Missionaries, seminarians and congregation members in Palmar Arriba, Dominican Republic, planned for about fifty children from the community to attend a week-long Bible camp. The camp gave children a place to be for a couple of hours during the heat of the Dominican afternoons and featured daily Bible stories, memory work, games, crafts, songs and snacks.
Rev. Raphael Voigt is a church planting pastor in Los Andes, Panama. There, he teaches Bible classes, leads worship services and finds creative ways to reach the local community. Pastor Voigt works with two local deaconesses to provide painting classes for children and adults in the community. Each class includes a devotion or Bible lesson. He also provides music lessons, visits elementary schools, orphanages and hospitals, and makes inroads into the community, sharing the Gospel wherever he goes.
Rev. Maicon Schieferdecker serves as a church planter in three locations, Salto, Chapicuy and Paysandú in northern Uruguay. He leads worship services and Bible classes in a new worship facility in Chapicuy and a rented storefront in Salto. Work on the new mission in Paysandú is in the beginning stages.
Rev. Lucas Elberhardt, a church-planting pastor in the Dominican Republic, serves a mission congregation and a preaching station in Santo Domingo. Pastor Lucas leads worship services, teaches Bible classes, makes home visits, and works diligently to build bridges into the community. His robust youth outreach efforts include sports camps, youth days and music lessons, all of which include a devotion or Bible lesson.
Brazilian Alliance Missionary Pastor Rafael Milagres is called to serve as a church-planting pastor in Lima, Peru. Currently, he brings Word and Sacrament ministry to three congregations and does outreach activities to bring in new members from the community. Pastor Rafael works alongside a Peruvian pastor and an LCMS deaconess.
Venezuelan native, Rev. Gustavo Maita, grew up in a Lutheran home. This firm foundation served as a launch pad for formal theological studies, which began at Juan de Frías Theological Institute in Venezuela and continued at Concordia Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He served his vicarage in the Dominican Republic and graduated from Concordia Seminary in Argentina.
Pastor Benjamin Flores is a church-planting pastor serving in Belize with his Norwegian wife, Karina, and their sons Lukas and Matheo.
The Abundant Life Project (John 10:10) is an effort by the Latin America and Caribbean Region of LCMS International Mission to respond to life issues around Latin America. This is a region-wide effort to provide Spanish-language materials and resources, encourage life-affirming conversations, and stimulate a response in mercy for a variety of life topics and issues. Lutherans around Latin America have identified five topics to prioritize: marriage and family, homosexuality, abortion, gender issues, and health. Resources provided by the Abundant Life Project can be found here: https://www.ielco.net/resources
Today we said farewell to a valuable member of the Latin America & Caribbean missionary team. Courtney Zalmanoff, a GEO missionary arrived in the Dominican Republic on September 30, 2019. Armed with degrees in Spanish and Psychology, she faithfully carried out her role as assistant volunteer coordinator for over two years.
The LCMS first established itself on the Isle of Pines, known today as the Isle of Youth, 31 miles south of the Cuban mainland, in 1911. Current theological projects are aimed at shoring up and encouraging the existing pastorate while also seeking others who desire a theological education.
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