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August 1979 Newsletter
COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle prairie of Southeastern Colombia.
Volume 7, Issue 8 August, 1979
A GOOD MONTH
This past month has been a very busy one. I made 4 trips out into the prairie. These trips usually occupy two or three days and are extremely tiring. During a typical trip I will preach several services, have consultations with the leaders of the church, and try to get them out evangelizing with me. I usually take time to have a couple of classes with them in conjunction with our Theological Education by Extension course. The brethren seem to really enjoy the visits. Yet the trips are more than just visits. They are intended to be aids to the local elders in their effort to become more effective leaders of the Lord's church.
Our monthly Bible Institute was also very well attended this past month. This is a time in which the leaders from the churches in the prairie and the jungle come into Villavicencio for a two day retreat. We use it for intensive Bible study and some much needed fellowship. During this past month the attendance averaged 16 men. This is a pretty good percentage of the 22 men who are enrolled in the course. The monthly trip represents quite a financial sacrifice on their part. Each such trip will cost them several days wages.
Another item which made the month very interesting was the ordination of 3 young men into the ministry. All three are graduates from the Bible Institute. All have worked with us for several years now. Their ordination represents a big step in their ministries and should give a real solid footing to the works with which they are associated. We have ordained elders and deacons in the past, but this is the first time there have been young men (their ages range from 24 to 27) anxious to enter the ministry.
One other event also proved to be rather special this month. One of the churches had a wedding. Since the Evangelical church is not recognized by the government, it is extremely difficult to get married outside of the Catholic Church. It requires several months of paperwork and quite a bit of money on the part of the young people. It is a very big social event for the church as well.
The final event that made the month a good one was that there were 15 people "born again." Five of these baptisms were in the San Jose area and the rest were here in Villavicencio or out in the prairie. To have that many baptisms in one month is quite exciting. Our average is much lower with some months seeing no new additions to the local congregations with which we work. We are hoping that this indicates that our new methods and leadership training are starting to produce results. Our ultimate goal and only real purpose is to aid and animate the growth of New Testament congregations that extend the message of redemption to the Nation of Colombia. All of our efforts were directed towards the furthering of that goal.