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SAMS and CMS - a possible merger?
SAMS is considering merging with CMS and would like to know what you think.
Please read about the possible merger by clicking here.
Then click here to email us your views. Alternatively write to our Executive Director, Bill Lattimer, at:
Allen Gardiner Cottage
Pembury Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN2 3QU
We very much look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, thank you very much for your support. Whether or not we merge, we will continue to need your prayers and your material support so that we can play a full part in God’s mission in South America and Iberia.
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Year of opportunity in Arica
David & Jean Hucker returned to Arica, northern Chile, early in March. They believe God is saying to them ‘that this year is important to the growth of the church’:
•Key to lives being saved in Arica through our church is the EMA course (marriage-building weekend). Substantial growth has been achieved in the Anglican Church in Chile because of the Lord’s anointing upon this course. The difficulty is the logistics of training couples from Arica, in Santiago or Viña del Mar (1000 miles south of us!).
•English is our open door from the Lord. We shall establish an English service once a month which will be initiated by a week-long visit from the Revd Clive Evans in March. We would like to integrate this into a monthly bilingual service. From these services we would like to do the ALPHA course also in English. We have a young girl, Lydia, coming to volunteer for six months; part of what we want her to do is to lead the ALPHA course with many university students we’ve come to know who are studying to be English teachers.
•Chincha in southern Peru is a city affected by a massive earthquake in 2007 and we want to take teams and minister there. We want the congregation of San Andrés to have a vision for mission. Personally as part of our calling as missionaries, we feel that the Lord is also moving us out to minister in other countries as well, whenever the opportunity arises.
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Aspects of ministry in Ecuador
Jill Ball, SAMS’ only mission partner in Ecuador, updates us on some of her ministries to disabled and other needy people in Santo Domingo
Tuesday Afternoon Clinic
An average of 15 people come weekly. A typical case is Nelson, who lost a leg after a bicycling accident. He is seeking help to maintain his good leg and also needs assistance with medicines for his four young children. He barely earns a living by selling sweets on the buses. We are also helping Μyra, a single parent with two children, one of whom is disabled. We work with an English doctor Dr. Andy Gardiner who gives free appointments and medicines to our clients.
Women of Laura Flores neighbourhood
Last year Alexandra, one of our ladies in the Bible Study group, was baptised, and we are hoping that others will follow.
We have started selling second-hand clothes at very low prices, and Ruth from the church has run a weekly card-making workshop there. It was going well until the lady whose house we used left the barrio after receiving a beating and death threat from drug dealers who thought she had identified them to the police. Ruth is not so keen to return.
I am reminded once again of how cheap life is here, and also of why we came to Laura Flores in the first place: to be witnesses of Christ’s love.
The Lord always blesses us by his presence in this place. We were thrilled when a lady called Mercedes had a dramatic recovery from cancer. I believe this was a direct answer to prayers in response to my e-mail request. Glory be to God!! And thank you for praying.
In April we will start Sunday afternoon meetings, with Pastor Uriel in charge.
New Challenges
We have come across Hector, an 18-year-old young man with cerebral palsy who spends his life lying on a floor in a darkened room, often tied to prevent self-harming. We got a local television channel involved and went on air with a report. This is a whole new area of ministry. All we can do at present is help the family with basic essentials. I have yet to find any institution in Ecuador which undertakes to care for people with severe disabilities 24 hours a day. |
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Gospel brings Buenos Aires to standstill
Traffic was forced to a halt in the centre of the Argentine capital in mid-March. The reason was the ‘Sí a la Vida’ (Yes to Life) campaign conducted by the evangelist Luis Palau, returning to visit his home country from his US base. The organisers claimed that as many as 370,000 people were there at one point in the two-day event, which featured music and the presence of noted celebrities and artists.
Media coverage was huge and the impact of evangelical Christianity on Argentine society in general and the young in particular was highlighted.
An anthropologist, writing in the major daily La Nación, criticised the country’s ignorance of evangelicals, a group who make up ‘a not insignificant part of our population’ (una porción nada desdeñable de nuestra población). Censuses no longer include a question about religion (‘because we are all supposed to be Catholics’) but a recent study puts the figure at 7%-10% of the population, and as high as 20% in certain areas.
After the event Palau had an audience with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (photo). |
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Devastating fire in Chile
On Thursday 28 March at 3:30 am an electrical fault in the kitchen caused fire to break out in the Anglican church of Canal Beagle, a suburb of Viña del Mar in Chile. The church, called ‘Vida Nueva’, was devastated. Thankfully, insurance was in place on the insistence of Diocesan Administrator Luis Sandoval.
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Yellow fever in Paraguay
‘The main news focus in Paraguay’, writes Linn Tedman at the end of February, ‘has been on an outbreak of yellow fever in which some people have died. This caused widespread panic. The Government issued warnings as far back as eighteen months ago that yellow fever could reach Paraguay but no vaccination programmes were started. When yellow fever was confirmed there was very little vaccine in the country. People have been demonstrating and fighting each other and the authorities to get vaccinations.
‘Eventually neighbouring countries sent in vaccine (photo shows vaccines arriving from Brazil) and France has just sent 2 million doses. Over the course of a fortnight more people have been vaccinated. The problem seemed to be down to lack of monetary resources to pay for vaccine, but some money has now been found.
‘There is now a massive clean-up campaign to try to eradicate breeding areas of mosquitoes in rubbish which can trap water. A new law means that anybody who does not clean up will be put in prison. (Prisons are already grossly overcrowded.)
‘A problem associated with the new vaccination programme is that now there is not enough blood in the blood bank for operations etc. Those who have just been injected cannot donate blood.’ There have been many traffic accidents this week and blood is badly needed.
‘Other news has been about the President. He was speaking at a rally and had a bottle of water to drink. It had been ‘spiked’ with some acid which was potentially life-threatening. There is now a full investigation underway to try to ascertain how the acid came to be in the bottle. There is a great deal of propaganda against the President and the government at the moment.’
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Daycare ... theology ... floods
Nicky Irene sent this news (9.2.08) from La Paz, Bolivia, where her husband Ronnie pastors the church of Cristo Salvador (part of whose young people's group is seen on the left).
We opened a daycare centre about a month and a half ago and it’s going well. We’re looking for financial support as we need to pay the teachers. We charge very little and this barely covers our basic expenses. It’s open Monday to Friday in the afternoons from 2.30-7.00. We have two teachers and as from this Monday we start mornings from 8.30-12.00 and I’m the teacher.
The Flores family are leaving next week. They’re going to live in Chile for two years so Martín [SAMS Study Partner with wife Carla] can study theology at the Anglican Centre for Pastoral Studies. Please do pray as Ronnie will be on his own here. Well, obviously we have lots of people who help out but are not working at church!
There has been very bad flooding here and it affects us all! There has been no water in the south part of La Paz for more than a week so you can imagine how hard it is! The schools can't start up either!
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Bishops wanted
As well as looking after the Diocese of Argentina and taking on the primacy of the Province of the Southern Cone for a third term, Bishop Greg Venables is also bishop of Northern Argentina. This great area includes 120 communities and congregations of the Wichi, Toba and Chorote Amerindian groups with their own clergy. Bishop Greg is pictured (left) with a Wichi church member. He visits there regularly, working closely with Archdeacon Hugo Vergara and Episcopal Secretary Hans Breekveldt. Three assistant bishops are needed for the Indian communities; the selection process needs much prayer.
A new diocesan bishop is needed in Paraguay. Assistant Bishop Andrés Rodríguez is filling the interregnum as John and Judie Ellison have now retired to the UK and need prayer for the way forward. Bishop Bill Godfrey is also in England recovering from surgery, so please remember Bill and Judith and the Diocese of Peru.
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Joy, patience and perspective
The new academic year has just started at St Andrew’s School in Asunción, Paraguay, and Patrick Butler gave the address at the opening service. Patrick and his wife Rosie rejoiced in a recent letter…
‘… that after many many years we are seeing students from the school become a part of our Anglican church. Whilst denominations aren't important in themselves, it has none the less been a longstanding prayer that our church should see fruit from the school and at last this is happening. To see ex-students such as Norman and Karenina leading and preaching regularly in our evening service, and an increasing number of pupils coming along to worship, really is cause for thanks. Given, too, that most of our Anglican congregations are in poorer communities, to see a growing congregation of young people with a university education and economic resources is also very good news. Yet I have to say that there are other days it when it all seems so fragile and that is when we need to remind ourselves once again that it is the Lord's work, not ours, and that we must keep on until he clearly shows us otherwise. Pray for patience and perspective.’
Patrick also comments on a sorry part of life in Paraguay…
Now in our fourteenth year in Asunción I realise the extent to which we accept the constant political wranglings and general corruption as a part of life. I go into a shop to buy a book and am charged, say, 50,000 guaraníes (five pounds). I ask for a receipt and the assistant replies, "Ah well, in that case it'll be 55,000." This experience is repeated almost everywhere everyday and immediately explains the dilapidated and poorly equipped state hospitals and schools. Yet little effort is made to pay tax as no one trusts that it will go anywhere other than in the politicians’ pockets. Please pray for honesty, integrity and systems of accountability in business and government. |
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Spirit lifts spirits
Northern Argentina’s diocesan youth camp for its urban sector took place in January at La Caldera. 73 youngsters enjoyed an action-packed programme that revolved around the theme of ‘Mission service’. In the mornings and after devotions, the small groups worked on the refurbishment of the Centre, rain permitting. In the afternoons all participated in workshops, learning about evangelism through music, performing arts, etc. In the evenings visiting speakers shared about missions at home and abroad.
The Spirit of the Lord lifted all spirits as it rained most days. Despite an improvised programme, God touched many hearts and some ten youngsters accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour. The impact has been beyond expectation; please pray for the follow-up in the various churches.
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Two minutes from growth
Jonathan and Hilary Rowe have moved churches – now they’re very local …
… two minutes from our front door rather than a 50-minute drive to Madrid - although it doesn’t seem any less hassle to get there on time! The pastor is a medic, the head of the local family practice who dedicates the time from when he finishes work each day, at about 3pm, to the church. The other leaders are also Spanish, as is a good proportion of the congregation. This marks a significant change from our previous church at Móstoles where the majority were immigrants from Latin America and Africa.
The weekly services are preceded by an adult Bible class and children’s Sunday School, and Hilary attends the prayer meeting on Thursdays. Elizabeth and Benjamin enjoy the Sunday School. The church is growing and is considering the possibility of moving to larger premises. It’s an exciting time and we hope to play our part in the life of the Evangelical Church of El Escorial in the months and years to come. |
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