An Encouraging and Strengthening journey
Boots on the ground in the Central Jungle of Peru
Thank you all for your continued prayer and support for our ministry in Latin American Church Planting! I typically write my own updates but thought it would be fun for you to hear from someone else for a change. The following is a letter from a good friend that was able to travel with me on my most recent overseas journey as we continue to train, encourage, and support a number of regions in the work of Gospel Centered Church Planting. Blessings
My name is Josh Palma and I’m a pastor at First Baptist Church in Pana, Illinois. Cole and I go way back to college days, but I got to know Cole best as students together in Peru back in 2007-2008 while we were part of the ARRIBA! Program. Because we spent a year together in Peru and learned Spanish together, we’ve both shared a heart for Peru for close to 20 years.
About a year ago, Cole invited me to come along with him on a trip to Peru, and I’m so thankful I agreed to go! It had been over 11 years since I’d been, and it was an added bonus to tag along with Cole and see first-hand what his unique ministry is really like.
We were accompanied most of the time with a Peruvian national believer, Wilber Centeno. Wilber and his family played an integral part during our 12 days in Peru. Wilber received Christ about 3 years ago, and has a huge heart for the people in his home town of Villa Rica, located in a valley of the Central Jungle of Peru.
I wish you all could meet Wilber. He’s kind, generous, and as warm-hearted as they come. ABWE recently made a video of Wilber’s story. You can check it out here (https://abwe.org/wilbers-story/).
The total length of time of our journey from Iowa (for Cole) and Illinois (for me) to Villa Rica was over 30 hours. We landed in Lima on September 24 just before midnight, and immediately jumped into Wilber’s car, traveled up and over the Andes Mountains through the night, and arrived in Villa Rica around 1PM on September 25. Driving in the Andes and into the jungle is a unique experience! The roads change elevation so quickly, and wind back and forth so much, that the journey of less than 200 miles took us 11 hours! The roads twist so quickly, sometimes you have to honk your horn to warn anyone who might be coming from the other direction that you’re about to come around the corner!
Our first full day in Villa Rica was spent holding a “Faith and Finances” Conference for several local churches in town. Sadly, churches of every stripe in town have been financially abused by their pastors, priests, or missionaries. So not only do the churches not trust pastors – they also don’t pay them.
Cole and I were invited to come and teach the churches on the importance of finances in combination with our faith. The Bible really does have much to say about the subject. One man named Rutman traveled through the night to come to the conference. He said no one is talking about this subject, and he needed to come, learn, and bring the teaching back to his church.
So much of our time in both Villa Rica and Lima was spent coming alongside pastors to encourage them in their ministry and to challenge them to build relationships with other churches. If another church across town preaches the gospel, there’s no reason to stay away from each other. Christians needs other Christians; churches need other churches. God is at work in huge ways in Peru, and it was evident both in the bustling city of Lima (population 12 million) and the easy-going town of Villa Rica (population 12,000).
I’d describe the bulk of our ministry in Peru as an encouragement tour – not unlike what Paul and Barnabas had in the book of Acts. In Romans 16, Paul included 29 individuals that he wished to be greeted on his behalf. If he were to visit Rome, he’d have had a lot of visiting to do! I saw this same heart for people with Cole. His love for people, burden for churches, and heart for the gospel was evident every single moment I spent with him (and we spent HOURS together!).
Cole and I met with pastors, caught up with old friends, and visited with missionaries. But the highlight of our trip was also a huge answer to prayer. As we sat on Wilber’s family coffee plantation, we had a really clear opportunity to sit around a table with many of Wilber’s siblings, and then very naturally, Cole led the conversation to the gospel. Wilber has 8 brothers and sisters, and most of them don’t know Christ. But that afternoon, several of them heard the gospel clearly. You could see spiritual lights come on in their eyes as gospel seeds that had been planted in the past were watered. Pray for Wilber’s brothers and sisters that they would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God is at work!
It’s easy to hear about Cole’s ministry and wonder, “How exactly does a man living in Des Moines make an impact in Latin American churches?” Now that I’ve accompanied Cole on one of his trips and literally followed this guy all across Peru for 12 days, I can tell you that not only is his ministry legitimate – it is needed! No less than 6 local churches were impacted, numerous believers were discipled, multiple pastors were encouraged, and many individuals were challenged to consider Christ.
It was an absolute privilege to go to Peru. But the best part was seeing my friend in action. God is at work in Peru, and across Latin America. And God is using Cole and his family as a tool in His powerful hands to accomplish it!
Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”