Spring 2011 Report

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement as we continue to prepare for work in Uruguay. Much has happened—and much has changed—during these last three months, and we are as always in need of the Lord.

At the end of March we completed meetings in Ohio churches, returning just before Jonatán’s battle with cancer ended and he courageously completed his 16-year race. Jonatán (Jona) is Deborah’s sister’s son. During the last 3½ weeks of hospice care, God had already arranged our travel schedule to allow us freedom to stay with Jona’s family and to help with his care. John Mark traveled briefly to Iowa for a conference; and the week following his return, on April 20, Jona went to be with the Lord. Though we understand so little of God and His ways, He has revealed enough to us in the Bible that we can look confidently toward the day when we will see Jona in Glory. This confidence is based on God’s words: that the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed to those who have believed the gospel. The Father punished His righteous Son in order that He might call unrighteous people “righteous”—and be Himself righteous in doing so. We sing with confidence one of Jona’s favorite hymns: “When disappointment, change, and tears are past, all safe and blessèd, we shall meet at last.”

God has also revealed that He causes such changes to result in His people’s being presently, “practically” conformed into the image of His perfect Son (Romans 8:28-30). Much could be written about the effect that Jona’s life and death have had around the world. Approximately a thousand or more attended his memorial service.

Plans to return to the western U.S. and Canada this summer have also changed: In addition to reasons mentioned above, the Lord has opened to us an opportunity to go to Uruguay during this time. Deborah’s father and step-mother, Don and Pat Garwood, returned in April from Uruguay to begin several months of furlough. They began their trip by spending time with family (especially Jona); but they remained uncertain about whether they would be able to complete their furlough, as they had not found someone to oversee their church-planting work during their absence. At the end of April the Lord put together the necessary details for us to make definite plans to help for part of this time. On Monday, May 23, we will leave South Carolina to spend the next three months in Uruguay. We have tickets to return the end of August. We’ll plan to post notes on our blogs and to send several email updates between now and September 1, when our summer report will log our South American winter.

Pando is a city of approximately 24,000 people (not counting surrounding areas) just northeast of the country’s capital of Montevideo. We will live in the Garwoods’ home in Totoral del Sauce, outside Pando, while we work with Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha (Maranatha Bible Church), located on the northern edge of Pando. Our activities will include the oversight of the regular services, including most of the preaching and teaching. Regular meetings include a Saturday afternoon youth meeting, children’s and teens’ morning Sunday school, a Sunday afternoon preaching and worship service, and a Tuesday afternoon prayer meeting. We will also visit in people’s homes.

This church will likely be our “home” church after our permanent (future) move to Uruguay, while the future focus of our day-to-day work will be serving the Uruguayan churches by assisting and strengthening the EMU Bible institute in Montevideo. We’re thankful for this early introduction to all of these aspects of the work.

Thank you again for your prayers!