Missionary Gas

This email arrived from Habana: "Brothers,  many greetings.   Our desire in a few words is this:   We want you to know that in Cuba we have many serving in missionary work,  opening new churches,  but they have little Biblical and theological preparation.   Our country has experienced  50 years of communism with its strict censorship against the gospel.  Now there is an open door and we want to be effective in the Great Commission,  but we are in need of the help of trained pastors.   Therefore we want to invite you to visit us, so that you may known the situation,  write about it,  appreciate what is going on,  and help us with teachings to form a new generation of men of God.   There are many in need.   Remember when the apostle Paul heard a voice saying  "Com e over to Macedonia and help us."    Come over to Cuba...    Warm greetings,   may God guide you in all things and we leave you with Acts 20:24 Pastor Lázaro Pino Perdomo Habana"

Gustavo from Santiago, Chile wrote on hogmanay to express thanks for an article:   "it helped me to understand that God's plan for man includes suffering. I've been a Christian for 30 years and am a preacher in our local church and also the daughter churches.   I'm part of the leadership  team and,   in a voluntary capacity,  am very active in the church's ministry.  Eight months ago I lost my job and have been unable to find work.   There have been  desperate prayers, much suffering and many tears,  all without a resolution;    rejection and failure,  pain in my soul,  frustration,  perplexity and also,  anger.   The Lord spoke to me of a desert.     This is what I have lived through.  Suffering has marked my life since childhood:  often death,  illness,  and unemployment;  frequent failure in business.   It's as if back luck pursues me."

The following was received from Costa Rica:   "Greetings to everyone,  may our good Lord continue blessing you,  my name is Aldron Castillo,   married with 5 children.  I'm an ex prisoner who was in jail for 11 years,  although originally sentenced to 55 years.  While in prison I received Christ as my saviour,   and saw him doing mighty works to secure my release,  but his greatest miracle was my salvation.     Today I serve the Lord seeking to prevent crime.  My wife and I travel 8-9 hours by bus in order to testify to others of the way Christ saves spiritually and physically and can be their savour too.    We get no external help for this work either in literature or economically.  In my  country ex-prisoners carry on as before and no one believes that God could make such a great change.    A lot of time is spent in preparing materials to give to people.     I have tracts and some  Bibles to use with a group of 40-60.     God is helping us,  but I need to prepare p

Javier Montoya,  a Colombian pastor and ongoing Seminary student,  wrote for advice about an essay he was preparing on the book of Revelation.     It concerned the 24 elders around the throne of the lamb.      He explained how he was tackling the topic and wanted to know how to approach the subject exegetically. His email finished with a brief PS: "This week I was robed of my car with all my study materials,  computer, documents,  books and iPhone.  They abused and beat me.   But I'm well.   Thanks be to God" Seminary students,  Colombia

Cuba brings up images of cigars,  smoked filled bars,  and red coloured pictures of Che Guevara. How out of date we are was revealed in an email from a lecturer supervising MTh students on that island.    For the first time theology is being taught at this level.   Evangelicalism is outliving Don Fidel's atheism. For students it means there are no theology theses available in libraries.    Rumour had it Recursos Teológicos had some online.   Where are they?   A few hours later they were being looked at not through cigar haze but in the vibrant atmosphere of an evanglical seminary. ¡Viva la revolución!  Studying the gospels in Moyobamba

Quiet weekend,  Olwen's over to Ballymena for her mother's 94th birthday,   so I'm reheating pasta.   Managed to read a whole book today,  which says more about the publication than the reader's ability.   It's called "Tweet If You Love Jesus:  Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation", by Elizabeth Drescher.    She comments about Kirk Smith a pastor working on the US/Mexico border whose successful online ministry is based on: Starting where you are Being exactly who you are Building bridges with users Using images - photos or video clips Practicing the ministry you profess Kirkintilloch ramblers outing to Ben Ledi last Saturday