THE NEW HOPE IN CHRIST
by Erwin Bourne
We’re so glad that Christ was born one day in
Bethlehem. And we, like the Apostle Paul, are praying
for My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains
of childbirth, until Christ is formed in you. We
rejoice every time we see a new child born into the
kingdom of heaven. The contrast is tremendous. Old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new (II Corinthians 5:17).
One night a fine specimen of a man—perhaps 35years of
age—stopped off the street to talk to me. In his hand
was a can of beer. He was just sober enough to visit
with me. I told him that he was a fine, strong man,
but he had a great weakness—and God wanted to
transform his life, making him a child of God. He
said, “Pray for me, Pastor.” So right then on the
sidewalk in front of our house, I prayed. He dropped
to his knees beside my wheelchair, and he began
praying also. He threw his can of beer away. Glory!
A couple nights later as both Jean and I sat outside
in the fresh air of a Colombian evening, a woman—a
complete stranger to us—came up with her
eight-year-old boy saying, “My son has a heart problem
(she did too! She had a spiritual heart problem.)
Please pray for him.” As I did, the mother dropped to
her knees beside my wheelchair. Isn’t God good!
About two days later—but before dark—I watched a
dissipated woman, perhaps in her forties, walk by our
place. She was the depiction of despair. She
hesitated, not seeing me, then walked on. I surely
didn’t want a drunk on my hands. As she walked on
down the street, I knew I was wrong. I said to
myself, “If, by any chance, she comes back by here,
I’ll talk to her.” In the middle of the next block,
she turned and hesitantly came back down the street.
She still didn’t see me, and she wouldn’t have
stopped.
I called to her, ”Señora, please come here. You look
so sad and you have no hope. Christ would transform
your life if you would turn it over to him. Then
against all my normal practices, I gave her a
two-thousand-mil-peso (worth about one dollar U.S.)
and told her to go find something to eat. She left.
Two days later, she returned in the daytime, and I
invited her in. I learned that she had been raised on
the Colombian river system, for her father was a
launch captain. I also learned that she could speak
some English and French. I asked her about the
difficult Tikuna language, and she sang to me a
Christian song in the Tikuna dialect. I told her that
I also had a river launch and was evangelizing the
indigenous people living in river communities. She
asked “Where?” and seemed to know many of the
communities that I mentioned. She was telling me the
truth.
Finally, I prayed for her, then asked her to pray,
repeating after me. She did. Jean was working in the
other room, and was expecting something good to
happen. It did! Oliva turned out to be my Samaritan
woman (like the one Jesus talked to at the well). A
few days later, she returned—a transformed woman. “Everything is so different,” she
said. “I’m changed. I’m a new person.” Indeed, she
seemed to have the courage to start life anew!
But I wasn’t ready for her next exclamation! When
your launch pulls out on its next evangelistic voyage,
I’m going to be the new “cosinera” (the cook). Wow!
God has begun a new work in her. We want
to see hundreds of Amazon’s children born into the
kingdom, and dozens of river communities transformed!
Are we expecting too much?
As you read these true accounts of lives being
transformed in the rain forest of Amazonas, keep in
mind that God’s saving power is the same the world
over. May these MESSAGES OF ENCOURAGEMENT inspire
hope in your lives as well. And do pray for Jean and
myself as we continue with our missionary labors in
the three-sisters-nations—Colombia, Peru and Brazil.
Yours for OUTREACH AMAZON, Erwin and Jean Bourne
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