A Summer Full of Accounting and Property Management for John

With the LCMS’s new fiscal year starting July 1, John spent much of the summer closing out the previous fiscal year and starting the new one. This included completing spending from last year’s budgets, closing out accounting for the year, setting up spend plans and fund-transfer schedules for the new year, and reconciling bank statements. In the photo above, John is presenting the budget-creation process to other regional leaders so they can start planning the financial aspects of their work for the next fiscal year, 2023–24.

Beyond money matters, John’s job as regional business manager also includes property management. This summer, he helped secure housing for new missionaries and oversee the installation of new security measures at the two mission offices and the seminary here in Santiago.

We thank God for using John on all these behind-the-scenes things to do His work here in Latin America. Without John’s work, the people-facing part of the mission work would not happen.

Annual Missionary Conference

In August every year, all the missionaries in the Latin America and Caribbean region gather for a week of rest, reconnection, and spiritual study. This year, we met in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Our region has thirty-three LCMS missionaries serving in nine countries and eleven alliance missionaries serving in eight countries—and those missionary counts don’t include spouses and kids! Speaking of kids, can you spot little Sophie in the back row on Daddy’s shoulders?

OIM Leadership Meetings in St. Louis

LCMS Office of International Mission leadership (which included John) met in St. Louis in August to discuss matters like theological education, leadership development, missionary recruitment, operations, and finances. John met with members of Lord of Life Lutheran Church, a church in Chesterfield, Missouri, that supports DR mission work. He also attended a service of thanksgiving to honor former missionaries; pictured above is Julie Lutz, who served for thirty-six years (!) in Papua New Guinea.

Two Family Birthdays

Erica and Sophie both had their birthdays in August. Our sweet Sophie turned TWO! She has started imaginative play, is climbing on everything, and is speaking in short phrases in both English and Spanish.