Ounces or grams?

Often I am asked the price of gas in Mexico or wherever we are currently living. I often have to sit and calculate that one. We buy gas by the gallon in the US but by the liter here in Puerto Rico as well as most Latin American countries. As we have traveled I am finding some interesting combinations of the English and Metric systems in the various places our husbands teach. For instance here in Puerto Rico the distances on the highways are listed in kilometers but the speed limit is in miles. I tend to associate the metric system with speaking Spanish (like in Mexico and Colombia) and often befuddle the clerk in the deli by asking for "doscientos gramos" of sliced ham in the Caribbean where they use the English system of pounds and ounces. I am now recognizing the confusion I have caused and quickly change my order, but sometimes "someone who speaks English" has already been fetched by the employee. It keeps me humble.

(posted by Marlene)

LATTE Missionary Wives

When people think about mission work, they usually think about the work the missionaries do to extend the message of salvation to the lost souls of the countries to which they have been sent. Sometimes not enough attention is given to the work that the wives of the missionaries do. The fact is that the wives of the missionaries give a very valuable contribution to the mission efforts. When their children are at home, they give their time to raising them in circumstances that are often very challenging. Often, in addition to taking care of their children, they also help their husbands with different aspects of their work as well. Such a missionary’s wife is Kathy. She has helped to raise five children who all grew up in our Latin American missions. In addition, she has always helped with the translation of many materials that her husband and other missionaries needed for their work as well as doing other secretarial jobs. Now that her husband is on the LATTE team, some of the valuable materials that she has translated from English to Spanish are:
- All three volumes of Our Great Heritage which contain doctrinal articles that are assigned to our seminary students for outside reading for the Dogmatics course and courses on the Lutheran Confessions.
- “Studies in the Augsburg Confessions” – the book used as a text for the Augsburg Confessions course
- Both volumes of “Prepared to Answer” which are used as outside reading assignments for the Evangelism course.
- Many other books, Bible studies and devotional materials
Kathy also helps by making frequent visits to the wives of the seminary students in order to encourage and help them in any way she can.
What a blessing is a missionary wife who loves her Lord and her Lord’s people as Kathy does. The same could be said for all the missionary wives that I know.

(posted by Professor Philip)

There is always room for improvement.

The following is taken from a post in a blog by Dr. Ray Dusseau, who is our liaison on the WELS Administrative Committee for Latin America. Thanks Ray.
I have been thinking about the advice of Merv Griffin:
"If it is not broken, fix it anyway."
Make your world interesting and enjoy the challenge of new opportunities. Check back from time to time and you can share the journey.

Tostones or Patacones?

When someone asks me if I speak Spanish I always say "Yes, but...." or "Sí, pero...." . I have spoken Spanish now for 30+ years and still put the "but" in there, as I know I have a US accent and make grammar mistakes. However, I also have other problems since I started traveling with my husband on his teaching trips. There is a variety of accent and vocabulary differences between areas of countries, but even more so between countries. For instance, what we called "patacones" ( a delicious snack made by frying and smashing and refrying plantains) in Colombia are called "tostones" in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. To top it off, if I can't catch what is said to me I respond with "¿mande?" which is only used in Mexico to ask for clarification. Then I often get a look like "are you sure you speak Spanish?" and I start to wonder myself if I do.

(posted by Marlene)

Not just seminary classes

LATTE professors don't only teach seminary classes and counsel students full time. Occasionally we get to preach a sermon and help out with the Sunday morning Bible class as well. Prof. Larry preaches on a Sunday morning in Humacao, Puerto Rico, where he is spending three months teaching seminary classes.


(Posted by Professor Larry)

Pray for Eric

Eric wants to study for the ministry. He studied our instruction course and was confirmed about a year ago by a pastor who lives several hundred miles away. Now Eric has two small groups that he has gathered around the Word and Sacraments. He wants to study more. But travel is very difficult. The other pastor is very busy. Is there another way?

We are going to try to teach Eric by "long distance learning" on the Internet. I e-mailed him a course. He is to answer the questions as he studies each lesson, then e-mail me the finished lesson for me to correct. There is one problem. Eric's country does not allow its citizens to own computers or to have an Internet connection. Eric does have access to a computer and the Internet at his job. But everything received and sent is filtered by the government. Will this work?

Pray for Eric.

(posted by Lorenzo)

We are LATTE

The LATTE team (Latin American Traveling Theological Educators) was organized and called to serve in July of 2003, and began its work of traveling and teaching the next January. We are an arm of the WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) under the administrative committee for Latin America of the Board for World Missions. We travel to serve in Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil as well as other countries. Our purpose is to serve the national churches of each country teaching theology to their ministerial candidates and church leaders.

We are a group of four professors with nearly 100 years of combined experience in Spanish-speaking missions: Professors Larry, Lorenzo,  Philip,  and Natán. We teach all branches of theology; Biblical, systematic, historical and practical. In each country we visit our purpose is the same: train present and future church leaders for the public ministry of their churches. We firmly believe that our pastors need a complete and in-depth education so we offer a complete course of seminary studies to instruct the candidates for all the challenges that we face as laborers in our Lord’s vineyard. We give classes in the Biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek. We include instruction in hermeneutics (the interpretation of the Scriptures) so that the pastors can teach any part of the Bible with authority and certainty. We offer classes in the whole Bible, some parts exegetically, where we see all the verses and each word in detail. 

There are also practical studies in homiletics, pedagogy and all aspects of pastoral work. We study the history of God’s people from the creation of the world till the present. And Bible doctrine receives special attention in dogmatics courses. God’s word tells us that a pastor must be “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2), and able “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). We request your prayers for God’s blessings on our team and our work.

LATTE team

from left to right: Professors Ralph, Natán, Larry, Lorenzo, and Philip