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 Latin American Prayer Seminars

It all started in Los Angeles!

     I recall the 1992 telephone conversation vividly. A Lutheran pastor in the Los Angeles suburb of Gardenia shared that he was retiring from his pastorate at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and wanted to give his people a special leaving gift. He wanted to “give” them the prayer seminar ministry bearing any expense personally. Then he explained that he actually had three congregations, English, Korean, and Spanish, and wanted the gift for each of them. One problem that we discussed was the prayer seminar workbook. At that time, there was an English translation and a Korean translation, but no Spanish translation. He quickly said that would be no problem. He would be responsible for providing a Spanish translation. Thus, the Spanish edition was born. The approach that we used was different than we had ever followed. In the main auditorium, I taught the seminar. In one room, the Spanish-speaking believers gathered with a Spanish interpreter and a Spanish workbook. In another room, this approach was duplicated, a Korean interpreter and a Korean workbook. I will never forget the Gardenia seminars. Interestingly enough, a few days later Los Angeles was burning. The rioting moved closer and closer to the Lutheran church building, but as God’s people prayed, it ceased a few blocks from the building.

     A few months later, Sue and I headed to Puerto Rico with a large supply of Spanish prayer seminar workbooks to accommodate seminars in that nation, in Venezuela, in Costa Rica, and in Mexico. On that trip, we arrived in Caracas, Venezuela and had to move the workbooks on a baggage cart to the domestic airport nearby for our flight to Bolivar State. As the trek began, a cart wheel came off and there we stood with boxes of workbooks (for Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Mexico)! Oops! During this trip, we profited from the work of the Lutheran pastor and his secretary. Now, we have distributed thousands upon thousands in many nations beyond the initial four nations—Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile.   

     Over the years, God has allowed us to travel throughout Venezuela teaching God’s children the purpose and power of prayer. Now we are ready for the fourth year of prayer seminars primarily for the Baptists who are celebrating their 60th year as a national convention. Consequently, many churches have been revived, thousands upon thousands of prayer warriors have been mobilized, and thousands have been saved. In my spirit I am simply praying, “Do it again, Lord!”