window on south america
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By Many Means we are building the church in South America.TRANSCRIPT
a publication ofSouth America Missionwww.southamericamission.org
window on South America fall 2010
Manyeans
by
God is transformingcommunities in SouthAmerica throughHis church
windowon a Missionary JourneyYears of grassroots efforts to build relationships
through teaching and simply being with people has brought
the professional class church-planting team in Santa
Cruz, Bolivia, to this point: the formation of a
community of people who meet on a regular basis
to worship, grow in learning and take steps to
impact their world for Christ.
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God’s work in the world is expansive and far-reaching, even to the ends of the earth. The strength for the task—the power of the Holy Spirit—is limitless. Sometimes in
the breadth of the geography and the awesome magnitude of the power, we lose sight of our role. But there it is, sandwiched in the middle of Acts 1:8, “You will be my witnesses.”
This issue of Window on South America is about being witnesses to the risen Jesus in any way we can. We are compelled by Christ’s love and by the conviction that His love is good news for all peoples.
When I consider the many means our missionaries use to share the Gospel and apply the reality of the resurrection in a broken world, I’m taken aback. Airplanes. Radio stations. Christian schools. Medicine. Food pantries and house construction. Boats. Motorcycles. Crisis pregnancy counseling and drug rehab. Art. God is using all these things to give witness, to build leaders to build churches through South America Mission!
I hope your reading will lead to prayer and praise. That’s where these stories take me. But they also lead me to ambition for more. Call me greedy, but when I hear of the eternal impact of our missionaries, when I consider the great heritage we have in ministry, I long to see the Kingdom influence expand.
SAM 2020 grows out of that ambition. I praise God for the fruit we have seen over many years. And I long for even greater fruit in the
years to come. Self-satisfaction will not get us there. SAM 2020 is our proactive effort to ensure South America Mission will be available, obedient and useful in the future.
Here’s a road map of where we are headed:
2010-2011: Reflection—Listening and Dreaming 2012-2013: Retooling—Training and Implementation 2014: Rejoicing—Centennial Celebration
Right now, I want to invite you to join us in the first stage, Reflection. Over the next year and a half, we will invest our energies and resources into hearing from God and exploring opportunities. Where do we need to grow? Change? Repent? What would make SAM missionaries more effective? How can we delight our great God?
I cannot overstate how important this process of renewal is. There’s a lot of research and analysis and planning ahead. But most essential is listening to God. We need more than distant memories of encounters with our Father to drive us forward. We need a renewed experience of God’s presence and power.
As you read about the ways SAM is building the church and bearing witness to Jesus today, will you pray with us about tomorrow? I believe that we only have a glimmer of the possible. May God use us and renew us for His glory and delight.
by Kirk Ogden, Executive Director, SAM
YOU WILL BEMY WITNESSES
How can we build on the foundation of a century of ministry and apply lessons learned so that we can be even more effective in a world changing faster than we can understand? How can we delight our great God?
twenty
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No Longer “Just” a MechanicNeat rows of well-dressed mourners, facing the flags and photos of a military funeral, crowded the hangar. Tom Throssel and his wife, Janine, sat quietly grieving the deaths of four of Tom’s coworkers. At that point, five years in the United States Coast Guard had not prepared Tom for this loss.
Serving through search and rescue missions over the cold water of the northern Pacific is what they loved to do. It was what they felt called to do. Rescue swimmers, pilots and crewmen alike risked their own lives to save the lives of others. Now, four had followed that to a conclusion that seemed unthinkable. Their helicopter had crashed in search of stranded sailors.
Many at the service that day talked about the sacrifice of these four men. However, one man spoke of a greater gift. The chaplain spoke of Jesus Christ and how these men reflected, in their sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made. The four knew what they were risking and yet chose to lay down their lives for someone else. Chief Rescue Swimmer, Pete Leeman, was among the men who died that day. He knew what it was to be on the receiving end of that gift. He knew what Christ had done for him. In fact, it was what Christ had done for each of them.
The first time Tom Throssel heard about missionary aviation was from Chief Leeman. He was working as a helicopter crewman in the USCG, ministering to people’s physical
needs. He wanted, though, something even bigger—an opportunity to minister to spiritual needs as well. Tom didn’t know, however, how to use his skills and training to minister when he was “just” a mechanic.
Pete Leeman attended a church that supported a missionary pilot and his wife, Mike and Kay Libolt, in Bolivia, and he arranged a dinner for everyone to meet and talk. Tom was intrigued. Could God really use an aircraft mechanic as a missionary? Mike and Kay invited Tom and Janine to go to Bolivia with them that February. The Throssels accepted the invitation.
One encounter on that trip was life changing for Tom. Marv Fluger was an aircraft mechanic in Bolivia, using his skills and abilities to serve God. He ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of the people of Bolivia. His vehicle for ministry was the aviation ministry of South America Mission, called SAMAIR. Tom had found his place to go and serve.
Airplanes, Pilots and Mechanics Fulfilling VisionThe ways in which an airplane can meet a person’s physical needs are often very apparent. At SAMAIR in Eastern Bolivia, they airlift victims of farming accidents and car accidents, children with hemorrhagic dengue fever and old men with cancer. They receive calls to carry women who are delivering babies in crisis as well as babies born with birth defects. They rescue snake-
bite patients and people cut off from food by floodwaters. In those flights, it is easy to see how they are helping. Townspeople honor SAMAIR and even the local news sometimes features their stories.
But there is so much more to the ministry of SAMAIR Bolivia, rich in history with over 33 years of service. The ministry is about more than healing broken bodies. It is about the healing and redemption of broken souls, and the building up of the worldwide church of Jesus Christ.
SAMAIR is passionate about aviation ministry because of the unique opportunities it brings to minister to spiritual needs. They pray for and with passengers on every flight. They simply share the Good News of the gospel with those they are transporting. They console people who are scared or have lost someone dear. They fly pastors out to villages to preach, or preach in the villages themselves.
Another reason SAMAIR is passionate about aviation ministry in Bolivia is because of the key role it plays in the fruition of the SAM vision: Multiplied dynamic churches spread across South America that transform local communities by embodying Kingdom-of-God values.
How exactly does SAMAIR contribute to this? SAM missionaries such as Drs. Placido and Toni Mercado fly to reach remote villages like Zapocó where they encourage and train people like Humberto, one of the few evangelical pastors among the Ayoré
Missionaries have always had to travel, at times over great distances and by various
modes, to do the work of building the church. The apostle Paul, for example, traveled
by boat across the sea. South America Mission, through SAMAIR, travels by Cessna 206
across the southern sky at 3000 feet. This is the story of how God uses “ordinary”
missionaries to multiply churches in hard-to-reach communities in South America.
transforming local communities BY AIR in South America
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people group. Missionaries like Jeff Orcutt and Jeff HAuse, working with SAM’s leadership training institute in Bolivia–CIET–use SAMAIR to reach communities like Roboré and San Ignacio de Velasco to hold extension classes for people eager to grow as leaders in the church. Katie Wells travels by air to get to the remote village of San Fernando where she lives, working in the local church encouraging and discipling local women. Janine Throssel flies to isolated places to minister where children and Sunday School teachers have no access to educational tools and conveniences like bookstores, copy machines, email or the Internet.
All of these missionaries join those of years past in using SAMAIR to “give wings to God’s Word.” One of the biggest blessings at SAMAIR, however, is not only helping SAM missionaries reach out “by air”, but helping Bolivian brothers and sisters whom SAM missionaries have helped train to reach out as well. Sandra Jaldin, a Bolivian medical doctor and partner with SAM, flies to administer medical care in places like Florida de Velasco—a place in the Amazon jungle where few people will ever go. Youth groups from local SAM churches and students from CIET travel with SAM missionary Dana Wilson out
to Santo Corazon, where they preach the Gospel and simultaneously grow in their own faith, becoming leaders in the Bolivian church. Alonso Aguilar, a pilot who trained at SAMAIR for ten years and who desires to be a missionary to his fellow Bolivians, helped plant two churches in places barely accessible by land. It is exciting to be a part of a ministry that touches so many lives and contributes directly to the growth of the church in South America.
Seventeen years after that first visit to Bolivia with Mike and Kay, Tom is still “just” a mechanic. Yet, God uses him. He also uses Tom’s missionary colleagues, pilot Greg Dahl
and mechanic David Mozombite. He uses SAMAIR in a unique way and He shows that there is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will, which has SAMAIR flying across the Bolivian sky, aiming to touch down in a world being redeemed by God through His church.
The Throssels have served with South America Mission since 2003. Tom is the program manager and lead mechanic of SAMAIR Bolivia. SAMAIR currently ministers in Bolivia and Peru, with six missionary pilots flying five Cessna 206s sustained by four dedicated missionary mechanics and administrators.
top: A remote community flocks to welcome SAMAIR touching down. above left: SAM missionary
Dr. Placido Mercado (center) and SAMAIR pilot Alonso Aguilar (right) prepare to fly to Zapocó
with three Bolivian indigenous church leaders. above right: Tom Throssel, SAMAIR program
manager and mechanic, samples some dried beef at Katie Wells’ place in San Fernando.
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transforming local communities BY RIVER in South America
She was in her 40s and was a bit hard looking. She had
obviously made an effort to dress up and was a bit more
daring in her get up than the other women from the
communities along the rivers who came to receive medical care
that year. As she recited her symptoms, SAM missionary and
medical doctor Toni Mercado felt strongly impressed to say, “Creo
que lo que usted tiene es angustia del alma”—I think what you
have is angst of the soul. The woman’s face crumpled. She sobbed
and said that her husband had just left her for a younger woman,
though she had begged him to stay. Her kids were mostly grown.
Her name was Soledad and that was how she felt, completely
alone. Toni prayed with her and then asked Mery, a team member
from Guayaramerín, to continue to pray with Soledad and offer
counseling. Mery’s story is very similar to Soledad’s. Mery led
Soledad into a relationship with Christ that day.
This year in June and July—the sixth year of sailing the rivers of
the Beni—Toni asked Mery about Soledad. Mery said she is living
with her son in the big city, and still following Christ. There is no
more angst in her soul. She is not alone. Christ lives in her.
The Mamoré River at dusk. Photo by Jason Weigner.
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SAM missionaries, Bolivian ministry partners, and volunteers from the States and Canada set sail each summer on El Misionero (see photo above and front cover) to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of the people who live along the rivers in the Amazon Basin in northern Bolivia. The vision of this ministry is that the fullness of Jesus Christ through His body, the church, will radiate among the river communities—some so rural and isolated that the proverbial “ends of the earth” come to mind upon setting foot on their shores.
Medical outreach with prayer and counseling as a critical component, bible-school teaching and games for children, and “movie nights” and preaching to youth and adult audiences are the primary strategies employed to build the church through this ministry. North American missionaries and also key Bolivian partners of SAM carry out the work. For example, Enoel Suarez, pastor and missionary from
The Beni, is the key player in the planning and logistical operation of the trips. Enoel is an evangelist as well; he is the primary speaker who preaches the gospel message in the large-group events held in the villages. The captain of El Misionero, Jonathan, and his wife Patricia, both Benianos from Guayaramerín, do more than just guide the boat down river. Jonathan always wears his guitar strapped to his back for leading worship, and Patricia helps with the children’s ministry and is available for counseling and praying with women.
This year, God worked in a profound way through two Bolivian-christian brothers who joined the work. The trips started in June and ended 30 days later. On day six of the initial voyage on The Mamoré River, César Surubí, an indigenous church leader from the Chiquitano people group, and Humberto, a pastor among the Ayoré, agreed to be left in a village in order to set out even deeper into the jungle to visit
people who live too far from the shores to be reached in a one-day stop. Humberto heard that there are Ayoré people in the jungles there, and he wanted to reach them with God’s message of redemption. César and Humberto both are key partners with SAM; they have both participated in SAM’s leadership training programs. Their willingness to sacrifice to reach their own people is a testimony to their commitment to see the church grow in Bolivia. The Beni rivers ministry team picked up César and Humberto on the return voyage some 15 days later.
God is using this ministry profoundly to reach the ends of the earth. As people in the Beni continually respond to redemptive outreach efforts, the vision for seeing God’s church multiplied becomes more compelling. Like Soledad, people are finding comfort and hope in Jesus. And like Mery, Enoel, Cesar and Humberto, Bolivians are impacting their world for Jesus.
top l to r: Pre-medical clinic worship; Enoel Suarez; Night life on the boat; El Misionero sailing, drying provisions of beef on the roof. bottom l to r: Boat
captain, Jonathan, leading worship; Bolivian missionaries charting their course; Typical thatched-roof home along the river; Ayoré pastor, Humberto.
Students of La Esperanza SchoolSanta Marta, Colombia
God is transforming communities in
South America through His church.
What is the church? The beautiful
community set apart by obedience
to Christ and called to change
the world.
Creatively, and in the fullness
of Christ, SAM is engaging this
continent with a single vision:
to see the transformative, dynamic
church influencing the entire land
from the Colombian Coast to the
tips of the Andes Mountains.
Manyeans
by
The Day of the IndianAmmi Training Center, Chapada, Brazil
Professional Class Church Planting
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Drilling for Water in FUA, an Ayoré Indigenous CommunitySan Jose de Chiquitos, Bolivia
Building Homes for those who have no ShelterDois Unidos—Recife, Brazil
Teach a Man to Raise FishAmmi Training Center, Chapada, Brazil
Chapada
Asuncion
Santa Cruz
La Paz
Pucallpa
Guajira
Mazamari
BRAZIL
PARAGUAY
BOLIVIA
PERU
COLOMBIA
Recife
The children of the Santaní ChurchAsuncion, Paraguay
The Wayuu Indian Radio Station, Oasis
The Guajira Desert, Colombia
Building Homes for those who have no ShelterDois Unidos—Recife, Brazil
Servant Day, Santa Cruz Christian Learning CenterSanta Cruz, Bolivia
Pregnancy Center, Latidos de Esperanza
Pucallpa, Peru
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I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
(1 Cor 9:22b NIV)
transforming local communities BY LAND in South America
The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9:22, writes about his method of giving up certain liberties—
or comforts—in Christ to appear more Jewish, so that the gospel would be more attractive to the Jews. This and some of his later interactions with the Gentiles are moving examples for missionaries. In Peru, Motociclistas por Cristo, aka MxC, uses this same principle to minister to the motocross community on their turf—the motocross racetrack.
Motocross is very popular in Peru. Large groups of people—racers and their families, event coordinators, mechanics, spectators and their supporters—travel throughout the country to participate. The racers are typically professionals, often successful business owners who can afford to leverage the investment and risks that motocross requires. The motocross community in Peru also, for the most part, views Christianity as boring and legalistic. In general, they are not church goers nor do they have much interaction with evangelical Christians.
MxC ministers at races and sees two mission fields—the spectators in the grandstand and the racers and their families on the track. To reach the spectators, MxC usually brings a group of trained, passionate evangelists to share the Gospel. Often they offer puppet shows and face painting for the kids and clear one-on-one Gospel presentations for the adults using selected Bible verses and questions from the booklet Sharing Your Faith Without Fear. Sometimes the race coordinators give MxC access to the main PA system; these are great opportunities
to share the good news of Jesus boldly, for everyone to hear. Almost all of the MxC evangelists are Peruvians from Mil Palmeras Church in Pucallpa, a church planted five years ago behind the vision of SAM missionary Julio Chiang, a former Latin American motocross champion.
The focus on the racers is a lot less direct, but no less intentional. Unlike the spectators, these people attend each race and they form a community, a brotherhood of sorts. MxC desires to share the gospel with the racers in the same way they would with their own families or co-workers—they work to get to know them, to develop a genuine love and care for them that is unique in their lives. MxC goes alongside the racers, sometimes literally when they rev up their own motorcycles and join the race. MxC also helps to meet the tangible needs of this community to make their events run smoothly, by offering free mechanic services, emergency medical treatment, and providing young people from Mil Palmeras to serve as safety flaggers during the races.
Through the development of personal relationships, MxC is making a real impact in the motocross community. Currently two Peruvian national champions are Christians through the direct involvement of MxC.
There are also many others who know Christ now because of this outreach. The entire community expresses their respect for this ministry. MxC, based out of Pucallpa
MOTOCICLISTAS X CRISTO
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and born out of Mil Palmeras church, is having a profound impact for Christ in a community with little witness to Jesus.
One family impacted by MxC is the Odicio family. Freddy and Julie and their two sons Cesar and Freddy Jr. became Christians through the work of SAM missionaries at Mil Palmeras. They are the owners of a motorcycle parts business in Pucallpa, and Freddy Sr. and the boys race. At one time Freddy Jr. was the national 50cc champion. They are a well-respected family and they are not shy about being witnesses for Christ. Besides being involved in the training of future leadership at Mil Palmeras, Freddy occasionally races with MxC and sells motorcycle parts at a discounted rate through the mechanics tent at races. Julie plays an integral role in the evangelism outreaches at the races. The Odicios are trustworthy co-workers in reaching Peru for Christ.
Another family impacted by MxC are the Listros, SAM missionaries serving their first term in Pucallpa. In July, Christian Listro and his son Gabe were able to participate in their first races. They got to meet and race with a man from Pucallpa named
Alan who has been racing his whole life and isn’t a follower of Christ. Alan invited Christian and Gabe (and their motorcycles) to travel with him to the national race in Oxapampa. Christian wasn’t planning on attending this event, much less racing, but with an invite from Alan he accepted. The trip to Oxapampa normally takes 15 hours, 14 of which are on a dirt road. In the rainy season, this road is impassable. They set out for Oxapampa at 3:00 am one morning and suffered a flat tire in the first three hours. Not long afterwards they encountered a few rivers to traverse; their truck stalled which necessitated some creative engine starting techniques. Once they had to stop and remove a fallen tree blocking the road. About 12 hours in, they lost all of the lug nuts on one of the wheels and had to wait for a mechanic to deliver new wheel studs in the middle of the jungle. They finally arrived at the hotel in Oxapampa at 10:30 pm, 20 hours after departing Pucallpa.
The race with Alan was a wonderful time at a beautiful track in a beautiful setting. In the last practice run, Christian launched crookedly off a jump and crashed hard. Alan was right behind him and ran over his leg
causing a huge lump to swell on the outside of his right shin. By the end of the evening, the lump was the size of a grapefruit and Christian couldn’t stand up because of the pressure. But with some rest and lots of anti-inflammatory drugs, he was able to race the next day. They headed home after the race, this time through the night over a “short”, 15 hour trek. Christian returned home and began to ask himself: Was it inconvenient? Was it painful? Was it worth it? And an emphatic “yes” was his response to all of those questions. It was a blessing to “suffer” to get to know Alan better.
For SAM missionaries and the brothers and sisters at Mil Palmeras, those long jungle road trips and crazy motocross crashes provide the context for the formation of meaningful relationships that glorify God and strengthen the church.
facing page: SAM Peruvian missionary Julio
Chiang pops a wheelie and shares the Word
of God. below: youth safety flaggers from Mil
Palmeras; Christian Listro (center) with fellow
MxCers; Mil Palmeras parishioners pray and share
the gospel at the races; raceday extreme action.
1021 Maxwell Mill Road, Suite B, Fort Mill, SC 29708 | (P) 803-802-8580 | (F) 803-548-7955
[email protected] | www.southamericamission.org | 501(c)3: 59-0662279
The Proven Leader Partnership (PLP) Grace Church–Racine, WI
Reston Bible Church–Reston, VA
Calvary Church–Charlotte, NC
Trinity Presbyterian Church–Charlottesville, VA
First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks–Largo, FL
Memorial Presbyterian Church–W. Palm Beach, FL
First Presbyterian Church–N. Palm Beach, FL
South America Mission
and US partner churches
focused on equipping
proven national leaders
and pastors to carry the
Gospel forward in
South America
THE PARTNERSHIP PURPOSE
South America Mission’s (SAM) leadership training and development programs have identified leaders and given them the basic tools of ministry. The trackrecords of these proven leaders give us theconfidence that we are investing where God’s Spirit is already at work. As these leaders have been faithful to the message we have brought, we now want to be faithful to them in further developing and equipping them for the leadership roles thay have taken on.
We are seeking strategic partnerships with churches that will enable these leaders to take the next step. 20@2000 is our goal, that is twenty churchescommitted to investing $2000 per year in thispartnership program. This investment will strengthen the foundations and raise high the pillars of theSouth American church. For more information, pleasecontact us using the information below.
PROVEN LEADER UPDATE SEPT 2010Rosimeire Bakairi, Brazil
“Multiplied dynamic churches spread across South America...”. Those are the first words of SAM’s vision statement. In Brazil, at the Ammi Training Center, a more contextualized statement might read, “Multiplied dynamic churches spread across 340 people groups speaking 181
different languages...”. This is the world that Rosimeire pro-cesses as she grows in leadership through the PLP program.
Rosimeire graduated from Ammi in 1999 and returned to her village. But pressure to marry an alcoholic forced her to flee. Ammi invited Rosimeire to return to work in the kitchen. She quickly developed a ministry to the single women on campus. In 2005, Ammi invited her to explore teaching in the classroom while she continued her women’s outreach.
Today, in 2010, Rosimeire is still teaching, and leading. The PLP program is currently supporting her study of linguistics and anthropology at ALEM, a Wycliffe Bible Translators affiliate in Brazil. Her goal: to return to teaching and leading at Ammi, better equipped to build leaders to build the diverse and multi-lingual church in Brazil.
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Six months into my time here in Santa Marta, Colombia, God is reassuring me everyday that missionary service is His calling for my life.
When I was 17, on the brink of going to college, I prayed to God, “I don’t want to just blindly follow you, Lord. I want to choose you over all else. Even if upon graduation I have the opportunity to pursue the Asian Dream (not very different than the American dream—a good job that provides financial security), but I don’t believe it is of you, I want to pursue what is of you. If that is a call to missions, then I want to choose missions.”
Over the five years it took me to finish my studies, I tried at times to forget that prayer I prayed at the age of 17, but thank the Lord, He did not forget. Missions conferences came and went during my time in college and I had built up a box of brochures and articles from various mission agencies that I had contacted.
Sure enough, on the eve of my last college exam, my boss at the bank where I was working called me into her office. She offered me the Asian Dream—an opportunity extended to only two people in my area each year. That night, I went to a local coffee shop to study with a friend. It was there that God presented me with “the choice’ I prayed about five years earlier. I received an email from South America Mission, “Sam, we still have your information in our database and are contacting you to see if you are still interested in serving youth in South America. If so, here is further information on how to take the next step in your application process.”
There were two distinct options before me. Among other things, one presented a picture of financial success, the other an opportunity to rely on the Lord to provide financial support through the people of God.
I shared with my friend my story after he questioned the change in my demeanor after reading the email. He smiled and said, “You know what you need to do.” The Bible talks about perfect peace that comes from God; I had it in that moment of making my decision.
As God continues to blow me away here in Colombia by opening my eyes and heart in new ways through the stretching of all that He has created me to be, that peace is still with me. It’s a peace that comes from knowing—undeniable experience after undeniable experience—that the God I serve is the one true God and the hope and life that He offers is for all. That hope and life is why I am here in Colombia, and it is the message I take to the youth with whom I work.
Sam Tse is from Vancouver, British Columbia, and is serving in Santa Marta, Colombia. His outreach efforts are to youth and young adults in the university, as part of the ministry of La Esperanza Church.
As you pursue God and sense a call from Him to serve in overseas missions, we want to talk to you. Please read below to see how we can begin to engage you regarding serving with South America Mission.
Sam Tse—Santa Marta, Colombia. A vision for South America born out of service to God, and sacrifice.
South America Mission is not looking for perfect people. We are looking for those God is calling and equipping. Together we can work to multiply dynamic churches across South America—churches that transform local communities through the embodying of Kingdom of God values. To begin a conversation with us about serving, please email us, “Go South” on our website, or follow us on twitter and facebook.
[email protected] www.southamericamission.org @ SAMSouthamerica
SAM missionary perspectives
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The Ammi Training Center in Brazil is unique. First, every student is indigenous. They come from all over Brazil, representing many different tribes and languages. Second, while Ammi is certainly a Bible institute—offering a full range of Old and New Testament courses, theology, doctrine, preaching and teaching, etc., it is more than this. It is a “disciple-making” institute, a “transforming-local-communities” institute. Ammi teaches in areas as diverse as spiritual formation, missions, agricultural development, and Christian education—shaping well-rounded members of the body of Christ, people well-suited to lead a growing church among the tribal peoples of Brazil.
It is said, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” Teaching that makes a difference for life—that fosters sustainability in all areas of living—is a priority at Ammi.
Steve White, SAM missionary in Brazil, recalls former SAM executive director Bill Ogden saying, “You don’t know what you know.” In other words, you may not realize what your education and experience have taught you, but the reality is you have knowledge and skills which many tribal peoples in South America could benefit from. (The same is true, of course, in the reverse; we must always remember this as we engage the world). Bill went on to give
an example of his maxim being true from his time serving in Peru. Everybody had chickens, he said, but they didn’t have much chicken to eat because so many of the chicks became lost. So Bill introduced a simple cage of fencing to put over the chicks to protect them from their wandering-off tendencies. Suddenly there were more chickens than ever before…sometimes you don’t know what you know that can make a real difference.
Recently, a summer work-team from the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, Florida, came to Ammi with a plan to raise fish. Team member Charlie Toney had learned on a prior trip to Brazil that a common lack of protein in the diet causes the hair discoloration often seen among the indigenous. Charlie raises tilapia back home in Florida and thought, “Let’s take this to Ammi. Let’s introduce a source of protein in the villages.” The farm-raised tilapia project is underway at Ammi and the students are participating, eager to make a long-lasting impact in their communities.
In addition to a fish farm, there is a garden inside a fence at Ammi, teeming with many different vegetables: carrots, cukes, lettuce, collards, tomatoes, spinach, and green beans. There is also a compost pile inside the fence. The garden is easy to cultivate—it never changes location after slash and burn—and the vegetables are delicious.
Ammi recently started a chicken project as well—with a coop at its center—which raises and provides 100 chickens to Ammi every six weeks. The total cost for Ammi to raise and provide chickens is less than the cost of buying them in the market.
Ammi is modeling prudent, self-sustaining development that its students witness and take home to implement in their villages.
Roland Bunch in his book, Two Ears of Corn, says that the developing world is littered with the rusting hulks of the first world’s misguided help projects. This is not just cynicism. It’s reality that calls for missionaries to be better listeners, more in tune with different cultural traditions. The tilapia project is wildly popular among Ammi students. Fish is a major source of food in Brazil, and indigenous people love it to boot! As Steve White directs the tilapia project at Ammi, working alongside the students, he constantly asks, “How will you do this in your villages?” There are certainly impediments to overcome, but as the students realize the potential and are also aware of these hurdles, they are developing an important foundation for sustainability.
A garden, a chicken and a fish project at Ammi. What do they have to do with taking the gospel to the nations? What do they have to do with building leaders at Ammi to build the church in Brazil? God’s redemptive work extends to all of creation, to every need spiritual, and physical. Ammi teaches that God fulfills all of our needs, and our own development efforts reveal God at work in this way. And as the students at Ammi grow into leaders and transform their communities, the transformation is holistic, with evidence of God’s goodness seen in the blessings of spiritual and physical provisions.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to raise fish…and he learns how to take the Gospel to the nations.
Teach a Man to Raise Fish
Ammi is modeling prudent, self-sustaining development that its students witness and take
home to implement in their villages.
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It really doesn’t matter where you go these days. Even if you are trying to hide from it, the economic news
generally dominates the headlines.Consumer confidence is a measuring
tool that we use to determine how well our economy is performing. When people are confident in the economy, they will spend money. If there is little or no confidence then people tend to save, cut back, or hold their money for a rainy day. Saving and cutting back are not inherently negative, but when done collectively and to a very large degree, the impact on a nation’s economy can be negative.
I have been thinking recently about measures of confidence in the worldwide church and in missions. Are there “church confidence” indicators that we can look to for measuring the health of the church? Is the church giving or holding back its resources of money and personnel? Are more missionaries, or fewer, being sent to the fields?
As we attempt to measure church confidence, let’s first of all consider a command and a promise from God. First, God gives us a directive to make disciples of all nations. This is an ongoing charge and is not dependent on how much money is
in the bank. With God the resources are endless. In fact, God says that He is the owner of “the cattle on a thousand hills.”
Second, in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he states, “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Among the key words here are “all your needs.”
Under the authority of such commands and promises as these, the church can move forward in its ministries, in accomplishing its goals, and ultimately in sending missionaries. Our “church confidence” should be very high and certainly less dependent on economic conditions. We can indeed give cheerfully in all situations; and love, which compels us to service, always transcends the economics of one’s nation. We can give and go, in full faith and trust, as we strive to fulfill the great commission.
I recently came across an article summarizing a recent Gallup poll. The summary stated, “But among the major institutions in American life, Americans ranked their confidence in the ‘church or organized religion’ as fourth behind only the military, small business, and the police. The poll shows that 48% of Americans have a ‘great deal of confidence’ in the church. That number was at 52% a
year ago.” We should always be concerned when we see indicators of declining confidence in the church. This, however, is not a reason for us, the church, to retreat. We can move forward ambitiously under the authority and peace of the commands and promises of God.
South America Mission (SAM) has a great deal of confidence in the church. In fact, the SAM vision, mentioned throughout this issue of Window, is church-centric: Multiplied dynamic churches across South America transforming local communities by embodying Kingdom of God values. Our primary strategy to achieve this vision involves contextualized discipleship and training programs that develop church leaders of strong spiritual conviction and character.
The Bible, in 1 Timothy 3:15, states that we, the church, are “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” It is encouraging to hear this, to know that this is what God is building through us in South America.
We’d like to invite you to join us in showing confidence in and a commitment to the church. It is always worth it, even in economically unstable times. We can go forward together in partnership knowing that we have the commands and promises of God to stand on.
by Kenny KrestanDirector of International Staff Development, SAM
CHURCHCONFIDENCE
Fall Issue 2010 | Volume 22 | Issue 2
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PERMIT #91
SAM and The Ammi Training Center of Chapada dos Guimarães, Brazil, will host
CONPLEI 2012MARK THE DATE—July 4-8, 2012www.conplei.org.br
The National Counsel of Evangelical Indigenous Pastors and Leaders of Brazil will bring together peoples from many tribes, languages, and nations for their 7th National Congress in July, 2012. The Ammi Training Center (a SAM institute) in Chapada, Brazil, will host the event in 2012. CONPLEI, SAM and Ammi will work together to hold this important event, but to meet all of the needs we need the strength that the partnering with the wider body of Christ provides. To find out how you can help, contact us through www.southamericamission.org