Utter E-Mission September 2005

Greetings from what is to be a 94° "SPRING" day here in Argentina. It's hard to believe it's spring with the air conditioner on and sipping lemonade. Our summer's come early and stays later, at least the temperatures of it. As we will be returning to the US in February, we will be cut right in the middle of our summer, with blasting Chicago winter, for our upcoming Home Assignment.

The past month or so has been almost a whirlwind of activity. Work remains steady and at some times overwhelming.

Brian's corner: Communications is just booming. With lots of video projects, our Video Manager, Carlos Felizzola, is keeping very busy. Plus with taking classes, he is one busy man. He traveled to Peru for a weekend to get some video footage for an upcoming video. The Radio team is continuing with their programming. We are daily receiving e-mails from listeners and their stories are just amazing. We are also monitoring and participating in a chat room designed for our youth program. One of our trained staff members, Jadina, is talking with teenagers and young adults and is ministering to them in a way that we would never have imagined. Read below for some examples of what we're receiving.

Lynne's corner: This is a busy time for all in the Finance office. We are closing out the fiscal year and trying to get ready for a new year. Thankfully there are a few more of us and between all of us, we are getting the work done. She truly enjoys her job and the business of it.

Jacob's corner: Jacob is one little busy guy. Between school, church, and his very active social life, this kid is just about non-stop. For example, this weekend alone, he has 3 birthday parties to attend. He loves every minute of it though. He is doing extremely well in Kindergarten and absolutely loves it. We received his report card last week and had a meeting with his teacher. He is doing very well and received a good report card. He doesn't struggle too much with his workload. He seems to have some sharing issues - big shocker - but we are trying to help him deal with this. One other thing that has him enthralled is the newest addition to our family - Maximiliano - or Max, for short. He is a 47-day old Boxer puppy we just got. He is a fawn (not the stripes) and is absolutely adorable. Lucy, or 3-year old boxer, is slowly adjusting and isn't quite sure what to make of Max. They're slowly becoming buddies though. Max is the hit of the campo right now and isn't even aware of it!

New news: It's been officially announced and confirmed that we now have a new Regional Director. Some of you may already be aware of this as it's in the NCN News updates. Dr. Christian Sarmiento, currently the Regional Director of the Mexico/Central America (MAC) Region. He and his family are due to arrive here in Argentina the middle of January 2006. We are looking forward to his direction and leadership. There will be a lot of changes that take place, we're sure. Some of them may be easy and others, not so much, so please, remember this region in your prayers. Also, please remember the MAC Region as they begin the process of finding a new Regional Director.

Here is a text conversation for our Life Revolution chat room:

"M" 14, Chile

Counselor: Hello, how are you?
Listener: Fine, who are you?
Counselor: My name is J***. Where are you from?
Listener: My name is M****. Do you go to church?
Counselor: Yes. I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tell me, where are you?
Listener: I am from Rancagua, Chile. I go to church. How are you connected with this website?
Counselor: I work where they produce the programs for World Mission Broadcast.
Listener: Like "Life Revolution", "What Next?", "The Valued Woman" and "Buzy" (Adventures with Buzy)?
Counselor: Yes. How old are you?
Listener: I am 14. How old are you?
Counselor: I am 23.
Listener: I have been a Christian since I was 12. I like being a Christian; it is cool, although sometimes I have low self-esteem.
Counselor: I sometimes feel that way too.
Listener: Why do you think that happens?
Counselor: I think we want more than anything to be faithful to God and sometimes we fail.
Listener: I want to be faithful, but it sometimes seems imposible. Even though I go through times of low self-esteem, I know that God is always there to pick me up.
Counselor: It's always like that. Do you know why?
Listener: Please, tell me why this happens?
Counselor: When we believe we can't do anything, He does things in us that no one can imagine and gives us the ability to be like Him.
Listener: Hmmm, you are right.
Counselor: You know, M****, you are at the best age to do great things with God's help.
Listener: Although, is can be the most difficult age. Sometimes my friends make me doubt in God.
Counselor: It doesn't matter what others say or do, no one determines your faith or what you believe, because it is only Him who will give you the strength to go forward in all the circumstances of your life.
Listener: You are a blessing.
Counselor: Ha ha. Thanks.
Listener: You know, it has been a pleasure talking to you. I hope that we can continue chatting in the future.
Counselor: You can count on it. God bless you.

Here are some e-mail responses received:

ESPERANZA.NET - SEPTEMBER 2005

"The program that you air is very helpful and helps the growth and strength of valued women. I want to tell you that I have been separated from my husband for about a year. We don't have children and he says he doesn't know if he will come back or not. I, however, want to define my life and do not feel any security like this. Also, I don't know if I should start divorce papers or keep waiting. I would like your opinion." P 28, ECUADOR

"I would like you to send me answers. I am dating a girl who is in the church, but she has no desire to pray, because she deceived God. I need to know how she can change her life. I need to know how I can help her have a sensitive heart for God. I am depressed because I have been through many things with her. Among them, although is hurts to say it, is that we have had sex. Please, I would like your help, please." D 23, PERU

"Many people say that there is no life after we die. I am one of those people who believe there is life after we die. I have decided to ask many people about this. I don't know whom to believe. I want you to give me an answer about this. Please and thank you." L 22, CHILE

Home Assignment update: We have the majority of our calendar filled with services. Thank you to those that have invited us into your church. We are so thrilled to be able to share the amazing and incredible things the Lord is doing through Communications here in South America. We have a blog site that has our calendar listed and any available dates are noted. You'll get to see some of the things that are happening and see what's to come... Check it out at: http://www.utteremission.blogspot.com/. If you would be interested in having us in your church on one of these available dates, please contact us and we would love to get this scheduled. Most of these available dates are weeknights. We also realize that this usually means a smaller group of people in attendance. Please know that we would rather be sharing what is happening in our ministry with 5 or 10 people, than sitting in a hotel room doing nothing.

Prayer Requests:
Please pray for the Sarmiento family as they prepare to leave Guatemala and move to Argentina. Please remember both regions, as there will be a lot of changes that take place over the next several months.
Please pray for us, as we will be leaving February 15, 2006 for our next Home Assignment. We are so looking forward to sharing what the Lord is doing.
Please continue to pray for the Radi family. These upcoming changes will be very difficult as a new aspect of grieving will take place. It's going to be difficult seeing someone new working out of Bruno's office. Please remember them.
Please be in prayer for Brian, as he will be traveling quite a bit in the near future. We'll be sharing more later about the specifics.