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.