Shining a light in darkness

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

We as missionaries at times feel that we are surrounded by forces beyond our control and that could completely overwhelm us. And that is an accurate evaluation of the situation. But God sends His holy angels to protect us (as Psalm 91, properly understood, assures us).

Ninth shipment of medicines

On September 19, 2021, Epiphany Lutheran Mission distributed the ninth shipment of medicines from the Venezuela Relief Project begun by Global Lutheran Outreach and the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile. The Venezuela Relief Project began in 2017. As is our custom, the bulk of the medicines were distributed after the Sunday service, along with our homegrown fruits and vegetable. Thanks to abundant rain this years, we have bumper crops of avocados, passion fruit, tomatoes, cassava, bananas and plantains, papaya and eggplant. We also have a bountiful harvest of berries from our coffee tree. Coffee is a social necessity, here, if not a biological necessity, and it keeps getting more and more expensive.

Reopening the preschool

We began the new school year on Tuesday, September 28, by meeting with families who have enrolled their children in our preschool. After an opening devotion and distribution of medications sent to us by the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League of Canada by way of the Dominican Republic (the LWML Canada sent the funds and the medications were purchased in the Dominican Republic under the supervision of Rebecca Pollex Krey, wife of the Rev. Theodore Krey, regional director for Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod World Missions in Latin America and the Caribbean).

Venezuela received 693,600 vaccines against COVID-19, September 7, as part of the first shipment made to the country by the World Health Organization’s COVAX Mechanism, of the total of 12,068,000 vaccine doses acquired. This first delivery of doses consists of vaccines against COVID-19 produced by the laboratory Sinovac Biotech and included in the emergency use list of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Sinovac vaccine, known as CoronaVac, was the one that I received on September 13. The two-dose vaccine is recommended for individuals aged 18 years and above. It has an efficacy rate of 50.4% for preventing symptomatic infection, according to data from a Brazilian trial, and an effectiveness of 67%, according to a real-world study in Chile. Some people we know experienced adverse reactions to CoronaVac, similar to those reported elsewhere, but I have had no problems.

Luz Maria earlier received the Sputnik V vaccine. On September 27, Venezuela’s Minister of Health, affirmed that “more than 8.8 million first doses” had been given, while 5.25 million received the second Sputnik V dose. Luz Maria and I are both waiting for second doses.

Let us remember that Psalm 91 not only promises that “He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways”, but also under His protection we need not fear “the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday”, nor any physical or spiritual danger, for whether we live or die, He will show us His salvation. Amen.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Ernst!

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Fall news

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionarie Sharolyn Frahm (serving in Cambodia):

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

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.

From this statement comes forth the platform of this newsletter. I, Shary, have the solo privilege and honor of writing this latest newsletter.

George gracefully received his heavenly crown of glory on June 27th. He had run the race and finished well. It was really tough to say goodbye and send him off. That still lingers. Counting those days, a bit over ten weeks has passed….. just now, as this is composed.

Anyway, Twenty days after his glorious departure, his family and local friends were able to globally share his celebration service, so that we all could come together one more time to honor him.

If you happened to tune in to his celebration service on that July 17th, then you were able to hear this Godly man share his love and passion that God himself had totally connected a half a world away in Asia and particularly to Cambodia with Pastor Chut Samuel.

Update coming from Cambodia

At the end of August an update on the current situation in the Siem Reap area came from two local on the ground men who know their own situation all too well. First is Mr. Orleang, who has walked with us in all of our housing needs since we moved from Phnom Penh in early 2015. When he changed positions as manager of guest houses in the area, he took us along to his new location. He has always taken really good care of us. He would sit for hours with George and ask questions about the ‘why’….he couldn’t initially understand why two elderly folk would land in such a different environment and happily share life with people they didn’t know. He gave us the utmost respect ever. We treasure his friendship.

Orleang shared that Siem Reap remained pretty much shut down with the touristy traffic as each visitor had to quarantine two weeks upon arrival there, and give a hefty $2,000 beforehand, sometimes perhaps more.

As of June 17th we had heard from Pastor Samuel that the area of Siem Reap was fairly restricted with provinces, districts, and communities each being isolated and borders closed due to the increase of virus cases in country. The government struggled to protect its citizens as best as they could.

Fast forward to now and ministry continues. The church is alive and functioning. The key word here perhaps is the word ‘remote’ as this ministry has adapted there, as we have had to do here.

Pastor Samuel and I have talked in length. The ministry in itself will not change. As I sort out those new episodes in this chapter of my personal life on this side of the pond, God willing, plans will be put into place for return to Cambodia early next year. Stay tuned for those exciting developments. In the meantime, please mightily pray for the army of God to power forward into eternity from wherever you stand. Thank you so much.

To learn more about Shary, click here to read her latest newsletter!

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Mid-quarter is done!

Grace upon Grace is our school theme this year!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionarie Joshua Wareham (Serving in Jos, Nigeria)

Educating Global Disciples of Christ

The first half of this quarter seemed to take a while. It had its up’s and its down’s. There was online school for a little bit because there was some unrest in Jos and with that came a 24 hour curfew. Many prayers were lifted and with those prayers the curfew has been lifted for a couple weeks now, and school had been back to normal! It is always great to be back in the classroom to teach and share Christ’s love!

Why Worry?

This past week I got very home sick. I was concerned that I wasn’t the best teacher that I could be. I was worried that I’m not going to be accepted into the seminary (I’m still waiting on that). I have had this problem for a while now, actually my whole life: worrying about the future. I think many people do this, but why do we worry, when the future hasn’t even happened? No one knows what will truly, actually happen, and what does it mean to “worry”?

I think one of the hardest things to do is to put your absolute, full trust in God. We seem to always want our will done and not His; and when our will doesn’t seem to be accomplishing anything, we start to worry. We want to think the world is in our hands and that God doesn’t have it in His. If we weren’t so infected with original sin which is, having no fear of God, no trust in God, and having the inclination to sin, I don’t think that the word “worry” would be a part of our vocabulary. We would trust and know God’s got it in his hands.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Josh!

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Salt of the Earth!

Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth…” was the theme for our 4th anniversary of the Lutheran church “Divina Providencia” on the first Sunday in September! (We have now been in Chile for seven years! This is our second mission.) We were blessed with 36 people who came to worship and be fed by the Word. We can’t help but be amazed at God’s divine provision…beginning in a smaller house with a handful of Lutherans…struggling through the time of Chilean political unrest and protests…surviving almost a year of national quarantine due to Covid…always teaching, praying, outreaching! In this last year alone there have been 5 baptisms, 3 confirmations and pretty soon, another group of people are about to begin their studies. To God be the Glory!

“Salting” our community!

Every Friday afternoon we open the doors of our “Resale Shop”. Our coordinator, Elianeth, and Liisa are always amazed at the people that stop by. There are the regulars, like an older gentleman, Ricardo, who comes to check if we have received sweaters in his size; or the Peruvian maids who are on their way home from their domestic jobs and pick up some baby clothes or a “new” purse; or the recently arrived Venezuelan who needs a warm jacket or a good pair of slacks for his/her new job; or a neighbor who is just curious, and then becomes engaged when we talk about the ministry and offers to donate items for our “garage sale”. Besides providing for the needs of others, this shop draws attention to our Lutheran church.

We are grateful to Lutheran World Relief for a huge donation of quilts that were distributed in all the Lutheran churches of Chile to be used as needed. At our church, we package up the homemade quilts with info about our ministry, vacuum-seal the bag, and they are ready to go! About 100 quilts have been received by the elderly and children in small towns in the cold south. Recently, we delivered 100 to a Children’s Hospital in Santiago, and another Clinic for Children with Cancer has requested a donation. We have shared about 200 with different immigrant groups (mostly Haitian and Venezuelan) and the cozy, patchwork quilts have also been a source of comfort for families in our congregation who have recently lost a loved one.

News from the Lutheran Church of Chile

All the pastors of the Lutheran Church of Chile. (From left) Obed Coronado; Pablo Gonzalez; Omar Kinas; Juan Pablo Lanterna, president; James Tino; Adrian Ventura, secretary.

Every May, the Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile has its national convention. Because of corona virus, this was not able to happen last year and this year it was delayed until August. Finally, last month a group of about 20 – consisting of pastors and congregational representatives – met for a full day to share reports and hold long-overdue elections. We were proud of our small mission plant that has reached “congregation-size” status and chose to send the newly elected congregational president, José Vilches, as our representative! Jim has been serving as interim Secretary/V.P. for the national church, so he was very busy with the preparations and procedures of the meeting.

Besides the six churches, we heard about the four mission plants and about the various Lutheran organizations such as Lutheran Hour Ministries (“Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones”) in Chile. Another important ministry is “Casa Bethesda”, which sponsors a rehab center in Santiago for people with cerebal palsy and other handicaps; and an after-school program in the town of Constitucion run by GLO missionaries Pastor Adrian and Cruz Maria Ventura. After the new board was elected, we closed with a joyous worship service, giving thanks to our Great God.

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

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Guatemala celebrating 200 years of independence!

September 15th marks the bicentennial celebration of independence for Guatemala. Hooray! But with this grand celebration of freedom approaching it seems as if the country is shutting down again, restricting our freedoms.
After 2 months of being stateside I adjusted fairly well to the freedom I was given in regards to pandemic protocol and had forgotten what the situation was like in other countries. In Guatemala, a mask, hand sanitizer, temperature and in some places shoe sanitizing is still a must to enter any store regardless of being vaccinated or not. Here the entire country follows whatever orders the president gives, the current ones being, curfew from 8pm-4am, and everything virtual, including churches. So with that being said our church is back to Facebook live (video) for the next month, or until further orders are given.

New and young music students!
With restrictions and curfews handed out like candy to every business and school, I continue to teach my music classes as usual. Right now I teach about 15 one-on-one music lessons a week at the church, and have weekly rehearsals with the church musicians. The exciting news is that six new students have started lessons with me in the last month! And they all go to the church! And they are all under 15!! Three of them are learning trumpet, two on flute, and one learning the piano. These fresh, young students have been my motivation this past month as I am super eager to get them playing in the church after seeing how quickly they are learning. Please pray that they continue to grow musically and remain connected in the church as they grow older.

In my spare time…
I have come across many broken instruments buried in the church. So I have taken it upon myself to fix these instruments! One guitar and a keyboard have been fixed, and currently I am working on another keyboard as pictured above. Having extra (working) instruments is always a blessing!

I also continue to work on my hymnal project. Thanks to several donations from several people I met during furlough, I have been able to print 12 more hymnals. These hymnals are only for the musicians who play or sing in church, as it serves to unify them into one book with all the same songs, chords, and lyrics. If you would like to make a donation towards a hymnal you can do so by donating $40 with a note saying towards hymnal project. Thanks!

And I am also engaged!
After 2 years of dating I asked my girlfriend, Scarlett, to marry me and she easily said yes. She is from the city of Puerto Barrios, about 3 hrs from Zacapa. We plan to get married early next year, and Scarlett will be joining me on the mission field! Hopefully you will all get to meet her on the next furlough to the states!

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Ben!

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When the sea roars and the earth shakes

The “dog days” of summer are winding down and, it’s hurricane season in the Caribbean! The season when hurricanes form runs from June to November, but the storms are more likely between August and October.

Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 storm, in New Orleans, August 29, 2021. Ida blasted ashore as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States, knocking out power to all of New Orleans, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast into one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors. It hit on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier, coming ashore about 45 miles (72 kilometres) west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck land. Ida’s 150-mph (230 kph) winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland United States.

A little more than a week earlier, Hurricane Grace pounded Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, downing trees and causing power outages for nearly 700,000 people. Then Grace moved on to the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, causing severe flooding and mudslides that killed at least eight people. Before striking Mexico, the storm showered torrential rains on Haiti, a country still recovering from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti on August 15.

Northern Venezuela and Colombia only have a 1 to 5 percent chance of a hurricane strike in any given year. The northernmost part of Venezuela, namely the Paraguanà Peninsula, the Paria Peninsula and the islands (but sometimes also the northern coast), is located in the southern end of the trajectory of hurricanes. But it can happen. 

But although Venezuela seldom has to deal with full-fledged tropical storms, we are affected by “tropical waves”. A tropical wave is an area of low pressure in the atmosphere moving westward from Africa into the Atlantic. Tropical waves last from a couple of days to several weeks, with new waves forming every few days. On satellite, these disturbances appear as clusters of thunderstorms and convection originating over North Africa and traveling westward into the tropical Atlantic. By providing the initial energy and spin needed for a hurricane to develop, tropical waves act like “seedlings” of tropical cyclones. Approximately 60 percent of tropical storms and minor hurricanes (categories 1 or 2), and nearly 85 percent of major hurricanes (category 3, 4, or 5) originate from tropical waves.

Even if they do not cause hurricanes, tropical waves often bring with thunderstorms and flooding rains. That’s what we have received over the past few weeks. Tropical waves 38 and 39 have destroyed over 8,000 homes and forced about 35,600 citizens to refuge in shelters. Besides affecting 116 roads and ten bridges, floods and landslides have damaged power stations in the states of Amazonas, Barinas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro, Merida, Monagas, Tachira, and Zulia. Multiple floods and mudslides in in the neighboring state of Mérida have left 20 people dead and more than 1,200 buildings destroyed.

In La Caramuca, we have only had to deal with power outages. Our solar panels continue to work well, keeping the lights and security cameras going and the cell phones recharged. All the rain means excellent crops of fruits and vegetables. Luz Maria and I share the produce with our neighbors, those who stop by the mission and those we visit on evangelistic calls.

There also was a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in Portuguesa, another neighboring state, on August 25, and a 4.9 quake off the coast of Sucre state on August 30.

All of which brings to mind Luke 21:8-11. “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” As with many Biblical prophecies, the Lord in these verses speaks of two impending catastrophes, the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, with one foreshadowing the other. So he warns his followers of the persecution that will precede the city’s downfall, and of false prophets who will predict the end of the whole world based on natural disasters and terrible wars. 

For those of us living in these days, the Lord’s words also apply to hurricanes, earthquakes, COVID-19 and even the persecution of believers in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. Like the first-century Christians, we are not terrified by cataclysm, for we not the end will not come until the day God has pointed. Nor do we regard them as random events, but signs that great day will come.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from the Ernst’s

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From Freedom to Freezing!

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

With pastor Brian and Sarah Stolarczyk and family, Lutheran Church of the Cross, Port Charlotte, FL. It has been a LONG TIME since our last newsletter! From April through mid-July, we have been on furlough. A furlough is a time for missionaries to step away from their work on the mission field, reconnect with family and friends, renew relationships with mission partners and supporting congregations, and share what God is doing in their mission corner! It is certainly not a vacation, although sometimes we can squeeze in a little of that, too! Our mission partners and family members are scattered across the USA, which makes it a challenge to visit everyone. From Freedom to Freezing! We’re back in Chile! After enjoying life in the USA which is relatively free of covid restrictions, and after enjoying some summer weather, we returned to Chile – it’s dead winter here, and covid restrictions are still nearly in full force. Here is how our “re-entry” has gone: Another line at the airport, this one to board the government-provided bus to insure that we arrive at our designated quarantine hotel. About 20 hours after leaving Miami – 8 of them spent on a plane – we finally got situated in our “Quarantine Hotel”. What happened in between? Well, there were delays, documents and Covid protocol lines. Our flight was the last of several to arrive at the Santiago airport early in the morning on Friday July 16. We zigzagged through a roped off area for 3 hours before presenting our recent negative covid results from the USA, and then proceeded to take the PCR test one more time. Immigration, baggage and customs went smoothly, only took about an hour or so. Then we had another 3 hour wait for the government-sponsored bus that took us to the certified quarantine hotel.      After that journey, we were thankful for the 5 days of hotel quarantine, isolation and rest. On July 21, we were released to continue mandatory quarantine for 5 more days in our own home. We were finally able to leave our house on July 27! It’s time to get back into ministry! To learn more about James and Liisa Tino, click here to read their latest newsletter!

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We are set to Travel 4th August!

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Dixon and Christy Gbeanquoi (Serving in Tanzania):

 A Difficult Journey in Getting Our Visas!
What we took to be an easy task, became one of the most difficult periods of our lives and ministry. We thought we would just leave Tanzania to come to our various home countries, get our visas in few weeks or maybe a month or two. I guess we were wrong, the process lasted for almost 4.5 months and cost us a whopping $5,175, for our visas, Dixon traveling process, and all of us getting our new passports. Christy and the children first interview appointment was on April 23rd and due to some technical issues, they were denied visas. This was indeed sad for us because, for this particular interview, we had spent $1,080 in total. We had to again start another process to secure their visas.

 Dixon’s Second Trip to Liberia for His Interview
As we did mentioned in our last newsletter, Dixon was given an appointment for 14th June to sit his visa interview in his home country Liberia. He had to again travel from Nigeria to Liberia, this again was a blow to our already depleted finances. We had to spend $2,565 for ticket costs and changes, hotels, and four different Covid-19 tests in Nigeria and Liberia, and new passport. Dixon was successful on his first attempt in securing a visa on-like Christy and the kids in Nigeria. Dixon visa was issued to him on the 17th of June and he was due to fly back to Nigeria on the 27th of June after having quality time with his parents and siblings, unfortunately, after doing a Covid-19 test to get a negative result for travel, he was told on the day of his travel 27th June that his result came out positive. Meaning he was Covid-19 positive, even though he is fully vaccinated. He was told to go home and come back after a week to do another test. 

 Christy and the Children Second Attempt for their Visas
After being denied the first time, we decided to apply again for Christy and the kids. This time we had to go through a visa agent to help us with the process. What this means is that we had to pay a fee for the processes. In total, we had to pay $1530, for visa application fees, consultation, agent  fees and earlier dates for interviews. We are thankful to God that this time around Christy and the kids were each given two years visas. We are thankful to God that they were all issued visas on their second attempt.
 

Milcah’s Birthday Celebration
This year for the first time in six years we celebrated Milcah’s birthday in Nigeria and under difficult circumstances. Her birthday came at a time we all were struggling to get our visas and I was in Liberia, while they were in Nigeria. What was most interesting is that her birthday came on the same day they were to have their interview. So her birthday brought blessings for us during their interview. Milcah on the day of the interview reminded the interviewer that she was celebrating her birthday that day and this brought some calmness and friendly discussion during the interview and the interviewer wishes her a wonderful birthday celebration. Also, it was sad that I wasn’t able to be around for Milcah’s birthday, the reason being I was diagnosed with COVID on the 27th of June and was prevented from traveling for  two weeks. This caused me to miss Milcah’s birthday. We are hoping we can all have a wonderful celebration in the  US as a family.

  Transition Challenges
As we go through the excitement of moving to the States, we still have before us huge financial challenges that we must resolve as we make our way to the US. We still have a debt of $5,175 to pay back to Global Lutheran Outreach as a loan taken to complete our visa processes. Now we have the challenge to pay back the loan. We are also looking for $2,500 as an amount we will need for our transition process in St. Louis. We have been given an apartment that is furnished, but we will need to get some essential items for our new home. We have gotten our date for travel and we are to arrived St. Louis on the 4th of August. We left everything in Mwanza including our clothes and some important items for the children we wanted to take along with us. This is our project for now. 

To learn more about Dixon and Chrity Gbeanquoi, click here to read their latest newsletter!

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After being stateside for 8 weeks and 2 days…

My furlough has ended! From mid May to July 14th I was back on US soil taking a much needed break to reconnect with

Above is a family picture we took in late May, minus my sister Gabi and her family, who live in PHX.

family and friends, as well as raise support for my ministry in Zacapa by visiting congregations across the east coast. Mondays through Fridays I would spend the time either driving or with family, and Saturdays and Sundays were spent at the church. In those 8 weeks I logged a few miles as I drove from Miami to Detroit to New Hampshire and back to Miami. I was able to visit six loving congregations where I helped out with the music and was given a moment to share a little about me and how I serve as a missionary. I am truly grateful for each church I visited as I met so many caring people and made many new friends! I pray you all are doing well, and that through my newsletters we can stay connected until my next in-person visit!

Playing trumpet with the talented musicians of St. James

         The six churches I visited were: Miramar Lutheran in Miramar FL, Guardian Lutheran in Dearborn MI, Shadow of the Cross in Farmington Hills MI, St. James Lutheran in Southbury CT, Trinity Lutheran in Keen NH, and Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran in Ft. Lauderdale FL.

I arrived back to my home in Zacapa around 530pm July 14th, and after a few days of settling back in (and writing this newsletter) I am eager to get back to teaching music. During those 8 Sundays away my students led the music on their own, and I have only heard positive remarks about how they did! We can celebrate and thank God that my students were able to survive 8 weeks without me, and the church in Zacapa is well on there way to having church musicians of their own! My plans for now are to keep teaching music and hopefully within a year see where we are at and what else God has instore for me.

Click here to read the latest newsletter from Ben!

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Brinks’ final Chile mission newsletter

From Global Lutheran Outreach missionaries Paul and Barbara Brink (they served in Santiago, Chile)

We are now at home in Las Vegas.  Due to the COVID lockdown in Chile, our original flights to the U.S. were canceled and we had to rebook with another airline.  The Lord worked out all the details, including arrangements to receive our COVID tests when the timing was very problematic.  Thank the Lord, we arrived home safely on June 30.

We are thankful for your support during our time in Chile.  We know that prayer makes a difference and we are glad to have partnered with you in helping with God’s mission there.

During the last month, Bo’s responsibilities didn’t slow down. He finished teaching the Christian Doctrine course to 13 students enrolled in the Bible Institute of the national church. In the course we call “Towards a New Life,” five friends of the congregation remained faithful and will complete the course with Pastor Jim. In the last week in Chile, Bo led a Zoom funeral for a Lutheran Christian in Venezuela and planned the worship services for the three Sundays between our departure and the arrival of the Tinos.

Barb finished presenting the “Teaching the Bible to Children” course on June 21. She also helped one of the ladies of the congregation prepare for teaching Sunday School through the month of July.

By mid-June the government again tightened the COVID-related restrictions. This made it necessary to livestream one Sunday worship service from our house. We were thankful for the tech assistance of Genesis and Elianeth.

 We came to love and admire the members and friends of the little congregation in Santiago.  We have remained in contact with them. They are doing well and looking forward to the return of Pastor Jim and Liisa, who will arrive on July 16.

To read more of Bo and Barbara's work in Chile, click here!

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