Team Member Matt Hamilton Update from Cali, Colombia

First and foremost – thank you from the entire team for all of the prayers! It is very evident that God has and is already at work here. We’ve had some amazing experiences and this is just the first day.

Sunday mornings we meet as a team for breakfast and a quick message from Sam Ingrassia, then off with our teams to the local churches for worship. I’m a team leader for 4 Americans (including myself). Our team is me, Doug Black (from Firewheel), Mike Trimble (from South Carolina) and Nitin Christopher (from Prestonwood). Interesting to have Nitin, he’s a seminary student at Dallas Theological Seminary and he’s from India. He’s a little bit of a novelty around here, they don’t get many Indians in Cali.

Service was incredible. While the songs are familiar, the buildings are different and the experience is really indescribable. We worshipped for about an hour, our team was introduced, then I was asked to give a sermon before their Pastor finished the message. Can’t say that I’ve had to preach to a church in a while, so it was an honor.

Tomorrow and Tuesday, my team will be evangelizing in a neighborhood that is known for having homeless, drug addicts, prostitution, and hitmen. Yes, hitmen. This is a very poor and desperate area.

Please be in prayer for the team and our work this week. Extra prayer for protection as we enter into a dangerous area.

Love you all and thank you again for praying over us this week. I can tell you the power of prayer is seen daily!

Also, check out the blog for pics and updates. http://mattdaveincolombia.blogspot.com/

Matt

Holy Lands Update 3

Well today has been spent in and around the Sea of Galilee. So much of what Jesus did was in this area. The Sermon on the Mount, The Transfiguration, the calming of the storm, teaching from the boat to His disciples...and as scripture confirms much, much more. We have one more day in this region before going to Tel Aviv tomorrow (Wednesday) night. We've had an excellent trip and have experienced so many things. We look forward to being back and sharing them with you all.

Below: Clockwise

1. The shoreline on the Sea of Galilee 2. A boat dating back to Jesus' time found at the Sea of Galilee 3. The type of tree used to make the crown of thorns at Jesus' crucifixion 4. A Jewish synagogue near the Sea of Galilee where most experts believe Jesus must have taught

Holy Lands Update 2

Wow! What a day! One highlight was worshiping in a church inside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem. The church was built out of stone and when we sang the sound reverberated with glory. It was inspiring and beautiful. People were walking in off the streets to listen to the music of Christians worshiping our Lord and Savior. I wish I could send pictures but we were not allowed to take any. We also saw the pool of Bethesda recorded in John 5 where Jesus told the lame man to rise and walk when the man said he could not be healed because no one could put him in the pool. A couple of pictures of that place are below. Then finally we went to the Empty Tomb! It was inspiring and humbling. We worshiped and took communion together and it was a fitting end to an awesome day.

Pool of Bethesda:

Empty Tomb:

He is risen. He is alive!

Holy Lands Update 1

Thank you for your prayers. All team members arrived safely with all of our luggage! We have been up for 34 hours and are worn out but already we've had a great time in Israel. Today we walked through the Elah Valley where David killed Goliath. On top of the side of the Israel encampment was a rock gate that has stood since that time - estimated at 3100 years old. Inspiring to walk those same steps David himself walked. We also saw several sites around the Temple Mount with more detailed tours to come. We also saw some tombs around the temple site. One of those was Absalom's tomb - David's son:

Another is said to be James' tomb - the half-brother of Jesus:

Keep checking back in and we'll update regularly.

Shalom,

Team Firewheel

Report #3 from Barranquilla

We had another great day today. It was our second day in a new neighborhood that was an hour away. The church that we were working with just started 30 days ago and has only 8 people so far. It was very exciting to see their excitement to have us there and see God move in the neighborhood. The first house that Amanda and I went to today there was a young girl with a baby and she welcomed us in. When we were about to present the gospel, another lady just happened to be coming over to this house to visit and came in to listen also. As soon as we started telling our testimony you could see her heart stirring, she had tears in her eyes and by time we left she was very broken. It was very evident that the Holy Spirit was present.

Robert and his candy were a big hit today! Kids and parents were swarming around him to hear the gospel, it was amazing! It is such an honor to to be here sharing the gospel! It is so hard to put into words or even an email what we have seen this week. I just know that God is good, He SAVES and boy is he moving here in Barranquilla! - Kim Gibbs

Pictures from the field...

Report #2 from Barranquilla

I’m not sure that words can fully express the work that is going on in Colombia. God is in the business of reconciling people to himself . We are confident that God will continue to do this work. Today was another extremely hot day, but the work of the gospel was fruitful. My translator and national met a number of folks who knew nothing of a relationship with God…they only knew religion. There are a couple of good stories from today.

Eye glasses….I must admit when I was first asked to carry a huge box of eyeglasses as one of my pieces of luggage, my attitude was “not that great”. Today I was confronted with my own sinful attitude in that situation when a woman needed glasses in order to see the evangecube…and I just happened to have a bag of glasses in my backpack. Something as simple as a pair of cheap eyeglasses allowed the gospel to be preached.

At the service this evening, people came from all over the local neighborhood to have Brother Ernest pray for them. There were sick people and people with all kinds of issues, and as Brother Ernest does, he prayed in such a way that the people were brought into the presence of God. One quick side note…Ernest King is man on a mission from God…even at 83.

There are so many other stories...wonderful and amazing stories. These are just a couple that my I've been able to put into words so far today. To be perfectly frank, I don't really know how to put many of the things I've seen into words yet. My heart is still searching for words to describe some of the things that I've seen in just the first couple of days of work in these neighborhoods. Every person from Firewheel has their own set of amazing stories of how God worked, how God showed up, and how God showed off! - Robert Morris