A Home Run – Part 2

Eighty years ago, July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig approached the microphone before a sold-out crowd at Yankee Stadium to deliver what has been called, “baseball’s Gettysburg Address.” He was only 36 years old, but he was forced to retire due to a neuromuscular disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (A.L.S.). Most people in North America know it as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was known as “Baseball’s Iron Man,” holding the record at that time for playing in 2,130 consecutive games, a record that would stand for another 56 years. He also held the record for most career grand slams (23). This would be his last public appearance. His words echoed over the stadium’s public address system, “For the past two weeks, you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” As he stepped back from the microphone, the band played, “I Love You Truly.” Babe Ruth walked over and hugged his friend, the crowd cried out, “We love you, Lou,” as Gehrig wiped tears from his eyes with a handkerchief. The New York Times description the next day called it “one of the most touching scenes ever witnessed on a ball field.”

On a personal note, I have many times reflected on God’s blessing on my life. While the sentiment is the same, I don’t consider myself lucky. God, who is sovereign, has blessed me in ways too many to describe. Like Gehrig, I have literally wiped tears from my eyes as I consider God’s smile of favor upon my life. One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Psalm 67, a prayer for God’s blessings. God used this passage in my life as I stepped out of pastoral ministry into my role as Director of EMU International. What was it that gripped me so tightly that I was compelled to make such a monumental ministry pivot? The realization that the blessings of God have missional implications. (Psalm 67:1-2) God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. 2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

Several times this past month I have spoken with ministry friends about how grateful I am to be a part of EMU International, a ministry with an incredible heritage. I believe we have an All-Star team of missionaries and support staff. At this point, I could describe for you any of our missionary families. For this article, I want to focus on our four Uruguayan nationals who I had the privilege of spending five weeks with from May 15 – June 19. Pedro Donzé and his wife, Paty, were joined by Carlos and Beatriz Silvera. Pedro is our Camp Director at Camp Emmanuel in Guazavirá, Uruguay. In an unofficial capacity, Paty assists Pedro working behind the scenes at the camp. Beatriz serves as a volunteer office assistant, and her husband, Carlos, assists in the maintenance and grounds.

In last month’s newsletter, I described how I had four goals for our Uruguayan missionaries, four bases that we wanted to touch. If we hit all four bases, then their trip would be considered a home run. 1) Camp at the Wilds. 2) Connect with Churches, 3) Connect with Ministry Partners, 4) See the USA.

In addition to their 10,174 miles in the air, we covered another 6,023 miles on the road, crossing seventeen states as we saw the USA. We spent two full weeks at the Wilds Christian Camp in Brevard, North Carolina. We visited and ministered in eight different churches. We also made many connections with ministry partners and friends. In those five weeks together, we were able to touch all of the bases.

As we visited and ministered in different churches, I wanted Pedro to share his testimony in English. Since he speaks very little English, this was a huge challenge for him, but it was such a blessing for each of the churches to hear him share his heart as he shared his testimony.

Pedro said, “I went to church from childhood, thanks to the fact that my mother and grandmother sought God. My grandmother came to know the gospel first. She then took my mother and me to church with her.” He said that from a very early age, he understood that he was a sinner and that Christ died for him, but he wasn’t really born again until he was twelve years old. He put it this way, “I sincerely repented of my sins, of everything that I was, and gave my life to Christ.” That was in January of 1987 at Camp Emmanuel. He declared, “I understand that I was born again there because things started to change. When I arrived home from camp, I remember that I began to tell people that Christ was my Savior.” He stated that what changed his life was when he started to study the Bible for himself. “I started having my Bible reading and prayer time on a regular basis, and it was my priority to identify what God told me in the Bible and my sinful habits. My life was transformed inside and out.” He described his call to the ministry, “At camp in 1988, I dedicated my life to the Lord. In a missionary class, I understood that I had to serve the Lord, and I said, ‘I want to serve You, I want to dedicate all my life to You.’ Thus, I began to serve God as a teenager. At fifteen, I took the step of obedience of baptism, showing everyone publicly that Christ was my Savior and Lord.”

Pedro’s work experience is unusual in that he began working when he was thirteen. He started working first in accounting and later as a computer programmer. At age seventeen he was employed by Citi Bank, and for 13 years he had a very good career. In the back of his mind, he still wanted to study at the EMU Bible Institute, but the timing wasn’t right. God was preparing Pedro in another way. “The harvest is great, but the laborers are few,” was a verse that continued to gnaw at Pedro. He wanted to serve God in a full-time way, but God was preparing him for a unique future ministry.

Pedro described it this way, “God knew my desire to serve and to prepare, but humanly I could not. I did not have time. Work at Citi Bank did not allow it – it was a full-time job. I began to pray for the Lord to open the doors so that we could get out of the situation we were in. We had bought our house through the bank and had to make significant payments. To leave the bank was an unthinkable option because we needed the money.”

God eventually provided the needed finances which allowed Pedro to resign from the bank and focus on the Bible Institute. When his wife Paty got sick, he needed to return to work. This time, God provided an even better job with much more flexibility. He began work with the stock exchange. He told his employer in his interview that he needed a schedule that would allow him to study in the Bible Institute, because his desire was to serve God full-time. They agreed to his schedule and even allowed him the flexibility of taking time off to work at Camp Emmanuel.

When he finished the Bible Institute, he began to work full-time with EMU in Uruguay. He currently serves on the Board of Directors in Uruguay. He oversees the finances and administration of our mission office. He is an active leader in Gethsemane Church, the church he has attended since he was six years old. When time permits, he assists in teaching at the Bible Institute. As has already been mentioned, one of his chief roles is serving as the Camp Director of Camp Emmanuel. Pedro says, “This is the place where I made the most important decisions of my life. It is a great honor to serve God at Camp Emmanuel.”

Thanks to an invitation by Camps Abroad, the international mission arm of the Wilds Christian Camp, the five of us were able to attend staff training week. We also were privileged to see camp in action as we attended the first full week of camp.

Following staff training week, which I described in last month’s newsletter, we took advantage of some free time on Saturday morning to get caught up on some rest. As a special treat for the Uruguayans, Rick Jensen took us shooting at the Rifle Range at the camp. We then left after lunch and traveled to Columbia, South Carolina, where we spent the night at the home of ministry friends Bob and Mary Chisholm.

Sunday morning, we left early to drive an hour and a half to Bamberg, South Carolina, where we visited Open Door Baptist Church and met their new pastor, Jim Williams. This small rural church supports several EMU national missionaries, including Pedro and Paty, and Joshua and Amy Jensen in Cambodia. Pedro shared his testimony and I preached. We then enjoyed lunch with the pastor and his wife before traveling back to camp.

We had been praying that the Lord would provide a translator for the week of camp. On our way back up I-26, I received a message from Theresa Bixby that Yani Juve (left) was available. This was a huge answer to our prayers. We picked her up and made it back to camp just fifteen minutes before the gate was shut.
The first full week of camp proved to be everything that we had expected. There were approximately 1,000 campers in attendance. We can only accommodate 124 campers in our cabins at Camp Emmanuel. Though there is a huge size difference, our philosophy of ministry and program are very similar. We were able to participate in the teen camp program with Will Galkin as the main speaker and also in the junior camp program with Bob Roberts as the main speaker.

Throughout the week, Rick Jensen showed us the behind-the-scenes operation of the Wilds. We met a couple of times to talk about the plan for Rick’s annual work trip for this coming October, 2019.

Pedro’s Wish List for October 2019 projects and their estimated costs.

1) Repair the bathroom partitions ($890)
2) New stainless steel shelves for the kitchen ($6,100)
3) Convert the old water tank into a storage area for games and supplies ($575)
4) Concrete work on the sidewalks for Cabins 1 – 4 ($2,915)
5) Concrete work on the floors in the cabins ($848)
6) Security bars for cabins 7 and 8, and for the Dining Room ($1,860)
7) Painting the security bars ($585)
8) Improvements to the game area, including a climbing wall ($2,615)
9) Maintenance of current game structures ($630)
10) Installation of new screen and projector in the chapel ($830)
11) Installation of air conditioning in Dining Room and Chapel ($5,845)
Total: $23,693

He also would love to see us tackle two big projects.
1) Two new cabins constructed from shipping containers ($23,915)
2) Remodeling the barbecue area ($7,860)
Big Projects Total: $31,775

Needless to say, accomplishing all of these goals will require God’s provision of funds and workers. If you would like to contribute, visit EMU International website’s give page for Camp Emmanuel Projects: https://emuinternational.org/give-now/uruguay-camp-emmanuel/ If you or someone you know would be interested in more information on helping with a work team, you can email us at office@emuinternational.org.

It was a dreary, rainy morning when we packed our rented Toyota Sienna mini-van and left the Wilds. As we approached the exit, we read the words on the back of the welcome sign, (2 Timothy 3:14) But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned. It was a great reminder, not only for our missionaries who had gleaned so much during the past two weeks but to every camper whose life has been changed through the ministry of the Wilds.

Our journey took us on US-64 across Western North Carolina into Tennessee. We met Pastor Tom Gabbard of Reformed Baptist Fellowship in Lewisburg for lunch. In addition to the Donzés, his church also supports the Farmers, missionaries to Cambodia. Lewisburg is named after the famous explorer Merriweather Lewis. It is a small rural town with a population around 11,000, located about an hour south of Nashville. Our schedule would not allow us to attend a service, but we were so glad that we could connect with the pastor.

After a good night’s rest in Paducah, Kentucky, we left Saturday morning for Kansas. We stopped for lunch at Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri. The restaurant is known as “Home of Throwed Rolls.” In the early days when the restaurant was much smaller, there was not enough room to easily get the hot rolls (5 inches in diameter) to the customers. One person yelled, “throw ‘em!” So, they did. The tradition continues to this day. The portions for the main entrees and sides are enormous. I wanted our missionaries to experience the food and atmosphere. None of us were disappointed.

After lunch, we drove another seven hours across Missouri into Kansas and arrived at the home of Doug and Donna Williams in Waverly, Kansas. This would be our home for the next three nights. The Williams have been supporters of our ministry in Uruguay, particularly Camp Emmanuel, for many years. We were a long way from EMU’s headquarters in the Greenville, South Carolina area, but we were determined to make the journey to see these special ministry friends.

On Sunday, we ministered at Peniel Bible Church in Waverly, Kansas, pastored by David Cochran. Pedro shared his testimony and ministry videos. When I began to preach, I saw three people enter the back of the auditorium. I looked at Pedro and said, “Look who just walked in!” It was Britt and Pat Hopper and their son Titus. Britt and Titus have been to Uruguay several times to work at Camp Emmanuel. Britt saw on Facebook that we were in Kansas, so he and his family drove two hours to join us at church for the morning service and lunch fellowship.

After a brief nap on Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed our time with Doug and Donna as each of our missionaries shared their testimonies. It was also neat to hear the Williams’ story and how God has blessed their family. They have been good friends with the Jensens over the years. George Jensen served their church years ago by providing pulpit supply when their pastor was recovering from a heart attack.

It was also a privilege to connect with their son, Darin, and his wife, Nancy. They own and operate D&N Ag Farms, farming 2,000 acres of non-GMO diverse cash crops. They also raise free-range chickens and British White Cattle. We enjoyed learning about their operation.

Tuesday, we met Pastor Cochran for lunch and then drove to St. Louis where we stopped at Malcolm Martin Park, on the Mississippi River, for a few photos of the Gateway Arch. We then drove across Illinois, taking the back roads into Indiana where we would meet Pastor John Goldfuss, our host for the next couple of nights in Kingman, Indiana. On Wednesday, Pastor John took us to visit Camp Assurance in Georgetown, Illinois. We learned a lot about their camp philosophy and program from Scott Randolph, who has served as the director of the camp for the past thirty years. As we toured the camp, we felt like we were back at Camp Emmanuel in Uruguay. We were also privileged to connect with Mark Kittrell, the speaker for the week. Mark is a good personal friend who serves as the director of Pacific Rim Missions International, a board very similar to EMU with a focus of training nationals. That evening we shared the ministry of Camp Emmanuel with Pastor John’s church, Waterman Baptist Church. Their church currently supports Kornel and Tanja Crnković, missionaries to Croatia.

Thursday was another highlight of the trip as we visited the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky, a theme park like none other. At first glance, we were amazed at the enormous size of the replica of Noah’s Ark. It is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. The park was spotlessly clean. Following a delicious buffet lunch, we enjoyed a casual stroll through the Ark – an educational experience with lifelike exhibits, movies, and timelines.

That evening Patricia Camacho, a friend from Uruguay who now lives and ministers in the USA, invited us to stay at Good News Ministries in Indianapolis, Indiana. We were housed in one of the empty duplexes, which are a part of Good News Ministries’ Family Shelter. Founded 70 years ago, the rescue mission is making an eternal difference in the lives of disadvantaged people by sharing the gospel and providing assistance of shelter, food, clothing, medical care, and educational opportunities.

We really enjoyed our time on Friday as we visited Grace Baptist Church in Muncie, Indiana, and Pastor Rory Bond. From 1996-2000, our family lived in Muncie, and I served on staff at the church. It was fun to drive around town and reminisce. For lunch, it was as if we jumped in a time machine. Pastor Rory took us to a remodeled gas station out in the country that has been turned into a 50’s style diner.

We then drove across the beautiful Amish country of Northern Indiana where we met Jim and Pam Kintigh, former EMU missionaries to Uruguay. They had arranged for us to stay in a gorgeous house on Dewart Lake. Their children and grandchildren joined us for supper and then treated us to a relaxing pontoon ride.

Saturday, we traveled to Muskegon, Michigan, where we enjoyed lunch with Jim and Cindy Snead, who are faithful supporters of Camp Emmanuel. As we left Muskegon, we stopped for a few photos at the state park. The beautiful sand dunes and miles of beach reminded Carlos of Uruguay. That evening we met my good friend, Pastor Chuck Rawsthorne, who had arranged lodging for us in Mattawan at the home of former missionaries Tom and Linda Schallhorn.

Sunday, we drove to Onondaga, Michigan, just south of Lansing, where we ministered at Childs Bible Church, pastored by John Isham. This church has a long relationship with EMU and supports the Donzé family. That evening we were back at Pastor Rawthorne’s church, Faith Baptist Church in Mattawan. It was great to introduce the church family to Pedro’s ministry and also the entire ministry of EMU International. Monday would be a long day driving back to Greenville, so we got a jump on our trip by driving a couple of hours before staying in a hotel that night. During the five weeks that we were together, thanks to the gracious hospitality of so many ministry friends, we only had to stay in hotel rooms two times.

The drive home, though long, was pleasant as we reflected back on our time together. It seemed like it was just yesterday that they were arriving at the Greenville Spartanburg Airport. Our journey began thirty-six days earlier. We covered 6,023 miles across seventeen states, eight churches visited, and many other connections made with pastors and ministry partners. We had touched all of the bases. Pedro’s trip to the USA was a home run.

In a follow-up email, Pedro wrote, “These are moments that I will remember all of my life. My eyes fill with tears of joy for what God allowed us to experience. We are grateful for all who made this trip a success.”

Thank you to all who prayed for our trip and those who helped support us financially. To view Pedro’s family video, the Camp Emmanuel Promo, and our Facebook photo album visit https://pastorjeffdavis.com/pedro. †