Despite Christianity’s widespread presence in Latin America, more than 2 million unreached people live in this region. Some live in remote areas, such as the mountains of Central America and the jungles of South America. Even many people who know of Jesus often grew up believing they have to earn their salvation.
But God is moving mightily throughout Latin America. He is opening doors to indigenous people groups, creating divine appointments, and calling believers to the mission field.
Here are a few stories of how God is changing lives in Latin America.
Reaching Indigenous Tribes With Volleyball
Dillon, an East-West regional coordinator, had traveled to South America to conduct a Four Fields training for students at a Bible institute that only enrolls indigenous people. During breaks, he and the students would play volleyball, and Dillon noticed that one student, Axel, was particularly good at the sport. Axel told Dillon that everyone in his village loves volleyball so much that it has become a part of the tribe’s culture.
“If you brought a volleyball net and a ball to my village, you could set it up, and people would come out of the woodworks,” Axel said. “Then you could share the gospel.”
Dillon loved that idea and began planning a trip to visit Axel’s village with a volleyball net. But the trip would not be easy. Axel’s village is far from any cities, and it’s normally a five-day canoe ride down the river. Thankfully, Dillon found a small plane that could take him and a couple of national partners to an airstrip, where they would then take a motorboat down the river.
A church had donated the volleyball net and other equipment, and the travel arrangements were in order. But when the day of the trip arrived, the first roadblock emerged.
An airline employee said the volleyball net and equipment were too heavy to go on the plane and would have to go on a flight the following day. Dillon and the national partners could do nothing but pray. They asked God to somehow allow the luggage to get on the flight. As the plane was preparing to take off, a baggage handler found Dillon on the plane and told him his luggage made it on the flight. Dillon praised God for clearing one obstacle.
The next day, the team arrived at the motorboat and learned there were multiple points where the river was too rocky for the motor, and the team had to get out each time and carry the boat along the riverbank. This was hard work, but the trip was still only a fraction of the original five-day canoe ride.
Finally, Dillon and the national partners arrived at the village. Just as Axel said, people gathered as the volleyball net was set up. Adults and children played for hours while Dillon and the national partners shared the gospel.
About 50 people heard the gospel during the visit, and several accepted Jesus as their Savior. The new believers proclaimed their newfound faith by being baptized in the river.
Saved on the Same Day
Leslie, a short-term mission team participant, followed her translator and two women from a local church through a town in Latin America. The four of them knocked on doors to see if the residents had time to hear the story of Jesus.
A woman named Griselda answered her door and welcomed the four believers into her home. As the believers got to know Griselda, they found out she is a mother, but her daughter was at school. Griselda also shared that she had heard of Jesus, but she didn’t know much about Him or how to get to Heaven.
Leslie began sharing the gospel, explaining that Jesus is the Son of God who came to Earth to live a perfect life and die for sins. Griselda was thrilled and accepted Jesus as her Savior without hesitation. After they had prayed, the two church workers said something to Griselda. Leslie assumed they were inviting her to their church.
As the day went on, Leslie shared the gospel with more people and witnessed others choose to follow Jesus. Later in the afternoon, the church workers knocked on a door that Leslie recognized. The woman who answered was Griselda, and Leslie didn’t understand why they had returned. But as they sat on the patio again, a teenage girl walked out of the house, and Leslie realized she was there to share the gospel with Griselda’s daughter.
The daughter, Carla, listened intently as Leslie shared the same thing she had shared with her mother that morning. With a smile on her face, Carla, too, accepted the gospel. Leslie rejoiced with these two new sisters in Christ.
Called to Return Home
Though Carmen grew up in a Catholic family, she didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. That changed when she heard a local pastor sharing the gospel. She had never heard about Jesus in this way, and she accepted the gospel, going against the cultural norms in her home country in Latin America.
At 16, Carmen moved with her family to the United States. For 50 years, she lived like many Americans; she attended church, started a family, and fell more in love with Jesus, but she rarely shared her faith.
One day, her pastor announced that the church was organizing a short-term mission team to Latin America. Carmen decided to join the team. On the mission trip, Carmen waited with her teammates for the vans that would take them to different places in the city. In a mix-up, Carmen got into the wrong van and was headed to the ministry location her other teammates were supposed to go. The church worker with her told her not to worry.
They arrived at the home of a man whose wife had passed away recently. Carmen shared the gospel and asked the man if he wanted to follow Jesus.
“No,” the man said. “If God loves me, why would He take my wife from me?”
“God does love you,” Carmen said. “I got in the wrong van today. I was not supposed to come to your house. But God brought me here because He wants you to know Jesus.”
Weeping, the man asked, “What do I need to do to follow Him?”
Carmen realized she wanted to tell others about Jesus for the rest of her life, specifically in her home country. Today, she is a national partner in Latin America. Her heart is filled with joy because of the work she does for the Lord.
These stories show how the Lord is radically changing lives in Latin America. Please pray that God would continue to open doors to the unreached, create divine appointments, and call His people to the mission field.
Ministry in Latin America
Spiritual confusion, poverty, and oppressive societies have long kept the gospel from advancing through Latin America. But the people are searching for hope. Because of dedicated believers, the seeds of the gospel are faithfully being spread across Latin America.
