You Can't Imagine What it Means

I love how technology has enhanced communication.  Email, a virtual classroom, and an internet accessible database allowed me to work from home in California.  It was the best "outside the home" job I've ever had.  I loved it!  The kids used to ask me why I played on the computer so much.  I guess I was just "playing" and getting paid for it, too. 

Now this blog gives me the opportunity to publish magazine quality color print without a huge printer, paper, and postage.  I still remember the cut and paste newspaper days in college.  What an improvement!

But there's something very special about holding an actual letter in my hand from one of you.  Thank you for sending Christmas cards and notes throughout the year.  Your tangible support is always timely and reminds us that we are simply an extension of our church family at home.  Those letters create a physical link between the U.S. and Uruguay that nothing in technology has been able to replicate. 

The packages with birthday gifts and candy are also amazing expressions of love.  Birthdays and holidays usually make us wonder what in the world we were thinking when we moved here.  We start to feel like we relocated to a different planet.  There's a reason why they're called "care packages"!

Please forgive me for my slowness in gratefully responding with pen and paper.  As much as I appreciate and enjoy the hand written word, my efforts to rummage up writing paper, a pen that works, an envelope, correct postage, and a place to mail the letter all feel as clumsy and time consuming as getting out a horse and wagon to go into town. 

 

In Uruguay, some people still use a horse and wagon to take a trip into town.

When I worked in California, my job required a 24 hr response time to emails and phone calls.  I still try to follow that policy in my personal correspondence, but when it comes to snail mail, I'm slower than a snail!  I have no excuses, and I will try to improve. 

While you're waiting for an envelope to arrive with Uruguayan postage in the corner, you're welcome to shoot me an email or call our U.S. number (that gets rerouted to our phone here through the internet - of course).  If you call and we're not home, your message will be sent to my email inbox where I can listen to it.  And you should hear back from me within 24 hours!

Rivera: 8 Year Church Anniversary and Dedication Service






I (Mark) was privileged to preach at a dedication service for the new church building of Iglesia Presbiteriana Ortodoxa de Uruguay.  On the weekend of May 5, our family traveled the six hours by bus and car to Rivera, six hours north of Montevideo on the border of Brazil.  After we arrived, we enjoyed a lasagna dinner at the house of Pastor Gustavo Melo. 

 

Mark preaches at the church in Rivera

On Sunday, we worshipped at the new building.  It's beautiful!  Their youth group of nearly thirty teenagers helped purchase the church by collecting plastic bottles for months and then exchanging them for pesos.  

Once purchased, the volunteers doubled the length of the building until it could accommodate at least 130 people. 

 

The Richline kids are welcomed by the Rivera Youth

The service was packed with church members, people from their various preaching stations and several first-time visitors.  Throughout the night, the gospel was proclaimed in prayer, in song and through the sermon in a spirit of humbled thankfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Please petition our God to continue to grow and mature this congregation in the knowledge of His Word.



Mark greets people before the service

Pastors Mark and Gustavo Melo cut the cake

Celebrating Marriage!!!

In a country where homosexual marriage was recently sanctioned by law, our church hosted a festive dinner to celebrate traditional marriage between a man and woman as designed by God for life. 

 

 

More than twenty couples attended, including several who we invited from the community.  After each couple took turns describing a meaningful memory from their married life, our speaker described God's design for marriage, encouraging us to keep building our relationships in ways centered on our Lord Jesus.  

 

 

 

We finished the evening with a delicious stroganoff dinner served by our young people.  Please seek the Lord to use His Word to save unbelievers who attended as well as to sanctify our marriages.  ~Mark

Foam Flowers for the Moms; Teamwork is essential in church planting

Cleaning the Church on Saturday

"We need to make more flowers," Sandra told me after I greeted her with a cheek kiss.  It's Sunday morning at IPU, and it's Mother's Day. 

The high school youth group will sing a special song and then the younger children will give their mothers the foam flowers they made yesterday during Club Feliz.  There are a couple of extra ones for the mothers who don't have children attending the program, but Sandra did the math and figured we needed more.

So, I finish setting up the AV equipment in the sanctuary and sit down in the kitchen with Andrea to hold the cut out petals over a candle flame to soften them and shape them, freeing Pastor Rolim and Sandra to attend to other tasks.  (I don't mind working on a craft that requires an open flame)

Mark is making sure the music for worship is organized and Sabrina is getting out the piano music to rehearse with the youth group. Pastor Mauricio uploads a video presentation of the lyrics to project on the wall. Carlitos is making coffee and getting out the cups, napkins, sugar, punch and cookies.  While I make the flowers, I'm thinking about the Sunday School lesson I'll be teaching, and talking with Andrea about a misunderstanding with another local missionary team the day before.



Two women from the church, Joshua, and Sabrina
prepare stroganoff for a church event

Many of you know the demands of church planting.  Our core team is composed of six people, with only Pastor Rolim working full time.  (Mark will be soon dedicated to full time ministry when language training ends this fall).

We barely have enough people to rotate responsibilities so a list of tasks like setting up refreshments, teaching a children's ministry, washing church kitchen towels and throw rugs, playing guitar for worship, hosting an activity in one's home, and staffing the nursery could easily fall to just one person on the team over the weekend.  (I'm thinking about Sandra!).

We praise God that this team is growing with the addition of new families and young people who are working along side of us.  We have plenty of willing and able hands to help.  Our prayer is that in His timing, this church's leadership will be completely Uruguayan!

I am glad to contribute by teaching Sunday School, although I need to use all of the teaching tricks I know to supplement my limited Spanish.  This morning one of my very active students illustrated the lesson as I taught.  She is very perceptive and artistic so her sketches help me to know if I'm communicating well. It also keeps her mind, heart, and hands engaged. 

Recently I had a problem with a student who was giggling and talking during our opening prayer.  So this week we discussed the attributes of God before we closed our eyes and folded our hands. It worked!  Context was what the child needed instead of a reprimand.

Before I get out of bed on Sunday mornings, I pray for a servant's heart.  Praise God that I can walk into church and smile, ready to hold foam over a flame if that's what needs to be done!  The beautiful bouquet on the table near the pulpit looked wonderful.  What a great idea, Sandra!  After a long morning of ministry, Pastor Rolim locked the front doors and said, "The morning went really well."