Dreaded Drought, Open Church
Mission to Uruguay
Missionaries Mark & Jenni Richline, and Steven & Catalina Payson are proclaiming Christ in Uruguay. They are sent and supported by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
The Dreaded Drought
Uruguay continues to endure one of the driest winters ever. President Luis Lacalle Pou recently announced that without rain soon, Montevideo’s drinking water supply will be exhausted. The state’s water company continues building a new reservoir on the nearby San Jose River. Desalinization machines are providing fresh water for hospitals. Wells are being dug in one of the city’s main parks. Yet, even as I write, I am listening to the soft patter of rain drops on our back patio. God has graciously been sending us a few rainy days, but many more are needed. Meanwhile, Salvos Por Gracia Church has a water-bottle delivery plan in place for our members who may soon be needing them.
Interest in Our Open Church!
You all must be praying as I asked you to, for our Wednesday nights when we invite the community in, out of the cold, to listen to us read through a chapter of scripture, share our insights, and pray. We just had our first visitor! Last night he came in about half an hour before the meeting, sought some spiritual counsel and then stayed the entire two hours, listening to the gospel at the end of Romans 8. Please keep right on praying for our Open Church!
Won’t you be my neighbor?
Pastor Stephen and I spent an afternoon last week getting to know our church neighbors. We visited several small business owners, asking how we might pray for them and leaving IPSG flyers. There’s Lauralei who runs a grocery store where I bought us lunch today. Carlitos owns a snack shop a couple blocks down from us. Then there’s German the barber where Stephen stopped by for a trim this afternoon. And of course, Laura, owner of a hat shop that has been in business 55 years! She found a brown, worn fedora for me (Indiana Jones fan that I am) which I might go back and acquire. Please ask the Lord to grow our relationships with our neighbors for his gospel’s sake.
Preaching is a Dialog
When I taught my Homiletics class to our seminary students here, I challenged them to think of preaching, not as one-way communication, but as a dialog between the preacher and his congregation. A visitor recently came to worship and proved my point. As I preached from Matthew 27 on Jesus being abandoned on his cross, this fellow would not only say, “Amen” but continued responding out-loud to me from his seat throughout the entire message. How wonderful to know he was following along, and I trust he learned that Christ was abandoned for sinners so that through faith in him, God will never abandon us.
Communion For Nilza
One of our IPSG members has long suffered chronic back pain. Last September Nilza had invasive surgery to help correct her spine and ease her pain. Yet she continues to suffer terribly and is normally unable to attend worship with us. Last week, Pastor Stephen and I served her the Lord’s Supper in her home. After I summarized a text and sermon on Jesus’ suffering for our sin, the three of us shared in the grace of the Supper around her table. We seek the Lord to encourage Nilza’s heart and work healing in her body.
Membership Class Started
Our visiting couple who travels 4 hours round- trip to worship with IPSG are excited to become members and have begun classes with me. Hopefully we will finish their instruction in order to receive them into membership on the same Sunday we celebrate our 8th anniversary as a Presbyterian & Reformed Church.
Reformation Conference
Plans are in the works for our Reformation Conference from October 20-22. Rev. Dale VanDyke from Harvest OPC in Michigan will be returning as one of two speakers highlighting the impact of our reformed faith applied to our family life. We will partner together with the other Reformed & Presbyterian Church in town to do the conference. These are three days of learning, music, food, and fellowship designed to promote reformed, biblical faith in a mostly Pentecostal community.
THANK YOU for partnering with us in this gospel ministry. Keep on the look-out for this newsletter in your email every third Saturday of the month. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.
We would love to have you visit our Facebook Page "Mission to Montevideo," where you will find Uruguayan cultural tidbits, ministry updates and current prayer requests.
https://www.facebook.com/LovingUruguay