Beginning of the Year Wrap Up

From Peter Dishman, RUF @ UNAM

The best way that you can see the first few weeks of the year at the UNAM has to be via the updates from Josh and Amy Oettle on their blog. There you can see some pictures of our kickoff party, and if you scroll down far enough, of our pre-semester retreat as well.

It has been a good semester so far - sadly, a bunch of our regular folk are starting to disappear as they move into their thesis and social service phases (in some cases, students in this fifth year phase have lots more time, but generally they have a lot less as they move towards post-UNAM life); at the same time, however, we have also seen a number of new faces at our group as people discover our group and begin to become part of it (one of the new things that we tried this year was having an information table set up outside of one the main entrances of the UNAM - we have never seen a Christian group do this before, but we have garnered a lot of confused looks and a good amount interest in “Christian community at the UNAM”).

This semester at our Tuesday large group, we are working through the gospel of John, and last week we talked about the mystery of the incarnation - how Jesus the divine missionary enters human history to redeem a people for himself. We are still learning what that missionary invasion means in our lives as well as what it means for our lives at the university. We also have student and intern led small groups going on Ephesians, the letters of John, and the Foundations of Christianity in Filosophy and Letters, Engineering, and Sciences.

English Club has been big this semester - a lot of new faces among the 40 or so that have been coming out on Wednesdays and Fridays to learn to talk like “real gringos”. Lots of relationships beginning to grow there, and you can pray that our group draws positive attention from the administration and from students alike.

Posted by Peter Dishman on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 at 3:10 pm.

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August Reports from MTW MISSIONARIES FROM NORTH TEXAS PRESBYTERY

Rick & Pam Box #010519
Bogotá, Colombia
Christ Presbyterian, Flower Mound
“In Colombia, Rick is working with the Colombian leaders in training and church planting. We are planning to constitute one of the three church plants in Bogotá next month (September). In September, we have six Colombian men scheduled to undergo exam for elder in Cúcuta, Colombia. This is quite a blessing for us since we have been training and preparing these men for several years. We continue to partner with the only English speaking church in Colombia and we hope to begin training centers in English and Spanish in their church building this fall. On a more personal note, please pray for Pam's father who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.”


Dawn Brady Sparks #010572
Ukraine
Fifth Street Presbyterian, Tyler
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine (EPCU) was particularized on April 16! This is a great step forward for the church we work with in Ukraine. Dawn married Steve Sparks on April 26 and they will be thinking and praying about whether God is calling them to return to Ukraine. For the remainder of 2008, Dawn will be on HMA and will be visiting supporting churches and giving reports on the work in Kiev.
Dawn plans to be with us at Presbytery.
www.sparksministry.org.

Andrew & Rebecca Bronson #010731
Thailand
Park Cities, Dallas
"The summer has been a busy time of moving to a new place and diving into full-time academics again. God has been gracious in his provision for us. Thus far, we are really enjoying St Louis and Covenant Seminary. This will be a place we feel we will learn and grow much over the next few years. We have also continued on part-time staff with MTW Thailand assisting with finances and church partnership administration state-side. This is exciting stuff for us to stay involved in; we look forward to continuing to support www.mtwthailand.org

Ruth Dinkins #011718
Brazil
Christ Presbyterian, Tulsa
“I arrived back in Brazil the 16th of July and in Patrocínio the 19th. Classes began the 4th of August. I have 2 classes with the first year in their field work, and 2 classes of Christian Education Theory with the 1st year. The rest of my time is observing students in their field work, helping in our work shop, translating materials, producing materials, and informal counseling. I am sorry that I was not able to get to TX to get to know you folks. One of these times it will work out for me to get down your way.”

Peter Dishman #011731
RUF-UNAM, Mexico City
MTW/RUM
Town North, Richardson
“The first week of school is upon us here at the UNAM, after a summer of interns and trips and retreats! Please pray for us as we connect with students at the beginning of this semester: for students that we know from RUF and the English Club, for students that we don’t know that are coming in from the churches, for students that we would like to know as they see the flyers for our semester activities. Pray that the Lord will bring us the students he wants us to minister to this semester and that we will be ready to receive them!”
http://www.rufmexico.org/ (English) http://www.curunam.org/ (Spanish)

Caleb & Aimee Dunn #011783
Mexico
Church Planter Training
Park Cities, Dallas
Back home in Monterrey (after HMA), where he grew up; Caleb continues ministering as the Director of the Theological Institute of Ministry in partnership with RTS Charlotte. The institute currently supports church planters and lay leaders with a B.A. in Theology, and also offers continuing education for presbyteries. He also continues to work toward his D.Min in Pastoral Counseling at WTS Philadelphia.
Our deepest sympathy goes to Caleb and the family on the home-going of his grandfather Harold Dunn.

Ben Graber #012803
East Germany
Fort Worth PCA
Well into his two-year term, Ben is preparing to lead a children's English camp in the new rented rooms of the church plant he serves in Berlin, where he also hopes to offer adult English courses in the fall. The church held its first worship service there in August and is planning a neighborhood festival and concert to reach out to the community in September.
http://bengraber.blogspot.com

Scott & Mary Ann Nelson #015418
SIL Support
MTW/Wycliffe
Trinity Presbyterian, Plano
“We have been trying to solve a communications equipment problem between the Eastern Congo and Kenyan translation centers. The new equipment was received and we are waiting on approval from the government to be able to use the equipment to connect these folks to each other wirelessly. Pray that the application is approved and the equipment serves them well in their task.”


Josh & Amy Oettle #015711
UNAM, Mexico City
Park Cities, Dallas
The fall semester is just beginning for students at the UNAM. Josh and Amy and the team are preparing for Bible studies and English Clubs to start, and getting in touch with old students and new students. It’s an energetic, busy time. At the first of the month, they had a 3 day CUR (Spanish for RUF) Retreat at the home of Ruth’s parents in Tequisquapan, a city a few hours away. http://joshandamyoettle.wordpress.com

Doug & Masha Shepherd #016819
Ukraine
Christ Presbyterian, Tulsa
Doug and Masha have finished a busy summer training 6 American two-month interns in L'viv. The team also hosted a one week English Camp in the Carpathian Mountains for 53 Ukrainian university students. The team is now busy following up these contacts and starting a few bible studies. The Shepherds are scheduled to visit the States (Home Assignment) for three months this winter. Continue to pray for converts.