Utter E-Mission August 2006

Hello to you all. We trust and pray that this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying your summer! Of course, it is winter time for us here in Argentina, so we are trying to stay warm.

July was a very interesting month. A lot happened in a short amount of time. We started off the month with the birth of our beautiful godson, Jeziel Marcelo. Many of you may remember that I sent out an e-mail stating this, but his name was Jessie Gabriel. Well, according to Argentine rules, you have to obtain approval for the name you give your children. Since there were no other Argentine men with the name of Jessie, it was denied, so they changed it to Jeziel. They are still calling him Jezi (prounounced Jessie). He is so beautiful. Marcelo and Viviana are thouroughly enjoying him and we are too. Jacob enjoys holding him. Viviana’s mother, Patricia, arrived from Ecuador just 1 ½ days before Jezi’s arrival. She has been able to be here and will be returning around the 21st of this month. They’ve had a good time being together and for grandmother and grandson to get to know one another.


In just a couple of weeks, Jacob will begin school – 1st grade! It’s so hard to believe that he’s getting close to 7. I don’t know where the time goes. He’s very excited and anxious to get going in school again. They are beginning a new program here for just the Missionary kids that speak English. They will all be meeting together in a building they have prepared here and having classes. They will be using accredited curriculum from Texas Tech Univ. Please be praying that all of the children, and parents, will make this adjustment smoothly and comfortably.


As I’m writing this e-mail to you, I’m thinking of the last 15 years that Brian and I have been on this journey of life together. Today is our wedding anniversary. Again, it seems hard to believe that these past 15 years together have passed so quickly. The Lord continues to bless our marriage and our love for one another. We are truly blessed to have these years together and are looking forward to another 50 or so more!


Brian recently returned from a short trip to Neuquen. A province that is southwest of us here in Pilar. He and a coworker, Sergio, went to film some footage for an upcoming video and found the story they were looking for, but also found another one that deeply impacted Brian. He wrote down his thoughts and put some photos together and shares his heart with you about his experience there. You can find this article on our blogspot (along with this current newsletter and former ones as well) at http://utteremission.blogspot.com. Please take a look and be prepared to be touched.


I am enjoying my work in my new appointment as field treasurer for the Southern Cone Field. There is so much to absorb and grasp, that I still am not completely settled, but it is getting better everyday. I truly feel that I am where the Lord wants me to be and know He will bless my time there.

We had a bad situation happen to some of our fellow missionaries here. Josh & Amber Williams, and their two children, Jesse-7 and Kaelyn-4, were robbed last week. Josh was not at home at the time, he was on his way home from the office while it occurred. Two men entered their home, tied up Amber and robbed them of several things, and then proceeded to take their car. We are rejoicing that no one was physically injured, but ask for your prayers of protection and safety for them. They are relatively new missionaries, here about 1 year now, and had recently moved back to the back property where they have been planning to live upon the completion of their home. They’d been living back there a few weeks when this happened. Another worker there, Fabian, was also tied up in his room and had some money stolen. Please pray for Fabian as he was more concerned about Amber and the kids than he was for his own safety. He is still reeling from this situation. Amber and the kids are doing amazingly well. The Lord has already begun to heal them emotionally from the frightening incident.


Following are some actual responses we’ve received from either our website, www.esperanza.net or through testimonials from our coordinators from the different countries we serve.

From Esperanza.net July 2006

“I want to find God and be free.” Jimena, 19 Bolivia

“I am married with two children and I have serious problems in my marriage. I believe that I am an abused woman. I also believe greatly that I psychologically abuse my husband. We are very distant with each other and almost at the point of a separation.” Rosa, 30 Mexico

“My need is that I want more information about this ‘hope’ you offer.” Javier, 26 Argentina

“I want to know more about God.” Milagros, 13 Peru

“I was separated one year from my husband because of problems with jealousy. I heard about Jesus listening to your program and accepted Him as my Savior during the separation. My life completely changed. I reunited with my husband about 9 months ago and we attend church together with our 14 year-old son. We participate in all the church activities, but the enemy is attacking us again. My husband has fallen again into this problem of jealousy. He wants to take control of me and force me to do what he says. He now uses the Bible, saying I must submit to him. I am living in fear and insecurity. It is like swimming up stream. I don’t think he will change or wants to change. I live in fear and am not happy living like this.” María, 48 Chile

From the Trenches July 2006…
(Actual testimonies from local WMB radio ministries in South America)

Juan Carlos’ Testimony: Hello friends of “Words of Hope.” Today I heard your program. I was looking for something to listen to and found your wonderful program. I am from the city of Guayaquil, but because of my work I have come to live in this city. I want to thank you for your program. It has touched me. God has really talked to me tonight. I want you to tell me where I can find people who can help me study the Bible.
- From Dr. Santiago Bereche leader of WMB Program “Palabra de Esperanza” (Word of Hope) in Santo Domingo, Ecuador

“Walter is a businessman selling kitchen pots from the central market in Jaén. He found our program just as we were beginning our ministry. From that point, he has listened to us. We have had many conversations with him and had the opportunity to talk about God. He has trusted us enough to share many personal things about his life. We believe that very soon we will win him for God. Glory to God! We have continued to talk with Walter. He is a faithful listener to our program. He wants to change, but on his own he is unable. Each time we talk his sad face tells us many things. He has asked us to continue visiting with him. We have no doubt that at any moment he will surrender his heart to Jesus.”
- From Romaín Sosa leader of the WMB Program “Genesis” in Jaén, Peru

“God continues to be the biggest! He has renewed us and affirmed our efforts. He has opened doors in all of the ministries of the church through our radio station. We continue the battle. We recently celebrated a wonderful week where God did some tremendous things: new souls, conviction, salvation and sanctification. We have a new spirit of unity and commitment with the Lord.”
- Pastor Luis Rebagliatte leader of the WMB Ministry “Radio Esperanza” in Toledo, Uruguay

“God bless you. Each week we have better and better results. During these weeks we have reported a 5% growth in our audience. More and more people are looking for counsel on marriage. The most recent program produced 13 contacts. God is so good.”
- Loida Lara de Cordero leader of the WMB Program “Gente Libre” (Free People) in San Felipe, Venezuela

Prayer Requests/concerns:
1. Please remember Josh, Amber, Jesse & Kaelyn Williams. That they will feel the Lord’s presence with them and keep them safe.
2. Please remember Fabian as he is afraid to return to his room and so travels into the capital everyday, where he is staying with his sister and brother-in-law.
3. Please remember the other missionary families here as well, that we will feel safe and be protected by the Lord’s angels.
4. Please remember the Carney family – fellow missionaries that will be moving on to a new field at the end of this month. They are very dear friends to all of us here and their presence will be greatly missed. All of the Missionary kids are dealing with this, so please remember them as they are all good friends and “family” to one another.
5. Please remember our home church in your prayers.

Brian Reports: Neuquen, Argentina

Neuquén, Argentina – I recently spent several days in the province capital of Neuquen, located in South Central Argentina. It is a city of 350,000 and considered to be the northern entry point into the area called Patagonia. Sitting in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, it is dry and cold.

I was joined by one of our videographers, Sergio Villegas. Our purpose was to film a video around the theme of “Equip” which showcases the life and ministry of Pastor Ariel Almirón.



While there, I had the opportunity to visit Radio Impacto and meet with the director, Pablo Castro. Radio Impacto is one of several radio stations airing our broadcasts in Neuquén. I also was able to cross the river into the Province of Rio Negro and meet with a new radio station in the city of Cipolletti. I was interviewed on both radios stations and was able to share about our ministries.

I presented a communication workshop on the Saturday afternoon in the Church of the Nazarene “Gracias Señor.” The director of the radio station in Cipolletti, Isaías, came with several staff members along with some listeners interested in what we are doing. Also, a lady associated with the Church of the Nazarene, who works in secular media in Neuquén, came. She will be a great contact and has agreed to help us get in the doors of the secular media there. It was a great success and many people were excited about using mass media to reach an unchurched audience.

The video shoot with Ariel went great and will showcase how the ministries of theological education, literature, communications and missions are equipping the church and developing new leaders.



Through the process of the video shoot, we met Carlos Amaza. Carlos is a Police Officer in Neuquén and attends the Church of the Nazarene. We soon realized that his testimony and current ministry is a story worth telling. Carlos has been a Police Officer for 22 years and a Christian for 8. He currently works out of the 18th precinct with the social issues facing the community.



In Neuquén there is a neighborhood on the northern part of the city where more than 75,000 people are living in the worst conditions I have ever seen in South America. Carlos is working in this neighborhood as a part of his work, but it is also his ministry. We visited several ‘homes’ made from scrap wood, plastic, pretty much anything they could tie together for a roof and walls. There are little who have electricity and most bathrooms are large paint buckets in corners. I was amazed because my bathroom is the size of their entire house.

In first house we visited, the husband had recently physically abused his wife and we talked with them and calmed them both down. Carlos gave the husband a stern lecture and told him if he had Jesus in his heart, he must respect his wife. Carlos deals with more than 1,000 family violence cases every year in that neighborhood. The wife had a face full of tears and was pleading to be able to go out of the house. The husband was fearful of her safety in this area and showed off his many knife scars from his own encounters in the neighborhood. They have a 2 and 1 year-old and she is expecting their third child. I had the opportunity to pray with this couple and share mate with them.

The next house we visited had an old station wagon (minus wheels and windows) in front of the house. It is where the dogs seem to sleep. It was actually nicer than the home we entered. The house had plastic sheets for walls and a large whole in the roof. The floor was dirt and a rat-infested mattress lay on the floor. The house was full of smoke from a homemade wood-burning stove to heat the place. Carlos had led this couple to the Lord just three days earlier. They are both alcoholics and look twice as old as their actual age. Carlos showed me that that had cleaned up around the house and sitting on a wooden crate, used as a table, was a bottle of soda. They haven’t taken a drop of alcohol since accepted Christ earlier in the week. As the shared how God had changed them, tears were pouring down the husband’s face. Carlos was able to get some new roofing material to fix the hole.



Another house we stopped at was actually still in construction and lacking a wall. A single mother lives there with her five children. We talked to the mother and shared Jesus with her. She, along with two of her children and another boy from the neighborhood, asked Jesus into their hearts.

Carlos then took us to the city dump, where most of the people look for cardboard, glass, plastic, anything they can sell to recycle. We stood around a campfire talking with a man who actually lives in the dump. He has set up a little place to sleep and that is his life.

I honestly was overwhelmed by the needs in this area. The more I thought about it the more I began to think about other cities in South America - Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Rosario, Lima, Rio de Janiero, Quito, Bogota, even Pilar - where I live. All of these cities have neighborhoods like these. I asked Carlos, what we as a Church could do for these people, besides share Jesus. Do they need a soup kitchen? Do they need clothes? He told me that most have jobs, most have food, most have a ‘roof’ over their heads. They are in that situation for various reasons: drugs, alcohol, lack of training, etc. So, Carlos told me what they need is to be educated, not only about Jesus, but also about the basic social skills of life. The Argentine government is beginning a literacy program and the local churches are involved and helping.



I notice that almost all live below the radar of mass media. They have no TV, no radio and they can’t read. So, how do we reach them? How do we as a communications ministry reach this oral society and offer them Jesus and a social education to find a better way to live?

This is preoccupation this week. I am tossing around many ideas and beginning to put together a project linking communications and compassionate ministries. If we are called to reach the unreachable, we must reach them.

Be looking for Carlos’ testimony next year on WMDVD. I pray it impacts lives…it impacted mine.