Utter E-Mission

Nazarene Pastor Chosen to Host International Television Program

2008-03-06T16:20:00.004-02:00

Bogota, Colombia – World Mission Broadcast national coordinator, Pastor Juan Carlos Soto has been named host of a new international television program, “Lecciones de Vida” (Life Lessons). Through his contacts promoting the ministries of World Mission Broadcast in Colombia, Pastor Soto was contacted by Enlace Colombia (affiliated with the Trinity Broadcast Network International) a few weeks ago and invited to participate in a casting for the program. Pastor Soto was invited to record a test run of 8 programs that day after his casting. At the end of the long day of filming, he was selected to host the entire season of “Lecciones de Vida”. “Lecciones de Vida” is a television program which shares stories of lives transformed by the power of Christ. Pastor Soto shares, “As host, they have given me the possibility to talk about the Church of the Nazarene in Colombia. I know these are doors that God has opened. After the program, there is the possibility of presenting “Mujer Valiosa”, a program produced by the Church of the Nazarene and World Mission Broadcast in South America. Pastor Soto serves as Youth Pastor at the Modelia Church of the Nazarene in Bogota.

Utter E-Mission January - February 2008

2008-02-19T20:08:00.009-02:00

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

2008-02-18T23:55:00.004-02:00

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

“Brindarse”: What are you offering?

2007-10-05T23:34:00.000-03:00

By Brian Utter

Dirty little faces of shoeless children and big brown eyes peeking from behind the trees…that is who was waiting when we arrived after a 30 hour bus trip to the small Wichi community in Northern Argentina. For the past several years, Ruth Armagno, director of the Brindarse (Spanish for “to offer to do something”) Foundation and wife to David Mastronardi, pastor of the Piran Church of the Nazarene in Buenos Aires, has asked me to join them on their annual trip to minister in the Wichi community.

The Wichi community received the “white man” more than 100 years ago who told them about Jesus. The three chiefs of the tribes decided that from then on that the Wichi community would a Christian community. So, if you are born Wichi, you are born Christian. Unfortunately, many today do not know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The purpose of my trip was to train the Wichi community in radio. The Argentine government had put a radio station in the community several years ago, but never trained the people in how to operate a radio station. Most of the equipment has since broken, but they still broadcast with the basics. For three nights we trained 20 from the local radio station staff and 20 Nazarene brothers and sisters in many aspects of production and programming. Today, Pastor Rene Victorino and the Dios Wukwe (House of God) Church of the Nazarene broadcast team can be heard every Saturday afternoon at 4 teaching the Wichi community in what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through their program “Santidad A Jehova” (Holiness Unto the Lord).

The Brindarse Foundation group shared their responsibilities and completed many projects during that week including Vacation Bible Schools for hundreds of children in the La Esperanza, El Portrillo, La Paz, El Silencia, El Tronquito 1 and El Tronquito 2 neighborhoods. Isabel carted her tools and bag of seeds around the neighborhoods teaching gardening and giving away bags of seeds donated by the Argentine government. Carla led discussions with teenage girls during several afternoons. Two public bathrooms complete with showers were built directly behind the Dios Wukwe Church.

One free morning I found myself “offering to do something” (Brindarse). With several of the neighborhood children as my assistants, we found two dilapidated wheelbarrows and began hauling bricks to the construction site. The brick had been stacked neatly in the pastor’s front yard about 100 yards from the site. As my assistants passed me bricks over the fence to load on the wheelbarrows, they began passing many frogs and snakes they encountered. They giggled at the site of this “white man” receiving their special gifts.

Utter E-Mission July - August 2007

2007-10-05T23:19:00.000-03:00

After 89 years of no snow in Buenos Aires, we were privileged to be able to enjoy about 1-2” of white, fluffy, very wet snow. It flurried all morning, then mid-afternoon it started sticking to the ground. The kids were all excited to be able to go out and have a snowball fight, build our “gaucho” snowman and make snow angels (and I’m not just talking about the younger kids!) Andre (the MK on the right in the red jacket) had been praying for a long time for snow! Afterwards, we enjoyed homemade hot chocolate and a big bowl of chili!

BRIAN
It seems as though just about every time I am writing a newsletter, Brian has either just left, or was getting ready to leave. Yesterday, he left for a 9-day trip to Ecuador. He’s doing communications workshops on a field, district and local church level. He’s also going to be able to squeeze in the wedding of a good friend, Leo Longo, and a belated 1-year birthday party for our godson, Jeziel.

Last week, he had the amazing opportunity to go to Los Patrillos, in the northern province of Formosa in Argentina. He went with a group of people from a foundation that ministers to the indigenous Wichi (witchee) tribe. They are a very poor people and a unique culture. Brian was able to give radio workshops to not only fellow Nazarenes, but also to people from the community. He also helped move thousands of bricks, and preached at the Nazarene church there.
Please pray for this tribe of people that are searching for the Lord and desperately need Him in their lives.

LYNNE
Things have been moving at an incredible pace for me these last couple of months. I began with my first class at NBC the beginning of June. This past week, I just began my second class - Survey of the OT. This is a real stretch for me and has already been quite a challenge. Thankfully the classes only last six weeks, so only five more to go!

I’ve been rather busy in the office as well. Our Southern Cone Field office, where I work, is waiting for a new building to be finished in the next month or so, then we’ll be moving into it. It is located back on our adjoining “Campo 2” property. It will actually be right across for where our new home is going to be. We should be able to move into that in the next month or so as well. Lot’s of moving! UGH!!!

JACOB
The end of Jacob's winter break is coming to an end, and I'm not sure who is more excited for to go back to school, but I think it's him! He is very ready to get 2nd grace underway. Here is Jacob in action throwing a snowball. I think Dad was the lucky recipient!

2008 HOME ASSIGNMENT DATES
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
May 2-12 Washington Pacific District Tour (Brian)
May 11-18 Michigan District Tour (Lynne & Jacob)
May 25 AM Rushville IL CON
June 1-10 Chicago Central District Tour
June 15 AM Frankfort IN CON, PM Vincennes IN CON
June 22 AM Freeport IL CON
June 29 AM Beardstown IL CON

PRAYER REQUESTS
· Please pray for Brian’s trip to Ecuador. He will be doing quite a bit of traveling within Ecuador as well.
· Please pray for NICA - Jacob’s school. For the many decisions that need to be made for this coming year and years to come.
· 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 of extra hours to get everything done. Pray the Lord sends the right people to join our team here.
· Please pray for the Wichi Indian tribe in Formosa, Argentina. They’ve grown up believing they were Christians, but have not made personal commitments to our Lord. Pray they will learn to have a vital, alive relationship with our Lord.

Argentina: Life in Images

2007-03-12T09:52:00.000-03:00

A mime entertains the crowd in La Boca, Buenos Aires as local artists display their creations.

A girl feeds the pigeons in the 25th of May Plaza in front of the presidential house (The Pink House).

A Russian immigrant grandmother sells corn to feed the pigeons in the plaza. The money also helps feed her and her family.

Island farmers from River Plate sell fruit straight from their boats at Puerto de Frutos in Tigre.

Enjoying the creativity of God from His huge box of crayolas!

Utter E-Mission March 2007

2007-03-06T10:23:00.000-03:00

WMB SAM hosts National WMB Coordinator's Summit

Communication leaders from throughout South America gathered February 21-24 for the first annual National WMB Coordinator’s Summit at the Regional Communications Center in Pilar, Argentina. The summit was designed to further establish a virtual team of communication strategists, redefine roles and responsibilities in an ever-changing world of technology and unify the vision for World Mission Broadcast in South America.

The summit included several workshops, including Effectively Using Media, The Secret to Creativity, Communicating the Gospel God’s Way and Adopting A Communication Strategists Mentality. These workshops lead up to a brain storming session where several new ideas and innovative strategies were presented. “Each workshop was a unique, fun and interesting experience,” shares Gustavo Perales, WMB National Coordinator from Peru. “Personally, I return home challenged and excited to put into practice all I that have learned and to do my very best for God.”

Jake's World

He's 7 now and has lost two teeth! He so very patiently waited for some to be loose, and now he's lost two of them. So far, he's lost one a month since turning 7. As for now, there aren't any more that are loose, but we're anticipating one moving soon.

He's in first grade and doing very well. He's been enjoying our puppy, Victoria. We will be selling her soon, but he's having fun with her for now. He's also been taking guitar lessons at school. He is doing great and can play Mary Had A Little Lamb.

Plans are on the way for Jake's World III: Kids are Missionaries Too! We're already getting ready to go into production for this third DVD. Catch in at a Mission's Service near you!

Brian & Lynne

Brian has stayed very busy with his work schedule. The last couple of month’s he has travelled to Bolivia and Peru. He gave Communication’s workshops and were very successful. There was a great turn out and a lot of enthusiasm present. Brian also had his first opportunity to eat the local dish CUY, which is basically a guinea pig.

His parents, Jim & Sandy, will be coming at the beginning of April, for their 3rd trip here to visit us. We are so looking forward to spending some time with them and taking some vacation time while Jacob is on Spring Break. The day his parents leave, he, along with the other Regional Coordinator’s for the South America and Mexico and Central America Regions will be meeting together in Panama to help develop the lay leadership training schools as it is a shared strategy and we don’t want to duplicate the work.

Lynne is staying busy as the Field Treasurer for the Southern Cone Field. She truly enjoys her job and is blessed to be able to work with such a great team of people. She has been hosting a Ladies' Bible Study with some of the other missionary ladies that live near us. They are currently studying the book, "How to Read the Bible So It Changes Your Life." It really is impacting us in a great way. If you haven't read it, we highly recommend it. Sunday School at our local church gets postponed for the summer, but will be resuming next week. Lynne and Brian our co-teachers for the young adult class. Please pray as we get back into Sunday School, that the Lord will bless those in our class.

From Esperanza.net

“I have many problems in my life. I want to do bad things. Many times my desires overtake me. I would like you to pray for me that God can help me.” Saul, 17 Mexico

“I want to learn to me nice and to love those around me. I want to be better person and learn how to be a child of God.” Claudia, 22 El Salvador

“I want to know more about the Holy Spirit.” Carmen, 46 Spain

“I listen to the radio in the early mornings. You have many wonderful messages. I want to have contact with you to understand and have answers.” Manuel, 33 Ecuador

“I want my husband to change. I want him to stop drinking and to come back to his home. Please pray for me.” Ligia, 25 Bolivia

“My need is to have a relationship with God. I want to give Him all my fears and doubts.” Elena, 46 Chile

“I want to ask for prayer for my mother-in-law. She has breast cancer.” Angie 26, Panama

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

“We first received contact from a listener named Betty in August. She wrote, ‘Hello Word of Hope friends. I am writing you to tell you that I very much like your program because it teaches me the Bible and I am learning to pray.
I want to tell you that I am a Catholic woman and I don’t identify myself with Evangelicals. I continue to listen to your program and the pastor who speaks during this time, because he gives good lessons. I realize that through your prayers, God has help me a lot in my life.’ Betty continues to communicate with us and wants to meet us personally to talk more about God.”
- From Dr. Santiago Bereche leader of WMB Program “Palabra de Esperanza” (Word of Hope) in Santo Domingo, Ecuador

“Nelly is a young adult who for many years has been abused by her father. Her father makes her life a drama full of pain. She confessed to us that she has suffered for many years. She shared this with her mother and her response was denial in silence. For years she has looked for help and never obtained it. Some months ago she listened to the program by chance and had the opportunity to meet with us. When we saw her terrified face, we recognized that this is a full person of fears, tension and complexities. We ask permission to find out the reason for those characteristics. Some were answered. We only saw eyes soaked with tears. Through God working, she told us everything. It was something painful, amazing and dramatic to know this difficult story. It was hard to believe. My wife and I are counseling with her with God’s help. Finally, after many hours of listening and a long process of dsicleship, on December 27th, she received Jesus in her heart. She has already decided to attend the Church of the Nazarene. I request pray for this new daughter of God.”
- From Romaín Sosa leader of the WMB Program “Génesis” (Genesis) in Jaén, Peru

· Please pray for the National Communications Coordinators as they return to their countries excited about what the Lord can accomplish through communications.

· Please pray for Marcelo & Viviana Fretes—they’ve been on the Communications team for quite awhile now. They feel the Lord is calling them to Ecuador where they will be Youth Pastors to Viviana’s home church in Riobamba. Pray for traveling mercies, and that their positions will be filled quickly with quality people.

· Please pray for the Casas family, as they will be arriving in Argentina soon. He will be working in Communications. Pray their adjustment and move will be easy.

· Please pray for Bud and Judy Grumm—volunteer missionaries that arrived last week to work in the Cono Sur Field Office. Please pray their communication barriers and adjustment to Argentina will go smoothly.

Utter E-Mission December 2006

2006-12-19T14:28:00.000-03:00

Seasons greetings to you all. We’ve heard from several of you that many of you have already had snow and very cold weather. We want you to know that we’re thinking of you all as we’re going into our very hot and humid summer. Jacob is already getting a nice suntan and his hair is getting lighter and lighter everyday.

First of all, we want to wish each and every one of you a blessed Christmas. We love and miss you all and want you to know that we think of you often. We’ve been blessed with many people sending us notes, e-mails, Christmas cards and gifts and we want to say a huge THANK YOU!

Jacob has finished for the Christmas/summer break. He will not be returning to school until the 29th of January. They take a 6-week break now, and another 6-week break at the end of the school year in June, to accommodate the weather here and try to somewhat stick to a US school calendar. He absolutely loves first grade. He’s reading quite a bit and seems to enjoy it. Math has come so easily for him. He has a wonderful teacher, volunteer Stacy Chapman, who is from Indiana. She really has been a miracle sent to us. The kids all love her and so do the parents!

On Sunday, the 10th, Jacob was honored in the closing Sunday School celebration as being the child to show the most improvement and desire for wanting to learn more in his Sunday School class of 6-7 year olds. He received a certificate and a gift.

He’s also somewhat patiently waiting the arrival of the newest members of our family. Our dog, Lucy, is expecting 3 puppies the week between Christmas and New Year. We’ll keep you all informed!

Brian is in the middle of a construction mess in his office. To eliminate some expenses, he received approval to move the radio studios over into the Communications building. That requires a lot of work and details, but will be a tremendous blessing once it is completed.

On December 8th, we had a great time as the over 40 workers and volunteers in Communications met together to celebrate the season. We had a great time recognizing the great effort our team does to make this ministry the success that it is. They are all a vital and integral part of the team and we can’t make it without them all. Then, on the 13th, we had the smaller more intimate team of employees at our home for a time of fellowship. We all shared testimonies of what the Lord has done in each of our lives.

Lynne continues working as the Treasurer for the Southern Cone Field Office. This past Sunday, she and Jacob were part of the Christmas drama for our local church. Jacob did some choreography with some of the other children, and Lynne sang as part of the choir. It was the Christmas Story, retold Argentine style, with gaucho and paisanas (the women) and we had a wonderful turnout. After some apprehensive moments to see if the power would return after a storm took it out, we were able to present this wonderful story. There was a salvation invitation at the end of the service and approximately 15-20 people made commitments and accepted Christ into their hearts. It truly was a beautiful evening.

From Esperanza.net November 2006

“I listen to your programs everyday in my office. They have helped me so much. I would like advice on parenting. I have three sons; the oldest is 16. There are days when he has a ‘special attitude’ about life. I would like to here your advice.” Teresa, 36
Ecuador

“My need is the following…I need spiritual help. There is something in my life that I don’t like – I am insensitive. I harm those around me. I really need this help.” Sebastian, 24 Chile

“I pray for my marriage to be restored.” Martha 44, Ecuador

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

Freddy has listened to his older brother Romaín for 6 years broadcasting the radio program “Genesis” over the Internet and through some recordings he has been sent. Thanks to God, Freddy recently gave his heart to the Lord listening. Today, Romaín celebrates the second of his 7 brothers coming to the Lord. “I praise God for giving me this most precious gift. I am faithful that one day all 8 Sosa brothers will be walking with the Lord.” Romaín thanks God for allowing his program to not only reach his family, but to be a net fishing for souls. - From Romaín Sosa leader of WMB Program “Génesis” (Genesis) in Jaén, Peru

Here are two additional news items...

A Shining Light in Northern Uruguay
The weekend of December 9th Brian and Marcelo Fretes, Radio Affiliate/Follow-up Manager, traveled to Tacuarembo, Uruguay for a full day of communication workshops. This was Brian's first opportunity to present workshops in Uruguay.
The North Uruguay district has a successful new radio ministry called "El Faro" (The Lighthouse) which airs on Radio Tiempo (Time) 101.7 FM. This radio is the most listened to secular station in Northern Uruguay.

This ministry takes a unique approach airing on Friday nights from 12am - 1am targeting adult couples who culturally are still up and listening to the radio. The program receives numerous phone calls and text messages averaging between 10-15 new contacts each program.

About 20 pastors and church leaders from the district participated in the workshops, which covered a wide variety of topics including, using mass media to evangelize to developing new radio ministries to how the latest technology is being used for the Kingdom of God.

Mujer Valiosa TV Marches On

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was a working day, at least for the MVTV team. Another episode is "in the can" as they say. Running much smoother and produced more rapidly than the two original pilots was the third MVTV program about Menopause. Such an effort takes so many people involved that trying to coordinate so many schedules is quite the task. So, in January during the week of the 22nd - 27th, ten (that's right, 10) episodes will be carefully organized and filmed in a full-blown marathon of work. The first mid-season will be sent out in February for transmissions to start in March. Please be in prayer about this exciting new endeavor to reach the secular audiences of Latin America.

Prayer Requests:

Please remember our pastor in the US, Mike Bowers. He had to resign from our church for health reasons, and he and his family have to leave everything behind and sell it all as the doctors are fearful that a mold that is proving to be the culprit of his bad health could be among any of their things. Please pray for them as they make this unplanned and unwanted change in their lives.

Please remember us and our families are we are away from them all during this holiday season. We miss you all terribly and want you to know we love you and are praying for you all.

Please remember the “Work Marathon” in January for WMTV. These are sure to be long and tiring days for all involved.

Please remember Marcelo, Viviana and Jezy (our godson) as they travel to Ecuador to visit Viviana’s family. This will be the first time that all of her family, except her mother, will be able to meet Jezy.

Please remember our beloved South America Region. The director, missionaries, DS’s, pastors, lay leaders and workers. That we will constantly seek the Lord’s direction and heed to His will in each of our lives.

Lastly, again, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.

Utter E-Mission November 2006

2006-11-09T12:16:00.000-03:00

Hello to you all from a beautiful 70 degrees at 10:30 in the morning! It’s supposed to get close to 80 today and the rest of the weekend. We are truly enjoying a great spring so far. I know I shouldn’t be rubbing this in, as some of you have already experienced snow in your cities, but I just couldn’t help it.

Well, Lynne’s sister, Lori, just left this past Monday after almost two weeks visiting us here in Argentina. It was her first time down here, and I think she really enjoyed her stay. We had a great time showing her the sites and being able to drive about 5 hours from here to stay 1 block from the Atlantic Ocean. We rented a little cabin and enjoyed a couple of days at the beach! Jacob had a blast showing off his Aunt Lori. We’re so thankful that she was able to come down here and spend some time with us. It made Lynne’s birthday even more special to have her sister with her.

Brian has been busy with work. He hasn’t traveled too much, but does have a trip or two planned in December. The radio ministry continues to experience tremendous growth and our team, even though having to be streamlined to meet budget constraints, is still doing an awesome job. Video and television are booming. Weekend recording will begin in the next couple of weeks for the Mujer Valiosa, “Valued Woman” half-hour television program. We have two pilots now filmed and have been showing them to groups of women, and the response has just been incredible. We have great expectations that the Lord is going to do something awesome with this show.

Lynne is getting back into the swing of things after being away for vacation while her sister was here. We all spent vacation time together, but she was away before that for a Women’s Conference for the Cono Sur (Southern Cone) field she works for. The field is getting ready to have a Holiness Campaign. Dr. Deihl, our responsible General Superintendent will be speaking and pastors, district superintendents and lay leaders will be coming from the four countries represented by this field – Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. This is promising to be an incredible time together.

It also seems probable that we will be having more puppies around Christmas time. Jacob is absolutely thrilled! We don’t know how many Lucy is having, but we’re fairly confident that she’s going to have some. She’s just a few months past 4 years old, and Max is about 1 ½ years. We’ll keep you all posted! Anyone want a boxer pup? ☺

From Esperanza.net October 2006

“I am very anxious. I have a 14 year-old daughter. Because of my work I see her only once a month. My daughter needs me with her. She feels very alone. At this time, I don’t have an alternative. I am left with little hope.” Dina, 38, Chile

“I need strength and hope to keep going in this world.” Margarita, 41 Venezuela

“I want to know how to be a ‘valuable woman’. I want to learn to be a woman of wisdom. I have low self esteem.” Carmen, 45 Chile

“I need spiritual peace.” Daniel, 45 Colombia (Listening to the radio in a taxi)

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

“Juana lives in Pampahasi, Bolivia and was looking for some music to listen to when she came across the program ‘Levantando Vuelo’ (Taking Flight). She heard host Anette Moreno sharing on the topic ‘Love, love, love’. The words touched her heart and she began to cry while listening that her life has value. She called the radio station for counsel and ask that the team visit her in her home. Her parents are separated and she lives with her mother. She feels that she needs to talk to her father and this angers her mother. Her mother doesn’t want her to talk about her father and if she continues she will stop paying for her education. She had thought about running away, but when she heard the program she called the radio for help. We visited her that afternoon after the program. That afternoon she accepted Christ as her Savior. We continue to visit with her and she has begun attending the Church of the Nazarene near her. We are continuing to pray for her mother.”

- From Raul Chipana Vargas leader of the WMB Program “Levantando Vuelo” (Taking Flight) in La Paz, Bolivia.

“We received a visit from Lucero, who is one of the disc jockeys on Radio Caribeña. He told us that he listened to the program and enjoyed the messages that we shared. He shared with us that he wanted to change his life and he promised to visit the Church. We also had two teenagers from the Province of Cutervo call requesting a secular song. We explained that we are playing music about Jesus, so they said they would listen. They called back saying that they enjoyed the songs. We were able to share more with them. We receive calls like this all the time and it reminds us of our mission to reach the lost.”

- From Romaín Sosa Torres leader of the WMB Program “Génesis” (Genesis) aired now on secular Radio Caribeña in Jaén, Peru.

Prayer Requests
1. Please pray for Brian’s family as his uncle Jim recently passed away. Please remember his Aunt Jeanine and their daughter Nicky. He’d been sick for quite awhile now, but it’s still always hard to deal with.
2. Please remember Myriam Pozzi, Content Manager and Producer of Mujer Valiosa. She’s been having some anxiety health related issues. She has to try and minimize her stress level. We all know how difficult that can be.
3. Please remember Lynne’s boss, Juan Jose Zani in your prayers as District Assemblies have begun and he will be doing a lot of traveling.
4. Please remember the Holiness Campaign that will take place on the 17th, 18th and 19th of this month.
5. Please remember all those involved in the television production of Mujer Valiosa that will begin to take place soon. This is a very time consuming process and very tiring.

Our next furlough is April – June, 2008. We have already begun to fill a lot of these dates with some district tours. If you would be willing and like to have us speak in your church, please contact us soon so we can figure out a time when we can come. We’d love to see as many of you as possible.

Brian Reports: Sending Out An S.O.S. To The World

2006-11-06T15:45:00.000-03:00

What really defines “cutting edge” communication technology? Blackberry…Blogs… Video Blogs…Text Messaging…My Space…You Tube? To some it might sound like a form of cryptic code or maybe even Mr. Spock speaking Vulcan. To your average American teenager, it is their ‘lingo’, or more importantly, their life. They have classified the current teen generation as the connected generation. They are connected, communicating at all times from anywhere and interfacing with each other. Their “technology” is this ever-changing, rapidly moving fluid “thing” that is hard for us Baby-buster, Gen Xers to fully comprehend. So, we ask our children and they give us the ‘wikipedia googlefied’ explanation that confuses us even more.

In the 3rd or even 2nd world of South America that “cutting edge” comes a little slower. Not much, mind you, but enough to let us catch our breath once in a while. For communications in South America, it is partly about staying on the “cutting edge” of technology, but also staying on the “cultural edge” in understanding who is the audience, where do they live and how do they communicate. World Mission Broadcast is currently known for three areas of broadcast ministries: radio, television and Internet. These are all an integral part of the cultural fabric that makes up our world and has now more than every connected us together. But what happens to those not yet connected? The unreached?

We are called to reach the unreachable; to use any and every means possible to share Jesus Christ. So, staying on the “cultural edge” sometimes takes us back to not so much of the “cutting edge.” You see, in the early 1970’s when we all had longer collars and wider ties a new “cutting edge” technology called a Phonemate Answering Machine offered you the ability to record phone messages on reel-to-reel tape with a machine weighing more than 10 pounds. Then, in the 1983 when a doctor from Japan figured out a way to digitally record those messages, everything changed. Our ties became thinner and looked more like a sock and we left messages after ‘the beep.’

It is that same ‘old’ technology that is on the “cultural edge” in Brazil. Brazil, by many standards, is very “cutting edge” in technology. You can surf the Internet on your laptop from the city of Manaus in the middle of the Amazon and watch the World Cup Soccer tournament on your high definition television, IF you are connected (or reached). But millions are not. So, using ‘old’ technology to stay on the “cultural edge,” the Church of the Nazarene in Brazil began the S.O.S. Answering Machine ministry.

Each day S.O.S. ministry teams throughout Brazil are recording new answering machine messages. However, it is not your typical…“Not here, leave a name and number” kind of message, but a concise message of hope to someone reaching out for help. The telephone numbers are printed on business cards, stickers, flyers, anywhere they can get the number out in front of the public. God has used this antiquated technology to reach out those disconnected (or unreachable) offering hope in the form of Jesus Christ.

Felipe’s life was collapsing all around him. His marriage was at the point of divorce. His work at the office was suffering and he was looking for escape through alcohol and drugs. One morning as he was walking to his bus stop, he found a dirty business card blowing around his foot. He picked up the card and it said, “There’s hope. Call now.” Felipe called the number on the card and hear a short message about peace in the middle of chaos. He left a message where someone could contact him. An S.O.S. counselor called Felipe’s cell phone and was able to share and pray with Felipe. Today, Felipe and his wife have restored their marriage and he and his family are active members of the Church of the Nazarene.

Gabriella was in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend when she saw a small sticker on the wall of a convenient store. It said, “Help is waiting. Call today.” Gabriella called and left an address asking for someone to visit her. A team of S.O.S. counselors visited with Gabriella in her parents’ home. Gabriella heard for the first time in her life about true love and what a real relationship could be like. She prayed to accept Jesus sitting at the kitchen table. Today, she sings in the choir.

Whether they are classified as disconnected or unreached, God calls us to reach them through any means possible. Riding the wave of “cutting edge” technology while staying focused on the “cultural edge” around us is what allows God to work through the ministries of World Mission Broadcast throughout the globe. Thanks for helping us send out an S.O.S. to the world.

“Mujer Valiosa” Pilot debuts at COICOM Conference in El Salvador

2006-10-17T09:53:00.000-03:00

“Mujer Valiosa” Pilot debuts at COICOM Conference in El Salvador

October 4-7, Latin evangelical communicators gathered for the 15th annual COICOM conference in the city San Salvador. World Mission Broadcast South America took advantage of the opportunity to debut the pilot television program “Mujer Valiosa” (Valued Woman) to the more than 3,000 Christian communicators.

“In our first attempt at television, we have seen God provide time and again. COICOM was no exception to that,” say Brian Utter, Regional Communication Coordinator. “We have initially signed up to air on 141 television channels in 16 countries, including a large number of cable systems in the US.”

An agreement was made with the Unsión Network from Quito, Ecuador to be the satellite provider for the program. “The partnership with Unsión will allow us to provide the material to television channels at no cost to our ministry. God continues to open the possibilities to reach the lost through media,” say Utter. It is anticipated that by the launch of the program in February that more than 300 television channels will be on board.

Other exciting results of the week include the addition of the satellite radio network “CVC – A Sua Voz” as a distributor of the WMB Portuguese radio programs; 28 new Spanish radio affiliates and the possibilities of incorporating text messaging into the media broadcasts.

“Now more than ever we as a Church need to find creative, entertaining ways to break through this post-modern culture and present the reality of Jesus Christ,” says Utter.

Utter E-Mission October 2006

2006-10-13T10:19:00.000-03:00

Greetings to each one of you! I (Lynne) just realized that it’s now officially October and that I never sent out a newsletter for September. I just don’t know where the time goes. A lot has been happening, and a lot is going to be happening, sometimes we just don’t see the time moving by us.

September was a wonderful month. We had a wonderful time with a Work & Witness group that was here from Virginia. There were 15 of them, and we had a great time getting to know them. It’s such a small world, one of the Assoc. Pastor’s that was on the team is the brother-in-law of a guy I was in High School with. It’s always so much fun to make those connections with strangers. We made some wonderful friends from this group and we hope to see them all again in the near future!

Jacob is doing wonderfully well in first grade. He is able to read more and more words each day. He’s a whiz with math facts and has informed us that math is his favorite subject. He truly enjoys his classmates and his teacher is wonderful. He has been taking swimming classes at a pool close by and he is doing really well. He enjoys it and is learning a lot.

Brian left Monday morning at 3:00am to head to El Salvador. The annual COICOMM conference is taking place there and he and another member of our radio team is there to represent the Church of the Nazarene. He will be returning on Tuesday, the 10th of October very early in the morning. Please pray that this time will be blessed and used by God.

I’m doing well in my job. The end of September brought the end of our fiscal year, so that always brings in loads of extra work and challenges. It’s a very busy time of the year for me, so if you could please remember me in your prayers, I would appreciate it.

Later this month, there is a Women’s Conference that I’m going to be going to. At least that’s the plan now. With my new job responsibilities, I’m not quite sure if I’m going to be able to pull of going or not, we’ll see. Then, on the 26th my sister, Lori, is coming down here for a visit. This will be her first time in Argentina. Needless to say, we are very excited about her time here. Only 22 more days (but who’s counting?)

Sunday brought the 40th wedding anniversary of Brian’s parents. We were able to talk with them on the telephone and wish them a wonderful day. We love you Mom & Dad.

The filming and editing of the new television program – Mujer Valiosa – Valued Woman, is taking place. It’s been so incredible to watch as this program has exploded and people are so excited about it. The ladies that are involved in this ministry are all volunteering their time and also the special guests. Over just about every weekend in November, they will be filming to get the 24 shows ready. Right now they have 2 promotional shows filmed and edited and they have turned out exceptionally well. The Lord is just blessing and blessing this ministry. It’s so awesome to stand back and watch it unfold. Please pray for the many people that are involved in this particular ministry; the 4 ladies that are the hosts, those involved in filming, producing, editing and distribution. It’s a massive undertaking and can’t happen without the help of God!

Well, our next Home Assignment is April – June, 2008. We already have two district tours scheduled and several other possibilities lined up. We’d love to come to your church or district and share what the Lord is doing in Communications in South America. If you would be interested in having us for a deputation service, a Faith Promise service or weekend, or any other time to share, please contact us directly at lynne@esperanza.net. We’d love to talk with you and see if it’s possible to visit you.

We haven’t mentioned much about the two blogspots that we have online. One is www.utteremission.blogspot.com. We also have a blogspot for Jacob – www.jakesworld1999.blogspot.com. You can check out these sites for our monthly newsletter and some other special postings about what’s happening in our worlds. Jacob and Dad had a lot of fun setting up Jacob’s site. Please enjoy looking at these.

Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for Brian and us as Brian is traveling in El Salvador. That his trip will be beneficial and safe.
2. Please pray for the Ladies’ Retreat that will be happening on the 19th-23rd of this month.
3. Please pray for my sister Lori and her upcoming trip down here (only 22 more days!)
4. Please pray for all those involved in the Mujer Valiosa television program.

Utter E-Mission August 2006

2006-08-10T15:59:00.000-03:00

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

2006-08-10T09:08:00.000-03:00

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.

Utter E-mission July 2006

2006-07-05T15:00:00.000-03:00

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings to each and every one of you from a cold, wet, winter’s day in Argentina. We have all now safely returned to Argentina and are so glad to be back home. Although we love seeing everyone, it’s nice to be home.

Our Home Assignment 2006 went so well. The Lord truly blessed our time there. We were able to visit and see so many of you. We saw a lot of the western United States and parts of British Colombia, Canada. All of it was beautiful. We owe a big thank you to several people who helped make our traveling possible. First, David & Carlette Wankel, who provided us a beautiful mini-van to use. They are so kind and good to us and are very dear friends. Thanks David and Carlette. Second, to Ed & Lynne Wittung, fellow missionaries in Bolivia. They loaned us their 30’ motor home to travel in. We appreciate all of you so much.

We also want to thank those of you who came to hear us speak, sacrificially gave to our deputation offering, gave us wonderful gifts, blessed our hearts, opened your homes and in general, were Jesus to us. Our hearts were touched and we will never forget the love and support that we felt from you all.

We were able to meet and spend some time with our wonderful LINKS district – Canada Pacific. A huge thank you to Linda Lavell for all of her hard work in making sure we were where we were supposed to be. Thanks Linda! We met so many wonderful Nazarenes in Canada and were blessed by their generosity and hospitality.

Our upcoming LINKS district for the next two years is Upstate New York. The complete other side of the continent! We’re looking forward to heading out east on our next Home Assignment, which is scheduled for April – June, 2008. We look forward to seeing that side of the country.

Communications here in Argentina has continued without fail. The team here has been doing a wonderful job of keeping things going. Marcelo and Viviana are now proud parents of Jessie Gabriel Fretes Perez. He weighed in at 5 lbs. 7 oz. – just a little sprite. We have been honored by being asked to be the godparents of this wonderful new little life. We are looking forward to spoiling him! Marcelo (a different one!) and Eledy – Eledy works as a writer for us in Comm., just had their first little boy, Camilo, a couple of weeks ago. There are a lot of new little boys around.

Jacob is so thrilled to be home with all of his friends, toys and dogs. We had a little scare with our boxer puppy, Max. While in the US, his kidney’s started shutting down for no apparent reason. He was brought in almost daily for tests, blood drawings and antibiotic injections. Thankfully, he is completely fine now and as hyper and energetic as always. He thoroughly enjoys pestering our 4 yr old boxer, Lucy. Lucy and Max both were happy to have us home. We really missed them a lot. Jacob is continuing on with home schooling, as we just were unable to complete the full semester while traveling. NICA (Nazarene International Christian Academy) is set to start on August 21. He’s looking forward to being in 1st grade. It’s so hard to believe that he’s old enough! What happened to our little baby???

Lynne began working as the Field Treasurer for the Southern Cone Field. This field consists of the following four countries: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. There is a new Field Strategy Coordinator (formerly Field Director), Juan Jose Zani, so she is learning a new job under a new leader.

I wanted to get an e-mail out to you, as it’s been quite a few months since we sent one out. Shortly after arriving in the US, my laptop decided that it wanted to die! Thankfully, my brother-in-law, Kevin, is a computer genius, and was able to repair it for me at no cost. It did mean however, that all of the information on my computer was lost and therefore I didn’t have all of your e-mail addresses to send out a newsletter. Please forgive us.

We have some listener comments that we would like to share with you. Feel free to use these testimonials in services or reprint them in a bulletin or Missions’ flyer.

From the trenches…
(Actual testimonies from local WMB radio ministries in South America)

“It is a pleasure to be able to greet you in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This month we have truly been blessed. A listener named Juan Pablo called us asking that we come visit him in his house because he had been having suicidal thoughts. He found the program curiously searching for music. He was tuning into whatever he could find and without knowing, he found us and began to listen. He share with us that when he listened to us, he saw that we were very happy. He began listening in the morning and kept listening and began to like the music and worship. He told us that sometimes he would listen to many radio stations, but what has impacted him the most is when he listened to the WMB material on suicide. It really got through to him that life does have value and his life does matter to someone that loves him very much and His name is Jesus. He was so astonished by the happiness that he felt that it moved him to call us and asked us to visit his home. So we sent one of our team members to fulfill this assignment to pray with Juan Pablo. We found out that he lives a lonely life. He lives with his father who has wanted nothing to do with him since his mother’s death when he was 12 years old. He felt the need to have someone who actually cares about him. He had some friends, but after the fun was over they left and again he felt an emptiness. He works for a messenger service company, but feels alone and depressed saying his life is boring. Brother Moisés from our team prayed with him and shared from God’s word. Today he decided to attend a nearby Church of the Nazarene in Villa Adela El Alto.”
- From Raul Chipana leader of WMB Program “Levantando Vuelo” (Taking Flight) in La Paz, Bolivia

Alexander’s Testimony: This is the first time that I have listened to your program. Today’s message by Pastor Santiago Bereche was on Mistreatment in the Home. It really spoke to my own situation. I had a family (wife and children) but I mistreated them, especially my wife. I mistreated her verbally and physically. I tried to change and save my family but I could not. We separated eight years ago. My wife left with the children and I was left alone. For some weeks my wife and I have been considering the possibility of reuniting for the years that we have left. Today’s message has been helpful for this possibility. I ask that you pray for my family.
- From Dr. Santiago Bereche leader of WMB Program “Palabra de Esperanza” (Word of Hope) in Santo Domingo, Ecuador

“We Reached the Heart and Saved a Life” This was the title of the WMB program “El Faro” (The Lighthouse) where the main subject was abortion. We both felt that God would bless this program. It was the night that we had the most listeners participating in the program. We talked about the value of life, from fertilization to our responsibility and the love of God. Three days had passed since the program and I met Claudia. Her belly was just being to show signs of her pregnancy. What surprised me most was her face, radiating peace with a beautiful smile. She thanked me for the program from the previous Friday and told me was the key to keeping the life of her baby.

Excerpts from esperanza.net June 2006

“If God loves me, why am I suffering so much in this world? My house is without electricity and water. I am trying to live the good life, although I suffer a lot. I eyes don’t cry anymore because I have spent my life crying. All my life has been bad. Help me, please!! Sometimes I just want to shut my eyes and sleep forever. I feel so alone.”- NV, 31 Chile

“I need to know if God can forgive me, because I committed a terrible sin of fornication. Even though I call myself a Christian, I allowed myself to be touched by a man. I don’t want anyone to touch me.” – MD, 18 Peru

“I have been separated from my husband for seven months. We have a son who is a year and a half old. I have asked God to restore my life, my home and the life of my husband. I am in the process of forgiving him for his lies and unfaithfulness. How can I win this battle?” – SF, 29 Ecuador

Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for the Fretes family, as they are welcoming in Jessie. Pray for Jessie’s continued health and growth and that we, as his godparents, and his parents can show him the love of Jesus to lead him to that decision as a child.
2. Please pray for Project: Hope for Bolivia, that things would fall into place and that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide in this endeavor to broadcast to these two indigenous groups.
3. Please pray for the South America team as we are under new leadership. A lot of transitions are taking place. Pray for unity and growth among our region.
4. Please pray for Lynne as she begins a new job working in the Southern Cone Field office as their new treasurer. There are a lot of changes and learning a new job is not always easy.

Utter E-Mission October/November 2005

2005-11-14T21:11:00.000-03:00

Hello to you all. We are enjoying a warm spring day here in sunny Argentina. The flowers are blooming, leaves are coming out on the trees and the days are getting longer. We are enjoying the glorious beauty of the Lord's Creation.

We're at the middle of November - it hardly seems possible - and places are already decorating for Christmas. It's just so shocking to walk in to our grocery store and see all of those beautiful decorations, while we're running the air conditioners in our cars, homes and offices. The kids have been out swimming whenever they get a chance! It's hard to get into the "Christmassy" mood. Although it does help not to be so homesick during this time of year, so that's a good point.

The Lord is moving in a tremendous way here in South America. At the beginning of November, the Field Strategy Coordinators (formerly called Field Director's) and the Regional Advisory Council met here in Argentina for meetings. This brought in Louie Bustle, Dr. Jim Diehl, and several others from Kansas City. We had 3 evening services with Dr. Diehl and they were tremendous. We had a mini-revival here. It was awesome. Our new Regional Director, Christian Sarmiento also came, and we were able to spend some time getting to know him a little better as a new team. Dr. Diehl inducted him as the new RD and a beautiful memorial service for Dr. Bruno Radi helped us to bring some closure and start new hopes for the future of South America. We are really looking forward to the upcoming changes and building of a new level for the region.

Jacob's happenings: He's had a busy month at school. October was reading month, so each night we read (or mainly Dad did the reading) at least two books before bed. They had read close to 80 books in the month of October. The school had their big Mission's Fair and raised over $5000 pesos (US$1,668) for a local mission's project in one of the northern provinces of Argentina. Jacob's Kindergarten class sold tacos. They were a huge hit and we raised the most of any other class-sponsored project. We really had a lot of fun and so did the kids! This next week or so, the individual missionary families will be able to take in information about their work here in Argentina or South America. He's looking forward to getting a swimming pool, which we'll probably do sometime this week. It's been getting really warm and a nice swim after he gets home from school is something he insists he needs! He also won first place at the Hidden Treasure Scholastics Book Fair at the school. His pirate costume was awarded with 50 gold coins (chocolate filled!) He had a good time.

Lynne's happenings: She's been busy with work. A missionary family that works in the Finance office with her is getting ready to leave for their furlough, so she's scrambling to get things lined up and prepared for the time that they are away. It's going to be a long, yet very busy few months. She's been participating in the activities at Jacob's school and is part of the committee for the Parent's/Teacher's Fellowship for BAICA (Buenos Aires International Christian Academy).

Brian's happenings: He has been extremely busy with the meetings that took place at the beginning of this month. He had a lot of extra work that needed to be accomplished for the meetings themselves. Thankfully, he hasn't had to do too much traveling the last couple of months, but in December, he will be traveling a lot. He has a trip planned to Bolivia, Peru, and two countries in the North Andean Field. He will be doing Radio workshops and meeting with Pastor's and DS's in these countries.

WM Communications: Punto de Gracia (GracePoint) received tremendous reviews and support from regional leadership. On Friday evening, November 4th, Brian presented his annual report and the GracePoint project to the Regional Advisory Council, along with Dr. Louie Bustle and new regional director, Dr. Christian Sarmiento. The response was overwhelming. The region is 100% behind this new mass media evangelistic campaign. Together as a region, we will flood mass media outlets during Holy week in April of 2006.

The International School of Evangelism Video Library. This year the course work for the ISE will be done in our television studio. The goal is to create a video library that can serve as a resource to reproduce the school in other parts of South America.

WM Broadcast: WMB South America was again a sponsor of the annual COICOM conference. COICOM is an association of Latin Christian Communicators. Myriam Pozzi and Susana Cabral from the regional team, along with Elsa Maldonado, WMB National Coordinator for Bolivia participated in the event in Santa Cruz, Bolivia November 2-5. The WMB booth was the most visited in the entire Expo Center. In total, 64 new radios stations were added to the list of affiliates. Many new contacts were made with television networks in anticipation of the new television project for 2006.

New radio discipleship series "Viviendo Sin Barreras" (Living Without Barriers) to begin production this month with target air dates in February 2006.

"Mujer Valiosa" (The Valued Woman) continues to be by far the most listened to and successful radio program. The coming months we will launch the program in Guaraní for the 4.7 million speakers in Paraguay, Northern Argentina, Northern Chile and Southern Bolivia.

"Mujer Valiosa" (The Valued Woman) is also being expanded to television. An open casting call will be done the first two weeks of January to search for three television hosts.

WMB Production Facility - Bolivia. During our last furlough, we presented the need for a Brazilan facility to produce in Portuguese. Today, Paulo Neto and his team are busy producing our Portuguese programs from Campinas, Brazil in a studio that you made happen. This time around, we are looking at a facility in Bolivia to produce for two large indigenous groups. This area of South America is home to the Aymara and Quechua Indian groups. Our Aymara church is strong between Bolivia and Peru, however with 2.3 million Aymaras there is a huge need for radio materials in their language. Also, with a relatively small church among the 7.7 million Quechua speakers, the harvest is ready and waiting to truly be impacted through radio. Radio is the only form of mass media for indigenous groups like these and very little is being done in their languages.

Esperanza.net testimonials:
"I feel alone. God doesn't listen to me. I don't know what to do. My period hasn't come and I am confused. Help me, please. I want to kill myself. I suffer now day and night not knowing what is happening in my body. I am asking for your help. I want to leave my doubts behind. Please, help me. No, I don't want to reveal my name."
(Editor's note: This young lady is receiving on-going counseling and has learned that God is not punishing her, but she is accountable for her own actions.)

"I am a divorced mother of three children 21, 15 and 13. Can you help me to be a better mother for them?" - MG, 45 Panama

"I am shy. I don't know what to do. I want to share with others, but it makes me scared, nervous and afraid to talk in public, especially with women." - DB, 21 Ecuador

"I have arrived to your website thanks to a friend that sent me an email with your reflections. I must confess that I don't go to church. I have always been interested in knowing who Jesus was, his thoughts and attitudes. Thanks." - CC, 28 Argentina

"Today I heard a program for couples that are unable to have children. I have this problem. You talked about three different forms to conceive. I would like you to explain a little more. I am very interested." - LR, 35 Honduras

"Sometimes I feel down hearted. I feel like I can't go on. I want to be an example for my family. I am the only one in my home that has received Christ and it is a little hard. I want my parents to believe in me and not doubt." - JZ, 21 Peru

Prayer Requests:
Travel schedules are full for everyone as the communications team begins traveling presenting the GracePoint campaign in district assemblies. By bus, boat and plane, the schedule is full through February. Brian will be meeting with national leadership in Bolivia, Peru, and countries in the North Andean Field in the coming weeks.

Please remember Marcelo & Viviana Fretes. They are members of our WM Broadcast team. Many of you may have met Marcelo as he accompanied us during General Assembly. They are expecting their first child. We are so thrilled with them and are excited for them. Please pray for an easy pregnancy and that the baby will be healthy. We're not sure of the exact due date, but probably July 2006.

Please pray for our next Home Assignment - March through May 2006. We have many of our dates filled, but still need to fill some. If you would be interested in having us attend your church to share the exciting things the Lord is doing through Communications for South America, please contact us: brian@esperanza.net or lynne@esperanza.net.

Please remember Jacob as this next semester, while we are traveling on Home Assignment, we will be home schooling him. This will be a big adjustment for all of us.

Utter E-Mission September 2005

2005-10-21T20:10:00.001-03:00

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.

The Utter Family

2005-10-05T12:00:00.000-03:00

Utter E-Mission August 2005

2005-09-23T04:52:00.000-03:00

Greetings to all of you from a cold rainy day here in Argentina. We had several weeks of relatively nice weather, and then the last few days, we've had nothing but rain! Today it's really cooled off a lot, so it's a little harder to deal with. Although our winter is nothing compared to the winter that the majority of you face, it still feels cold to us.

I realize that it's almost September and am late, again, with this newsletter. I seem to be able to get a newsletter out monthly, or somewhat monthly, so I guess I can't beat myself up for it being a little late. Please forgive us. So much has been happening these past few weeks that I fear this will be a longer newsletter than some.

Jacob's news: He began Kindergarten on August 2nd. Mom took him and 3 other missionary kids to school that morning, and Mom took a TON of photos. I'll try to include some in this e-mail. He had chapel that first morning, and then they dismissed to their classrooms to get started in a new year. Jacob wanted Mom to stay for chapel, but once they separated for their classrooms, he said, "Bye, Mom!" Needless to say, Mom got a little misty eyed. Our little boy is growing up and becoming more independent everyday. It just seems impossible that he's in Kindergarten. Where does the time go? He is enjoying school very much. He's not quite thrilled with the ∏-hour Quiet Rest time, go figure! I tried explaining that once he gets older, he'll appreciate a nap in the middle of the day, but he's just not quite buying it right now!

More Jacob news: On Sunday, August 28, 2005, Jacob asked Jesus to come into his heart at a Children's Day event at our local church here in Pilar. This date is a very special date as it was my (Lynne) Mom's birthday. Usually the day brought sadness for the memories and missing my mother, but now I have a reason to look at this date with excitement and gratefulness. The Lord blessed this day and I will no longer be sad when I think of this day.

Brian's news: After returning from General Assembly, he's been just as busy it seems like. He began teaching another class at the Seminary here in Pilar. He is teaching the Mission's class for the Licensing Class there. This is the 2nd time he's taught this class, and is enjoying it. He also made an overnight trip to Brazil to connect with the radio ministry there. He also took that opportunity to discuss the upcoming Communications degree program and is excited that they want to do this same program at the University there in Brazil. He is going to be putting in a lot of time over the next few weeks getting this program up and going. It's exciting to see the amount of response he is receiving about this program. It's new for Latin America and we are excited to be a part of it.

Lynne news: She has begun to work full-time as Jacob is now in full-day school. It has taken some getting used to as she hasn't worked full-time since Jacob's been born. Her responsibilities in the office are being added upon, but are still in the area of finance. She has recently begun attending a Ladies Bible Study with several other missionary ladies. It's in Spanish as there are Latin missionary ladies involved as well. We are studying the book, "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer. It really is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.

Radio news: All of our programs are going and are very successful. We've had some changes in our staff of voices, as a couple from Chile, recently returned to Chile. Wendy Vega has taken over as the voice for the Women's Program, Valued Woman. She and her family are from Bolivia. They attend our church and she is very passionate about radio and the opportunities that come from it. She is doing an excellent job. The Lord blessed us with Wendy. Our children's program, "Adventures with Buzy" is a great success. Marcelo, a member of our radio team who traveled with us at General Assembly, made a trip to Paraguay to raise awareness of our programs. He was able to get 17 new radio stations interested and they are going to begin airing our programs. Nine of these stations were secular stations and one of those is a national secular station that covers the entire country of Paraguay. We are thrilled with the results. He will soon be going to Uruguay and probably Chile as well, to try and raise awareness there too.

World Mission Broadcast "Genesis" program celebrates 5 years in Jaén, Peru

Jaén, Peru - The World Mission Broadcast program "Genesis" recently celebrated it's fifth anniversary. "Genesis" is one of the many local radio ministries in South America which receives assistance from the annual WMB Offering. Under the direction of team leader Romaín Sosa, the ministry is preparing to move from it's current location at Radio Vida 94.1 FM to Radio Karibeña 106.9 FM. This move to a larger secular radio station will help fulfill the purpose of "Genesis." "Our objective is to share the message of Salvation with the lost...we are specifically evangelizing people who don't know of the great love of Jesus Christ," says Sosa.

Romaín Sosa grew up wanting to be a huge radio star. He was enrolled at the Luis Lumiere Institute studying radio. Living a life of witchcraft from age 11 to 19, he was being recruited to join the Túpac Amarú Revolutionary Movement. The TARM is a guerilla movement located in northern Peru. However, on November 7, 1999, Romaín accepted Jesus Christ and as he says, "everything changed when I met Jesus."

Today, Romaín's desire is not be a radio star, but to share the love of Jesus Christ.
"'Genesis' is a program with missionary character and evangelistic purpose," says Sosa. "Receiving the support of WMB is a great blessing. It allows us to stay on the air and use other resources to deliver a quality program."

NCN SAM/WM Communications SAM

Testimonies from Esperanza.net July 2005:

"I feel terrible. I left my girlfriend of 5 years and she is pregnant. I believe it is not fair, but my mother told me to leave her. I feel that we have gone to far to separate. I am searching for a way to restore my life. I hear your programs and they are such a help to me. I don't know what to do. Please pray for my life and the life of my future child." GP, 26 Ecuador

"I want to learn about Jesus. I want Him to guide me. I want to be a woman with character. I want to know Him more and more each day." RE, 19 El Salvador

"I am confused. I don't know what to believe. I was baptized Catholic as a child. Three years ago, I was baptized in an Evangelical church. However, I have removed myself from church. I want to go back, but something always happens and I don't. I have three children 13, 11 and 3 years old and none of them go to church. They want to walk correctly with the Lord, but we don't know how. I need more information about your church." AC, 35 Peru

"Recently I have felt that I am incapable to be like God wants me to be. My mind is full of negative thoughts of sin. Can you give me something to help me face this burden? I have a huge desire to be with the Lord in eternity." AO, 20 Bolivia

"I am a single mother who had a relationship with someone. I want to marry him, but he lives in another country. What advice can you give me? He doesn't attend a church, but he is a good man. What do I do? Also, I want to know how to pray. Can you help me? IG, 43 Colombia

Comm news: Our team is coming together in a way that only the Lord could have orchestrated. We have a new volunteer, Rochelle Finn, that will be arriving on September 7th. She has a lot of experience with set design, graphic design, and design in general. Needless to say, she will be put to good use. We are anticipating her being here about a year. Make sure and look for a LINKS video from the South America Region in the latest World Mission Video Magazine dvd - you might find some people you know in there!

Region news: We are still mourning our good friend and Regional Director Bruno Radi. His loss is so widely felt and leaves a big hole here in South America. Please continue to remember Liliana, Alejandra & Carlos and their kids - Nico, Karla and Romina; Carlos & Robin and their kids - Nicol, Natali and Natasha; Johanna and Keila. Carlos and Robin recently moved here to Argentina as missionaries and will be working with us here in the Regional Office. We are expecting to hear in the next several months who will be our new Regional Director.

Prayer Requests:
Please remember the Radi family and the Region in your prayers. Also, Louie Bustle and those responsible for finding our new RD.
Please remember Rochelle Finn in your prayers, the new volunteer coming on Sept. 7. That she will have a good flight and arrive safely and that her ministry here will be blessed along with her.
Please remember Jacob as he is adjusting to being back in school and the new set of expectations that are expected of him.
Please remember us as we are trying to get our Home Assignment calendar full. If you are interested in having us in your church, please contact either Lynne - lynne@esperanza.net or Brian - brian@esperanza.net .