On the north side of Omaha is the Mormon Trail Center. Today in passing I left a gospel booklet there for an LDS missionary whom Deborah and I met last week. Please pray that this young adult would be free to read the booklet and to spend time thinking about the Scripture contained in it.
The museum is built near the site that became the Mormons’ winter quarters during the winter of 1846-47, following a journey across Iowa that, due in part to heavy rain, had taken four months. The trip today from Cedar Rapids to Omaha took only four hours, across land that is again saturated with water—water devastating to fields of tiny corn but producing everywhere else a beautiful early-summer green.
In Cedar Rapids several weeks ago, while participating in the church’s neighborhood visitation, a group of us met a young couple that had been affected by the severe Midwest flooding of 2008. It seems as if the Lord might have used this experience to help prepare this man to respond to the gospel. The two have begun attending Lord’s Day services. Please pray for their salvation.
I praise God for the gospel—good news for any sinner who will come to God through Jesus in the way explained in the New Testament. I’m thankful for the privilege of dedicating my time to gospel ministry, specifically in preparation for teaching in Uruguay. Please pray that we will rely on His grace to be faithful to this task!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Spring 2010 Report
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement to us as we prepare for work in Uruguay. This month (May) we left our Greenville jobs and began to devote ourselves to full-time preparation and ministry in local churches.
Two years ago this month we visited the city of San Ramón on the northern edge of the department of Canelones. Here the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had predictably built one of its meetinghouses, while we looked in vain for an entirely sound church in this town of approximately 10,000. Though this 1 to 10,000 ratio of Mormon buildings to people may not hold true throughout the country, the LDS Church claims over 92,000 members in Uruguay. If this is accurate, then one out of every 38 Uruguayans is a Mormon proselyte.
The Lord has not led us to San Ramón at this point. But someone should go. Someone who is convinced that every person in that town is responsible before their holy and glorious Creator. Someone who believes words like “Trinity” and “incarnation”—the Bible’s teaching that the Creator Himself, the Son of God, while remaining fully God became man to suffer righteous punishment for sinners. Someone who is prepared to preach the message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Someone who can oversee a biblical, balanced ministry.
Someone should reach San Ramón and other needy towns. The Uruguayan churches are reaching out beyond their own immediate locales, opening new gospel-preaching works; but there remains much work to do. Our task is to assist them in doing this, specifically by helping to provide further Bible training. The importance of Bible and ministry training is represented by a conversation John Mark had in February with Ruben Rodriguez, the pastor of an EMU church in Treinta y Tres, Uruguay. Ruben shared his experience of testifying to false teachers and of grappling with the subject of the Trinity. In his city of approximately 35,000 are three LDS meetinghouses.
We write from Wasatch County in Utah, not far from Provo, where John Mark lived during his last year of high school. Shortly following graduation, many of the students of Provo High went through the LDS Missionary Training Center (just blocks away) in preparation for missions around the world. We hope to see the Lord open doors for ministry to the LDS in Uruguay. Whatever the case, their presence is part of the context in which Uruguayan pastors are serving. This past week in Utah Valley we met a former Mormon missionary (to Paraguay), now attending a gospel-preaching church, an example of God’s power to save from false teaching.
Thank you for your prayers for us and for Uruguay (and for Utah). Since our last report, we have had good meetings, missions conferences, and visits in like-minded churches in North and South Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, and Utah. We anticipate a full summer of travel and meetings, and we will need God’s grace for each day.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement to us as we prepare for work in Uruguay. This month (May) we left our Greenville jobs and began to devote ourselves to full-time preparation and ministry in local churches.
Two years ago this month we visited the city of San Ramón on the northern edge of the department of Canelones. Here the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had predictably built one of its meetinghouses, while we looked in vain for an entirely sound church in this town of approximately 10,000. Though this 1 to 10,000 ratio of Mormon buildings to people may not hold true throughout the country, the LDS Church claims over 92,000 members in Uruguay. If this is accurate, then one out of every 38 Uruguayans is a Mormon proselyte.
The Lord has not led us to San Ramón at this point. But someone should go. Someone who is convinced that every person in that town is responsible before their holy and glorious Creator. Someone who believes words like “Trinity” and “incarnation”—the Bible’s teaching that the Creator Himself, the Son of God, while remaining fully God became man to suffer righteous punishment for sinners. Someone who is prepared to preach the message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Someone who can oversee a biblical, balanced ministry.
Someone should reach San Ramón and other needy towns. The Uruguayan churches are reaching out beyond their own immediate locales, opening new gospel-preaching works; but there remains much work to do. Our task is to assist them in doing this, specifically by helping to provide further Bible training. The importance of Bible and ministry training is represented by a conversation John Mark had in February with Ruben Rodriguez, the pastor of an EMU church in Treinta y Tres, Uruguay. Ruben shared his experience of testifying to false teachers and of grappling with the subject of the Trinity. In his city of approximately 35,000 are three LDS meetinghouses.
We write from Wasatch County in Utah, not far from Provo, where John Mark lived during his last year of high school. Shortly following graduation, many of the students of Provo High went through the LDS Missionary Training Center (just blocks away) in preparation for missions around the world. We hope to see the Lord open doors for ministry to the LDS in Uruguay. Whatever the case, their presence is part of the context in which Uruguayan pastors are serving. This past week in Utah Valley we met a former Mormon missionary (to Paraguay), now attending a gospel-preaching church, an example of God’s power to save from false teaching.
Thank you for your prayers for us and for Uruguay (and for Utah). Since our last report, we have had good meetings, missions conferences, and visits in like-minded churches in North and South Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, and Utah. We anticipate a full summer of travel and meetings, and we will need God’s grace for each day.
We would appreciate your prayers for several specific requests:
- Increased love for God and His Word
- Fruitful ministry in Alberta and Alaska
- A safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery of our second child (due the end of October)
- Salvation of Rick, Justin, Jamie, Mindy, Steve, Linda, Brian, Jim, Serena, and Arturo
- Wisdom concerning planning of future meetings, travel, and ministry
- Our arrival in Uruguay early next year with co-workers Matías and Kristine Espinel
In grateful preparation for work in Uruguay,
John Mark, Déborah, and Elizabeth Steel
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Steels to Uruguay: video link
A permanent link to our video presentation is now posted to the side of this page. The video introduces the country of Uruguay, our family, EMU International, and the specific ministries we anticipate.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Full-time Deputation: Week One
A week ago today we began full-time deputation, which for us is a period of ministry in local churches with whom God has given us relationship. These churches are among those that will, we trust, participate in sending us to Uruguay. We conclude this because (1) we believe that God has called and led us and because (2) we believe that the Lord’s people will desire to be involved in what He is doing.
We spent Thursday evening in Cedar Rapids again. Please pray for the salvation of a young couple met during this evening’s neighborhood visitation.
On Saturday we arrived in Greeley, Colorado, for a missions conference that will end tonight. Please pray for the Lord’s gracious work in all of our hearts. On Friday and Saturday we will drive to Utah.
We spent Thursday evening in Cedar Rapids again. Please pray for the salvation of a young couple met during this evening’s neighborhood visitation.
On Saturday we arrived in Greeley, Colorado, for a missions conference that will end tonight. Please pray for the Lord’s gracious work in all of our hearts. On Friday and Saturday we will drive to Utah.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Miscellaneous Good News: 27 April 2010
The Lord was very good to us in Cedar Rapids; He has many gracious people there.
In six months we have a meeting scheduled in Greenville, SC: Elizabeth's sibling is due to arrive on my birthday.
We are thankful for our home church's vote this past Wednesday evening.
The Bible institute students in Montevideo are praying for the Espinels' and our arrival in time for the beginning of the school year next March.
The eastern Tennessee detour around the I-40 rockslide is very, very lovely in the spring. (Jesus is fairer!)
I-40 has now been re-opened.
Kentucky again has an elk population. (No, I didn't see any.)
In six months we have a meeting scheduled in Greenville, SC: Elizabeth's sibling is due to arrive on my birthday.
We are thankful for our home church's vote this past Wednesday evening.
The Bible institute students in Montevideo are praying for the Espinels' and our arrival in time for the beginning of the school year next March.
The eastern Tennessee detour around the I-40 rockslide is very, very lovely in the spring. (Jesus is fairer!)
I-40 has now been re-opened.
Kentucky again has an elk population. (No, I didn't see any.)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Iowa and Indiana
This week’s missions conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ends this evening. We will visit some other friends in town before returning to Cedar Lake, Indiana, for a night or two. Please pray for the Lord to continue His work in all of our hearts in tonight’s service; for safety in travel; and for the Lord’s grace for our last couple of weeks in Greenville before beginning full-time summer travel.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Request for Prayer: April 1
For those who pray for us from time to time, please pray that we will be in Uruguay a year from today: April 1, 2011.
We don’t know everything that must take place between now and then in order for this to happen. We do know that everything that will take place between now and then has been designed by God to conform us into the image of Jesus, the end to which we have been pre-destined by grace alone (Romans 8:28-29).
Our responsibility, and the task at hand: to love and serve God and neighbor in His strength among His Church.
Soon enough He will say, “Set them apart for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:1-3). Until then we say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and begin service in Uruguay the first of April, 2011” (James 4:15).
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