As cold waters to a thirsty soul,
So is good news from a distant land.
Proverbs 25:25

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, . . . "Your God reigns!"
Isaiah 52:7
good news from a distant land (all posts)
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Thursday, October 12, 2017

October 2017 Report

“Uruguay is the country with the most atheists in Latin America, matched only by the Scandinavians.” So began a December 2016 online article, “Uruguayos de poca fe.” This was not good news. Nor—indeed—was it news at all, since Uruguay has long been known for such statistics. Secularism is the air our students breathe. We’re thankful for the opportunity FEBU has given us over the last four years to have a small part in equipping Christian young people to live and serve in this context. Thank you for your part! Ultimately we are grateful to God for this grace.


In October and November seven students in our Apologetics class will be presenting a final project, part of which will include each one’s public presentation countering some non-Christian or non-theistic philosophy or position. They are each required to invite ten people, including at least one non-Christian. Research & Argumentation students are working on papers in which they argue how a Christian should vote (or not) in light of biblical teaching on life, family, government, and the Christian’s place in society. Hermeneutics students are learning to identify relationships between clauses in order to preach and teach the Bible’s flow of thought.

FEBU’s first graduation program—a cause for much thanksgiving—is scheduled for December 2! Over the past years God has provided, guided, and preserved students and teachers to make this moment possible. Please pray for the five graduating—Gabriel, Manuel, Maxi, Vanessa, and Exequiel—that the Lord would continue to lead them as they move on to the next stage of their lives and ministries. In December our E will also graduate (from sixth grade). The kids’ school offers only elementary grades, so we are in need of wisdom during these months to know how to proceed with their schooling in the coming academic year (beginning in March).

Thank you for praying for our parents—D’s in FL and JM’s in SC. In August JM’s parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Though we were not with them, we’re thankful for this milestone and for their unwavering faithfulness to the Lord, each other, and us. A helpful book in preparing for Apologetics this semester includes these comments: “I grew up in a home where the Bible was assumed to be the infallible word of God. Whether they succeeded or failed, my parents tried to submit to the authority of the Bible. I think they succeeded pretty well. [We would say, “Very well!”] That’s probably one reason I never rebelled against them. They tried to form their ideas about God and man and sin and salvation from the Bible. They tried to bring their attitudes and emotions in line with the Bible. And they tried to form their behaviors by the Bible” (Piper, A Peculiar Glory, 24).

Our children, like our students, are growing up in a culture that doesn’t value the Bible. As we write, concerned citizens (many Christians included) are collecting signatures to counter the latest implementation of sex education in elementary schools. The new guidelines are blatantly and explicitly biased away from biblical (and traditional and even proven scientific) norms. Please pray for God’s protection for our children and for wisdom for Christian parents to instruct their families and to win their children’s hearts by consistent lives and biblical words.


We know that votes, signatures, and even logical arguments—as helpful and right as all of these can be—are not the final answer. Nor is there any geographic refuge from the onslaught of unbiblical ideology. We—and you—are where we are by God’s appointment and must be faithful, depending on Him and on His self-authenticating Word, especially His revelation of Jesus Christ in the Gospel.

We rest on Him and in His strength we go!