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Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
I thank you for your prayers over the past few months. Many of you have reached out asking how I have been doing so I wanted to give you a much deserved update.
I have been blessed by the great support of my family, friends, and team during my time of healing. I am happy to report that after many months of challenges, I am in a much better spot in my recovery and am slowly seeing improvement each month. Although the headaches and the brain confusion continue, it is thankfully lessened as long as I monitor my computer and phone use and spend time in the fresh air. As many of you who have suffered forced “downtime” know, it is a time for contemplation and searching within myself and with God.
With that being said, God has placed on my heart to consider the opportunity to continue serving as a career missionary. Three and a half years ago I began as a GEO missionary in Asia with two years of service in mind. The Lord then moved me to Latin America where I have been to this date. With much prayerful deliberation, I have applied to stay on as a career missionary to continue serving in Latin America and Caribbean region. I have begun modified work and am now an active part of my team once again.
Not only do I want to thank you each for your prayers and support in the past and present, but to ask you to prayerfully continue to do so in the future. In this world of evil and unknowns, there is real hope for all people around the world in Christ. You are the significant part in this entire opportunity of showing this light to the world. I am honored to serve alongside each of you and my colleagues in Latin America, and I will give my best with the help of the Holy Spirit who promises to lead and guide. Even though travel has been, and continues to be, very restricted in the region, the work continues by the team and the Gospel is still being proclaimed by the pastors, all in the midst of feelings of confusion and hopelessness for many people.
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“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:2-7
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I understand each of you have challenges of your own, whether it be sickness, losing a job, loss of loved ones, or any number of situations. I pray for you and for God’s care as He loves us and remains faithful. Through these recent challenges we all see increased opportunities for personal and ministerial growth. Christ is not just one who gets us through the day; He is what must be of utmost significance in our life.
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“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:1-8
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Some of the happenings around the region:
- We celebrate with men from Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Chile and Bolivia who completed their studies and vicarages and rejoice with them that they have received calls in their respective countries and will soon be ordained Lutheran pastors
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(Pictured left) Next month, the upcoming FORO in Mexico will celebrate the ordination and installation of Nefta Garcia, graduate of the Seminario Concordia El Reformador in the church of San Pablo in Mexico City. (Pictured right) Bolivian Benjamin Flores is one of three Bolivians to soon be ordained. This is a truly historic and monumental occurrence in partnership with the Bolivian Church. Please pray for Benjamin and his wife Karina as they are expecting their first child in the New Year. They currently serve in Belize and will continue to serve there following his ordination as an alliance missionary.
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- A new church building is nearing completion in La Paz, the second in Honduras
- The field is excited to be receiving a number of new missionaries and alliance missionaries to the region
- Virtual FORO’s continue across our region – if you or your church would like to get involved and attend, click the link for more info or shoot me an email
- The Seminario Concordia el Reformador in the Domincain Republic welcomes new faculty to its ranks and also has working internet again!
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(Pictured left) Repairs to the damaged church in Ponce, Puerto Rico are underway. Raul, a recently baptised and confirmed member of Fuente de Vida Iglesia, worked alongside the missionaries as a mason for the buildings and the damage done by the earthquakes. (Pictured right) Alliance missionary Pastor Isaac Machado and missionary Pastor Adam Lehman pictured with three adult confirmations in Spain. Over the past few months, in Spain alone, there has been one baptism, eight confirmations, and one individual who just finished catechism class. Praise God!
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- In spite of a global pandemic, the hunger for the Word continues and baptisms and confirmations are still being performed across our region every week
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To read further about these headlines, to keep up with what’s going on, and to check for more stories and updates visit our LAC webpage.
We remember the Reformation and look to Advent as the church year continues. I will be sharing more of what God is doing in the Latin American and Caribbean region soon.
We have peace and confidence with Christ!
With love, JH
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johanna.heidorn@lcms.org
