A Great Challenge at the End of the World

Missionary Valeria Bustamante faces a great challenge: raising enough funds to begin her diaconal and missionary service in Uruguay.

Valeria is a deaconess whose inspiring work has taken her not only across her native Argentina but also to Chile and, previously, for 9 years, to Uruguay.

In her first term there, from 2010 to 2019, she helped establish and strengthen a mission in downtown Montevideo, the capital of the South American country. There, she served individuals with deep physical and spiritual needs—people who are often marginalized by society.

Now, Valeria is taking on a new commitment: to serve in Salto and Chapicuy, more than 400 kilometers from the capital city, and to support Pastor Maicon Schieferdecker.

To fund her mission, the Iglesia Luterana del Uruguay (Lutheran Church of Uruguay, ILU)  has partnered with Global Lutheran Outreach, contributing 50% of the budget goal. The aim is to raise the remaining 50%.

While this goal is being reached, Valeria continues to serve in Montevideo, working alongside Pastor André Müller, President of the ILU, and with LHM/CPTLN – Uruguay, where she is a tremendous support to the staff of this organization by helping public school students with their homework.

Uruguay is one of the most secular countries in Latin America.

Would you like to help Valeria’s mission continue? We invite you to be part of her team of sponsors, helping to transform lives in Christ: https://globallutheranoutreach.com/support-bustamante.html

Good news from La Caramuca, Venezuela

 

 

David and Luz María Ernst shared in their latest newsletter that Epiphany Lutheran Mission in La Caramuca, Venezuela, welcomed a new communicant member.

“On September 15, 2024, the sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, we welcomed Maria Cecilia Ortega as a communicant member. Four of her children and three grandchildren were baptized at our mission, and five children received their first communion,” they say.

Her verse of affirmation of faith was Psalm 118:24, they continue. “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will be glad and rejoice in it.”

School supplies from LeadaChild

On the same Sunday, they delivered backpacks with school supplies to the children of the mission, thanks to the donations of LeadaChild, “a missionary society that has supported our mission since 2006,” David and Luz María write.

They explain that LeadaChild provides funds for scholarships, school registration, and supplies for children so they can attend Lutheran schools and educational enrichment programs.

That NGO also provides professional development for leaders and teachers, “with an emphasis on effective ways to share the Gospel and teach biblical truths to children. Our young women showed the fruits of the crocheting that accompanied their Bible study during the vacation,” the missionaries write in their recent newsletter.

Want to read more news from that mission? Visit the David and Luz María Ernst site.