By Pastor Jose Arturo Casasbuenas

Pastor Jose Arturo is from Bogatà Colombia. He has taken the word of God to many regions in Colombia even to places where it is prohibited to speak the name of Jesus. Colombia has many internal problems that makes it difficult for believers to practice their faith. In the south of Colombia there is much guerrilla warfare. His ministry takes much courage and the definite leading of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Arturo is looking for the Lord to again open churches that were closed due to laws of public order in the country. His wife works alongside of him in the area of drug rehabilitation to the youth of Colombia.

Contact Pastor Arturo at:

arturocasasbuenas@hotmail.com

Photos

Prayer Needs:

• Pray for the village of Villalobos

• Pray for Colombia

• Pray that those who have a desire to spread the word of God will not be hindered by the guerrillas

• Pray that the strongholds of idolatry and witchcraft will come down

• Pray for safety for missionaries and traveling pastors to areas of conflict

• Pray for the poor and impoverished people of Colombia

• Pray for open door to take the message throughout Colombia and other nations

• Pray for financial provision for this pastor and his family

1/30/09

In February 2009, Pastor Arturo will be going to VEGALARGA. It is a very dangerous place in the South West of Colombia. Please keep him in your prayers.

The Way It Is!

I have been sharing the gospel in some of the very dangerous zones of Colombia. Such towns where violence predominates, idolatry, witchcraft and the CRAF which is an armed group. When I am invited to evangelistic campaigns, I first have to spend much time in prayer, about the space of six months, before leaving to that town or place.  Because of the practices of witchcraft and other influences I pray that God will prepare me for the spiritual warfare I will be up against so that such forces cannot interfere in the work which GOD wants to do there. In the end, God always gives us the victory.

They are towns and other distant places I go to that without God I can do no good.  Working in the forest is very difficult and dangerous. For example, one difficult place to work in is a town called Villalobos in the department of the Caquetá (the South West of Colombia). To go to this place from the capital (Bogota) by land it takes about 24 hours, and it is only possible to travel during the day from 5am to 7pm. In order to arrive at this place it is necessary to go through many military defenses more or less like about 7, where there is much supervision by the troops of the country, with the purpose to block the entrance of food to the guerrilla forces. On the other hand, the guerrilla forces does not want that missionaries should visit such places; thus they decreed an order to kill pastors and missionaries who visit these places. Because of this reason, the Christian churches must ask for a permission to the commander in charge of the guerrillas for access or else they run the risk of being assassinate.

The first time that the commander of the guerrilla travels to that place he did not want that I should come there. I had many slips during the trip, until I had to sleep in the own forest because the night had already arrived. Praised the Lord, a farmer of the region gave us lodging and on the following day we started off very early, arriving at the Villalobos town to 8pm. The Villalobos town is a compound of few small houses, approximately ten (10) houses, which are constructed in wood. The Christian church supports the people of low resources, like for example, one offering is made available for the food of these people who are more or less about two hundred (200). This offering provides breakfast, lunch and dinner to this village. The members of the church also support this village with supplies of rice, Pope, and oil among other things. In this town potable water is scarce, even though near the village there is  a small lake that can be used but it does not have a very high vegetation and it is visited by many different types of wild animals. In the houses there is no bath and for the accomplishment of the physiological needs it is necessary to go to places where vegetation exists.

For many visiting pastors and missionaries in such areas, this is not very comfortable because most of us live in the city. In the evangelistic campaigns they are brothers who come from very far places which can take up to about eight (8) hours or more on horse and walking up to twelve (12) hours. The Christian church in Colombia helps provide for lodging of visiting pastors and missionaries. The church has a wood house with about 50 beds with out mattresses that are actually tables. Many of these brothers in the work are accustomed to sleeping without mattresses. Generally the majority of the assistants helping out in the evangelistic campaigns arrive on horses because it is the means of transport. Before our brothers in the ministry can attend the campaigns they must ask permission from the commander of the guerrillas. Also they must endure the attendance of the guerrillas or militiamen who attend the meetings to listen to everything that they a preaching.

This town was lowered to the control of a wizard (chaman) and by the armed group or the guerrilla. There is a school that is left by order of the guerrilla, and the lack of the presence of the state has not made its re-opening possible. There are two bars or bars made available for  prostitutes by order of the guerrillas. Two women (prostitutes) accepted God in their hearts the first night of the campaign, leaving completely behind the world and its past life. Their testimonies were of great example for the place, that the pastor of the church was even scared by the radical change in the prostitutes and their new style of life.

On Sunday the wizard of the town accepted God in his heart in front of many people who were at those moments in the evangelistic service. In the Villalobos town the work day is from eight (8am) until the twelve (12pm) in the day and in afternoon from the two (2pm) until the five (5pm). The service for the campaign began about seven (7pm), where also attended the majority of the people of the town, a group of brothers from another mission and an indigenous tribe with about twenty of them including his cacique or leader. The campaign was held during the days Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

In the spiritual war we had tied and demolished in FAITH the spirit of prostitution and of witchcraft, as we saw it in the result of the campaign. In these places it is possible to be taken by order of the guerrilla our cameras, videos, and cellular phone, at the time of entering the place we are cleared of these elements.

On the other hand,  we also have missionaries who travel to these places and do not preach the good news, but they speak of prosperity, selling in one way or another the word of God, and taking the money from these places. In Villalobos for more than 7 years did not allow a evangelistic campaign, I PRAISE and I GLORIFY the NAME OF God who allowed me to break with this curse and nowadays I can take the word from GOD to that place. All this with the aid of other brothers that we get ready in Prayer and Fasting to demolish the strengths of the impediment of evangelization in this place. It was when I was visiting along with brothers of the Christian church, to the commander of the guerrilla to ask for the permission to him so that he let the town listen to the word of GOD. Nowadays I have returned to the town (Villalobos) which has grown and the number of houses have increased to twenty (20) and this town has being every day very blessed by the presence of God.

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