Deseándole un Muy Feliz Cumple a Juan Marcos, mi mejor amigo...
Estoy agradecida hoy, más que nunca, a nuestro Salvador por traerme a tu vida, enseñándome así más y más de Cristo al verlo a EL en tu vivir cada día.
28 October 2015
23 October 2015
21 October 2015
“¡Despenalicemos la Maternidad!”
[Argumentado por Juan Marcos]
Hace tres años despenalizaron la “Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo”,
engañoso eufemismo que ignora lo obvio:
Una “interrupción” que nunca se podrá reanudar
no es “interrupción” sino “terminación”.
Nuestra premisa (la cual creemos que se
apoya por la Biblia, por el sentido común y por un vistazo a una imagen de ecografía)
es que un embarazo consiste no en tejido extra (¡Echale otro vistazo a esa
imagen!) sino en una nueva vida. Así que la terminación del embarazo es la
terminación de una vida. Y eso para nosotros se llama “muerte”.
El lunes me uniré a ciudadanos y residentes del Uruguay quienes creemos
que una madre no debe ser penalizada por la engañosa y destructiva teología de
una cultura que dice que el aborto es una solución a un embarazo complicado. No
estaré comunicando mi apoyo por ningún partido político. Ni estaré protestando
en contra del gobierno. Tampoco represento a nadie sino a mí mismo y mi
familia, como personas que vivimos en, trabajamos en, y amamos esta ciudad,
este país y su pueblo. Estamos comunicando nuestra convicción que la vida
dentro del útero es de gran valor y que la terminación de esa vida tiene
consecuencias terribles—especialmente para la madre (y también para el padre) a
menudo desesperados y desorientados.
por Eli (en 2010), copiado por Dani (en 2015)
Aunque nos reunimos como ciudadanos—no como grupo de cristianos ni aun
como grupo de teístas—sin embargo les recuerdo que los cristianos (pecadores
que hemos sido salvados por la gracia de Dios por medio de la fe en Jesús, su
Hijo), si bien somos definidos y dados vida eterna por medio del Evangelio,
se nos describe con precisión como gente que hacemos bien. Jesús anduvo
haciendo bien (Hechos 10:38). Nuestro Padre da su sol y su lluvia a todos
(Mateo 5:43-48). Los cristianos somos un pueblo que intentamos ayudar a
nuestros prójimos, a nuestros vecinos. Somos personas quienes a veces nos
encontramos en situaciones en las que tenemos que defender y proteger a un
vecino. Una madre en busca de una solución a una crisis es mi vecina, es mi
prójima. No quiero que ella sea destruida por la falsa esperanza que le dice
que este aborto le va a ayudar.
Es
esto lo que estoy tratando de comunicar. Espero que muchos se unirán a mí.
20 October 2015
“¡Uruguay nomá!”
Exactly
one week ago this evening, we were sitting in (almost) front-row seats at our Estadio Centenario, watching Uruguay win the second of their first two qualifier games for the next World Cup!
E won the four tickets to the game as a finalist in the writing contest (“Un Cuento Celeste”), and we enjoyed the (new for us!) experience of sitting right down next to the field.
What a win it was!
Diego Godín
scored the first goal!
Diego Rolan and Abel Hernández also scored.
And the final score was 3-0!
We’re thankful for extra special memories as a family!
19 October 2015
Update from Ladies’ Retreat
JM wrote a brief update on last week’s ladies’ retreat:
Thank
you for your prayers for us during these last several days.
In this case, a
three-day ladies’ retreat represented many more days of preparation (for Déborah)
and juggling of schedule (for all of us). We moved out to Camp Emmanuel in
Guazuvirá for these days, E and I commuting back and forth to her school in the
outskirts of Montevideo. The Lord gave great grace, and the ladies – almost
forty – seemed to really appreciate and profit from the teaching.
The
focus was on Bible study, with guidance given about things such as historical
and literary context. Déborah taught from several psalms (2, 23, and 67) and
from Romans 8 (the “Aconcagua” of the Bible!), trying to put the
passages into the redemptive context of the whole Bible and make the gospel
applicable to believers’ daily lives. One of our churches’ ladies’ group
provided the Gospel Meditations for Women booklets
for everyone who attended and also paid for the printing of study
materials.
One
of the ladies (who is going through great trial) approached Déborah and said
with tears (paraphrased):
“As I was doing the homework [from Romans 8:28 and
context], I realized that what God is doing in my life is making me more like
Jesus Christ so that He, Jesus, would receive glory – HE, the One who died for
me! I have been telling my children that ‘God will somehow bring some good out
of this.’ But I’m not going to say that anymore. This passage tells me what
that “good” is: that I be made like Christ and that HE be preeminent!”
07 October 2015
Pray for us! (October Ministry Report)
As we begin
October, we find ourselves wondering where three-quarters of this year have already gone?!
Certainly our life is fleeting. Recently with the teens in Pando, we’ve been
considering some of the Bible’s responses to the brevity of life.
One of those
responses is the prayer at the end of Psalm 90: “Establish the
works of our hands.” Please pray that
God would do so here in Uruguay.
Please pray especially for the Lord’s provision of a pastor for Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando!
Thank you for praying!
Entrega de Premios: “Un Cuento Celeste”
En la tarde del 1 de octubre en el marco de la 38a Feria Internacional del Libro, que se realiza en la Intendencia de Montevideo, se dieron a conocer los resultados del concurso “Un Cuento Celeste”, organizado por la Cámara Uruguaya del Libro y la Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol.
#UnCuentoCeleste
“La mente de los niños es casi inaccesible para los adultos; ellos tienen esa creatividad tan alejada de los estereotipos, que hace que afloren buenas ideas. Además da la oportunidad de escribir y fomentar la actividad de la lectura, que es algo muy importante también para escribir y para escribir bien”.
Así lo dijo el “Maestro” Tabárez cuando presentó el
concurso.
¡Gracias, Maestro!
02 October 2015
“¡El camino es la recompensa!”
To quote Maestro Tabárez, national team coach and principal inspiration for the writing contest E participated
in:
“The journey is the reward!”
We’re extremely thankful for our Loving Shepherd’s grace to
our family in helping our Little People adapt to learning – and, in E’s case,
excelling – in another language.
Matías (from AUF) was the
main organizer of the contest.
At yesterday’s
awards ceremony, seven finalists were recognized in each category and then the
winners were announced. E was in the top seven in the 3rd & 4th grade
category. Finalists were given vouchers for four tickets each for the Uruguay
vs Colombia Game (which will be held in mid-October). And the seating will be
right down by the field – far nicer than we’ve ever been in before!
The jury, along with representatives from the sponsoring groups
(AUF and Cámara Uruguaya del Libro), presented the awards
to the finalists and winners.
Yesterday’s
experience was definitely a highlight for us as a family.
DJ enjoyed the book fair!
He’s very proud of his Sister!
We celebrated with our favorite ice-cream!
♥
Our schooling
journey (at first on the road and now across languages) has definitely involved
speed bumps and potholes and detours as well as moments of felt frustration and
even tears. Yesterday’s experience was *a hug* from our Loving Shepherd. He
knows our need; He is lovingly leading – as He always does – in righteous paths.
For His Name’s sake! Even His rod and His staff (instruments of discipline!)
comfort us. We can affirm with the psalmist that we shall not lack anything...
What a God we
serve!