Date: October 28, 2003
Thank you very much for your prayers for us and our ministry with
Mission to the World.
Some of you may know that in August of this year MTW appointed a new
International Director for Latin America. Bill Yarbrough is the one
now filling this position. I met with him last week and am encouraged
by our conversation. Please pray for him and for the missionaries of
Latin America as we all adjust to this important change.
In September I was part of an ongoing MTW committee that has been
discussing Mission to the World's emphasis on "church planting
movements." Over the last year we've been discussing what this means
and how to implement this vision on our fields. Some of the results
of this meeting will be presented at the LEAD meeting coming up in
November. LEAD is designed to support and equip MTW's missionaries
who are team leaders or exercise other kinds of leadership.
At the LEAD meeting I will be making a presentation on the training
of national church planters and pastors and what kind of training is
most conducive to church planting movements. I have tried to draw out
some of the implications of what it means to train people in a
Christ-centered way. We can give people useful tools, but unless we
point them to Christ we will have failed. It's when we drink of
Christ (John 7:37ff) that the rivers of life flow out from us to be a
blessing to those around. I have prepared a document for MTW
missionaries in Latin America presenting some of these ideas. If you
are interested in looking at it, you can access it at the following
web address:
http://www.mtwla.org/people/gwaldecker.htm
Then scroll down and look for a link to the document. You will also
see a family picture and some other information.
Phyllis and I traveled to Texas this month to visit some churches. We
had a good time there and are grateful for the support and
encouragement we received. We are still hoping to visit more of you
during the coming months.
Phyllis began working as a nurse a couple of weeks ago. She is
employed at the Miller Eye Center which is part of Erlanger hospital.
The specialty there is eye surgery. She likes the work, but we are
all getting used to the change.
Andrea took her ACT test last Saturday and will take the SAT this
coming Saturday. She is hoping to attend Covenant College in the fall
of 2004.
This has been a very heavy semester for me. Please pray that I'll be
able to get all my work done. My next class is November 7-8. The
semester ends Dec 6.
Please pray also for:
1. The leadership training program in Chile.
2. The development of a new leadership training program in Monterrey,
Guadalajara and Ciudad Victoria in Mexico.
3. I will be traveling to Cusco, Peru, in February. I will be
conducting a seminar for some of the hinterland missionaries.
4. The church in Colombia is experiencing growth in the midst of all
the trouble the country has been going through. Pray about a possible
visit to encourage pastors and emerging leadership.
5. The Cristo Rey church in Santiago, Chile. Pray for its health and growth.
Thanks again for your support of us in our ministry.
Gary Waldecker