The Unexpected

Please check out the photos after this article!

When the GAP team from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary met for their orientation, we prayed that God would “do the unexpected” during their time in Uruguay. The team was going to be working in the Pocitos area of the city and they knew it would be a difficult task to reach the wealthy of Montevideo with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Historically, the people of Pocitos have been obstinate and closed to conversations about Christ or spiritual matters. This past week we saw Go do the unexpected in many ways.

It is at this point I must emphasize why God was able to do such a great work. The answer – prayer! The Southwestern team was very serious about their time in prayer throughout the week and especially during the days of prayer walking. They unashamedly prayed out loud in the parks, streets, and plazas. It was not for show (most watching would have no idea they were praying), they truly were entreating God to move in and through them to make an impact on Montevideo for the Kingdom of Christ.

The following is just a brief description of all that happened this past week. We praise God for His faithfulness.

• The team passed out over 3,700 Gospels of John to homes and apartments along the coast in Pocitos.
  
• God opened doors for us to reach a high percentage of high-rise apartments. The guards were very helpful and actually helped us deliver many of the Gospels. We received a call from an individual who received the Gospel and read the entire book the night he received it. God was truly working!
  
• Seven homeless people prayed to receive Christ outside of the hotel where we were staying. By the end of the week they were having Bible studies in a grassy field on the corner across from the hotel.
  
• The team passed out hundreds of Gospel tracts and had opportunities to share their faith with several people on a deep basis.
  
• A "person of peace" was discovered in one of the apartment buildings that is willing to open his home for Bible studies.
  
• The Southwestern team held “worldview interviews” with the people of Pocitos. This was a tool to help better understand the mindset of those we were trying to reach. It also provided an excellent opportunity to invite the participants to an event where we shared an introduction to our culture along with an invitation to better understand the Gospel.
  
• Nineteen guests attended our reception for our worldview participants!! This was huge, as thirteen of the individuals signed up to be involved in an Alpha Course. Pray that these participants would come to understand true Christianity and accept Christ as their Savior.
  
• Throughout the week, the team talked with atheists, Buddhists, agnostics, Catholics, Jews, spiritists, pantheists, teenagers, senior adults, rich, poor, businessmen, maids, and homeless people. The Gospel was shared with many people. Pray for their salvation.

Thanks for your prayer support for this team. We continue to be amazed at all God is doing through GAP. Please pray that God will guide the future and that more teams will come to help us share the Gospel with the people of Uruguay. We need your help!

Through the Lense Perspective

Southwestern Seminary sent a professional photojournalist to cover their team's experience in Montevideo. Matt Miller did an excellent job capturing the team's ministry experience throughout the week. Watch for an article in Southwestern's school magazine about this teams trip to Uruguay. Thanks Matt for capturing the heart of Montevideo. (Click on pictures to enlarge.)

Tina praying for the city.

Prayerwalking.

Preparing the Gospels for distribution.

Sharing.

A Life Transformed.

A Team's Perspective (photos from the Southwestern team)

Click to Enlarge.

Team Members from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Team 1 - Glenda, Alfredo, Mark, and Danny

Team 2 - Chad, Keith, Ana, and Stephanie

Team 3 - Kaitlyn, Ron, Shawnda, and Wes

Team 4 - Charles, Tina, Ian, Art, and Karen

Not much time with so much to do!

Just part of the 3,700 Gospels of John.

Carry what? Where?

Sunrise near our hotel.

Chicas rule!

Kaitlyn's youth group gave her a surprise birthday party last week. She never saw it coming and it was a great night. Happy Sixteenth Birthday Kaitlyn.

Broadway Baptist Returns to Uruguay!

Last week Broadway Baptist Church from Springfield, MI, returned for the second time to Uruguay to work with GAP. It was great seeing so many “old friends” again as well as meeting a few new ones who joined their team this year.

The group worked in the small town of Juan Lacaze and did a tremendous job. It was a challenging week physically. Several of the team members suffered from a stomach virus and the weather was cool and rainy every day. Broadway was a strong and determined team however, and not willing to let anything stop them from what God had brought them to do.

We saw God work in a mighty way throughout the week. In addition to prayer walking and Scripture distribution, the team also led a children’s club on Wednesday and Thursday nights. On Friday night, Broadway hosted a family event with games for children, followed by a movie for the adults. It was exciting with over 100 children present. During the week over 2000 gospels were distributed, 14 people prayed to receive Christ, 15+ expressed interest in Bible studies and 1 person opened their home for a study.

We are thankful for this church and the work they have done in Uruguay. They were a tremendous blessing to the Uruguayans as well as to us. Please be in prayer for Juan Lacaze and missionaries Earl and Patti Quick who minister there and will be working with the follow up. On Sunday night (even before they had been able to complete the follow up visits) 7 new people attended their church service. Several others have called expressing interest in attending. This is truly a great answer to much prayer and evidence that God is at work in Uruguay!

This team’s update is short on words but heavy on pictures. Please check out the team pictures below. We truly enjoy our partners from Broadway.

Pictures of Broadway Baptist Church 2008

CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE.

Team Picture

Jared - our fearless leader rides on.


The Dangerous Girls of "Room Five" (I'm not afraid.)

The Hale family made there vacation a missions vacation. There is room for your family to come as well.

Getting the Gospels ready.

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Kenny, Keith, Kaitlyn, and Chris - this was Keith and Chris' third time to Uruguay.

Liz, Lindsey, Jared

Chris, Brenda, Rick, and everyone's favorite - Ellie

Norman, Charlotte, John, and Ana

Allison, Alfredo, and Dennis

Praying in the rain.

Morning devotions at the ranch.

House Church - a wonderful worship experience.

John with new friends. Please pray for Maria (in the middle) she is struggling with the death of one of her children a little over a year ago.

God blessed us with a great crowd for our Family Festival...even more came during the night!

Wednesday children's club.

Keith receives a "high five"...job well done.

Trying to keep the kids busy while their parents watch the movie outside was not an easy task!

Pastor Norman - taking his turn in the "nursery".

Gaucho Girls out looking for Gaucho Boys.

The Men of Juan Lacaze???

Patti and Pam holding down the fort in the kitchen. Lunches were great!

Mate - they start very young!

Colonia - a beautiful spot for our free afternoon.

Come join us! We need your help.