Utter E-Mission January - February 2008

I know this e-mail is a little late, but we still want to say: Thank you! To all of you who sent us Christmas cards, gifts, e-mails, packages and greetings. We truly appreciate your kindness towards us. It helps so much to receive words from home. We want to say a very special thank you to our LINKS District - Upstate New York. You have been an extreme blessing to us and we are looking forward to meeting a lot of you in just a few months now.

JACOB is enjoying taking drum lessons from one of the teenagers at our church. Mom and Dad are a bit on the deaf side these days (just joking) but he is doing really well. He’s been working hard getting ahead in school so he doesn’t have to worry about it while we’re traveling. We feel pretty confident that he’ll be able to achieve this goal.

HOME ASSIGNMENT 2008

March 29-30 Fishkill, New York Faith Promise
April 5-13 Upstate New York (LINKS District) Tour
April 11-12 Mid-Atlantic NMI Conv.
April 15-16 Mississippi NMI Conv.
April 20-27 Indianapolis District Tour
April 30 New Beginnings South Bend, IN
May 2-12 Washington Pacific District Tour (Brian)
May 11-18 Michigan District Tour (Lynne & Jacob)
May 25 AM Rushville, IL CON
May 29-30 Arizona District NMI Convention
June 1-10 Chicago Central District Tour
June 15 AM Frankfort, IN CON, PM Vincennes, IN CON
June 16-20 North Central Ohio Youth Camp
June 22 AM Freeport, IL CON
June 29 AM Beardstown, IL CON, PM Clinton, IL CON
July 6 AM Eureka, IL

The above dates are what we have scheduled for our upcoming Home Assignment tour. If we’ll be close by, we’d love to see any and all of you. We are in need of a vehicle to borrow for a couple of months, please let us know if you know of anyone willing to loan us a vehicle.

BRIAN has been extremely busy and it appears will continue to be at least until we begin Home Assignment. He left this past Saturday morning, and returns Sunday from meetings in Kansas City. He is busy working on the design for the new Communications Center that will have such a huge impact in Brazil. Students from the Nazarene University will be able to study Communications and work and learn first-hand, right there at the Center. We are needing Work & Witness teams to go to Brazil and help us make this dream a reality. Please contact Brian if you have any questions.

LYNNE has kept busy with her workload, trying to get things done before we leave for Home Assignment. She continues with her classes that she is taking at Nazarene Bible College. The Lord is helping her with managing her time.

AMAZON CONNECTION

Brian was recently in Brazil traveling with Lee Rudeen from the Communications office in Kansas City. He spoke at a youth conference in Natal. They then filmed a video in Rio de Janiero. Then they traveled to the Amazon to investigate about a new Amazon River Radio project. Lee and Brian spent several days living on the Riverboat that the Church of the Nazarene owns for evangelism to the Amazon communities. We will be sharing a lot more about the project on our next Home Assignment, so be sure not to miss it.

QUICK NEWS

“Mujer Valiosa TV” is wrapping up production on the second season. Currently MVTV is aired on over 1,000 television channels in 20 countries reaching a potential audience of over 100 million. It has been such a hit that Channels are asking for the program on a daily basis.

“Nazarene Adventure” a short film created to communicate our Nazarene identity during this centennial year to youth will debut as a part of the South America Region report to the General Board this month. Be looking for it on the World Mission DVD coming soon.

“100+ Film Fest” was launched last month inviting youth from around the world to create short videos to celebrate our church’s centennial. Brian has been busy translating the website into Spanish and Portuguese. We are looking for young people who have hidden talents in media production. www.100plusfilmfest.com

FROM ESPERANZA.NET

“Thanks for helping me. I am suffering from my past. I am filled with rage. When this happens, I go through times of terrible sadness.” Anali, 20 Ecuador

“I need help. I listen to your radio program and I want to participate in your recommendations. Please help me. I feel that my life is full of conflict.” Gandhi, 23 Venezuela

“Could you send me more information about anorexia? I need help.” Norma, 41 Guatemala

“Hi, I am extending my hand to however can help me with my marriage, so that my children won’t have to deal with our problems. We are at the point of separation and truthfully that is not what I want. Help me as fast as is possible, please.” Ana, 27 USA

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Please pray for NICA - Jacob’s school. There are several kids that are going on Home Assignment soon and working hard to finish before they leave. Please remember Jacob and the others that are working extra hard.
• Please pray for Lynne as she continues with her classes.
• Please pray for the South America Communications team. We are still short a couple of staff members and Brian is having to work extra hours to get everything done. Pray the Lord sends the right people to join our team here.
• Please pray for Mujer Valiosa TV production. Filming for the second season is finished. Pray for them to get the editing finished and out to the different television stations. There has been an amazing response in all of Latin America.
• Please pray for our upcoming Home Assignment and all the details that go with that. Please pray that we will find a vehicle to use for a few months while on Home Assignment.

Mujer Valiosa TV from www.worldmissionbroadcast.org

Airing on 1,034 TV stations throughout Latin America and the U.S., the Nazarene program, Mujer Valiosa, is experiencing runaway success in just its seventh month, exposing potentially 150 million viewers to messages of hope in Jesus Christ.

The 30-minute Spanish-language program is based on World Mission Broadcast South America's equally popular radio program by the same name. It has caught on with TV stations because it combines spiritual truth with an informative and entertaining format, all at no cost to the stations, said executive producer Brian Utter.

The show aims to raise up families and communities by demonstrating how women can value themselves and improve their families and relationships.

The show's radio predecessor, The Nazarene Hour, ended in 2000 and cost $16,000 to air on two radio networks. Mujer Valiosa broadcasts on more than 1,000 television stations for free.

"They don't (usually) get quality programs at no cost to them," Utter said. "We researched what radio stations and television channels want, and we give that to them."

Most secular stations are open to airing the show because, although the Church of the Nazarene is mentioned as the producer, it doesn't push a particular denomination, he said.

"We're not here to promote a specific church; we're here to help promote Jesus Christ. We're not blatantly saying we're the Church of the Nazarene because that doesn't get our programs through the door of a secular station."

Mujer Valiosa, meaning "The Valued Woman," offers segments on cooking, handcrafts and home décor, wrapping up with a spiritual message.

Three women of different ages and life experiences host the program, which also includes interviews with experts offering a Christian perspective on subjects ranging from eating disorders to finances. The segments take place on sets designed to look like different rooms of a house.

Mujer Valiosa isn't just about entertainment, however. It's part of a broad strategy to draw interested viewers to salvation and discipleship through the ministry of local Nazarene churches.

"As a young girl members of my family abused me," wrote Lidia, a 52-year-old mother from Colombia. "There were consequences that remained hidden in my guarded emotions. I tuned into your program, and it impacted my life. My emotional state was healed."

WMB South America developed a three-pronged strategy for reaching and following up with viewers: digital, paper and personal, Utter said.

The radio and television programs are the digital prong, which reaches women where they are, then gets them thinking about their spiritual needs.

Paper refers to Mujer Valiosa literature, which is being developed through the Church of the Nazarene's Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International (SDMI) and will be offered throughout Latin American Nazarene churches as a basis for women's ministries.

For the personal prong, viewers who write to the program are contacted by their nearest Nazarene church for counseling, spiritual help and, if they choose, discipleship and church involvement.

For example, Utter mentioned an e-mail from a 27-year-old woman in Venezuela who asked for tips on the best way to lose weight after she viewed the show's segment on the spiritual and physical consequences of bulimia and anorexia.

Another viewer e-mailed: "I want to find out what God's plan is for me."

WMB South America passes these e-mails along to the follow-up coordinator in each nation where the show airs. That coordinator will connect these viewers to designated counselors and ministers in their nearest Nazarene churches.

"By making contact through a local church, the listener is shown God's mercy," said Colombian national WMB coordinator, Juan Jose Soto. "We can make this person feel important."

WMB South America has delivered 26 episodes and in October starts production on 27 more that will be expanded to one hour each, with more room for content.

Watch video segments at MujerValiosa.com or read more at Esperanza.net.

Fast Facts

The radio program, Mujer Valiosa, debuted in 2003 and airs on 1,400 radio stations in 24 countries.
Listeners to Mujer Valiosa on the Internet have written to the program from England, France, Germany, Israel and Italy.
The TV program, Mujer Valiosa, debuted in April 2007 and airs on more than 1,000 stations in 20 countries
The TV program airs in the following nations: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The hosts are Mrs. Liliana Radi, Mrs. Marcela Favatier, and Mrs. Robin Brunson.

--- Gina Pottenger, Coordinator of Global Research and E.Communications