Five Children Baptized

“To be sure, children are brought to Baptism by the faith and work of others; but when they get there and the pastor or baptizer deals with them in Christ’s stead, it is He who blesses them and grants them faith and the kingdom of heaven. For the word and act of the pastor are the Word and the work of Christ himself.” 

(What Luther Says, Vol. 1, p. 51, 141) 

When LATTE professors first came to Bolivia, the doctrine of infant baptism was not being clearly taught or practiced. When the LATTE professors began to teach this doctrine and show the great importance of putting it into practice, they met with some resistance. A family with five children who regularly attend worship services at Redeemer Lutheran congregation had never had any of their children baptized because they thought that it was not necessary to do so. After much instruction from Scripture with an emphasis on the spiritual benefits that come with baptism, the parents of these five children finally agreed to have their children baptized. 

What a joyful moment it was when five precious children received this precious gift which has granted them the benefits of the forgiveness of their sins, becoming members of the family of God and having the assurance of a home in Heaven once this life is over. 

Go to www.welsinbolivia.blogspot.com for more details.

Thanksgiving Blessings

LATTE gives thanks for the faithful service of its professors who travel far from home, stay in less than ideal circumstances and serve our Lord by training men to serve as leaders of their churches. 

Also for recent trips to the Carribean, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil where we had the opportunity to carry out our calling with zealous and excited students who are eager to serve their Savior. 

Also for the new plan underway in Colombia to train even more nationals and to prepare one of them to fully participate in this training.

Maté Doce

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Ingredients:

• 5 T Sugar
• 3 T Chocolate Power 
• 3 T Water
• 1 Liter Milk
• 1 1/2 Cup Coconut
• Bomba (Portuguese) / Bombilla (Spanish)
• A tube or drinking straw with a strainer at one end, especially for drinking maté (tea) and is a custom to share with others

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 Directions:

1. Mix sugar, chocolate powder, & water together
2. Add milk when sugar, chocolate, & water form a paste
3. Boil for 10 minutes & stir occasionally
4. Pour coconut into a thick cup
5. Insert bomba into coconut
6. Pour hot mixture into a tall cup
7. Cool for 5-10 minutes
8. Drink & share

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Recipe provided by Geiciely & Karla, members of Star of Bethlehem in Dourados, MS, Brazil. A hot drink on a cool winter day.

Update from the Caribbean

The Lord continues to provide believers and to bless the work being done in the Caribbean. A teaching trip was completed this October to one of the Spanish speaking countries with the objective to teach the Psalms and to do sermon text studies.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican mission field has experienced many great blessings in the first half of this year. The members and workers there are passionate about the gospel and have a great mindset for evangelism. The pastor in Santiago has been considered capable by two LATTE pastors of teaching seminary-level courses to his fellow Dominicans. The Dominican field receives no subsidy at the present.

Haiti

The Haitian outreach has also experienced tremendous blessings this year. The connections with Haitian orphanages have resulted in 62 orphans receiving saving faith through the washing of Holy Baptism. It is the hope that the current partnerships and other orphanage leaders can continue and even expand (with the hope of also reaching out to an additional area) so that more souls may be reached and may hear the gospel in a country where voodoo and other false practices are the norm.

LATTE's work focuses on Spanish-speaking countries plus Haiti. WELS also serves English-speaking countries of the Caribbean -- Antigua, Grenada, and St Lucia.

Committed to Serve

Seminarian Carlos serves a congregation in the Caribbean as a Student-Pastor. Currently, he receives his ministerial training by visiting LATTE Professors while continuing to serve his congregation of 41 members, of which four are children, 31 women, and 10 men. 

Student-Pastor Carlos & LATTE Professor Natán

Tell us about your congregation. 

I have a beautiful congregation named Gethsemane. Our worship services are at 10 am, and Bible studies are carried out three times a week. We also have a Bible institute with five students. The services are offered in the Pastor's house. We have a Board of Directors, with a President, Co-pastor, Secretary and Treasurer. Every December 25th we hold a special service with various activities. 

What are your goals or plans for the future? 

My plans and goals en the future are to establish a new congregation in a larger city, since I plan to reside there in the future, and thereby have a central house of the Lutheran Church in order to then establish new missions. All of this with the help of the Lord. 

How do you hope to serve? 

My plans for future service are to work full-time as a Pastor and relocate to the larger city, which is where right now there is a need to work with more effort. 

My favorite Bible passage: 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
-- John 3:16

Mexico Update

Monterrey, México

 In September, the Mexican Lutheran Church (IELC) celebrated its 20th annual national convention at the Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) congregation in Monterrey. National pastors and delegates attended from throughout the country, coming from as far away as northern Sonora and the Yucatán peninsula. For the first time an online ministry meeting was held the day before the convention to discuss how to coordinate the various ministries being carried out in a number of the congregations. For the first time the average weekly worship attendance is over 400. 

Go to www.lutheransinmexico.com for more details.

"Lord, it is good for us to be here!"

Echoing Peter's reaction to Jesus' Transfiguration (Matthew 17), a small group of pastors and evangelists of the Brazilian Lutheran Church (ILB) met on October 10 and 11 to bask in our Lord's glory through study of his Word.  Despite an 8 hour drive for one pastor and a 22 hour bus ride for another, the fellowship, encouragement and renewal in the gospel was worth the effort.  In my role as WELS Friendly Counselor to the ILB, I had the privilege to attend, and -- despite a four day delay between flights to get here -- I agree it was worth the effort.  It was good to be here!

I shared a study on 1 Kings 19:9-18, reminding us that God continues to work through his "still, small voice" in the gospel to save sinners.  Pastor Roberto, an ILB home missionary in Presidente Prudente, led us in a discussion on evangelism.  Pastor Elcy of Jesus Salvador congregation in Gravatai, guided our review of lay ministry.  And Pastor Charles of Estela de Belem congregation in Dourados, provided a summary of ILB history from 1986 to 2011 and opened the discussion for future plans under God's grace.

But just as Peter, James and John could not stay because there was still work to be done, we also "came down from the mountain" to return to our ministries -- refreshed and renewed.  For me, that means a few weeks of study with Evangelist Gilberto reviewing what the Bible says about Church and Ministry, and then guiding members of our Administrative Committee of Latin American missions on a field visit in the beginning of November.

Pastor Elcy, Pastor Roberto, Volunteer Missionary Charlie, 

LATTE Missionary Natán, & Evangelist Gilberto 

Thank you, Jesus, for our time together with you and each other!