The last 3 weeks

Cheri wrote most and Dylan interjected a few times-

These last two and a half weeks have been super busy and action packed. Sorry for the long delay in posting. It was such a blessing to have Jesse Boyd, our long time friend and co-laborer in the gospel, come down for a visit. Every time he visits us while we are abroad, we are stirred to being more bold, sharpened (Proverbs 27:17) and encouraged. This trip was no different, if anything even more so. Traveling to Chile allowed for more opportunities to share the gospel with travelers than if we were just staying at home in Bariloche.
So off to Chile we headed and even before we crossed the border, the Lord provided me with an opportunity to share the gospel. I was stuck in a painfully long line to get through customs when I struck up a conversation with the gal and her son ahead of me. I figured since we were going to be there for a while, might as well see if they were open to hear the gospel. The mother said she was a Catholic, but a bad one because she scandalously didn’t believe Mary was a virgin. Eduardo the son said he didn’t know what he believed so all the while we were in line, I was wishing I had a gospel tract or a Done book to give him. Miraculously the Lord provided just before they pulled out of the parking lot, Dylan drove up with the car and I ran up beside them and offered him a Done book. He was super thankful and promised to read it. That next morning we all shared in depth with fellow travelers from Europe and Argentina at our Hospedaje (B&B). Dylan and Jesse also went to the city of Osorno to get gas and did a mass distro of gospel tracts on the busy streets in the rain. There were lines of 100+ people at the banks which received the Word and read it.
Again the Lord was so good to provide His perfect timing with a divine encounter the following day. Dylan and Jesse were spending all day literally slogging through knee-high mud to get to a climbing competition to share the gospel with fellow rock climbers in Cochamo Valley. I stayed in town with the kids and when they both fell asleep at the same time I ventured out to a little sitting area outside our room. No sooner had I sat down with my Bible when a young gal strolled in and asked me what I was reading. It opened the door to humbly sharing how we have broken God’s law written on our hearts, the saving grace of Jesus Christ and my testimony. After talking for a few hours, she gladly accepted a Done book and was excited to read it. Even later that evening as I took the kids out for a bite to eat, the young waiter had said he once believed in God, but now he wasn’t so sure what he believed and was searching for truth. He also took a Done book and gospel tract after I passionately shared how real Christ is and without Him we will suffer an eternal hell. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23), we have broken His law that has been written on our hearts and upon death we’ll stand before God in judgment (Hebrews 9:27). We are guilty and deserving of eternal damnation, but the Great News is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8), taking on our sin he paid the price for what we deserve and through faith in Him, we are forgiven and look forward to eternal life with Him. This, my friends, is the gospel and it IS GOOD NEWS!

Dylan adds- One of the main reasons for going to Chile was for the Cochamo Valley climbing competition. This is a new area for climbing and is hailed as the Yosemite of South America. I can assure you it is not, but it was a nice place to visit and does have a lot of potential for new climbing routes should you wish to devote your life to such an endeavor. Anyways, the previous two days leading up to the Feb 20th had a lot of rain and the forecast called for plenty more. So the night of the 19th we decided that if God wanted us to go to Cochamo Valley, a 14 mile round trip hike, then He would let us know by giving us blue skies in the morning. I was so excited to see not a cloud in the sky upon waking up I could barely contain myself to start hiking. We delayed however to spend an hour at breakfast sharing the gospel with some Chileans at the Hospedaje who were very open to listen. It never ceases to amaze us how open people are when you actually start talking about Jesus. Jesse and I loaded up our packs with Bibles, Done books, climber tracts, and TCK socks (www.slogseries.com), all to give away to fellow climbers. The hike in was beautiful green forest, water falls, pure rivers, granite domes, and the nastiest, deepest mud almost up to the knees that you’ll ever see. But the really cool part was all the people on the trail. Everyone was so open to stop and talk with us and take a gospel tract. It really blew us away that out of close to 200 people, only one person actually returned the tract, and that was after she at least read it. 6 different countries were represented in the reception of the gospel. On a few occasions we stopped and spent some decent time really going over the gospel message with those who wanted to know more. I recall one German climber who desperately wanted to hear about how exactly he could have a “personal” relationship with God. He said his friends had been talking to him about this recently. All in all the 14 miles of mud was very slow going and never seemed to end. But amazingly enough, the Holy Spirit’s leading and strengthening of us never diminished either. We simply rejoiced at the momentary trial of trail mud which we endured.

Cheri continues-There were several other divine encounters to proclaim the gospel that I won’t go into for turning this into a lengthy update, suffice to say God is so good and the seeds of His Word were scattered all around the Lakes District of Chile (just south of where the earthquake hit).

Dylan interjects- Don’t forget to tell them of the two Israelis at the Hospedaje in Rio Negro. We’d just drove 3 hours on a miserable dirt road and found out it would be cost and time prohibitive to continue on the ferry boat south and we’d need to turn around. We were a bit discouraged and decided to sleep on it rather than brave the dirt road again the same day. Once again the Lord had his purposes in all this (Romans 11:33). That night we stumbled upon two Israelis who wanted to know more about the tie-dye hippie Hebrew shirt I was wearing and why I consider myself to be spiritually Jewish (Romans 2:29). So with Hebrew and English Bibles open Jesse and I revealed to them Yeshua ha Meshiach. They had many questions and were very open to see and read what the Bible had to say. Cheri even snuck a picture of this conversation by sticking the camera through a crack in the door. It’s posted on this blog (a rare thing indeed due to the sensitive nature of the subject!) They ended up taking New Testaments in Hebrew and we rejoiced to realize once again God’s orchestration of calling people to Himself and our tiny role in the matter.

Cheri again- After a productive and fruitful week of sharing the gospel and tract distribution, we headed back to Bariloche. After a few days of local “distro” and recuperation, we headed back out for a short trip down to El Bolson. We specifically stayed in a well know Israeli hostel and targeted a “hippie-like” artesian fair that goes on a few days each week. Our plans were to do some distribution throughout the fair, thinking that the demographic of people would be “spiritually seeking” and open to the gospel. Jesse and Dylan went out as I watched the kids in the park. After a while they came back pretty discouraged as people were far from open. Despite the rejection, Jesse wanted to do some open-air preaching, so I translated for him in the park as several onlookers watched to see what he had to say. It followed with tracts going out and thankfully some interesting conversations afterwards. God’s word does not return void so there is always victory when the cross of Christ is preached.
We then headed to the hostel outside of town located on some quite, grassy acreage by a lazy river. It was beautiful and gave Ritter a ton of room to explore and frolic with the resident puppies and kittens. Right away we could tell that we were the only Gentiles in an all-Israeli locale. After spending some time enjoying some great Israeli food for dinner, we started to wonder just how we were going to break the ice and start talking about the Messiah. I went to put the kids to bed and came out of our cabin to meet the people that were staying next door. I asked them about life in Israel and where we should consider visiting if we were to ever go to Israel. They were eager to share about their country and their culture and then I began to ask them questions about their religion. Shortly thereafter, Dylan walked up with perfect timing to talk about the Messiah and so I bowed out to let him share about Jesus fulfilling Old Testament prophesies using their Tenach (Old Testament) with the New Testament. Then I wandered back to the dining area and found myself asking some Israeli gals about their time in the army and where they have traveled prior to Argentina. It then led to their beliefs (or lack thereof) and how religion, God, Messiah, etc. are not something most young Israeli travelers have thought much about or are interested in pursuing, despite their Jewish upbringing. With much love, compassion and humility, I shared how I believed Jesus was the true Messiah, how their own scriptures prophesied Him to be the Messiah and how the Messiah had radically changed my life. I also shared how the law of Moses is written on everyone’s heart through their conscious (Romans 2:15), we are guilty of breaking this law daily and asked “how we can be forgiven of our sins if there is no blood sacrifice?” (Leviticus 17:11,). If there is no ram or goat to sacrifice on an altar on behalf of their transgressions, how are they able to atone for their sins? Jesus Christ the Messiah has atoned for their sins as well as ours as Gentiles and has created a new covenant with His people (Hebrews 10). There is salvation in Him alone and there is no longer a need to wait for their Messiah as He has already come as a Servant and will come back as the King of Israel. Two of the three girls didn’t have much to say to that and were uncomfortable, so they left, but one gal named Orit was visibly moved and was under major conviction of the Holy Spirit. Anytime the law is used it brings about conviction as God intended it too, thus leading a person to Messiah for salvation (Galatians 3:24). She shared that she has a friend that has been talking to her about Jesus and sharing similar things as I had just shared with her. I gave her a New Testament in Hebrew and she eagerly started reading it even as we continued to talk. Jesse and Dylan then came and sat down after they had shared with the guys next door and continued to share their testimonies, more scripture and prophesies to Orit. It was a powerful time and I know the Spirit was upon us as we shared with her and the Lord had gotten her attention. I have her email and will follow up with her as I am anxious to see what happens with the seeds that were planted.
Dylan writes- I was so stoked to see Cheri getting to witness to Israelis. She has a great way of talking with people and passionately showing how much cares for them. She is an amazing godly woman and I am honored to be her husband. A quick side note about the last week in Bariloche. Jesse and I fulfilled a few of my ministry goals together. Through Christ (Phillipians 4:13), We took the gospel to four refugios, bearing witness to countless trekkers and climbers. There were many divine encounters on the trails that would take up many more pages to write about. We summited the mighty Torre Principal, the dominating spire on the skyline and my summer climbing goal, a 5 pitch 5.10a. We walked 20 some miles of dirt roads in the poorest barrios of town distributing gospel tracts in places I didn’t want to go alone, braving the fiercest dogs I’ve ever met. We engouraged fellow believers unto boldness through word and deed on numerous occasions. We even had a good fight between us, should we expect anything less when spiritual battles are being fought all around? But thanks be to God who brings reconciliation and verses such as Colossians 3:12-17 to life. Overall, it was a great trip and we rejoice in all that the Lord brought our way. These last few weeks were a sweet time of fellowship with Jesse in laboring for the Kingdom. We greatly appreciate his sacrifice in time and money and most of all family. His ministry subsists on faith in God alone as He provides through His saints. You can find out more of his bold witness at www.fpgm.org.