Tag: Uruguay

28Mar

March 2023 Update – Uruguay

In the most biblical way, you all are indeed partners in ENW’s mission of equipping the next generation of Shepherds. John characterizes the sender and the one sent with this phrase in III John 8—“we are fellow-helpers to the truth”. For this, we are deeply grateful.

ENW just returned from Uruguay, South America. God gave us a fruitful ministry among the pastors as well as some of their churches.

The first Sunday we were in two churches. Calvary Temple, pastored by Gustavo, in the AM. Sunday evening we had the opportunity to be with pastor Ovidio in El Cerro.

As well, Pastor Ovidio asked me to do three nights of focused ministry with his men, his youth and once again, with his church family (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

It was a joy to have Kevin White as my translator this year. He is our partner in Bolivia. He and his wife, Beth, are serving the Lord as church planters and we have had the opportunity to be with him and his young pastors several times … the next training scheduled in Bolivia is this coming September.

Our primary focus, as usual, is the pastor’s training conference. This year it was at Camp Emmanuel outside of Montevideo.

When considering dates and topics this year, Gaby, the pastor in charge of arranging these, said the men wanted a study in Psalm 119 and they desired the focus to be on them for enrichment as men of God. I believe the Lord granted that desire.
It was a blessing to walk through (only halfway) Psalm 119. This man, facing all sorts of life scenarios, faced each one with his God and the word of his God. His sole resource for spiritual direction, strength, encouragement and wisdom for all the challenges he faced was truth found in Scripture alone. Under nearly every pressure you could imagine, he walked consistently, dependently, and successfully—the word of God was sufficient for each difficulty.

It is always encouraging to hear of how these pastors implement what they are being taught through the ministry of ENW. Following are some examples:

The men who attended this year’s conference seemed to be very encouraged, some mentioning plans to bring these truths to their church families soon.
One pastor told me he had done a series from our family training. He testified that the truths taught restored marriages that were on the edge of separation and divorce—to God be the glory.
Another pastor said he taught his congregation the series we did last year at the pastor’s conference—The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit and the Charismatic Movement.
One of the ladies, Chicha Rodriquez, who has been a faithful servant for over 50 years in Uruguay, told me on the first Sunday that the ENW training through the years has had a wonderful impact on the pastors and ministries. Coming from her, this was, indeed, a wonderful encouragement.

So, please continue to pray and give as you’re able, that God continues to use both investments to equip the next generation of Shepherds.

ENW leaves for the Ivory Coast in May and then, as mentioned above, for Bolivia in September.

Your support and encouragement are very much appreciated. God is not unfaithful to forget your work of faith and labor of love… we continue to serve with and for you as “fellow-helpers to the truth.”

06Feb

February 2021 Update

God continues to accomplish many things around the world despite all that is going on in the world. In many respects for ENW, 2020 was a whirlwind and 2021 is off to a great start!

India Mini-Module Course

It was a joy to teach a mini-module course via Zoom in India last month: January 14^th through 18^th (Sunday through Thursday). This mini-module course was taught for Heritage Baptist Bible College and Seminary, Tamil Nadu, India. Dr. Rein Alweill and I had the privilege to team teach that class. This was a change in venue for us, as ENW was able to be in India “face to face” in 2018 and 2019.

Uruguay Pastoral Training Conference

The next thing on ENW’s agenda was an ENW series of video recordings for Uruguay’s Pastoral Training Conference. “Foundations for Advanced Biblical Counseling” was the module. We will meet at Park Avenue Baptist (Pastor Dave Robinette) February 8^th through 10^th and begin the training on Monday morning.

Brother Dave and I will be doing this training. Kevin White, our missionary contact in Bolivia, is home on furlough and joins us to do all the verbal translating. ENW is incredibly grateful for this providential timing. Rossana, pastor Gaby’s wife, did all the hard copy translation work for the men in Uruguay.

The sessions for this year include:

How to think and what to do about your past
The Cultural Doctrine of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, and Self-Image
Anthropology: The Scriptures Speak
Biblical help for stressed-out people
Replacing sinful pride with Christ-like humility
Dethroning the god of materialism

Philippine Youth Conference and Pastoral Training Conference

ENW will be conducting a second youth conference via Zoom in the Philippines at the end of February (26th). Pastor Vanni Solores (pastor of Anchor Baptist Church in Legaspi) is the host pastor and is working diligently to make all the technical connections as well as to get as many pastors and youth in his area involved as possible.

In addition to the youth conference, Pastor Vanni is organizing a pastoral training conference to be conducted on three consecutive Saturdays for the Filipino pastors (Friday evenings from 7:00 A.M. to 3:30 A.M. for us). This Pastor’s Conference will also be conducted through Zoom on March 19^th, 26^th, April 2^nd. The training will be from Unit Two — Foundations for Biblical Counseling.

Please pray that the devices, electronic equipment, and internet/Zoom connections will all be functioning at peak capacity for all these training sessions.

Myanmar Training Conference and Special Need

ENW had tentatively set up a tour in Myanmar for June, but this will most likely be postponed based on the latest political happenings there. Please pray for wisdom in this decision and for the people of Myanmar through the challenges occurring.

One of our concerns in addition to the pastor’s conference is our church plant in Tedim. The pandemic has affected Pastor Mang’s meetings with the church plant group. Also, the basic food needs of the study group are serious. One individual told Pastor Mang that they boil 2-3 cups of rice for 8 to 10 family members. One bag of rice can last a family for one month and the cost of each bag is approximately $35. If anyone would like to sponsor one or more bags of rice for these families, please send the money to our sending church, Grace Bible Fellowship (address at the end of the update). Please mark your donation for the “Mang Rice Fund” and we will be sure it all goes for this project of supplying rice for the Myanmar families under Pastor Mang’s pastoral influence.

Doctoral Work on Ordination

On sort of a personal note, I have gotten my doctoral work published and will receive my first hard copy in the mail soon for final edits. I would love for this to be a help for many churches/pastors as we prepare the next generation of shepherds. The title of my doctoral work is ORDINATION: Rediscovering & Restoring the Biblical Process to the Ecclesiastical Context. This is the biblical process whereby young men are identified, recognized, evaluated, prepared, and authorized by the church based on their passionate desire (I Timothy 3:1), character qualifications (I Timothy 3:2-7; Titus 1:6-9) and sovereign gifting by God (Ephesians 4:11). Please pray with me that God will, indeed, use this work for His glory and His church.

Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support especially during these times of uncertainty and readjustments.

15Apr

Bolivia and Uruguay March/April 2019 Report

The last couple months flew by with much travel and training accomplished. ENW’s travel has included the India and Myanmar tour (which you should have received an update for) followed by the Bolivia and Uruguay tour from which we just returned.

The Bolivia/Uruguay pastoral training conferences held blessing after blessing. To begin with, I praise the Lord for providing a teaching companion(s) for each conference.

In Bolivia, Landon Brown (longtime friend) and Ovidio (pastor from Uruguay who has sat under ENW training for nearly 20 years) both helped share the teaching responsibilities and both did a fine job. For the last few years, Landon and I discussed the possibility of him traveling with ENW. Ovidio volunteered with eagerness to come over to Bolivia and be part of ENW training. He was very earnest to share with these men what he has been learning and implementing over the last several years, which is a joy to be sure.

Dave Robinette, pastor of Bible Baptist Church of Wilmington, NC was my teaching companion in Uruguay. Dave and I considered this possibility for quite some time. In God’s good providence, this was the right time and the right place for him to make his initial tour with ENW. Dave quickly fell in love with these dear folks and they with him. So much so that he has already committed to teaching next year as well (and possibly beyond). This was truly a life changing experience for him. The reality of having a part in equipping the next generation of pastors for the churches of Jesus Christ was quite impacting. A huge thank you goes to all three of these men for their sacrifice and theological contributions.

One of the principles ENW tries to practice is being “with” the men we train in as many contexts as we can. It was a blessing to minister in several of their churches and fellowship around the table as family and ministry were discussed.

Though everything is not measured by sheer numbers, it was thrilling to see an increase in attendance for the Bolivia training conference. As ENW’s contact, we are grateful for Missionary Kevin White’s efforts in preparing for the conferences. This was ENW’s third year in Bolivia and the attendance has at least tripled since our first year, to God be the glory.

Ovidio, (faithful pastor, co-laborer and friend from Uruguay mentioned earlier) has certainly embraced the “II Timothy 2:2” model of perpetuating pastoral training. He and his church gave ENW a significant love gift to help sponsor next year’s training in Myanmar. When I mentioned to the Uruguay conference last year of ENW’s ministry in Myanmar and the conditions in which these pastors exist and minister, Ovidio was heavily burdened for them. As you may already know, next year ENW is planning (if we can raise the needed $7K) to bring the wives of the pastors in Myanmar to the conference as well (we will be teaching Unit 3 – Foundations for the Christian Family). We have already purchased nearly 90 wedding bands to give as gifts to these precious couples who cannot afford them. It is amazing to see how the needs are met through godly men like Ovidio. Again, to God be the glory.

In summary, Landon, Ovidio, and Dave helped teach Unit 2 (Bolivia) – Foundations for Biblical Counseling and Unit 11 (Uruguay) – Foundations for Advanced Biblical Counseling. The preparation often impacts the trainers as much, if not more, than those being trained. God’s word is our sufficient resource for all of life and godliness. It is an honor to continually study, apply, and teach it.

One of the other very recent blessings was hosting Dal Go Mang, ENW’s point man in Myanmar. Pastor Mang has been in the United States for the month of April. This past weekend (April 5-7) Grace Bible Fellowship of Somerset, PA (ENW’s sending church) was privileged to have him in our fellowship. The leadership met with him for nearly 3 hours on Saturday discussing future opportunities in his country, spent lunch with him, and had him with us during a birthday celebration Saturday evening. Brother Mang testified Sunday of the impact and blessing of ENW’s ministry in Myanmar. Mang does all translation work; both hard copy notes for all pastors as well as the oral translation for teaching. ENW is excited about returning next year for our 3rd tour there in Myanmar with Pastor Mang.

Thank you for your continued prayers and financial help. Chris and I are still seeking to be fully supported by years’ end. Any contribution is tax deductible. We are sincerely grateful for all that God has used to provide toward equipping the next generation of shepherds.