Following are three articles about South American missions. The first is a report from the leaders of the church in Paraguay. The second is an article by a member of the South Florida Church about her "member missionary" trip to Brasilia, Brazil. The third article is about a campus ministry couple from Gainesville who are preparing to move to Montevideo, Uruguay to help with the church there. These articles were posted on the website of the Florida Missions Council.
Editor's Note: Following are three articles about South American missions. The first is a report from the leaders of the church in Paraguay. The second is an article by a member of the South Florida Church about her "member missionary" trip to Brasilia, Brazil. The third article is about a campus ministry couple from Gainesville who are preparing to move to Montevideo, Uruguay to help with the church there. These articles were posted on the website of the Florida Missions Council.
News from Paraguay
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -- Asunci??n, Paraguay
"As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers." -- Acts 16:4-5
Just wanted to share with you what has been happening in the last 30 days since we made the decision to study, teach and practice the discipleship of one another and as the body of Christ. Things started to change surprisingly at the same time we started preaching about the commitment of each disciple to spread the salvation message everywhere we go. Sunday and mid-week's attendance has gone up since as well as the number of guests taking action when asked to study the Bible.
On August 25th, Sandra, an 18-year-old woman (from campus) got baptized. She is from the inside of the country and she is super excited for everything that God is doing in her life and the way He took care of her until she came to really meet/know Him through His word and join a family like the one we have in the Kingdom. She met some brothers who were on a singles activity/date (bowling) and from there she made the decision to come to church and study the Bible.
The campus Bible talks or family groups have been very challenging and exciting as well. We are meeting twice a week (Tuesday's and Thursday's) and we trust that very soon God will be moving men and women full of the Spirit who will be moving the entire university and enjoying great miracles through that ministry.
On September 1st, Juan Gabriel, a man who is looking to know God better through the scriptures, got baptized. He was able to know our church where he was able to see what God prepared for him. He was met by a couple at the Tacumbu Jail while they were visiting relatives they have there. From here they invited him to church and we started studying the Bible and now he is a disciple called to share the message of salvation. Now he is trying to motivate other brothers to come to visit the Jail, which some of us had the opportunity to do, and we were really touched/moved and at the same time encouraged to take God's message anywhere we go.
On September 6th, two men, Luis and Tomas, were baptized. Luis is an 18-year-old campus guy. He had the opportunity to know the scriptures through the Bible talks held by a brother while he was teaching some classes to 57 to 60 youngsters about how to register for college (university). At the same time, they are listening to some of God's word through our brother who is a Math/Algebra and Physics Professor. Tomas, also a college/campus student, works as a security guard. We studied with him for a little over a year and thanks to the power of God's word, today he is a disciple with a heart willing to leave everything behind to be a real follower.
Presently we are studying the Bible with three men and seven women. Among the men, there is the 80 year old man, Robustiano. His wife, Gilda, is one of the most faithful and consistent disciples in the church. Among the other ones are Aolfo, who is working on being restored, and Faustino, another 18-year-old college/campus guy. Among the women are Betina, Zuni, Mirna and Fatima Ferreira who decided to complete their restoration studies, and Diana, Deolinda and Raquel who are studying the Bible with the challenge to become disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ as soon as possible.
I plead for your prayers for these people to quickly become part of our great family in the Kingdom of God.
To God be the Glory!!!
Big hug to all and we hope we could motivate you with the news of what God's doing in every one of our countries.
Member Missionary Trip to Brasilia
Tricia Ramsey -- Miami, Florida
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" -- Hebrews 13:8
For me, one of the strongest testimonies to the power of God and the truth of his Word is that his church is the same no matter where you go -- in all nations, languages, and time periods. Even within the same city you can find differing opinions and teachings about how to follow God, be saved, etc. Yet when the Bible is truly the standard, it transcends culture.
I got the opportunity to witness this first hand on the Member Missionary Trip to Brasilia, Brazil. God worked in many ways in the city of Brasilia. When we arrived, the disciples there were so excited to meet and greet us, and also eager to inquire about the group that visited last year. Even after a year had passed, the impact of that team was still felt by the Brazilians. They were moved just by the fact that we were there; we are disciples from another country and another language, yet like them, also fighting for our relationships with God. They wanted to know us -- our struggles, our thoughts, our lives.
It was wonderful to pray and worship God in multiple languages in all our times together. It was inspiring to see the faith and vision of the brothers and sisters there for what God will do in their lives and their city. Even in such a short visit, I saw their faith rewarded by God. We all went to Pontifica Catolica University one morning to share our faith for a "bate-papo," or Bible Talk, later that afternoon. My sharing partner and I stopped first to pray that God would do miracles, and sure enough he did! We met a student named Elton, started sharing with him, and ended up doing part of the Word study with him on the spot. Afterwards, he stayed for the Bible Talk and was so impressed with what he saw that he also came to church on Sunday. It refueled my passion for the lost and for the poor, and for the church here in South Florida. It was an adventure that I will not soon forget!
Gainesville Campus Leaders Preparing to go to Montevideo, Uruguay
John Hoyt - Gainesville, Florida
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Who should I send? Who will go for Us? I said: 'Here I am. Send me.'" -- Isaiah 6:8
Around 800 BC God was looking for someone to send to help His people better know Him and His Word. Isaiah heard God's call and stepped up to the call. This is the heart we desire to have as we plan to go to Montevideo, Uruguay next summer.
My name is John Hoyt and my wife is Kay. Most likely, by the time you read this article, our first daughter Maya will have been born. We currently help lead the campus ministry in Gainesville. Although we have just recently decided to become missionaries, God has been working on our hearts for many years.
For Kay, the desire to be a missionary has existed since childhood. In 1986 her family moved to Bombay, India to plant a church there. After about three years there, the family was forced to leave, but this experience left a deep impression on Kay's heart. From then on, her desire was to travel around the world helping God's people.
Kay became a Christian in 1993 and I was baptized in 1994. In 1996, I had my first opportunity to travel abroad to attend the Latin America H.O.P.E. conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. During that conference I was able to be at a concert with 30,000 people. It was the largest event I'd ever attended and it gave me a dream for God's Kingdom in Latin America.
The following year, Kay and I met each other for the first time in Mexico City during HOPE Youth Corps. As we got to know each other, we shared our dreams of traveling and leading in the church. We continued to bond over the next few years and in 1999 we both move to Gainesville as freshmen at the University of Florida as part of the mission team.
In Gainesville it quickly became clear that we had very similar aspirations for our lives. We began dating and growing in our relationships with God. During our first four years in Gainesville, we saw first hand how to build a church by starting with a small mission team. We also learned how to study the Bible with people and God allowed us to be part of many conversions in the campus ministry. In 2003, one week after graduating with our degrees we were married.
From there we decided to move to South Florida to serve the church in the Teen Ministry. Those two years were filled with spiritual growth, tons of fun and a number of teen baptisms. In the summer of 2005 we returned to Gainesville to serve the campus ministry again. We were sure we'd be in Gainesville for a few years before God directed us somewhere else.
In each of the past three years, 2004, 2005 and 2006, we have been able to go on Member Missionary trips with various groups from the church to Santiago, Chile. We have grown to love and respect the disciples in that church so much. On each visit our hearts for Latin America and more specifically South America have become more passionate. We realized on our trips to Santiago that the disciples there deeply love God but are in need of the help and maturity that can be provided from their connection to the Florida churches.
So, when Martin Bentley approached us about moving to Montevideo to help the church there our hearts immediately jumped at the opportunity. It was the chance that we had both dreamed of for years. We began praying everyday about the decision. After about two months of praying and seeking advice from various people, our hearts were set: Here we are. Send us!
We are super excited about what the future holds. We know that it will be very challenging to leave our lives here in the United States and move thousands of miles away to a completely different culture. Mastering Spanish and adjusting to a very different lifestyle will be difficult. But, we believe that now is the time to step out on faith and let God use us as He will. In Acts 9:15, God calls Paul his "chosen instrument." Both Kay and I have always wanted to simply be instruments whom God can use to accomplish his work.
We are fired up that the small group of five disciples in Montevideo has recently added one to their number. We believe that God has prepared us through our years of being disciples, our trips all around the world and the incredible people who have taught us so much about leadership in God's church. I believe my Biblical training through the Athens Institute of Ministry will be so valuable as we deal with people from various backgrounds. Most of all we know that God is faithful and that he desires all men to know him. Please pray for us as we prepare for God to send us to Uruguay!