The last month has been a journey of faith and a trial of perseverance. Shepherding the flock across 5 different locations and moves since December has been nerve-wracking and stressful. Seeing our brand-new property split from top to bottom by cracks through which the light of day can be seen has been disheartening. Canceling renovation teams and instead ordering demolition (for the dividing walls which were crumbling) has been demoralizing.
Project 24 secondary school students gather together for this annual conference.
The ground started shaking even before Christmas. But when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Indios, Puerto Rico, 19 miles from an LCMS church plant in nearby Ponce, on Epiphany, the local team kicked into relief mode before an initial assessment team of LCMS Disaster Response personnel and regional leaders even touched down in San Juan. Having been trained in theory and in practice after Hurricane María left the island reeling in September 2017, prioritizing needs and drawing on the right resources are second nature.
Deaconess Grace Rao taught fourth deaconess-women course, in Vilnius, Lithuania, November 14-19, 2019.
Disaster Response workshops were hosted by Concordia Lutheran Church and School in Palmar Arriba, and Lamb of God Lutheran Church and School in Licey, through grants from the Mercy Center, an institute of Concordia the Reformer Seminary in the Dominican Republic.
Diaconal formation continued in Panama September 28-29, as the ladies continued with their second course in the Deaconess Program, The Divine Service and the Life of the Church. A dozen ladies were in attendance from two congregations.
The Mercy Center, an institute of Concordia Seminary the Reformer (CMSCR), provides a spectrum of educational conferences, from personal witnessing and Christian reconciliation to family and community health and life issues. Disaster response training throughout the Latin American and Caribbean Region is done under the auspices of the Mercy Center.
Concordia Theological Seminary in Nagercoil, India, rebuilds solid walls as the IELC rebuilds upon the Word of God at the Pastor’s Refresher Course.
A photo gallery of the work being done at the Kuamang Kuning congregation of the GKLI.
In July, volunteers, Christa Wesley and Libna Destin from Martin Luther Chapel in Pennsauken, New Jersey, traveled to Peru. Their goal was to enhance the normal routine of the children with a week long music camp.
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