Focus

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries James and Liisa Tino (Serving in Santiago, Chile)

Dear GLO Newsletters,

First, our apologies for the lengthy delay since our last newsletter (we seem to be doing that a lot lately!). I could go on and on about what caused this delay, but that would be a contradiction to the theme of this newsletter, which is FOCUS. With so many distractions in our world today – political, economic, “culture wars”, covid, and more – I find that it is harder and harder to stay focused on what’s really important.

Every family needs a home, and the family of faith is no different. For over a year now, we have been worshiping under a temporary tin roof in the back yard of the ministry/immigrant house. Our humble “chapel” has been under an ongoing demolition order from the local government. The lives of immigrants are unstable enough – they do not need to be living in fear of eviction. The continued harassment by the government is also taking its toll on me as the pastor/missionary and on the congregation. We need a home.
By 2020, the ministry was robust enough to pay its own rent, so Liisa and I moved to our own place (smaller). Since January 2020, the church and related ministries have been able to pay the nearly $2,000/month USD in rent. Hey, that’s a mortgage payment!

A New Pastor

I’m a missionary-pastor, and the job of a missionary-pastor is to do a lot of “firsts” – that is, things that you (hopefully) only have to do once. For example: start from ground zero; train your first leaders; start a Sunday school; write a constitution; register the church; build a building; and so on. Once the congregation is on its feet, it’s time to call a pastor to continue shepherding the flock and reaching out to others with the Gospel.
It’s time.
So far, we have extended calls to three pastors.  This is not a “money” issue, it is a “guidance” issue. Will you pray that God’s Holy Spirit would guide and direct us to the man He has chosen to be the pastor at Divine Providence Lutheran Church in Santiago?

To learn more about James and Liisa Tino, click here to read their latest newsletter! 

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The beauty of the butterfly

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries David and Luz Maria Ernst (serving in La Curamuca, Venezuela ):

Butterflies are not mentioned in the Bible, although moths in Scripture represent the frailty of humans and of human existence (Job 4:19; 13:28; Isaiah 50:9; 51:8) and the temporary quality of earthly possessions (Matthew 6:19-20; Luke 12:33; James 5:2). Butterflies and moths undergo a similar transformation from larva to adult by way of a dormant stage (the pupa or chrysalis), but perhaps the beauty of a butterfly compared to a caterpillar led Christian artists to see it as a symbol of the resurrection.

Luz Maria’s birthday cake. Celebrating Cinco de Mayo (not that one)
Luz Maria celebrated her birthday, May 5, with another trip to Caracas. With her sister deaconesses, Elsy Machado and Ginnatriz Mendoza, she helped Pastor Sergio Maita with one last seminar for deaconesses in training from May 4 to 6. Sergio is the pastor of “Pan de Vida” (Bread of Life) Lutheran Church in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, and an instructor at Concordia El Reformador Seminary.

Deaconess seminar in Caracas.
The 39 Venezuelan women will graduate from the seminary’s deaconess program next month along with 24 from Guatemala, 23 from Mexico, 12 from the Dominican Republic and seven from Panama.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Ernst!

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The Khmer Khronicle

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionary Sharolyn Frahm (Serving in Cambodia)

In a world filled with so many frequent changes, the very best thing in all of this is that ‘the church’ remains stable and constant. Yes, things around us are definitely different, but the church has not changed. God is constant. God has each moment of this detailed in His plan for each of us.

As I write this, we have rounded out the month of April. For those of us in the northern hemisphere it has been a rough start on spring this year, for some folks there is still snow in the air (to the west.) For me here, my herbs made it thru the winter under plastic covers and are gorgeous, but I have to keep covering them up on those frigid spits so they stay that way and can be used.

It seems that the world is trying to also change once again. Things are coming out of their tumultuous stages, with new anchors and mindsets coming forth during these past two years. And yet…

As Pastor Samuel and I were able to have a very long conversation the other day, I can now give you an update as to the on the ground activity of the church community at this time. From my perspective, I can see so many blessings that have abounded out of all of these past months, how Pastor Samuel has used these times to grow ministry in creative ways that I could not have imagined. In spite of the closures and the leanness of things overall, ministry has blossomed.

Update coming from Cambodia

You know those lovely things we drive on and in our spring feel like they have shortcuts to another world with the holes. It isn’t any different in Cambodia for those roads that aren’t paved. They get holes too. And the cemented ones don’t last long either. It is always a constant battle to be reasonably smooth. Supposedly Siem Reap Province has been allocated a ton of extra funds for road repair. Except the road to Snor isn’t on that list. It never has been actually. So to the rescue are the local muscle building guys who power thru to make that road less hazardous. But it takes a community of hard work to dig away some of that teeth rattling rolling down the road that occurs in areas where it’s not wanted.

I asked Samuel why he continues to do what he does, day after day, and yet some days he could be so sad and could cry out in his complicated dire situation…. as a man of God, a husband, and a father. This is something long overdue in my relationship with him to ask what his heart knows.

Samuel brought out the story of Nehemiah and reminded me that ministry for him is what happened in this book and the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. The powerful messages of Nehemiah is how much you can accomplish when you align yourself with the will and plan of God.

If you would like to read the details of this newsletter, click here

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