My article as found in the EMU International March Newsletter
see complete newsletter here: http://emuinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Newsletter-2016-March-2.pdf
The date was Tuesday, February 9. Ken and I were staying at Campamento Emanuel, located in Guazuvirá Viejo, Uruguay, about an hour east of Montevideo. I began the day in prayer asking God to bless our efforts during those three weeks with my precious new friends. I woke early and opened my Bible and read in Acts, chapters 14-16. One of my favorite chapters in the book of Acts is chapter 16, where we read of Paul’s Macedonian call and the birth of the church at Philippi. One of the key statements about Paul’s ministry was his desire to be an encouragement to the churches. That was my desire, to be an encouragement to my new friends. My main link to my family and friends who were praying for me back home was my Facebook account. My post that morning read, “I awoke early to the sound of rain falling on the metal roof of the casita. Yesterday was hot and humid. Last night the rain finally arrived. I was encouraged to read this morning in Acts of the growth of the New Testament church. It is evident that God wants His gospel to spread to all nations. It is thrilling to visit the ‘uttermost parts of the earth’ and see that the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is still at work. Listening to the parrots chirping and the doves cooing as the sun rises, smelling the freshness of a night of rain, and sipping a cup of coffee, I cannot help but praise God for His mercies that are new every day.”
Ken and I began our trip to Uruguay on Wednesday, February 3. I had officially taken my new position with EMU just one month earlier. January was a busy month of trying to learn everything I could about the history, the personnel, and the policies and procedures of the mission. Much of our focus in our meetings that month had centered around the mission in Uruguay. EMU began in 1946 as Evangelical Mission to Uruguay. For seventy years this small South American country has been a major focus of our mission. EMU currently has forty-two, mostly national, missionaries in Uruguay. I have had the privilege of visiting Europe, Asia, and Central America, but this would be my first time in South America. On a dreary, rainy day, my wife Joanna and daughter Hannah dropped me off at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport where I met up with Ken for the beginning of our journey to the Southern-hemisphere. We weren’t sure what to expect when our first flight was cancelled, and we had to take a later flight. We had to rush a little more than we would have liked as we transferred flights, but eventually after a final, nine-hour flight through the night we arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. We had left Greenville in the middle of winter. Now, we were greeted with a nice summer breeze as we met up with Pedro Donze and Gaby Gomez. Both of these men serve as leaders of the mission. It was evident how much they love Ken as they each hugged him and then placed their right cheek on his cheek and kissed the air. Then an unusual thing happened. They hugged and kissed me also. I wasn’t used to that, but it didn’t take long for this to become a part of my regular greeting, even with strangers.
I immediately began to regret not taking Spanish. For the past month I had tried to cram in as much language learning as I could. I had visited websites, downloaded apps for my iPad and phone, watched YouTube videos, and checked out a couple of books on learning Spanish. I even had downloaded several books for my Kindle, but I discovered quickly that one month wasn’t long enough for me to learn the language. I’m thankful, though, that God helped me to communicate with these new friends. I did pick up some of the language along the way, but more importantly, we spoke the same language of love which is found in Jesus Christ.
When Ken asked me to write a little bit about my impressions from the trip, I immediately looked back over my journal. I realized that it would be impossible to share everything that God taught me on this trip in the space allowed. In the days ahead I will be sharing some of these thoughts on my personal blog. For this newsletter let me just say that upon returning home, I realized I had left a piece of my heart in that country I knew very little about until just a couple of months ago.
There are three main focuses of EMU. Our purpose statement reads, “The Purpose of EMU International is to bring glory to God by assisting churches and individuals in carrying out the Great Commission given to the Church Universal by our Lord Jesus Christ through ministries of evangelism, establishing indigenous churches, and training nationals to do the same.” I was fortunate to see all three of these purposes being carried out in Uruguay.
Upon arriving in Uruguay, we were taken to Campamento Emanuel. This served as our headquarters for our time in Uruguay. I was impressed by the amazing facilities of the camp. As Ken took me on a tour, I realized that we have very capable leadership in place. The buildings were well-maintained, and that requires a lot of work. Having worked for several years at the Wilds Christian Camp and having used the Camps Abroad material to assist in running camps overseas, I recognized the familiar philosophy that governed the camp. Each meal began by reciting 1 Corinthians 10:31 (in Spanish, of course). They even had reports for cabin clean-up, such as the one when one hair on a bed caused the cabin to receive a lower score. They had invited a pastor from Peru, Elías Huamán, to preach on the theme “Christians with a Missionary Vision in the 21st Century.” It was exciting to see and hear of many of the campers making decisions to commit to obeying the Great Commission.
We were able to participate in a week of Family Camp and the 4-day Workers’ Conference. One of the main focuses of our time in Uruguay was to interview our different missionaries. I thoroughly enjoyed my time getting to know these precious believers. To many Ken has been not only a director, but also a friend, even a brother. They have shared many life experiences together. I was privileged to learn about the ups and downs of their ministries and for a brief time share in their lives. I hope that in the days ahead I will be able to grow closer to my new friends. I was also privileged to spend a good bit of time with the Junta. (Junta is the Spanish word for Board and signifies the leadership of our mission in Uruguay.) These men are well educated and take their responsibilities seriously. One lady, Maria Teresa (Chicha) Rodriguez also serves on the Junta. She taught herself English and has for many years served as the main interpreter for guest speakers visiting Uruguay. She is a single missionary who has served the Lord’s church in Uruguay by assisting in the different churches. She is also a pioneer in producing children’s radio programs to reach little ones for Christ. She was a wonderful help to me during my time in Uruguay.
I was also privileged to preach in several of our churches. Journeying across the Uruguayan countryside and visiting the different towns was indeed a treat. I look forward to future opportunities to explore Uruguay. I was challenged to see the passion these believers have for learning and applying Bible truth. I look forward to their updates in the months ahead and of hearing of God’s good work in their churches and in their families.
Now that I am back in the USA, I look forward to continuing to learn and grow in my new position. With a little moist spot in the corner of my eye, I am grateful to God for allowing me to be a part of the EMU family. But I did have to apologize to a former church member I saw at the mall yesterday. I greeted her with a hug and kissed the air.