Between Borders

This month, Professor Natán and I departed our home in México to visit the Lutheran Church in Brazil. Our flight itinerary took us from México through Peru and then Bolivia to Brazil. While changing plans in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the airline notified us of a problem with our Brazilian visas and would not allow us to board the plan. We were stuck between borders.

As it was 3:00 am on a Saturday morning, we had to wait until Monday morning to visit the local Brazilian Consulate. We did take advantage of the wait and visited some Inca ruins outside the city.

We met with an agent at the Brazilian Consulate as planned and filled out the initial paperwork for a new Brazilian Tourist visa.  The next step was to find a local photo studio to get passport-size photos taken and go to a specific bank to pay the fee to process the visa.  We returned to the Consulate with the photos and payment receipt from the bank.  After we answered a few more questions, the agent told us to return the following day.  We spent the afternoon making new travel arrangements with our stateside travel agent through the Internet via Skype and emailed our contacts in Brazil.

The next day, we went to the Consulate, reviewed the final documentation, signed a couple of papers, and left with new visas in hand. Our new Brazilian visas have a later expiration period as well as a longer maximum stay.

Our 3-hour layover in Bolivia turned into a 4-day adventure. We are thankful to God for his protection during this unexpected delay and that there was a Brazilian Consulate in Santa Cruz that processed ours visas so quickly.

Go to here for more details on this journey.

Trip to Apolo Update

(Update regarding previous post - "Man proposes - God disposes")

There was a strike in the city the day we returned.  The strikers started to block all the roads going in and out of the city at 5:30 a.m. just after we arrived.  If we had arrived a half an hour later, we would not have been able to enter La Paz and would have had to find someplace to stay outside the city until the strike was over.  The Lord is good!

Photo provided by www.netglobers.com.

Man proposes – God disposes

Trip to Apolo

Road to Apolo

One of my duties in Bolivia is to visit the national church congregations that are located in outlying areas of Bolivia in order to strengthen our fellowship ties and also to see if there might be some potential theological education students who could study with us.  The first trip was to Santa Cruz.  This month another trip was planned to the outlying area of Apolo.  There is a saying that man proposes but God disposes.  That clearly turned out to be the case in this instance.  My wife, Kathy and I, Julio, the pastor of Redeemer Congregation in La Paz, Julián and his wife, Ana all headed out for the town of Apolo in the mission car at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15.  

Julián & Ana

Stop for Lunch

We were told that the total length of the trip would be around 12 hours.  We had traveled for 7 hours when it became evident that the car was losing power.  I stopped the car to check the oil and to see if there was any other evident problem.  Once the car had stopped, I attempted to put the car in Park, but found that the gearshift lever was jammed.  Then I made an inadvertent mistake.  I turned the motor off in order to check the oil.  I found that both the motor oil and the transmission oil levels were ok, so the decision was made to try to keep going to the next town in order to try to find a mechanic who could look the car over.  However, when I tried to start the car, I found that I could not do so since the car, having an automatic transmission, will only start with the gearshift lever in Park.  More efforts were made to get the gearshift lever to move, but to no avail.  A mechanic in La Paz was called and he made some suggestions, but nothing worked. 

Finally the decision was made to call the insurance company and ask that a tow truck be sent.  The insurance company told us that the only two trucks available were in La Paz, 7 hours away.  Since there didn’t seem to be any other alternative, we asked that one be sent.  Meanwhile we began to pray that a car with a mechanic would stop and help us out.  None came.  We were on a very isolated stretch of road.  A vehicle would pass about once every half hour.   

Fog Rolling In

Since a special invitation had been made by the president of the Apolo congregation to attend their yearly voting assembly, it was felt that it was very important that at least some members of the group still try to get to Apolo by hitching a ride or by flagging down a bus that was headed in that direction.  At 5:30 p.m. a bus picked up Julio, Julián and Ana.  Kathy and I stayed in the car to wait for the tow truck from La Paz.  Around 7:00 p.m. a heavy fog moved in and surrounded the car.  It was clear that our trust in the Lord was being tested.  What if another vehicle smashed into us?  What if thieves held us up?  We put the reflector triangle behind the car and also turned on the blinker lights whenever we saw the lights of a car approaching from either direction.  Since the road we were on was high in the mountains, as night fell it began to get very cold, and of course we could not use the heater of the car to warm us up.  Since Apolo is located at a lower and warmer altitude, we had each only brought along a light jacket. 

Fog

The tow truck finally showed up at 10:00 p.m.  The driver was a mechanic and tried to get the gearshift lever to move, but was unable to do so.  The only option was to take the car back to La Paz.  They pulled the car up onto the flatbed of the tow truck.  Since three men had come in the tow truck, there was no room for us to ride in the truck.  So, we sat up in the car for the ride back to La Paz.  The car was comfortable and has reclining front seats, but the downside was the cold.  The ride back to La Paz took another 7 hours and we finally got in at 5:30 a.m.  We thank the Lord that He was with us throughout this ordeal and that He got us back home safely.  Our trust is that His plans are always best.  

Go to www.welsinbolivia.blogspot.com/2011/09/traveling for addtional details.

Colorblind

Retired Missionary Charlie and Beth Flunker share details on returning home to Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul where they serving Igreja Luterana Brasileira – The Brazilian Lutheran Church as active volunteers.

When was the last time you thought about the color of your skin? I'm guessing that most of you live in places where one skin color predominates, and people of another race and skin color are few. You might have some in your congregation or neighborhood, but they are the minority. As you might well imagine, different colors of skin are the rule in mission work, and often it is the missionary who is the minority.

Charlie and I just returned from our annual visit to the US. The trip was very interesting! In the Chicago airport, waiting for our flight, we observed the people. That airport has many international flights, and we began to see people of many different nationalities. When we finally decided to sit down in the gate area of our flight, we begin to interact with the many Brazilians, who are returning home from the US. This interaction continues on the plane. The Brazilians often take us for Germans, who are the light-skinned and light-haired people living in Brazil, so we always have a ready-made conversation starter.

Once in the bus station we see a wider variety of skin colors. Everyone uses the efficient and comfortable bus system in Brazil. There are business people, students, store owners with huge sacks of merchandise going back to their small towns after the buying trip to the big city, old people going visiting, whole families, and actually people moving all their belongings in large feed sacks. We can pick out the Bolivians, who have noticeable facial characteristics, and who are returning to their homes just across the frontier from Brazil. Here, as well as in the 15 hour bus trip home, we see all skin tones and walks of life.

This all happened from Wednesday to Friday of last week. So it was rather unique that Gilberto, our evangelist, preached a sermon on Sunday that was based on Peter's vision of the sheet full of unclean animals, and the lesson that Peter learned from it. God does not look at people's skin color, He just wants to find faith in their hearts. So it is important for us to accept one another, and to reach out to all people, because if God doesn't see any difference in skin color or social level, neither should we. Wonderful reminder to get back to work here in the mission field in Brazil!!

We pray that you have also learned this lesson, that a soul is a soul, no matter the external covering, and all souls are tainted with sin and need a Savior. May the Lord bless your mission spirit!

Trip to Santa Cruz

When the national church here in Bolivia asked us to come to live in Bolivia and work with them, they had a number of purposes in mind for us.  One was to help them become a truly confessional church body.  Another thing they want me to do is visit some of the outlying areas where there are congregations that are part of the national church.  

During these visits our intention is to see how these congregations are doing doctrinally and also see if there might be some potential students who could be trained for ministry.

Recently we made our first trip to one of these congregations that is located in the city of Santa Cruz.  We found that the congregation has a fairly large property, but the congregation itself is quite small.  

It is made up of women and children and is led by a woman named Margarita.  Margarita welcomed us warmly and was very appreciative of the doctrine we had come to share with her.

She told us that she wishes the national church could send a pastor who could work full time at evangelism and teaching the Word to those whom the Holy Spirit gathers.  That is something the national church will be considering in the near future.

Across the Miles

"So, where are you off to this time?" I ask my husband Missionary Lorenzo. 

"To Bolivia," he answers, "for three weeks."

"We can keep in touch by Skype," he says.

We do keep in touch by Skype, but it still proves to be a long three weeks. I pray for his safety in his travels, the Lord's blessings on the work and that nothing major happens to the car or washing machine while he is gone. I entrust him and myself in the Lord's hands.

So often people ask what I do while my husband is gone. Well, I still do the normal things like laundry (although not as much), snow shoveling or lawn mowing, depending on the season, and keeping things afloat during his absence.

My weeks are full even though I don't have a paying job outside of the home. 

• Monday and Friday - I babysit our 4 year old granddaughter
• Tuesdays or Thursdays - I am a counselor at our pregnancy counseling center
• Wednesday - I volunteer at Michigan Lutheran Seminary

That gives me a day or two to shop or whatever and Sundays to have the family over for dinner.

Then I pray for his safe return.

Arrived Safely in Bolivia

Kathy and I have now arrived safely in La Paz, Bolivia.  Guillermo, the president of the church put us up in a small apartment that he owns until we can get a place of our own.  The apartment does not have internet service, however.  So I am writing this from the hotel where Missionary Lorenzo is staying. Guillermo promised that he would get us set up with internet service soon.  The apartment also does not have a phone.  We purchased a cheap cell phone, but still have to get it registered before we can use it.  

Our first day of activities include:

• Installing Wireless USB internet connection -- it is slow, but workable  

• Registering our cell phone

• Finding out that our residence visa paperwork will take at least one month to process

• Receiving a personal guia (guide) from Guillermo to accompany us on all our errands to receive our visa

• Meeting the lawyer who will be helping us get our visa

• Making copies of passports, getting photos taken, etc... for visa paperwork

• Meeting with the lawyer again to get started on obtaining the two required good conduct certificates for our visa

Missionary Philip and Kathy recently moved from Santiago, Dominican Republic. Learn more about our new mission in Bolivia at www.welsinbolivia.blogspot.com.

No Hay

In early February, we spent the entire day trying to advance work on our Bolivian visas.  We got up at 4:30 am to get the early bus to Santo Domingo.  When we got there the line for the bathroom was quite long, so we walked across the street to use the bathroom in the mall.  Now came the first clue of the day!  All of the cleaning ladies were standing in front of the men's bathroom and wouldn't let Philip in.  He asked politely to get by, but they kept saying, "No hay - there is none" No hay servicio -there is no service, No hay entrada - there is no entrance".  First clue of the day!!

Then we got a taxi to the Bolivian consulate.  We found it and got in without any problem.  She looked over our papers and we were quite hopeful of a positive answer.  She said, "All your papers look good.  You have everything you need.  Everything seems to be in order".  So just as we were getting our hopes up, (GASP!!) she speaks those two dreaded words -- No hay - there is none!!   No hay timbres - there are no stamps!  No hay sellos - there are no seals!  She said it would be about 10 - 15 days until she expected to receive more stamps and seals from Bolivia!

So, on to step three.  Since we are going to have to wait for them to get their supplies, we decided to go to the US Consulate to see about getting additional pages put into our passports.  We had to wait a couple of hours until that specific office opened.  When we got up to the window, the lady looked at our papers and said everything looked ok.  She could do it right away, but (GAAASP!!)  NO HAY cajero - there is no cashier!!  The cashier had gone home for the day.  Come back on Monday!!!

So after a 14 hour day, five hours on the bus, six taxis around town, and one meal - No hay - there is none!

This past Friday, Missionary Philip and Kathy received their entrance visas for Bolivia after two additional trips from Santiago to Santo Domingo.

Dehydration

My recent trip to Colombia after leaving 27 years ago was wonderful!  However, I was in serious danger of dehydration from shedding tears by the end of the trip. 

I shed tears of joy at seeing the now mature Christians teaching, preaching and sharing the gospel with others.  I shed tears of joy to again hear the enthusiastic singing of old, familiar hymns that we sang with them 3 decades ago.  I shed tears of joy to see the many, many new believers (many gained through the gospel message delivered by the pastor and members who were just children or adolescents new in the faith in our time there).  I felt a wonderful joy at seeing the members lovingly caring for each other, their church building and sanctuary.

Medellin - Full Church, Full Heart

Reunions with dear friends in the faith were so emotional,  joy at seeing them and sadness remembering the many friends and family killed by the violence the country has had to suffer the last decades. Almost all have lost a child, husband, sibling and/or parent.  In some cases, there was consolation in knowing the person involved is now with our Lord.  Other times, the relative is still grieving because of the doubt as to the eternal destination of their loved one.  What a testimony that was to the urgency of sharing the gospel!

Bogota - New Christian Friends

Then came the tears of departure!  It was so hard to say goodbye so soon to these wonderful warm Christian people with whom we just had reunited or newly met. It was consoling for them and for us to know that if this was our last opportunity to see them face to face on earth, we could look forward to a wonderful, glorious reunion in Heaven!

 

Remain Calm

"Place the oxygen mask over your nose and mouth. Breathe normally. Remain calm."

Anyone who has ever flown hears these words over and over again before the plane leaves the ground. But they are not the words you want to hear when the plane has reached cruising altitude.

On a recent flight, our plane had reached 25,000 feet and we were expecting the flight to go well when the pilot announced that the plane was losing pressure. The pilot started a steep decline and the oxygen masks fell out of the ceiling. As everyone worked at putting on the masks, the plane kept going down until we leveled out at 10,000 feet. After about 15 minutes we were allowed to take off the oxygen masks.


At that time, the man sitting next to me was visibly shaking. The first words he said were, "What if we had all died?" During the remaining portion of the flight I was able to tell him about the Savior. Jesus lived the perfect life we have not been able to live. He gives us that perfection which we have not earned and do not deserve. What happens to all the sins that we have already committed? Jesus paid for all of them with his innocent death on the cross. His perfect life and innocent death are all we need to enter heaven. And He gives them to us freely.

A frightening situation became the open door to talk to someone about the peace God gives us through faith in his Son Jesus. Now we do not need to fear death because we know what comes after this life ends. We can be calm, Jesus is there.

Missionary Philip and Kathy currently reside in the Dominican Republic.

Trip to Quibdó, Colombia

An historical event took place this month. For the first time in over 30 years a WELS missionary made a trip to the town of Quibdó, Colombia. A congregation of about 30 members from this town had been received into the fellowship of the Colombian national church a couple of months earlier. On a previous trip to Colombia, the congregation’s pastor, Elkin Alzate, had invited LATTE professor Philip to include a visit to Quibdó during his next trip to Colombia. The trip took place and Professor was able to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of our brothers in the faith who live there. He also took part in workshops and Bible studies during the afternoon and evening hours. In the pictures you can see Professor Philip leading the class, the group that studied with him as well as Pastor Elkin and his wife Eugenia.

(Posted by Prof. Philip)

LATTE continues training in the Dominican Republic

On Wednesday and Thursday of last week I traveled to the Dominican Republic with Pastor Robert Smith, the new chairman of the Administrative Committee for Latin America. We met with Missionary Professor Phil and the men with whom he is working there, training them for ministry. As you will have seen from previous blogs, the budget crunch in the WELS almost lost us Phil's position and we wanted to speak with him and his students to assure them of our continued support and of their professor's continued presence with them to finish their seminary training. The second picture shows student-pastor Alex speaking with Prof. Philip about the progress on the work on their new church property. Look for more pictures of this trip in the coming days.

(Posted by Larry)