Thoughts on Music

We have a saying in Spanish:  “Tell me with whom you hang out, and I’ll tell you who you are.”

I’ve been thinking that this saying could be applied to the music we listen to. Which singers are we spending most of our time with? What about their personal lives? Are they examples that motivate us to love our Lord Jesus Christ more? What counsel are they whispering (or shouting) into our ears?

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”
~Proverbs 13:20

“Dime con quien andas, y te diré quien eres.”

He estado pensando que este dicho se puede aplicar a la música que escuchamos. ¿Con cuáles cantantes estamos pasando la mayoría de nuestro tiempo? ¿Qué tal las vidas personales de ellos? ¿Son ejemplos que nos impulsan a amar más a nuestro Señor Jesucristo? ¿Qué consejos nos están dando al oído?

“El que anda con sabios, sabio será; Mas el que se junta con necios será quebrantado.”
~Proverbios 13:20

Pray for us! (July Ministry Report)

We recently sent out our July Ministry Report.

 

Here’s a recap in pictures:

FEBU students, enjoying an outing: a pre-World Cup
friendly match between Uruguay and Northern Ireland

Winter Bible School at Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando:

Wonderful involvement by the youth group!

 

Praying for fruit from the Word taken home...

E’s School Program in mid-June

 

“...pray that He – the ultimate “blessing” of Psalm 67:1 – will continue to save, so that the nations of this earth might glorify God for His mercy.”

(As always, you can read the entire ministry report at: Good News from a Distant Land.)

Do pray for us!

My Right to Be Ignorant

Copied (with permission!) from Good News from a Distant Land:

 

If I am to follow the example of Paul—and of Christ—who gave up personal rights for the sake of the gospel (1 Cor. 9 and Phil. 2), then I must at least be willing to give up my right to be ignorant of things that bore me. No, I cannot be so diversified that I never learn anything well. I need not be scattered. My time and energy are finite. But if I am unwilling—and a willing or unwilling attitude, I think, is key—unwilling to discipline myself to care about tennis, or cricket, or soccer; unwilling to listen when I have the right to speak;  unwilling to learn which way is north (or south!); then I am exercising a right that may hinder me from being the global-minded, useful Christian that I otherwise might have been. To such a list we could add more significant data: the persecution of Christians in Mexico or Nigeria, the existence of something called Khmer, or the demographics of Provo, Utah. I have a right to be ignorant. But to insist on this right is not the way of a Christ-follower. Such discipline to care will, as always, require grace.

¡Somos Celestes!

Inspirado por La Celeste del Maestro Tabárez (y por su propia hermana que es muy buena maestra también), el Peque canta el Himno Nacional de Uruguay.

 

 

 ¡Somos Celestes!

Happy (Half) B-Day, DJ!

The pictures say it all...

This Best Big Sister loves her Little Brother...

“Here Comes Trouble!”

Yep!

Pray for us! (April Ministry Report)

The first quarter of 2014 has evaporated. Most of January was taken up with camp (for JM) and school (for Elizabeth and Déborah)...

 

One of the Uruguayan missionary-pastors who counseled with JM, commented especially on the great number of unsaved young people – in many cases, teens who have grown up regularly attending an evangelical church, who have come to camp year after year, but who show no evidence of a real conversion. This is an ongoing concern: the genuine salvation of children and teens in the churches...

On the other hand, we are repeatedly encouraged by many young people whose big thoughts about God and whose commitment to Christ make us feel dwarfed. In their efforts to follow His leading, they are pursuing fields of physical therapy, agronomy, computer science, and teaching. They will be – indeed, already are – essential parts in their local bodies, Uruguayan churches. They are taking the gospel to hospitals, public places in the city, and nursing homes. And some of them are pursuing further Bible training...

 

Elizabeth (and Déborah) plowed through second grade work (homeschooling) until the end of February, when Elizabeth began third grade in a school on the outskirts of Montevideo. She’s doing well, and we’re grateful.

During the month JM helped prepare for the opening of FEBU (College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay) and translate material for upcoming pastors’ training.

We’re encouraged with the work in Pando (Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha) – with faithful attendance and with enthusiasm among the half-dozen teens who regularly come...

In March, sixteen students (eight of them taking a full load of classes) enrolled in the very first semester of FEBU... One week later, Bible institute classes began on the same “campus...” Our living so close facilitates not only teaching but also informal opportunities to talk with students, eat together, help with a sermon, or give song-leading tips. We’re glad to be here. Please pray for God’s working in us and our students. 

(You can read the entire ministry report on our ministry blog.)