Mission and Ministry work in Latin America & the Caribbean
Eager to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Concordia Deaconess Conference (CDC) – which should have taken place in 2020 – CDC members and guests “met” together through an ingenious combination of individual participation and group “hubs.” Initiated due to varying Covid 19 pandemic restrictions, the Zoom (internet based) conference was attended by 160 people.
Suffering is a common theme in today’s world, whether it be in the church, in the community, in our own lives or that of our relatives. In the midst of suffering, conversation about situations can be difficult. Both church workers and caregivers need encouragement and reminders of how God is with us and cares for us.
We are grateful to God for his protection and guidance through the last school year at Parade Gardens Lutheran School (PGLS) in Kingston, Jamaica. Just before the close of the last term, the school organized a sports day event in which the children participated in many races and won several awards and prizes. Now we look forward to God’s blessing for the new term that began on April 12 and will continue into early July.
“Christ for all! That is how we can define the Alliance Project. From February 28 to March 14, 2021, on a trip to the Dominican Republic, I had the great opportunity to accompany eight IELB pastors and their families in language, culture and mission training. What a challenge! What learning! More than a special moment, as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB) and The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) joined forces in this project to bring the love of Jesus to different peoples and cultures.
In 1984, Dr. Robert Preus, president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, initiated the creation of the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series, to supplement Francis Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics. The 13-volume series was then produced by Luther Academy, an organization that promotes confessional Lutheran theology and research through conferences and publications designed to assist the church in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
Four letters – VDMA, a Latin acronym which translates “The Word of the Lord endures forever” – united Reformation-era Lutherans in solidarity against their adversaries. Today, for Lutheran pastors and seminary students across 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), VDMA refers to the Project that is providing them with a digital library of Lutheran books, to assist in carrying out their work in accord with God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions.
Missionary Pastor Andrew Schlund, his wife, Kelsey, and their two little daughters, Charlotte and Margaret are on their way back to the United States. They have faithfully served as LCMS missionaries since June of 2015. Rev. Schlund worked tirelessly as Pastor of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Mexico City, and as an adjunct professor for Concordia the Reformer Seminary in the Dominican Republic.
Our heavenly Father is faithful and has certainly protected and provided for His six children that He has placed in our care. January 3, 2021, marked the 10th anniversary of our kids moving out of the government orphanage and into the loving home prepared for them. The Lord has heard your prayers on their behalf. He has provided through all of you over the past ten years so that they might know the love of Christ Jesus.
Concordia the Reformer Seminary launched her Deaconess Program for 2021 on January 14th, with an eight-week intensive course entitled The Catechism – Disciples for Life: Instruction in the Christian life from Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. Over 100 women from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela, signed up for the online offering, with Deaconess Caitlin Ramirez and Rev. Sergio Fritzler serving as the professors.
Our understanding of Jesus Christ – as we confess Him to be Lord and Savior in the second article of the Creed – is well articulated in Christology by David P. Scaer; the sixth volume of the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series commissioned by Luther Academy.
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