Both Josh and Andrew were born in Chile and had no memory of the states before coming back on furlough.  Katie was 28 days old when we left for the field and has never been back for any length of time.  They have thoroughly enjoyed so many things about the states.  Here are a few highlights:

1. They have spent time with extended family like never before.  They actually know their cousins and have made friendships with them!  (You can only understand this one if you live oversees.)

2. Our home church has welcomed them so well.  They love when it’s time to go to Vision.  For Lori and I, it’s very important that they have deep roots in their home church.

3. We spent a week in Washington DC exploring the monuments and museums.  They’re getting a grasp on American history and what it means to be American.

4. After hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours in the car, they’ve seen 20+ states.  They’ve played in the ocean in Florida, hiked trails in the Smokey Mountains, and seen the snow in Ohio.

All three have adapted to American culture, customs, food, etc.  (If you are not a missionary, this will not make any sense!  If you are, then, no further explanation is required).

Despite the fantastic time on furlough, they incessantly talk about Chile.  Unaided by their parents, they made countdown calendars to our departure for Chile.  Everyday they tear off another number and cheer about how few days are left.  They say their “real” friends are in Chile, and they’re ready to get back.

Ideally, they will love both Chile and America, both Chileans and Americans, both Chilean culture and American culture.  Our ultimate goal is to have bilingual and bicultural children, but this would never be possible without a furlough.

Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

For more articles about missions, check out bcwe.org

You’ve heard the saying about missing the forest for the trees?  Being away from the daily grind has allowed me to step back and see the forest, the big picture, instead of being distracted by the weekly events or daily problems that inevitably divert my attention.

My understanding of church planting, leader training, and teamwork has matured and grown more in the last 9 months than during the past few years combined!  I can’t wait to get back and work smarter and not just harder!

Furlough has really allowed me to grow as a father, husband, and missionary.  I wouldn’t change it for anything!

Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

For more articles about missions, check out bcwe.org

Furlough is like throwing the ministry in the deep-end and standing back to see if it sinks or swims!  To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when we left Chile in June 2011.  In theory the ministry would continue along without me, but only time would tell.

Was the ministry built only on my personality or my ability?  Were the guys ready to take leadership and continue on in my absence?  Was I the glue that held everything together?  Were people following Christ or were they following me?  Those questions would be answered, for good or for bad, during our furlough.

Understand, I’m being completely open and transparent with you.  These doubts are never discussed openly, but all missionaries mull over them privately!

We thank God that the ministry has continued strong in our absence and has even grown!  The guys have done a remarkable job in the ministry!  Souls have been saved nearly every week, people continue to be discipled, and new ministries have been launched!

Words cannot express how proud I am of our Chilean guys!!  We give God the glory for it all!!!!

This testing time would have never been possible without a furlough.

Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

For more articles about missions, check out bcwe.org

I’ve had dozens of conversations over the past few months with young people who are considering full-time missions service.  Well over a hundred times I’ve told others that 95% of the world is located outside of the USA, and there’s about a 95% chance God wants them to go outside of the USA to serve Him!

These aren’t cliches I repeat mindlessly.  I earnestly believe they are biblically based and Christ-centered thoughts about His purpose for our lives.

Thankfully, after some of these conversations, a few have decided to serve along our side in Chile!  I’ll be writing more about this soon.  I know God alone can call, but I believe He uses people to encourage His calling.

As missionaries greatly influenced my decision to go to the mission field as a teenager (specifically Austin Gardner, Carl Braswell, and Alan Montgomery), God, in His boundless grace and mercy, is using me now to encourage others to do the same.

This privilege would have never happened without a furlough.

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 also.

For more articles about missions, check out bcwe.org

Nearly every week I stand behind the pulpit of a church who has partnered with our ministry for nearly a decade.  I get to meet families who have given sacrificially to support our family month after month.  We hear stories of how dedicated Christians for years have prayed every week over our old prayer cards!

One pastor told his congregation, after seeing our ministry update video, that he had calculated how many times he had invested personally in our ministry in Chile. The total number was 470.  Since the church took our family on for support 470 weeks before, he had given to faith promise missions each week.  He said he was proud to have a small part in all that God has done in Chile through his 470 offerings!  The encouragement I received from that Sunday night in north Alabama was priceless.

Being able to thank so many of our long-time supporters has made this furlough wonderful.  Everything we do in Chile is possible only because faithful men and women are standing with our family in prayer and financial support.  Thank you!!

Check out Part 1.

For more articles about missions, check out bcwe.org

When Lori and I left for the field years ago, I knew without a doubt I was doing what God had for our family.  As people were saved and lives were dramatically changed, we fell in love with our new church plant the wonderful Chilean people He had given us.  As the years passed the bonds of friendship grew ever stronger.  I knew I belonged in Chile.  These people were now my friends, my family.

The thought of setting aside the ministry for nearly a year seemed rather ludicrous!  What pastor would ever walk away from his church for several months, much less a year!  I hated the thought.

Our furlough time finally came around after serving in Chile for 6 years and 3 months.  We came back to the states in June, 2011.  Since then, I’ve come to love furlough for many reasons.  My mindset has completely and totally changed.  What made the difference?  I’ll tell you in the following blog posts.

*I’m writing this blog series mainly to help young missionaries understand the benefits of furlough and also to give the rest of you a glimpse into the lives and thoughts of foreign missionaries.  I hope it will be a help.

For more articles about missions, check out bcwe.org

Today we (Jillian, Said, Marwan, and myself) met with some who had asked for Bible from our website.  

One girl is 16 and she had never seen a Bible before. My wife shared Christ with her and she is very excited. 

One couple, Omar and Miriam, are retired teachers and fed us lunch. He said, “I knew that the Koran taught that Jesus was the Spirit of God. So he must be God. Tell me how I can follow him!” So Said and I spent about two hours teaching him how to be born again from Jeremiah 31 and John 3. They both understood today that Christ had to die and rise again. They are 60 and have never heard the message or seen the book.

One young man named Belayid received a Bible from Said and Marwan. He will be reading it and meeting with them a second time. 

Three berbers were traveling through and I met them and gave them a movie of Jesus. We’ll meet with them again, Lord willing.

None of these people had ever seen a Bible, ever heard the story, ever met a Christian. 

This is just one day of one team. There are 1.5 billion Muslims just like these people from Morocco to China.

Ask them (the attendees of the Summit) to care. 

Are you serious?  Could you possibly be inferring that Latin America doesn’t need anymore missionaries?  Should we celebrate and retire because our job is done in Latin America?

The above picture is actually from the back of a prayer card I picked up from a fellow missionary at a conference a few months ago.  Not surprisingly, his ministry focuses on the 10/40 window.  Some guys in their zeal to promote their field, lessen the supposed need in other fields.  But, I’ve never seen it taken to this level!

My curiosity was sparked by this absurd statement.  Who is Luis Bush anyway??  After some research, I began to understand why modern missions is losing, in large part, its interest in Latin American missions.

In 1987 Luis declared that Latin America is no longer a mission field.  Three years later, this nazarene pastor and ecumenical leader, coined the term “10/40 window”.  During the 90s, the term “10/40 window” spread from the evangelical missiologists to our pulpits and eventually to our pews.  Today it’s a commonplace term used frequently in our churches and missions conferences.  While the term is very effective in highlighting an extremely needy area of the world, it has also created some negative attitudes in our movement.

Some pastors have adopted the philosophy of only supporting 10/40 window guys.  A friend of mine jokingly complained that his field of service is just north of the “window”, therefore he would be excluded for the 10/40 elite club.  Several leading voices in our movement have alluded that churches should redirect nearly all their missions efforts towards the 10/40 window.  I guess they have bought into Bush’s theory that the rest of the world is no longer a mission field!?!

What caused the dramatic shift in church planting over the past few decades in Latin America?  Why are so few missionaries going to Latin America today compared to the 1980s?  At a time when Latin America is so ripe for the harvest, why are we walking away from it?  Apparently, it all started with a guy named Luis Bush.

Be sure to read Walking away at crunch time – part 1

Check out our partner ministry bcwe.org and register today for the Latin Bridge Retreat ’11

Missions is not an either/or proposition.  Missions is a both/and proposition.  It’s not about either Latin America or Africa.  Missions is about both Latin America and Africa (or whatever geographic area you want to insert in the formula).  That idea is not original.  It comes from our guide book, the Bible!  Acts 1:8 says But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

The Bible never tells us to focus solely on one area at a time.  It aways emphasizes all places at the same time!  I often tell guys that any country in the world would be a good place to plant churches!  You can’t go wrong.  We need more church planters in Europe, the Muslim world, Africa, Latin America, Asia, the 10/40 window, and even in many areas of the USA!

It’s time men of God stop balking with their missions efforts.  Many speak about being missions minded, but most are only missions mouthed.

Your mission’s strategy needs to move from your mouth to your feet.  The Bible says Go.  The time is NOW.  Stop making excuses.

Read more articles about missions at bcwe.org

I often hear people refer to the religious setting in Latin America as ‘much better’ than that of Asia or Africa.  As if Latin America’s religious ’poison of choice’ was somehow better than the deceptions propagated in other areas. Somehow Chile’s religious makeup  (70% Catholic, 15% of evangelical, 8% non-religious, 1% Jehovah Witness, 6% other – source) constitutes a ‘much better’ scenario than that of India (80% Hindu, 13% Muslim, 2% Christian, 5% other- source).  On the surface it seems to be decisively clear – Chile is much better off than India.  Let’s see if that is the case.

A closer look at the 400 million Catholics in Latin America (roughly 70% of 572,039,894)

Most of my readers would agree wholeheartedly that Roman Catholicism does not teach the gospel.  The Catholic church teaches salvation based on our good deeds.  The Bible, on the other hand, teaches we are justified by grace alone and not because of our works or deeds.  Although the Catholic church looks a lot more Biblical than a Hindu temple, they will both lead you to hell.  For a closer look at the Catholic church’s teachings, read Understanding Roman Catholicism by Rick Jones.

A closer look at the 85 million Evangelical Protestants in Latin America (roughly 15% of 572,039,894)

The Evangelical churches of Latin America are ravaged by neo-pentecostal extremism and the prosperity gospel.  Let’s unpack those ideas.  Nearly every pentecostal church service in Latin America will focus entirely on the extreme sign gifts culminating in an emotional euphoria with speaking in tongues, healings, exorcisms, prophesies, and visions.  Their typical Sunday service would look like a Benny Hinn crusade on steroids.  The gospel is not emphasized and often never mentioned.  When the “gospel” is discussed, it’s shrouded in the heresies of the prosperity gospel.  This false-gospel teaches that spiritually is equated with being healthy and wealthy.  In this man-centered theology, God becomes a puppet that you can control if you believe hard enough.  These charlatan groups, like the United Church of the Kingdom of God, insist the poor can solve all their spiritual, emotional and physical problems by giving their money to the church.  On the surface the influx of evangelical churches in Latin America looks attractive, but most are no better than the Catholic church.

In countries like India the idolatry is so flagrant and prevalent that every casual Christian could identify it from miles away.  In Latin America, Satan’s strategy has been to subtly mix the Bible with lies.  The Latin American version taste ‘sweet’, but it will kill you – just like antifreeze.

Spiritually speaking, which is better: death by bullet or antifreeze?

Read more missions articles at bcwe.org