Spanish Worship Night Update!

If you have a heart for Latin-American and/or Spain and like speaking the language, don’t miss this opportunity of worshipping our Lord and sharing between each other in Spanish.

Save the date: Tuesday 4th of February, 7:30pm for tea & coffee (starting at 8pm) at The Hub (22 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast, BT9 6AY).

See you there! Blessings!

Penelope

 

A life lived for the glory of God

Funeral Reflections

We hope the following reflections from the funeral of Dorothea Wedgwood Clarke, founder of San Andres in Asuncion helps you catch a glimpse of a life lived to the glory of God.

Dear friends,

We thought you’d be interested to receive an account of Thea’s wonderful funeral, at St. Paul’s Church, Ryde on the !sle of Wight, last Friday.

The service, all arranged by Thea in 2009, was beautifully led by Rev. Peter Pimentel, with the hymns “Great Is Thy faithfulness”, “Psalm 23” (to Crimond) and “Beauty For Brokenness” and the reading from Revelation 21: 1-7, chosen by Glenys Williams.

Christopher Wedgwood, Thea’s brother, who had put in a great deal of work to make the occasion so special, read out various appreciative messages he had received from different people who had known and loved Thea.  There were comments on Thea’s enthusiasm and many practical gifts; her generosity; her creativity;  her many adventures worldwide, after she left Paraguay and travelled as an itinerant missionary; her positive outlook on life and lack of complaining even in her final sufferings in her Care Home; and above all her passionate love for and commitment to Jesus. Eileen gave a tribute on her contribution to Paraguayan education, and Molly read some quotations from C S Lewis’s “The Last Battle” with her final suffering in mind.

Rev. Peter Pimentel based his short address on Zephaniah 3: 17, stressing God’s love and delight in those who love him, as Thea so deeply did.

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you in his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

We were quite nervous about having to participate in the service, but from the beginning, when Rev. Peter Pimentel said that we were present to celebrate a very remarkable life, there was such a note of joy and appreciation of Thea’s love for Jesus and her zest for life in all its fullness, that it was a privilege to take part.  There were about 50 people present, including family and people with past links to the South American Missionary Society – Philip and Rosemary Tadman,  Nicky Harmer, Mandy Lines, and Helen Sohns.  There were also many friends from different places and people from the Priory and the Care Home, where Thea had spent her later years.

The service was followed by the cremation, and as we entered the chapel, a recording of the St. Andrew’s School hymn sung in 2003 by the children was played.  This was a song very much loved by Thea, and in her final months, Christopher and she sang it together often. After a solemn Commendation of Thea to the Lord, in Hebrew and English, the curtains round the coffin closed to a wonderful rendering of the whole of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.”  It was such a fitting ending and new beginning of a very remarkable life!

Love,

Molly & Eileen

 

SNAP

ARGENTINA: Please pray for president Cristina Kirchner and her government. Pray for SAMS Red Box Project coordinator Cecilia Valdiviezo and her time in Northern Ireland this month. Pray for Cecilia as she shares with supporting churches – in the midst of a busy programme pray that Cecilia will be refreshed as she catches up with friends.

PARAGUAY: Esperanza Foster Home: Give thanks for the past year, the children who have stayed in the home and the growth they felt through their stay there.  Pray for the future of the home, for Inocencia, who is currently the main foster mum, and pray too for the children who will stay at the home over the next year.  That it will be a place full of love and hope for them. 

CHILE: SAMS are happy to let you know that from this month, we will be supporting a new project with Santiago Apóstol Church in Chile.  The goal of this project is to support a full time worker to share the message of Jesus amongst the many students there.  Santiago is home to at least 50% of the students in the country, but there is not a single local evangelical church in downtown Santiago that works throughout the week, full-time, to serve the thousands of students there.  Pray for Rev. Cristóbal Cerón of Santiago Apóstol Church and the project leader Max Díaz. 

GENERAL COUNCIL: Pray for the SAMS General Council meeting on 16th January and for all the council members. Pray that God will lead and guide them and that they will be open to hearing God’s voice as they plan for future developments.

TRANSIT: Give thanks for the Christmas visit of Jonny and Lynn Lockhart to Claire in Concepcion, pray for safety in travel as they return to the UK on 14th January. Pray for Chris and Alison Hawksbee as they return to Paraguay on 21st January. Give thanks for the encouraging time Chris and Alison had with Annaghmore Parish. Pray for Gwen and Mags as they return to Asuncion on 28th January. 

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE: Pray for Friday Night Live (FNL) preparations. FNL will be held in Craigavon Civic Centre on Friday 7th February at 7.30pm. FNL be an evening to be informed challenged and encouraged on missional developments in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru. There are exciting stories of God at work, so pray with us and for us. Refreshments afterwards will create an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones!

“To know the Word of God, to live the Word of God, to preach the Word, to teach the Word, is the sum of all wisdom, the heart of all Christian service.”

Esperanza Foster Home

Greetings! At the beginning of 2014 we want to thank you for your involvement in the Esperanza Foster Home project in Paraguay – and of course wishing you every blessing for the year ahead.

The beginning of 2013 was difficult for the Esperanza Project as Juana, the main foster mum, had decided to move on and it was no easy task finding her replacement. However, with a strong recommendation from one of the

Anglican school mums, Inocencia was taken on in the middle of the year. She has had a number of helpers as, with the economy picking up and there being more job opportunities than there used to be, and working with young children being seen as a low status sort of job, filling posts with suitable staff is not easy. Prayers for this would be much appreciated.

There has recently been a change of government in Paraguay with a different political party in power. This meant that many of the key contacts in the State Adoption Centre were replaced and Esperanza needed to sign a new agreement with them. This was achieved in June after much frustration, and 2 year old twin girls, F and F, arrived soon afterwards. They were very serious initially but are now much more happy and confident. We are awaiting news of a hearing with their birth mother which will dictate whether they can return to her care or may be adopted.

In October, 4 year old M arrived with severely delayed development and malnutrition. Through the contacts of one of the Esperanza leadership team, free medical insurance for all the Esperanza children has been offered and this was a real blessing for M who saw a top neurologist. He was amazed at the difference in M after just a month in the Esperanza home. Initially he was not making eye contact, responding to his name or able to say any words. But with loving care and stimulation he is now a different child, laughing and enjoying physical contact. Those who saw the change in him described it as miraculous and his case epitomises what the Esperanza project is all about. M’s paperwork has now come through and he has gone to live with future adoptive parents, a nurse and a teacher/youth worker who would seem pretty ideal! Meanwhile, the ladies have just welcomed 2 new siblings of 3 and 1 into the home.

We are delighted that Esperanza is still able to help Paraguayan children in this way. A recent article in the press stated that there are currently 1600 children known to be in institutions awaiting judicial decisions about their future. Social Services are convinced that a family fostering model is by far the best option for these children but there are very few families or homes like Esperanza where they can place them.

So THANK YOU for all the support you have given. If you would like to make a further donation to Esperanza, or set up or change a standing order, then please do contact us as this is easily done through our friends in SAMS UK and Ireland.

Murray and Penny Metcalfe

 

Founder of San Andres goes to Glory

Give thanks for the life and ministry of Dorothea Wedgwood, founder of San Andres, Asuncion who died on 2nd January 2014. In 2013 St. Andrew’s College in Asuncion celebrated its 50th birthday. As you can imagine the school was creatively decorated with pupils’ art work,  which included a huge mural of an oak tree, whose branches were formed by the names of past and present personnel and pupils. The significance of the tree art work is a beautiful illustration showing how a small acorn planted by Dorothea Wedgwood has grown into a large well-established oak tree with almost 400 pupils aged 3 to 18 years.

 

Adventures of Obedience in 2014

“40 years married…would you lead us in the renewing of our marriage vows?”

This was the request I received recently from two very good friends. Both are keen and active supporters of SAMS and it was a pleasure to lead them in a short service of renewing vows. As I thought about them, their lives together, and how the Lord has used them I thought of seeds and service. These two words sum up their lives together. In the Lord’s service, both in South America and here in Ireland, they have been used to plant seeds which are bearing much fruit and everyone who knows them sees their servant hearts. Mission is about sowing seeds and reaping a harvest. Neither sowing nor reaping will happen without humble Christ-like selfless sacrificial service. Recently when I was in Lima Peru I had the joy of meeting a remarkable Christian couple called Julio and Norma. In 1980 Julio was the first Peruvian to be ordained in the Anglican Church in Peru. I asked both of them if they knew an Irish missionary called Raymundo Mills who had worked in Lima with his wife Beth some years ago. Their faces lit up and her eyes filled up. Norma said to me “El es mi padre espiritual!” (He is my spiritual father). Julio and Norma’s home is now a school in a poor area of Lima. They had a vision for reaching the children of the area for Christ and giving them the opportunity of a good education. Now 128 children and 10 teachers occupy their home. As the school expands their living space contracts! As money comes in more classrooms are added by building up. I was deeply moved when I saw the quality of their work and ministry. Their daughter Isabella is the Headmistress and is doing a superb job. This has all come about by seeds planted many years ago through a missionary family from Ireland. The Mills family knew the Lord had called them to serve in South America and they did. Julio’s family have that same heart for service and they are making a difference in the lives of many children and families.

I wonder is the Lord calling some of us to new adventures of obedience in 2014. Are we being called to new steps of faith? Are we being prompted to new waves of generosity? Are we passionate about service or have we lapsed into lethargy? Jesus, the Servant King calls us to serve! Some of us will sow and others will reap but the Lord Himself will give the growth. May seeds and service be marks of our lives and churches!

As I finish, and in case you were wondering who I was referring to…Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary to Gordon and Beryl Whitehead! The seeds they planted continue to bear much fruit in Santiago Chile. They are still planting seeds here in Ireland. May they, and we, keep going!

Bishop Ken

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