there’s still time to give to the Gospel For Asia Christmas gift program, whether it’s $1 or $15,000.

last january i went with a small team from @calvaryhanford to do some work in lima, peru and iquique, chile.

we’ve had a relationship with our friends in peru for many years, so it was great to see them again. because of our bond in the Lord, it feels like a home away from home.

but iquique was new. we hadn’t been there, nor had we met the people. we’d only communicated over email. and by ‘we’ i mean the one guy who speaks spanish emailed over and would translate the responses from the pastor.

before the trip, one of my travel companions had found this video and sent it around. it was the very group of people that we were about to meet and spend a few days with.

i remember it being very interesting to watch the video and try to figure out who was who.

now, it’s even more interesting to look back and know these people and remember that we spent some wonderful time of ministry and fellowship together, especially over meals like this one.

i had forgotten about this little film for many months until i accidentally came across it again today.

i’m excited to go back to iquique again at some point in the future. and, hopefully, we’ll rock a meal or two just like this one.

if you have the time, this is a very interesting 15 minutes.

it’s interesting for a few reasons:

number one – it’s good to just hear people talking about God and what He’s doing in their lives and then to think about those things in my own life.

number two – it’s interesting to see 3 personalities, or, 3 styles of communication demonstrated by these guys. quite honestly, i was pretty surprised with some of the interaction.

number three – it’s interesting to evaluate how different leaders have a different focus of ministry and methodology. in one i see grace and humility. in another i see assumption but some openness. in the third i see…less grace and more tones of superiority. at least in this conversation.

what did you see?

ht//mr. belmont

Missionaries in training with Gospel for Asia have spoken of the “privilege” they felt in suffering for Christ after being attacked on their Bible college campus in Mumbai, India, earlier in the month.

Seven students were seriously injured in the attack by suspected anti-Christian extremists on May 9.

They were preparing the evening meal when attackers armed with wooden sticks, iron rods and fluorescent light tubes stormed onto the campus, beating them and vandalizing the buildings.

The students tried to speak to the assailants and find out why they were attacking them but got no answer.

Hemanti Kashyap was injured when the attackers hit him in the stomach with an iron rod. He said the incident had given him the chance to live out the difficult lessons he had learned in Bible college.

“Through this situation I learned what the Bible means when it says, “Blessed are those who suffer for Christ,” he said. “This opposition was the test of my faith to march forward and to share the Gospel. They hit my stomach with an iron rod and I was injured, but I am grateful to the Lord Jesus who kept me safe to be a witness for Him.”

Sunil Pattanayap recalls the moment the attack began: “For a moment I was shocked about why this was happening to me. Then I understood that the time had come for me to glorify His name,” he said.

“It was my privilege to suffer for Christ and I am happy today because I can testify that God protected me and brought me safe from death to proclaim His Word and stand as a living testimony for Christ with a strong faith.

Three of the injured students are still recovering in hospital. Beedram Sena had to undergo surgery on his broken leg, while Sudershan Yadavan required surgery to repair his broken kneecap. Sunil Reedy needed extensive dental surgery to replace teeth that were knocked out by the attackers.

{Charles Boyd // Christian Today Reporter}

read the article here

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my travel companions had this dish in chile.

twice.

i declined.

however, in lima i did try cuy.

which is this:

yes, it made me sad.

no, it didn’t taste good.

photo by

we were in Iquique, Chile from saturday till monday night.

on sunday morning we went down to one of the local beaches and had a baptism service/bbq/street evangelism time with the folks from calvary chapel mahanaim. a small group of converts were ready to take the plunge and we were asked to be the ones to ‘do’ the baptism.

now, it was the first time that jake, alex or i had performed a baptism. so, understandably, at one point we had to slunk off and figure out how exactly we were going to make this happen. you may not have thought about it (we hadn’t), but depending on your space and location, there are a number of different methods for full-immersion baptism.

it’s interesting how often God’s humbling is also so comical.

what are you guys doing?

oh, nothing…just trying to figure out how to baptize a person without drowning them…

after finalizing out our game plan we trodded off into the surf.

it was…cold.

really cold.

but as each of the 6 or 8 people came out to us, we became warmer and warmer. there was an incredible excitement that we were participating in something unique and life-changing and special.

at one point, while we were waiting for another baptizee to head out, one of the large waves knocked the 3 of us down and pulled us a few yards back. but, as we came up for air, we just laughed and struggled back into position. never before had any of us experienced a morning like this.

it’s hard to express how honored we felt to be a part of something so personal and powerful. as the people came out we prayed together. after they were baptized they went back to the shore, into the open arms of the church body who were clapping and cheering and smiling, waiting to receive them.

the same welcome was waiting for us when we finished and made our way back to the sand.

i don’t think any of us will ever forget the great privilege God gave us that day.

maranatha.

we’re back.

the Lord did cool things.

i can’t wait to share them with you.