela.

Surprised by God!

By Bob Werntz


Sometimes on the mission field, we are surprised by incredible God-given ministry opportunities that are a bit outside our expectations and paradigms. During our time in Honduras, this has certainly been the case for our family.

In 2009, I received a call from a ministry called International Fire Relief Missions (IFRM) in Minnesota requesting my help in connecting them with the municipal government on the Honduran island of Roatan. They felt led to minister to the firemen and medical emergency responders there, and the director of the group attends an EFC church in Minnesota. I love to go to Roatan – a beautiful island paradise where I have often dreamed of planting a hammock church. After many months of phone calls with governmental and customs officials and a couple of vision trips, the day finally came!

The Roatan Fire and Medical Services were happy to receive a fire truck and a container stuffed with over $1 million worth of supplies! A team from Minnesota traveled to the island for two weeks to train the workers on the best use of their new equipment. (At right, Roatan fire fighters, wearing and using their new equipment, receive car extraction training.)

At the same time, another ministry affiliated with IFRM (International Relief Missions) worked with a church in Roatan to train a group from their local church family to provide chaplain ministry to the emergency responders. Part of the training included going to the fire station and meeting all the workers there (pictured at left), the first steps to building a relationship between the church and the emergency responders. What a blessing to see these ministries and trainings come together after months of preparation and prayer!

God surprised us again when a group called Missions Mobilization International (MMI) contacted us. MMI had the desire to minister to the national police force in Honduras, the COBRAS, and requested our help. They arrived in Tegucigalpa with a team that specializes in training SWAT teams around the world. After several days of intense training, and once they’d earned the COBRAS respect, the MMI ministry team preached the gospel to them. Many COBRAS indicated their desire to follow Christ, and we handed out around 500 Bibles! Awesome!

Preaching the gospel to the COBRAS

Proud owners of new Bibles

May God continue to surprise us all with ministry opportunities that seem outside the box!