News > Latin America

April 22, 2013

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— Isaiah 9:1

 

In this year, we studied the book of Genesis and the gospel of John. Also, we studied the 7 steps Bible study to live a gospel-centered life. The gospel has the power of God that can make us grow until the fullness of Jesus. However, why don’t we grow as we should? This is the question that has driven our Bible study. It would seem that we know the secret of the gospel but as M. Paulina said once we must study the gospel newly and more deeply.

 

We held the Easter conference for three nights and four days. The theme was “Remain in Me.” We prayed that this word would be planted in us who have been living a routine and mechanical life. We prayed day and night for two months during preparation. In general, 7-12 people participated in the prayer meetings. The conference invitation for sheep was very costly. It seemed that no one might come. But on the day of the conference 14 new sheep came to the conference. There were 60 participants and 22 leaders who were trained as either messengers or shared their testimonies, and 5 brothers decided to register for discipleship training.

 

The greatest work of God in 2012 was sending out M Noe Marco as the first Bolivian missionary to Argentina. He graduated from the Science of Communication and was working on his second major in law. He already had a professional position working for a radio station. His father had said to him, “Son, God has blessed you.” Also, Sh. Noe himself had many personal plans in life. However, M. Esteban Cho asked him: Could you go out as a missionary to another country leaving everything behind? In response, M Noe spent one entire week in prayer and made a decision to accept the blessing of God and form a family of mission with M. Erendira, and in October after 6 months of spiritual training he was sent as a missionary. Now, he is coworking with M. Marcos and Ruth, serving café Bible study in the campus.

 

In her history, Bolivia has lost more than a half of her original territory due to territorial conflicts with neighboring countries Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. They even lost their coastal territory which means that they have no seaport. They have every right to regain it but they have no power to do so. This is why the collective unconscious of the Bolivians is full of fatalism because of the destiny of their country. But from God’s point of view, the Bolivians are like the Galileans in the time of Jesus Christ, who were molded by centuries of suffering and marginalization.

 

But when the disciples in Bolivia heard that M Noe was serving Argentine sheep, they were clothed with new hope and new vision believing that they too could do it. The prayer topic, “Bolivia, A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation,” was no longer just a superficial dream but a real goal that can be reached.

 

In this year, there were those who overcame temptation and those who fell into temptation. There was one brother who never missed Bible study and worship service for 5 years. Seeing the faithfulness of this brother, I thought maybe he might become my successor in the future. But after he brought one sheep to our ministry, he fell into a sinful relationship with her. He hid his sin and even served Sunday message from time to time. But after one year went by, he finally confessed his sin. This event made me realize and repent my sin of not engaging in the work of disciple-making, as I was just waiting for sheep to grow by themselves without any problems. Without sowing in tears, there can be no harvest of joy. Now he is in Argentina receiving spiritual training. I pray that he may meet Jesus very personally and become a man of true repentance who sins no more.

 

They say that in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, there are some twenty thousand Brazilian students who have come to Bolivia to study Medicine and Odontology. In front of our Bible center, there is a private university, called UDABOL, where there are five thousand Brazilian students. When we pass by this neighborhood, we feel as if we are in Brazil. God gave us the vision to raise these Brazilian sheep as disciples and send them as missionaries to their country. Until now, we don’t have any faithful sheep from UDABOL, but we pray to God that we may see the glory of God in this year of 2013.

 

In this year, we had café group Bible study on campus. Sometimes our groups had more than 20 sheep and we were lacking bread and coffee to serve them. Through the café Bible study, the leaders could learn how to be stewards of God’s work and we gathered new sheep like Liset, Ingrid, and Silvia. Through this we learned that it pleases God to reach out to sheep instead of passively going to church.

   

We began to construct the upper floor of our Bible center where there will be three rooms for common life, another meeting room and an office.

 

Msn. Marco Shin and Ruth Shin have been pioneering Santa Cruz 2 chapter. This family was for many years in the high regions (3,000-4,000 meters) because of their work. Some years ago, M Ruth and her two sons returned to Santa Cruz while M Marco remained where he was due to his work. M Marcos prepared Sunday message and sent it to M Ruth. Then she served the WS. But this year, M Marco left his work and now stays in Santa Cruz and can serve the ministry more actively. They live in Home Center, in a rented apartment. I pray that the ministry of this family will grow and many disciples may be raised through their shepherd life and that God may bless their business abundantly.

 

During 2012, the Sunday attendance average was 45-50 and one to one’s were 60-80 per week. In 2013 the five disciples will graduate and work. The majority of them have been trained from the first year of college life. I pray to God that they will triumph in their professional career and grow as true shepherds of God’s flock. Also there are various bachelors who are over 30 and some near 40. En 2013, we pray that many marriages of faith will be raised from among them and families of faith that can pioneer the city of Cochabamba and La Paz.

 

In October, M Paulina and I visited Argentina and Paraguay. We could have a sweet fellowship with our missionaries, sharing prayer topics and the same faith and hope. In some sense, we as missionaries have no friends. We are lonely pilgrims on a heavenly pilgrimage. One of the four wheels of our Christian life is fellowship. I began to understand the importance of fellowship with our missionaries.

 

One Word: God glorified Galilee

 

Prayer Topics:

by M Esteban Cho