good news from a distant land

The Difficulty of Illness in the Home

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 02:34:00 +0000

INTRODUCTION: The serpent offered Eve the fruit, saying, “You will not die.” By saying this, he not only denied the reality of death (when she would indeed die) but also hid what that death would look like. Death is not only seen at the moment of passing from this life to eternity. It is seen throughout life as our bodies deteriorate. We have all experienced sickness. What is happening? You could say that we are slowly dying. And beyond the pain and discomfort of sickness, there is another reality that the serpent did not share with Eve: that sickness can create conflict in the home.

Illness disrupts the plans not only of the person suffering from the illness but also of his caregivers, both short-term and long-term. It entails unexpected expenses. Sometimes these costs are unbearable and result in heavy debt.

The caregiver endures sleepless nights and has to continue working during the day. Some illnesses are obvious. In these cases, people outside the home are aware of the situation. A wheelchair, for example, is a constant reminder that something is wrong. But when someone is unwell but shows no obvious symptoms to others, people forget or never notice and, therefore, can end up causing even more harm with their words or their silence. If we add to the illness the possibility of accidents or mishaps, the situation leads to further complications. If someone is at fault for causing the accident, the injured person may be tempted to harbor resentment toward another.

These conditions can provoke the person suffering from the illness to react negatively. The person suffering from the illness may even lash out at those who are actually there to help. This can cause the caregiver to respond with anger, fear, and discouragement as both suffer under an unexpected and unwanted burden.

Undoubtedly, these moments require help: the extended family, the local church, and even the wider community can participate in alleviating the suffering. But due to time constraints and the nature of the topic itself, I will focus only on the home. More specifically, I will focus on how we think about these situations. And, to be even more specific, I am thinking primarily of those who are the caregivers.

As with any other storm, it will help to have fixed points of reference, to be rooted to solid ground for stability. These fixed, stable points are truths that do not move, even when everything else seems to. God wants the truths of the Bible to keep us firm in times of illness. So let’s allow the realities of God's Word to keep us firm. We will look at six realities.

1. Sickness is not God's final will.

We are so accustomed to correctly repeating that God is sovereign that we can sometimes give (or believe) the idea that God takes pleasure in sickness or, even worse, in sin itself. It is necessary to remember that God is not the author of sin, that sickness is the consequence of sin, that the original creation had neither pain nor sickness, and that in the new creation there will be none of these evils (Genesis 1:31; Revelation 21:1-4).

We are also accustomed to hearing about the “circle of life,” the idea that it is normal for an organism to go through certain processes and to eventually die. But, for the Christian, this is not normal. Sickness and death are interruptions in God’s design.

Therefore, it is right to grieve and let others grieve when sickness strikes.

Sickness is not God’s final will. But, despite this first reality…

2. Sickness is the common condition of humanity.

Our experience is that normal life requires the stronger to care for the weaker. Real life consists of caring for babies, those with conditions like Down syndrome, those with terminal cancer, and the elderly.

It is necessary to recognize this reality because if we don't accept it, when illness strikes one of our family members, or when it strikes us, we might think it's unusual. But it isn't. It's real life.

But even recognizing these realities, illness puts tremendous stress on us. It is necessary to recognize a third reality:

3. Sickness is not the real cause of conflict.

James 4:1-4 explains that conflict stems from our own frustrated desires. The desire may not be bad. In fact, it may be right. Sickness in the home may disrupt short-term plans (postponed vacations, a missed study session) or long-term plans (“I was going to be a pastor,” or “I am a pastor, but challenges at home hinder my ministry”). These are good plans and good desires, but when circumstances rob us of what we wanted, we may react in the ways James describes in this chapter.

The good news: God offers forgiveness (James 4:6-10).

God not only offers forgiveness; He also offers truths, realities that can support us in these moments. Here is another:

4. God saved you in order that you would care for your loved one.

Have you ever stopped to think about why God saved you? Ephesians 2 tells us that He saved us for good works (see especially verse 10).

This implies that He saved you not only to live in His presence for eternity. God saved you to clean up vomit. God saved you to hear the same story for the hundredth time from your loved one who has already forgotten she told it to you. God saved you to wake up again to give the medicine every four hours. God saved you to be there for your loved one, to clean them, to give another massage.

Having this perspective doesn't take away the difficulty of the illness, but it encourages and motivates.

There is another related reality.

5. God will save you through the illness.

God has committed to completing in you, the caregiver, the work He began (Philippians 1:6). What work? How will He do it? Through everything that touches you (Romans 8:28). This promise is for every believer; those who love God are the justified who will be glorified. We began by saying that sickness is not God's final will. But God's sovereignty encompasses everything, even the sin He hates. It also encompasses the effects of the Fall. God will use your loved one's illness to save you. You are already justified, but the process of sanctification continues.

Take heart with one more reality.

6. God can give opportunities and fruit even in the worst circumstances.

Consider Paul in Rome, hindered by house arrest (Acts 28:30–31). Yet the work was unhindered (read the passage).

Finally, think about this.

7. The way you treat your sick loved one is the way you treat Christ Himself.

Read Matthew 25:31–46.

As you give the medicine, wipe, and listen to that story again, it's worth thinking, "I am serving Christ Himself directly."

CONCLUSION: Christ has solved the problem of sin (and, therefore, physical illness)... yes, but not yet. We continue to grapple with sickness, and the front lines of the battle are in the home, where one gets out of bed (or not) and (sometimes) where one dies. Let this part of Christ's kingdom, the home, be a place where we think biblically, rooted in biblical realities. We conclude by recalling the first reality we saw, a glimpse of the end times (Revelation 21:1-4):

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘The dwelling place of God is now among the people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”

Original notes in Spanish; translated with Google Translate with minor edits.

On the eve of a new year...

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 13:21:00 +0000

God, since the beginning, has left a witness to himself (Acts 14:17). Year after year he has testified of his existence. He has done so by grace, undeserved favor, goodness shown in common to all creation. He has thus testified not only that he exists but also that he is good. The blessing he gave to all living creatures at the beginning (Ge 1:28-31), promised again after the judgment of the worldwide flood (Ge 8:22), he has continued to pour out in the form of abundance and variety of food. He does good “by giving [us] rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [our] hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). We all—humans, animals, fish, birds, and bugs—depend on him, whether we consciously lift our eyes to him, the Giver, or not. He gives us our food in due season; we gather it up; he opens his hand, and we are filled with good things (Ps 104). We have grown so accustomed to this lavish grace that, when at times he hides his face and we know hunger, we not only are dismayed but also speak evil of him, forgetting that our final destination of dust and fire should be our present state. For we have eaten what he did not give (Ge 2:16-17), seeking satisfaction in what was not real. We should be dead; but here we are, breathing on the eve of another year. He continues to give us bread from the ground, and he continues to freely offer, to all who will come and eat, the True Bread from heaven, of which—of Whom—if anyone eats, he will live forever.

Listen for the Voice of the Shepherd

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:51:00 +0000

From time to time I’m asked to teach others how to preach. This unsought privilege comes with unsought dangers! As I hone my own skills and try to help others develop theirs, a healthy tendency to analyze can actually become a critical spirit. Instead of listening for the voice of the Shepherd, I can find myself distracted by the sometimes-flawed voices of under-shepherds. Likewise, a Bible college student can become critical or arrogant as he compares all he’s learned with what other preachers do. And any Christian, really, who has been exposed to good preaching—or maybe even to a preaching style he just personally prefers—can struggle with a critical attitude when he hears preaching that isn’t all he hoped for.

Let’s be honest. Sometimes the preaching we hear disappoints us. I can think of recent examples. In one case, the outline was appropriate and connected to the text, but the preacher so elaborated each point that he strayed from the safe ground of the Bible into the weeds of personal opinion. In another case, the brother opened with a passage that doesn’t actually teach what he used it to say. These are genuine problems! But they’re problems we’ll leave for another venue. What do we do, as hearers, when we find ourselves in these situations?

We have several options. We can daydream. Or we can decide we’ll get more profit from sitting and reading our copy of the Bible. Maybe we resolve to try to learn from a bad example. These choices are better than nurturing a critical spirit. But there really is a better way, and it’s not profound: We can deliberately listen for the voice of God. (I said it was simple!)

I tried this the last time I heard one of those sermons. I decided I would intentionally listen for the voice of the Shepherd, and I tried to write down what I heard. Do you know what I found? The sermon, which I could easily have dismissed as inferior, was full of God! God, speaking to me. I needed what the preacher was preaching. After all, shouldn’t we expect the one who did not withhold his own Son to freely give us all things? He plans the preaching we hear to be the preaching we need to hear. And, as it occurred to me later, what I had heard in that one, simple, less-than-perfect sermon was more truth than many in this world are graced to hear in their entire lives.

I’ll probably continue to struggle with this. And I’ll also continue to encourage my students as we seek together to improve. But I really do believe that I’ll be greatly helped when I remember to listen for, discern, and respond to the voice of the Shepherd, even when his spokesmen may falter. jms

This article first appeared in Listening to God through the Preaching of His Word, book three of a four-part series on listening, published by the Man of the Word program for Mount Calvary Baptist Church (Greenville, SC).

Who is Jesus?

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 19:13:00 +0000

Who is Jesus? What is his relationship to God? These questions aren’t simply debates that divide one Christian from another. They’re part of what defines a Christian. Because if salvation is found only in Jesus, then whether or not we’re believing in the right Jesus is no mere doctrinal discussion. Nevertheless, before examining what Jesus said about himself, or what his apostles said about him in the New Testament, it’s important to understand the context into which Jesus was born.

The cultural, religious context into which Jesus came was absolute monotheism. That is, there is only one God in the entire universe. This doesn’t simply mean the Jews worshiped only one God (allowing that there might be another one somewhere). It also means their Scriptures (the Christian OT) insist that no other God exists. God’s name is YHWH (in English traditionally rendered as “the LORD” or “Jehovah”). There was no time when God wasn’t. Any “gods” that came into being aren’t gods in the sense that Jehovah is God. He is the only one in his category in the entire universe.

Jesus referred to the only God as “my Father” and to himself as “the Son of God.” The monotheistic Jews understood this to be a claim of equality with God. But did they understand Jesus or did they simply accuse him of saying something he didn’t intend? For that matter, do biblical Christians understand what Jesus and the Bible claim for him or do they simply hold to a tradition handed down to them? For approximately 18 months I wrestled with a similar question: Do the many passages in the Scriptures used to prove Jesus’ deity really teach that?

Convinced from childhood of the reliability of the Bible, and thus a monotheist, I also believed what I’d been taught about Jesus’ full deity. But, for a time, when I looked at specific Bible passages used to establish his deity, I wondered whether I really understood them or whether they meant something else. The same excruciating doubt kept arising with every proof text I looked at. At the same time, I (rightly) reasoned, if faith in Christ is the only way to eternal safety, it’s essential to know in whom I’m believing. Had I believed in the biblical Jesus?

The danger of proof-texting is that we pull verses out of their context to prove what we want to believe or what others tell us is true. Any text—isolated from the logical flow of thought, separated from God’s big story, removed from the rest of what God has revealed in his Word, or contorted against the way language naturally works—can mean anything we make it mean. The answer is to read the whole Bible (not simply isolated verses), to allow whole sections to flow where they will, and to do so with humility and submission to God.

By God’s grace, I concluded that the monotheistic Jews were right: Jesus was indeed claiming equality with God. The New Testament calls Jesus God, identifies Jesus as YHWH (Jehovah), shows Jesus accepting worship and taking the divine prerogative of forgiving sins, and gives him the name Jesus—“Jehovah saves”—because he, Jesus, saves. The Scripture doesn’t let us conclude that the Father and the Son are the same person; it’s not that the one God sometimes shows up as the Father and other times as the Son. Nor can we say that there are multiple Gods or even that the Son merely represents his Father. Rather, the Son, a person separate from the Father, is at the same time equal and coeternal with him. Honoring Jesus begins with honoring God as the only God, eternal, all-knowing, able to do everything he wants to do, and the Creator of everything else that exists. Honoring Jesus means recognizing him to be of full and equal deity with his Father and fleeing to him for forgiveness of sin and eternal rest. There are proof texts to support these affirmations, but it’s better to read the book as a book.

My pastor shared this message last Sunday concerning the nature of Jesus. Please consider listening!

https://www.mountcalvarybaptist.org/pages/sermons/detail/sermon/8413

Ideas for reading the Bible for the first (or hundredth) time

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 18:43:00 +0000

Have you read the Bible? If you’re going to talk about it (or even have an opinion), you probably should . . . read it . . . at least once. Here are a few ideas to help.

Pray that God will help you understand what he wrote.

Read the Bible like a book. It claims to be from God, but God used normal means of communication. Generally speaking, the rules of human language (word meanings, grammar, the ways language “works”) still apply. Different “genres” (poetry, history, etc.) function a little bit differently, just like they do in modern life.

Look for units of thought (not necessarily chapters and verses). In the epistles (which are like letters), for example, these will be paragraphs or larger sections. In the psalms (which are like songs or hymns), these will be parallel lines and lines grouped into stanzas. The extended flow of thought might include evidence, explanation or examples, parenthetical ideas, purposes, or reasons. The big thing is to break out of a “chapter and verse” mentality and follow the flow.

The historical context is important, because it sheds light on the meaning of certain statements.

Think about the big story. Any single passage of Scripture is part of the big story of God’s rescuing humanity in order to establish His kingdom.

The Bible is in two big sections. The first part is the Old Testament (“testament” means “covenant”). The second part is the New Testament. Remember that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. The OT points to him with direct prophecy, with indirect prophecy (recurring themes, people, and institutions that are like “shadows” of Jesus, who is “the real thing”), and even with humanly impossible laws that he himself kept. The New Covenant doesn’t get rid of the writings of the Old Covenant (as if the old were now unimportant or not applicable). It is, however, “new.” The church relates to God through Jesus Christ and the New Covenant (Matthew 5:17-20; Hebrews 1:1-2).

October 2020 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Events since our last report included anniversary and birthday celebrations for our family and a “virtual camp” on “The Bible and Science” (with up to 90 devices connected at one point) with Dr. Bill Lovegrove, Engineering Department Head at Bob Jones University.

Retrospect. We recently reviewed a document we had labeled “Uruguay 2020,” an informal proposal put together in 2008 following graduation from seminary and a trip to Uruguay to survey opportunities here. The year 2020 was somewhat arbitrary, and our understanding of the Lord’s future leading limited; but it has been encouraging now in these days to review what God has done in the interim. We suggested a general mission of strengthening Uruguayan churches in the roles of evangelist and teacher. Though this mission did not preclude the possibility of church planting or pastoring, it emphasized instead the importance of the national Uruguayan church and proposed a supportive role alongside Uruguayan leadership.

Specifically the vision included three elements: We hoped to see a mature local church established in the department of Canelones. (We had surveyed San Jacinto, Tala, and San Ramón.) We wanted to encourage the Garwoods and Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando (also in the department of Canelones). We hoped to see an active Bible training program serving believers in the local church, national pastors in the ministry, and young people planning for or considering gospel ministry.

Later that same year, EMU’s Bible institute (B.I.) expressed desire for increased help. We began teaching in the B.I. in 2013, while the new FEBU Bible-college project was preparing to offer the first semester of classes in early 2014. The Lord has continued to bring students semester by semester to FEBU, while the need for and opportunities in the Bible-institute program have also continued, both in Montevideo and in interior cities of Uruguay. Though the Lord did not lead us to work in northern Canelones, it is encouraging to see new gospel work in Tala, San Jacinto, and San Ramón by FEBU co-workers. And a San Jacinto family continues to participate with us in Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando.

Prospect. In our church in Pando we continue with online services, but many of the people have also been able to stay connected via other means, including getting together in smaller, more informal situations. The weekly men’s meeting via Skype has been encouraging to them; we are currently looking at principles of Bible study and working through the book of James. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s guidance for this church and for His provision of a permanent pastor.

The school year in the Southern Hemisphere is coming quickly to an end. On the elementary and middle-school levels, it has been an abbreviated year. Students have largely returned to in-person classes, though in many cases with reduced schedules. We expect our kids will continue in their current schools in 2021: DJ in the Christian school outside Las Piedras (where D also teaches part-time EFL classes) and E in a local public middle school. She has been encouraged recently with a history writing assignment that resulted in a meaningful one-on-one conversation with her teacher and in some of her biblical worldview being read to the class. Please pray for the Lord to use her there, specifically for the salvation of her history teacher and of another friend (one of many Venezuelans now in Uruguay), with whom she has had opportunity.

FEBU classes are now being held in person in the classroom location at the Parque Batlle church. The Bible-institute classes in Montevideo will continue online for this final month. We expect to see two students complete the three-year Bible institute program and one finish the four-year FEBU program. Please pray for direction in planning for future classes, especially given the uncertainties of 2021. Several other projects are in the works: JM is working on a manual for tracing argument and on a smaller document to help Sunday school teachers in the use of translations for study and memorization. We’ve been asked to prepare several recorded sessions of Apologetics (JM) and Grammar (D) for a local/international radio ministry.

Since 2013 we’ve used a business card that includes our names, email address, brief Scripture verse, and a link to a website with a gospel presentation. During 2020 several have shown interest as a result. Please pray for the Lord to use His Word, through this and other means. Thank you for your continued prayers, financial support, and ongoing friendship!

June 2020 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Greetings from Montevideo—and still mainly from home. Our neighborhood is pictured below, with our home in the middle. June 13 marked 3 months of COVID-19 in Uruguay. The newly elected government has exercised strong leadership in encouraging social distancing, but we have never been under either complete or obligatory lockdown. Nevertheless, there will be long-term effects here as everywhere. The escalation to global pandemic began, for the Southern Hemisphere, at the very beginning of the school year, and schooling on all levels moved immediately online. The first phase of reopening schools is scheduled on the elementary level for late June.

In April we wrote an update for the EMU Newsletter. Though not intended to be our April report, we never sent anything further. (We’re now including it on this blog.) Our desire continues to be to steward the changes in schedule. Without being unaware or indifferent to the suffering caused by closures of economies and breakdowns in health systems, we want to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by this time. When the coronavirus reached Uruguay we were finishing our move from the mission office/Bible-institute (B.I.) building to a nearby apartment. We are now a half block north, along one of the city’s surviving cobbled brick streets; and we’ve done most of our teaching and recording of classes at the mission office. In April we added an online hermeneutics course to the B.I. schedule to allow a student graduating later this year to make up a deficiency. Right after launching the course, we were given access to an online platform that we began using immediately and that will be available for future online and in-person classes. We’re grateful for this gift and the potential it represents to improve quality of presentation and to offer content (text, documents, photos, recorded video, and evaluations) easily accessed in one place. In addition to Hermeneutics, our semester’s teaching has included Homiletics, OT Poetic Books, and Grammar & Composition in the B.I. and FEBU.

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha. We continue, for the time being, to hold a weekly service via Facebook Live, sharing the responsibility for this with Daniel and Viviana. JM is also teaching Principles of Bible Study in a weekly men’s meeting via Skype. Matías Acevedo heads up the weekly youth meeting, also via Skype.

Campamento Emanuel has been forced to cancel many weeks of activity, including the winter youth retreat. Nevertheless, plans are being made for an online meeting among the youth groups of churches usually involved. Dr. Bill Lovegrove, though unable to be with us personally, is working with Pedro to put together an abbreviated “virtual camp” program on the theme of the Bible and science.

Family. In January JM received approval of his prospectus. In May D submitted a survey of findings on collaborative learning as an effective tool for teaching English as Foreign Language. We expect this to be helpful in the Uruguayan context; she’s pursuing possible publication of the paper in Spanish. The kids, in addition to their online studies, continue to enjoy reading, writing, art, and music. (Soccer has suffered over the past months.) In April the Lord protected JM’s parents in SC as a tornado dropped trees on their house, yard, and truck.

Uruguay and COVID-19. Uruguay has long been known for its uniqueness in the region—demographically, culturally, topographically, economically. To a large degree this has been the case during this pandemic as well. The country has so far been spared much of the suffering borne by neighboring countries. This is, we think, both a mercy and a judgment. God has spared life once again; but if this kindness is attributed merely to second causes—a conclusion the secular culture is already prone to—then we should fear. Please consider making use of these thoughts in your prayers for Uruguay.

April 2020 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 02:00:00 +0000

At the time of writing (April 20) we are starting our sixth week of “quarantine,” which means—etymologically—that the “forty days” are almost over! God has dealt with us gently, protecting us from disease and mitigating personal effects of the interrupted schedule. Beyond controlling the negative effects, he has added these undeserved blessings:

These weeks have forced Bible-institute and FEBU classes to take a step forward in their online course offerings. Not only in Montevideo but in other cities students are accessing courses online. Though this might not be essential for their training, it tends to be a hurdle for some; and, the hurdle now having been crossed, the way might open to more options in the future. The Bible institute has added an online Hermeneutics class not originally on the schedule. Men in our church have begun a weekly online meeting studying Principles of Bible Study. Other discipleship opportunities with men outside Montevideo and Pando have arisen due to the specific challenges of the pandemic. Our church’s online services have provided a much increased potential of influence and have (ironically) actually facilitated a degree of connectedness not experienced before.

On the personal level, we have had more opportunity to be involved with our children’s education and have been much more connected to our home church in South Carolina via their live-streamed services. We have been able to continue settling into our new home in ways we might not have been able to under the “planned” schedule.

We don’t know how many more “forty days” of interruption the future may hold in Uruguay or anywhere else, but we know that God is managing well the affairs of nations and the affairs of our little family.

DJ develops a weekly camera base for Sunday services

from our home.

January 2020 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Greetings from Uruguay! In December we celebrated Christmas by participating in an evangelistic outreach (in a public plaza and local stores) and in the Lord’s Day service in Iglesia Bíblica Comunidad in Carmelo with FEBU co-workers. Our two nieces, Florencia and Lucía (also part of our church in Pando), accompanied us. We also celebrated the wedding of a former student in Vergara, JM being given the opportunity to give a gospel message during the ceremony. And we celebrated the second FEBU graduation: Two young ladies completed requirements for the four-year degree; three other ladies completed a certificate program; and five local pastors and missionaries received recognition for their faithful attendance during the five years of pastors’ classes. Nations and ethnicities represented by this group of ten graduates include Uruguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Germany, Brazil, and the Armenian diaspora.

During the next several weeks we will finish our move, now in process, out of the EMU/MEU mission house to an apartment up the street in the same neighborhood. Over the past six and a half years we have appreciated opportunities provided by living so close to Bible-Institute (B.I.) classes and, for several years, FEBU classes. However, the time seems right for our family to have a place of our own. January has been taken up with preparation of the apartment, organizing and moving, and participating in workshops at Camp Emmanuel on the topic of Christian music. February activities will include translating for part of a two-day class on ecclesiology and eschatology (the wrap-up of the five-year Pastors’ Program mentioned above); attending the EMU/MEU workers’ conference; preaching in the wedding of two former FEBU and B.I. students; and taking a week of family vacation. Matías Acevedo, who is helping with the youth activities in Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha, is organizing with the teens and college-aged group an evangelistic soccer tournament in the church neighborhood. Please pray for the Lord’s work in this barrio and for the ongoing growth of the church. The elementary academic year (for DJ and D) begins on March 2, as do B.I. and FEBU classes (for JM and D). E also returns to local public middle-school in March. This semester D will teach Grammar & Composition in FEBU. JM teaches OT Poetic Books in FEBU and Homiletics I in FEBU and the B.I., while continuing work on a manual for tracing argument in the N.T. Epistles.

According to her national ID card, Julia Piedad (pictured above right) was born in April 1926. She says her birth date was really in February, however, and we aren’t sure of the year. We know that this year she turns at least 94. She dates her new birth to the month of the 1950 Uruguayan World Cup victory when—in contrast to the temporal celebration around her—her thoughts turned to God. For approximately seventy years she was the housekeeper and bulldog of the EMU/MEU mission house. The word bulldog is not unkind and might, in fact, be euphemistic. This description now is necessary, not only to give a picture of the fierce care that she took for whatever she considered her realm, but also because the description highlights, we think, the work of God in her life over the past several years. As her health has waned she has experienced increased pain and near blindness. She has also been forced more and more to depend on others for her care. At a time in life when complaining about her discomfort would be understandable and even expected, her disposition has sweetened. Her occasional comments about pain are rarely—if ever—complaints. The picture, taken this week, is a regular scene. Please pray for her continued growth and unwavering trust in Jesus, and for wisdom and grace for those responsible to make decisions about her care.

October 2019 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:30:00 +0000

Greetings from Montevideo, Uruguay!

The quarter-year since our last report was in some ways routine: Weeks passed in a pattern of preparing and teaching college and institute classes, facilitating video courses for the institute, teaching in DJ’s school, taking E and DJ to their respective places of study, teaching and preaching in Pando on the weekends. But in other ways these months have not been “normal”: For just over three months we housed a former student; and in these last days of October we enjoyed a visit from JM’s sister Shannah (from SC) and a group of workers from Hamilton Acres Baptist Church (in AK). This team worked and slept at Camp Emmanuel, sixty kilometers to the east, contributing to the annual work event at the camp. They also spent several days with us here in the capital, where they participated in a FEBU class, toured some of Montevideo, and helped us with yard and painting projects.

In late August Matías and Bethany Acevedo and their three children relocated from upstate New York to Uruguay. Matías is Uruguayan, the brother of a friend and former student. (In 2018 he helped us during part of our four-month absence from Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando.) They are renting a house in the community of Totoral del Sauce, approximately fifteen minutes from Pando, where they plan to contribute to the ministry of our church. Please pray for the Lord’s leading for them and for the church and for an effective ministry among us. Daniel and Viviana continue to faithfully work alongside us, and we appreciate Jorge and Blanca’s help as well.

In September we were given opportunities for teaching and preaching in a one-day family conference in the city of Fray Bentos, on Uruguay’s west side, and at anniversary services in Iglesia Evangélica Siloé in the northern Montevideo neighborhood of Colón. The church in Fray Bentos is currently pastored by 2017-graduate Gabriel (married to Valeria). Another graduate from the same year, Exequiel (married to Vanesa), is assisting our friends Matías and Kristine Espinel in the church in Colón. Pray for these families and their ministries in each place.

Please pray also for a brief trip in November to the city of Paso de los Toros, in the heart of Uruguay, where pastor José Kowalcuk from the nearby city of Durazno is regularly engaged in evangelism. We will not be able to participate that weekend, but several Bible-institute students plan to accompany mission evangelist Juan González and take part in focused effort there.

By mid-December JM hopes to submit a prospectus to BJU Seminary, which (if approved) will form the first chapter of a research project focused on expository preaching and designed to strengthen Bible-college and institute classes and ultimately local churches here in Uruguay.

Uruguay held general elections on the last Sunday of October and will hold runoff elections on the last Sunday of November. Judging from the past ten to fifteen years, the results of elections will significantly impact the next five years and beyond. Please pray for God’s mercy on this country.

July 2019 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 21:10:00 +0000

¡Saludos desde Montevideo, Uruguay!

Campamento Emanuel. Thank you for praying for the Winter Retreat at Camp Emmanuel. Approximately thirty-six teens came for three days, mostly from the Montevideo and Pando areas but several from interior Uruguay. The weather was chilly: Cold rain (and even some sleet) fell the first evening, and temps during the days hovered in the 40’s F, with usual high humidity. Please pray for the Spirit’s continued work in the hearts of those who heard the Word. Nico taught from the life of Joseph, highlighting God’s providential control of circumstances on behalf of His children. Robert and JM spoke on the effects of music, a general theme introduced this month with more extensive treatment planned for the Jan-Feb 2020 camps. Three teens attended from our church in Pando.

Training programs. In addition to the four Bible-institute locations in the interior (Rivera, Tacuarembó, Pando, and Treinta y Tres), churches in two other locations (Vergara and Durazno) have expressed interest in starting local classes as soon as possible. Please pray for the Lord’s clear direction in these two places—especially in Durazno as there appears to be potential for the development of future church leadership there. The second semester of classes begins on August 5 and runs through the end of November. In Montevideo JM will be teaching Bible-institute and FEBU classes, including Hermeneutics, General Epistles, and Church Music.

In another context, JM has the opportunity to participate, as a group of pastors evaluate and revise their joint doctrinal statement. Please pray for the Lord’s guidance of all those involved.

CCB Cristo Viene. This is DJ’s elementary school outside of Las Piedras, just north of Montevideo. The early-morning commute is long, but the combined benefits that address DJ’s needs and offer many ministry opportunities cause us to be thankful for this situation. Both of us have been able to clearly share the gospel with significant groups of students and their family members: D to the mothers and students, and JM to groups of grandparents, parents, and students. D has also been given the opportunity to teach elementary English two mornings a week. Apart from the impact on the students, her teaching is facilitating DJ’s attendance there. Much closer to home, E continues to do well in a local public middle school just two blocks from our house.

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s provision for this church. JM recently returned to a study in 1 Peter, and Jorge has taken several weeks of Sunday school to instruct about evangelism. Pat Garwood arrived in Uruguay on June 18 and is thankful to have seen many people from the church here (and elsewhere) where she and Don served for so many years. Please pray for her continued healing from a fall that she took on her second day here, a providential turn of events that significantly altered the nature of her trip.

The Lord’s dealings with us, in fact, over the last several months have been reminders of His providential control of everything. We do not always see His hand, but we are assured that He is guiding all. We do not ever need to say, “God must have some purpose for this,” because He has already revealed that at least one of His purposes is always our transformation into Christ-likeness (Romans 8). We are more fully convinced than ever of His keeping of His own and of the ultimately irresistible grace of God. Without sharing details, we want you to rejoice with us that God is keeping our current and former students. Though some have stumbled, most—and we hope all—are enduring. And we are watching God graciously rescue and restore in His own time and way. Our hearts are full! This month we are also celebrating His blessing and keeping us for 20 years of marriage. We are thankful! Please pray that we will be faithful with whatever more time the Lord may give us.

April 2019 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 03:00:00 +0000

In a recent newsletter our mission director observed that the EMU mission house in Montevideo shares the same latitude—in the other hemisphere—as Greenville-Spartanburg, SC. This means that our summer camps take place in January and February. Summer plans this year had included JM’s participation in staff training at Campamento Emanuel and a week of teen/young-adult camp, plans that were adjusted on Thursday during staff training when Dad Garwood’s health rapidly destabilized. Early Friday morning, January 11, we received the message that “Don went Home . . . very peacefully.” Though we had planned to see him once more, the timing of his Home-going was determined perfectly by the Lord whom he had served for over forty years as missionary to Uruguay. The summer break allowed our and Daniel’s (Deborah’s brother’s) families to be together with US and Canadian family for the memorial service in Jacksonville, FL, and interment in Greenville, SC.

The grandchildren sang a favorite hymn in both English and Spanish.

Since 2012 JM has taken an average of one class per year toward the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree from Bob Jones University Seminary (though changes in the program now require more accelerated completion). In December he finished an independent study course (in Montevideo) and in February took his last class (during our trip to SC). The DMin is usually done in conjunction with current ministry, and the Seminary in recent years has refined the focus of the program toward expository preaching. During the next several months JM will seek approval for a research project that maintains this focus and directly serves the training programs in Uruguay.

We returned to Uruguay on March 6 in time for the beginning of the FEBU, Bible-institute, middle-school, and elementary school year on March 11. FEBU had organized its first student-teacher retreat during the first week of the semester, a productive time likely to be repeated annually. Though only able to attend the final morning, we are thankful for this opportunity for the teachers and approximately 18 students (9 full-time) attending this year.

Bible-institute classes take place Monday through Wednesday evenings, this semester including Systematic Theology and a course on the pastor’s life (both taught by local pastors), two video courses (Bible Geography and Pastoral Epistles), and Apologetics. The latter, with 11 enrolled, is larger than most due to several FEBU students who join us. Not counting those, 8 students in Montevideo and 19 more in the interior locations are studying in the Bible-institute programs. In March we participated in the graduation of Nanciley, a former Mormon who completed the four-year video program in Treinta y Tres. Her husband and son are 2 of the 7 studying there.

Overall the semester is off to a good start, and we’re very thankful for your prayers. Elizabeth and DJ are adjusting well to their new school situations. E actively looks for opportunities to befriend and share the gospel. One of her friends in the local public middle school is one of many Venezuelan immigrants now in Uruguay.

In Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha we are currently taking time to help our people know how to talk to members of some of the more prominent sects and cults. We received encouraging reports about the work Agustina, Gonzalo, and Sebastián did this past summer as staff help at Campamento Emanuel. Please pray for their growth and that of other teens and young adults in the church: Sofía, Lucía, Florencia, Tabaré, Stefi, Selena, and Elizabeth. In June Bible-institute students plan to help us with an evangelistic outreach to the neighborhood around the church.

With Dad Garwood’s Home-going in recent months we are aware of the brevity of life and the need for laborers. In addition to the work in Pando, two other churches he helped to start continue in San Fernando and Minas. These and others are in need of laborers. We trust the Lord of the Harvest to accomplish His work—sometimes in ways we don’t understand—but we also know that our Lord instructed us to pray for laborers. Thank you for your part both here in Uruguay and there where He has placed you. Please also be willing to be moved!

January 2019 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 05:10:00 +0000

Facultad de Estudios Bíblicos del Uruguay (College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay). In November the FEBU Pastors’ Program and the UCB Camp in Paysandú hosted the first of two Systematic Theology classes. Several undergraduate students worked at camp during the week while another served in Chile. FEBU desires to provide abundant practical ministry experience, locally and beyond Uruguay. Please pray for those directly responsible for this Ministerio Práctico, especially now in preparation for the 2019 school year (beginning March 11).

The Instituto Bíblico F.V. Dabold is a three-year cycle of live classes (in Montevideo) and a four-year video-based program (in several churches in the interior). Our desire is to take full advantage of the particular strengths and reach of these structures to train and encourage Uruguayan church members, pastors, and potential pastors both in the capital and throughout Uruguay. Recently the Uruguayan leadership asked JM to direct the Bible Institute.

Campamento Emanuel. Between January 10 and 12 JM will teach counseling to summer staff in preparation for the camp season; he will work as counselor during the teen/young adult camp (Jan 21-26). Other camps include children’s (Jan 14-19), younger teens (Jan 28-Feb 2), EMU workers’ (Feb 25-28), and family camps (Mar 4-9).

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha. In November Gonzalo’s and Sebastián’s grandmother passed away during a lung surgery. Ana had spent most of the year in fragile health, awaiting a heart-valve replacement and dealing with other physical issues both before and after that surgery. Earlier this year she professed faith in Christ in direct response to the twins’ testimony. Their extended family has been exposed to the ministry of the gospel for years, especially during the time the Garwoods worked in Pando; however, most of them are not Christians. The family reported a significant change in Ana’s attitude and outlook following her conversion, and the grandsons have given public testimony about the Lord’s work through this situation. We believe that God has been glorified, that the church has grown in unity, and that there is opportunity for future gospel influence in this family.

Both Gonzalo and Sebastián plan to serve at camp in January, along with another young lady from the church. Please pray that this experience will be one of growth for all three. By March as many as four of the teen and college-age group plan to be studying in the national university, some of them also considering Bible-institute classes. May the Lord continue leading and maturing these youth, part of the apparent future of this church.

In March, Elizabeth will begin the first year of liceo (seventh grade) in a neighborhood public school. Daniel James will begin second grade in a small community north of Montevideo, in a Christian elementary school where one of our students teaches. Déborah also expects opportunities for involvement. E and DJ have proven to be capable students (in both languages), but the new school year with multiple schedules will require a number of adjustments for our family. DJ turned 8 this past October, and E turns 13 this month. Thank you for praying for the Lord’s ongoing work in their (and our) hearts. Schooling affords ample opportunity to share the gospel.

During the Christmas holidays we enjoyed a visit from Déborah’s sister, Esther, and her family. Esteban, Esther’s husband, is a graduate of EMU’s Bible Institute and now pastors a bilingual church in SC.

JM’s father had heart difficulties in 2018, but otherwise he and Mom Steel are well; they are active in their church in SC. Don Garwood (D’s father) struggles with heart and lung issues. He and Pat are fondly remembered here and have frequent contact with many via internet media. Pat continues to teach Spanish in their church’s school.

Abu (“Gramma”) Julia, the retired housekeeper for the mission home and office, turns 93 in February. She lives with us, receiving regular help from several in her church. The Lord has not yet finished His work in her!

October 2018 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 17:40:00 +0000

FEBU Pastors’ Program. In our last letter we were preparing for the visit of our pastor, Mark Minnick, who spent a week with us in late July. He visited our church in Pando and taught Romans for FEBU’s pastors’ program. He focused on the doctrinal section of the book, chapters 1-11, which tend to be the most challenging (and most controversial). His teaching was very well received by pastors, students, and lay people who attended the week of classes. FEBU has two more classes planned in this original five-year cycle: two blocks of Systematic Theology scheduled for November 2018 and July 2019. Please pray for wisdom concerning plans for next steps in 2019.

Second semester began the first week of August. JM is teaching Introduction to Music (Thursday mornings in FEBU) and OT Poetic Books (Monday mornings in FEBU and Wednesday nights in the EMU Bible Institute). D is teaching Spanish grammar in three venues: Bible Institute students meet one night per week in person; several others are following online; and FEBU students are using the online video format. Beginning this month JM is helping to facilitate an online Bible study course, which includes live video sessions with a pastor in Honduras.

Two mornings a week FEBU students attend a “chapel” service that consists of 30 to 45 minutes of singing and preaching. This semester some of FEBU’s first graduates have returned to preach in chapel. We ask you to pray for all our graduates, other former students, and current students. Among these there are both evident victories and bitter struggles. The need for both groups—and for our own hearts—is He “who is able to establish us according to the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ” (Rom. 16:25). Please pray for wisdom in our ongoing relationships with current and former students and that we would accurately represent Christ to them.

The sometimes-subtle and often-blatant warfare against the biblical family in Uruguay and Argentina is disheartening; and it is tempting to think that the task of raising and educating godly children is impossible. Iglesia Bíblica Comunidad, a new work being started in Carmelo, on the river that divides the two countries, has as one of its core values “the family.” Last December Mariano had asked us both to prepare several sessions (held last month), for men and women, on the theme of family and current cultural issues, the second such conference the church has held. Please pray for the success of the Gospel in Carmelo.

Campamento Emanuel and Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha. Several times a year Camp Emmanuel meets with representatives of local churches to review previous camps and to prepare for the upcoming camp season. For now JM is representing our church, Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha, in these meetings. Our teen- and college-aged group has benefited greatly from the camp ministry over the years, and they continue to be enthusiastic about attending and supporting the camp. Twice this year they have participated in work days; and last month three of them spent a Saturday in the first phase of camp training, in preparation for possibly serving as summer staff. The next phase of training is in January. The camp theme this year will be “the church.” Please pray for those preparing.

We regularly find ourselves assessing which of many opportunities God would have us prioritize. We continue to believe that our role here—and the purpose for which you have sent us—is the training of current and future Uruguayan leaders and church members—in cooperation with their local churches—to follow and serve the Lord Christ in this culture. Please pray for wisdom to know how best to leverage resources of time and energy.

Thank you for praying for us!

July 2018 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 18:05:00 +0000

Thank you for praying! We returned to Montevideo on July 6 and are in the process of returning to the routine of life here while preparing for a new semester that begins on Monday, July 30.

March through June. During our four-month absence we visited almost all of our North American supporting churches and most of our individual supporters. We regret not being able to see a few of you. Though the trip was not especially restful on the physical level, we are very thankful for the encouragement of the Lord’s people and the gracious reception we were given in every place. Many of you opened your homes or shared your time and resources, making yourselves vulnerable and us very grateful for your love. We have indeed experienced Jesus’ generous promise to those who follow Him: family, houses, and lands…not to mention eternal life in the age to come! And we know that neither these beautiful lands, nor the persecutions Jesus also foretold (not experienced in your homes!), are worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed in us on that great day.

During our travel JM taught an online Homiletics (sermon preparation) course to 9 FEBU students in Uruguay, following a regular weekend pattern of receiving student assignments by email and sending them written and video material via internet. The experience was positive; but we look forward to being in the classroom in person!

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha (Maranatha Bible Church). We are thankful for Matías and Bethany Acevedo’s ministry with our church for 10 weeks during our absence. In addition to his preaching and teaching, he and others in the church organized evangelistic and service efforts in the neighborhood; and the timing of his visit allowed him to baptize five believers in late May, an event we were able to watch via Skype from Fairbanks, AK. In late June, following the Acevedos’ return to the U.S., we all met in Kentucky for two nights and a day, allowing our families to get to know each other better and to glean from the experiences of these months. Please pray for the Lord’s leading and provision, both for the Acevedos and for this little church plant in Pando.

FEBU Block Course (July 23-27). We look forward to a visit from our pastor, Dr. Mark Minnick. While he is with us he will teach a block course on Romans as part of the twice-yearly FEBU program for pastors. The class will be held at Iglesia Templo Calvario in Montevideo. Please pray for a good group of pastors, leaders, students, and laymen to attend. We’re very excited about this opportunity and greatly appreciate our church’s generosity in sending him. Translation and printing of the written material has been one of our first main tasks upon arrival.

Thank you! Once again, we appreciate all of you and the opportunity to spend the past four months with many. We were refreshed by dear friends and committed churches in the far north and west, by the unconditional support of our parents in SC and FL, and by your kindness and fellowship everywhere in between. Our being able to attend part of the Whetstone Conference in our home church was a special blessing for us. Thank you!

The Uruguay we returned to seems less safe than ever. Robberies and murder are increasing in this place that for so long has been known for its tranquility. More dangerous is the bent of our own hearts. We know the enemy and the flesh are unrelenting in their warfare. Please pray for the Lord’s protection for us, for our children, and for our students—in realms both seen and unseen.

“In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer” (Romans 8).

April 2018 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 21:00:00 +0000

Greetings from North America! We arrived in Miami, FL, on the morning of March 7 and have spent the past weeks visiting family, friends, and churches in Florida and South Carolina.

Thank you for your continued prayers for the training programs in Uruguay. The FEBU school year began with meetings on Saturday, March 3, and classes the following Monday. We’re thankful for new students from Argentina and Uruguay. The FEBU library and classes were moved from Avenida Garibaldi (Templo Calvario and the MEU library/office area below our home) to a nearby church in the Parque Batlle neighborhood of Montevideo. Most classes are now offered on weekday mornings. There are 23 FEBU students enrolled this first semester: 16 part-time and 7 full-time. JM is teaching an online Homiletics course to 9 of these. Please pray for their ability to understand and for grace for both teacher and students to keep up with the course load. Classes in the MEU Bible Institute also began on Monday, March 5, with 23 students: 8 in Montevideo and 15 others in 3 local-church locations in the interior.

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha (Maranatha Bible Church). Toward the end of last year we were contacted by Matías, the brother of one of our FEBU students. Matías grew up in Templo Calvario in Montevideo but is currently living in the U.S., preparing to return to serve long-term in Uruguay. He expressed interest in the ministry in Pando, and by the end of our conversation we had discussed the possibility of his helping the church this year during part of our four-month absence. He, Bethany, and their three young children arrived in Uruguay on March 23 and will remain until May 31. Matías’s special interest is the discipleship of the teens and college-aged youth. They are living in nearby Totoral del Sauce, and his presence and availability during the week—together with his training and his already-evident love for this group—seem to be exactly what is needed at this time. He will also be helping Daniel with a large share of the preaching and teaching. Thank you for praying!

April through June. In mid-April we will drive west to report to churches in Iowa and Utah. On May 1 we will fly from Salt Lake City to Anchorage to visit our half dozen (or so) churches in Alaska for 6 weeks. We will return via Colorado. Here are several requests for prayer during this time:

Please pray for safety in travel and encouraging meetings with ministry partners and friends.

Our travel spans the first semester of the Uruguayan academic year. Please pray for efficiency (and focus!) for E and DJ as they (road-) school. Please pray for the Bible students in Uruguay, especially for growth in their ability to interpret accurately and to preach and teach faithfully.

We are spending time with our parents during these months. Thank you for praying for their health and for their ministry in their churches in Jacksonville, FL, and Greenville, SC.

We’re thankful for EMU International, our mission agency, for its service to local churches and missionaries by handling office responsibilities and supplying administration. EMU recently asked that we communicate the need for an increase in our monthly support. Though not the purpose of our current trip, we do want to clearly offer this information to anyone interested. God has consistently supplied!

January 2018 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year! Five years ago we were preparing for a final move to Uruguay. We’re grateful for the network of churches and individual partners who have supported and encouraged us over these years. Beginning in March we hope to present a five-year report to these churches and to see as many other friends and family as possible. This has been a period of transition, learning, and—by God’s grace—much opportunity. Our report is summarized below, along with a brief update in key areas. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Instituto Bíblico F.V. Dabold. EMU’s Bible institute has trained many pastors and leaders over the decades since the 1940’s. The program offers classes both in Montevideo and interior Uruguay. JM has taught an average of one class per year in the Bible institute since our arrival, and we anticipate continued involvement in 2018.

Facultad de Estudios Bíblicos del Uruguay (FEBU) (College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay). By the time we arrived in 2013, a project was underway to provide a college-level program to train servants for local churches in Uruguay. Classes began in 2014, and we were privileged to participate in the early stages of this effort. Our work with FEBU has been the focus of our energy during these years: We’ve taught music, hermeneutics, homiletics, apologetics, and grammar and writing (skills that most students have not had prior opportunity to develop). Administration and counseling (student discipleship) have also taken large amounts of time.

At the end of 2017 FEBU’s first graduates completed a four-year program focused on Bible-study tools, theology and pastoral training, and practical ministry. Please continue to pray fervently for FEBU’s ongoing development in these and other areas. JM is preparing to teach Homiletics I (beginning in March, this time online while we travel).

Campamento Emanuel. Each summer (January and February in Uruguay) we have served in EMU’s camp in Guazuvirá on the coast. Opportunities have included staff training, preaching, music, counseling, and supervising an informal camp for some of the EMU workers’ children. In January (2018) JM will teach counseling sessions and workshops to new and returning staff during several days of staff training.

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha (Maranatha Bible Church). This is our local church in the city of Pando. In June 2015 Don and Pat Garwood returned to the U.S. due to difficulties with his health. (Don is D’s father.) JM is now responsible for most of the weekly preaching. Daniel and Viviana (D’s brother and sister-in-law) are a great help, but there is need for a full-time pastor to lead in evangelism, discipleship, and vision for the future.

We don’t view the development of institutions as God’s primary purpose; such ministries are tools, means to an end. Often that end is not only the students that so captivate our attention, energy, and affection: God’s goal is our own transformation into Christlikeness, that the Son be preeminent among many, many brothers and sisters (Rom. 8:28-30). We know that this—our own sanctification—is a work in progress. But we are just as confident that God will complete that work. We look forward to the great day when we will be completely changed, because we will see Him as He is!

We expect our involvement in all of these ministries to continue for the foreseeable future upon our return to Uruguay, scheduled for July 6. We anticipate seeing many of you soon: March (Southeast U.S.); April (Midwest and Mountain States); May (Alaska); and June (Alaska and Southeast U.S.).

October 2017 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 11:58:00 +0000

“Uruguay is the country with the most atheists in Latin America, matched only by the Scandinavians.” So began a December 2016 online article, “Uruguayos de poca fe.” This was not good news. Nor—indeed—was it news at all, since Uruguay has long been known for such statistics. Secularism is the air our students breathe. We’re thankful for the opportunity FEBU has given us over the last four years to have a small part in equipping Christian young people to live and serve in this context. Thank you for your part! Ultimately we are grateful to God for this grace.

In October and November seven students in our Apologetics class will be presenting a final project, part of which will include each one’s public presentation countering some non-Christian or non-theistic philosophy or position. They are each required to invite ten people, including at least one non-Christian. Research & Argumentation students are working on papers in which they argue how a Christian should vote (or not) in light of biblical teaching on life, family, government, and the Christian’s place in society. Hermeneutics students are learning to identify relationships between clauses in order to preach and teach the Bible’s flow of thought.

FEBU’s first graduation program—a cause for much thanksgiving—is scheduled for December 2! Over the past years God has provided, guided, and preserved students and teachers to make this moment possible. Please pray for the five graduating—Gabriel, Manuel, Maxi, Vanessa, and Exequiel—that the Lord would continue to lead them as they move on to the next stage of their lives and ministries. In December our E will also graduate (from sixth grade). The kids’ school offers only elementary grades, so we are in need of wisdom during these months to know how to proceed with their schooling in the coming academic year (beginning in March).

Thank you for praying for our parents—D’s in FL and JM’s in SC. In August JM’s parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Though we were not with them, we’re thankful for this milestone and for their unwavering faithfulness to the Lord, each other, and us. A helpful book in preparing for Apologetics this semester includes these comments: “I grew up in a home where the Bible was assumed to be the infallible word of God. Whether they succeeded or failed, my parents tried to submit to the authority of the Bible. I think they succeeded pretty well. [We would say, “Very well!”] That’s probably one reason I never rebelled against them. They tried to form their ideas about God and man and sin and salvation from the Bible. They tried to bring their attitudes and emotions in line with the Bible. And they tried to form their behaviors by the Bible” (Piper, A Peculiar Glory, 24).

Our children, like our students, are growing up in a culture that doesn’t value the Bible. As we write, concerned citizens (many Christians included) are collecting signatures to counter the latest implementation of sex education in elementary schools. The new guidelines are blatantly and explicitly biased away from biblical (and traditional and even proven scientific) norms. Please pray for God’s protection for our children and for wisdom for Christian parents to instruct their families and to win their children’s hearts by consistent lives and biblical words.

We know that votes, signatures, and even logical arguments—as helpful and right as all of these can be—are not the final answer. Nor is there any geographic refuge from the onslaught of unbiblical ideology. We—and you—are where we are by God’s appointment and must be faithful, depending on Him and on His self-authenticating Word, especially His revelation of Jesus Christ in the Gospel.

We rest on Him and in His strength we go!

July 2017 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 03:45:00 +0000

Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this slightly abbreviated July 2017 update.

Tonight we said “so long” to Ken Casillas, one of our former pastors and seminary teachers and a longtime friend. During the past week he taught an intensive Hermeneutics class to a group of pastors and other leaders in Paysandú, a city on the river that separates Uruguay from Argentina. Numbers of you prayed over the last several months that the Lord would superintend the logistics of this class. Thank you! We’re thankful for the group of approximately 25 students who were able to attend and for the excellent reports we’ve heard.

A highlight of Dr. Casillas’ time in MVD for E & DJ was

asking lots of questions—and learning a little Hebrew!

Tomorrow evening the new FEBU semester begins. Our focus for the next several months will be the teaching of Hermeneutics, Apologetics, and the second semester of Research and Argumentation. We will undoubtedly be entrusted with many discipleship opportunities. Please pray for wisdom!

“Punto de Contacto” is the electronic newsletter that FEBU has begun to publish—in Spanish. (We’re sorry that an English copy isn’t available.) Please feel free to pass this along to your Spanish ministries or others who may be interested.

Pictured next are teens and young adults and some of the staff that attended the brief winter camp in Guazuvirá earlier this month. Some of the faces are those of current and future church leaders. Others represent struggles with love for the world or such questions as the truth of Christianity or whether to believe in a God that mandates sexual norms. Some represent youth who have grown up hearing the gospel and have yet to follow Jesus.

Four from Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando (and two invited visitors) attended camp. Please continue to pray for perseverance and growth of (especially) the teens and young adults. Several continue to take good steps. A few hours before going through security at the airport this evening, Dr. Casillas challenged the church from Psalm 84:

The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You (Psalm 84:11-12).

April 2017 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 03:00:00 +0000

Greetings from Montevideo! Thank you for your partnership in so many ways. The past three months have been some of the most intense since our arrival in Uruguay. We rely on your prayers. We appreciate you.

Campamento Emanuel and Misión Evangélica del Uruguay (MEU). This year’s camp theme was the Scriptures, taught and applied in different ways to age-oriented camps. During the adolescentes and jóvenes camps, JM taught basic Bible study steps, and we repeated this theme as our family worked again with the children who attended the MEU workers’ conference with their parents. MEU pastors have also been studying principles of interpretation and recently asked JM to teach grammar for Bible study in their twice-per-month meetings. Several students and pastors are showing interest in learning to analyze, phrase by phrase, passages of Scripture through an online program that JM enjoys. We have requested prayer in the past for this kind of commitment. It is appropriate to conclude that God is answering your prayers! Personally, we have also grown more and more excited about tracing the argument of Scripture. Please pray that we would humbly respond to God’s way of thinking.

Facultad de Estudios Bíblicos del Uruguay (FEBU) (College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay). In early March, D finished a six-week course toward the MEd in Teaching & Learning, which is already helping in the developing college program. We both hope to graduate in 2020. FEBU’s first semester classes began March 6, once again with approximately 27 students, 9 of these full-time. D and JM are teaching Research and Argumentation; JM is teaching Church Music and preparing to teach Hermeneutics and Apologetics.

In a recent video call with one of our partner churches someone asked what our weekly schedule looks like. On Sunday we continue to help Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha in Pando. (We’re encouraged, overall, with steps that some of the teens and young adults are taking. Please continue to pray for the growth of this church and for the Lord’s provision in His time of a Uruguayan pastor.) Monday through Friday our mornings tend to be dedicated to study and class preparation, bookended by JM’s taking the kids to school and picking them up. (The schedule this year is much easier now that both E and DJ are in the same school and on the same schedule.) FEBU continues to use the MEU library (downstairs from our living area) for classroom space; both FEBU and the MEU Bible institute have classes two doors down in facilities managed by Iglesia Templo Calvario. This usually means—Monday through Friday—that students begin arriving mid-afternoon to study and socialize before evening classes. Afternoons and evenings are punctuated by details related to classes, students, and teachers. The blessings of these opportunities—unexpected and in some ways unsought—so far have outweighed the inherent challenges of the living situation. Please continue to pray concerning the Lord’s provision of the right facilities for FEBU. More important—especially as FEBU has begun, step by step, to provide dormitory accommodations for students—is the need for personnel prepared to provide the kind of discipleship that we desire to give to our students.

We were recently reminded that “there are two cosmic powers working in creation. The power of God and his plan are now battling against the power of Satan and his legion. These powers are not at all equal; one depends upon the other.” (Oliphint) This battle is always real and often unseen. It centers in the realm of ideas: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5 NASB). At times, though, the enemy’s attacks are tangible. Our brothers and sisters—and we—are vulnerable and in need of God’s protection from temptation and from physical harm. Following Jesus is much more than war, but it is never less. We remain confident that God is sovereign over all.

January 2017 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 21:30:00 +0000

October through December. Our entire family are legal, permanent residents of Uruguay! Thank you for praying over these past 3 ½ years. The Immigration Department recorded the final decision on October 28. We are thankful.

In November, FEBU and Bible institute students (including one graduating Bible institute student) finished their semester of study. A couple FEBU students returned home for the months of December through February. Two were married in December, thus forming two more Christian families. Please pray for these students who represent an important part of the future of the church in this region, the “Southern Cone” of Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile.

Between October 19 and December 9 we visited our parents in FL and SC; and JM finished the course “Expository Preaching in Ministry Context.” The class increased his appreciation for the need for prayer and for the Holy Spirit’s intervention during preaching; honed his understanding of such things as the proper use of cross-references in preaching and what it means to preach Christ from all of Scripture; provided ideas for a weekly sermon preparation plan; helped him develop a three-year preaching plan for Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha; and exposed him to Puritan practices of preaching and catechizing. Please pray for wisdom in choosing a research topic that would benefit Uruguayan churches and the FEBU and Bible institute programs.

During November and December, E and DJ attended school in English, thanks to the kindness of teachers and staff at Bob Jones Academy, who assimilated them for a month. Upon our return to Uruguay, DJ graduated from kindergarten in a program that included his speaking publicly—a big day for our family, given his struggles during these years of required K4 and K5. Elizabeth finished fifth grade and—to our surprise—was honored to be among those chosen to escort the Uruguayan flag for next year’s school programs. Our Shepherd—though He would not have had to do so—has demonstrated His trustworthiness in life changes that were in many ways out of our control.

January through March. Please pray for this year’s summer camps, represented in the brief calendar below. Especially pray for several teens and young adults that might attend from Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha, our church in Pando. Many of them have significant needs; the weeks of camp are often encouraging times for them.

Facultad de Estudios Bíblicos del Uruguay (FEBU) (College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay). By the time we report again in early April, FEBU will have started its fourth year. Please pray for ongoing teacher training, the right students to return, and adequate facilities to receive and train every single student God wants to train in FEBU.

January 11-14—Staff training, Camp Emmanuel (JM teaches several sessions)

January 16-21—Children’s camp, Camp Emmanuel

January 23-28—Older teen and young adult camp, Camp Emmanuel (JM counsels)

January 30-February 4—Younger teen camp, Camp Emmanuel (JM teaches morning sessions)

February 13—FEBU teacher training; election of new FEBU president (required periodically by Uruguayan law)

February 20-23—EMU workers’ camp, Camp Emmanuel (D and JM teach workers’ children)

March 2—E and DJ begin school

March 6—Beginning of FEBU school year (D and JM teach Research and Argumentation; JM teaches Church Music)

Thank you for praying!

October 2016 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Sat, 08 Oct 2016 15:30:00 +0000

July through September. Last-minute illness and issues of logistics moved the July block class from Paysandú to Montevideo. Mark and Paula Batory stayed with us for the week while he taught a Biblical Missions course to pastors and church leaders. We’re thankful for the many hours invested in preparation and delivery of this class.

Please pray for long-term fruit from Deborah’s teaching at a ladies’ retreat in Treinta y Tres and JM’s preaching at Iglesia Evangélica Siloé in Colón, a Montevideo neighborhood. Feedback from both opportunities was encouraging.

October through December. In October JM will finish teaching Systematic Theology (Soteriology and Christology) in the EMU Bible institute. This month we also expect to finish a study in the book of James in Pando (Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha), with plans to begin working through 1 Peter early in 2017. These studies in the General Epistles, along with some extra reading Gonzalo is doing, are also serving as a Bible institute course for him.

Between October 19 and December 9 we will be in the U.S. for continuing education and to see our parents in Jacksonville, FL, and Greenville, SC. E and DJ will likely attend a month of school in Greenville. We will return to Uruguay for the end of their school year here: E will finish fifth grade and DJ will finish K-5.

“Happy Campers!”

During the weeks we are away Daniel and several FEBU students will continue the weekly preaching in Pando. In November FEBU will host another block course (Pastoral Theology) and complete its normal academic year.

Facultad de Estudios Bíblicos del Uruguay (FEBU) (College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay).

We would appreciate prayer for all involved in the FEBU program. As the third academic year comes to a close, our perspective is positive. We want to see growth in the areas of academics, student discipleship, and practical ministry; but we are convinced that FEBU is the best opportunity now available for Bible training in Uruguay. Classes continue to be held in local church buildings and in the library of the EMU mission house/office building.

FEBU attempts to facilitate housing as able for students who come from the interior (areas outside Montevideo) or the exterior (other countries); but capacity to do so is limited, effectively reducing the ability to serve certain potential students. A dormitory would, it seems, facilitate discipleship and meet this need for housing.

Another group of students comes from the geographic area that includes Montevideo and the edges of neighboring departments (Canelones and San José), the south-central area that is home to half of Uruguay’s total population. Due to work responsibilities or other factors, many of these students are unable to study full-time (though some can). This group potentially includes local pastors (and currently includes one). FEBU’s administration regularly revisits the question of what physical facilities would best serve its mission. Please pray for wisdom! Pray, too, for our students. They are a dedicated group but wrestle with the same trials, temptations, and discouragements that we all do. Deborah and I are regularly (and often unexpectedly) entrusted with counseling opportunities.

Thank you for your prayers, ongoing support, correspondence and encouragement. May the Lord remind us all— often—of His many mercies, especially the blessing of being known by Him.

July 2016 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 19:09:00 +0000

Mid-semester Break. Final exams in FEBU classes ended on Friday, June 24. During their break students either remain in Montevideo or scatter to other places outside the capital. At least two have traveled to Argentina; another will visit Peru to evaluate future ministry opportunities there. Lifting our eyes (sometimes a bit glazed from correcting writing assignments) to remember the places these young men and women will be serving—not only during vacation but also after graduation—reminds us of why we are glad to have a small part in this good work.

Taking a break from class for Deborah’s birthday

with the FEBU students

Earlier this month in Guazuvirá, at Campamento Emanuel, JM counseled for a three-day winter retreat. He also shared the preaching with his friend Ovidio Acevedo, a pastor in a Montevideo neighborhood. Please pray that this group of 35 to 40 teenagers would continue to receive the Word with humility and that God would spare them from the many temptations and dangers that surround them. The themes for the week were “A Complete (Integral) Life” (from the book of James) and “Being and Making Disciples.”

FEBU is preparing for the next pastors’ block course the last week of July. Mark Batory, a mentor and friend from our home church in SC, will cover the theme of missions. A camp outside Paysandú, on the west side of the country, will again host the class. These courses attempt to supplement the training and experience of pastors and other church leaders. Please pray both for a productive week and for continued development of this program that has the potential to be of great help to churches in Uruguay and Argentina.

Primer Instituto F.V. Dabold. The EMU Bible institute (and FEBU) will resume classes in August. JM will be teaching Soteriology in the Bible institute, a course that will require some care and much grace (so please pray). For the last several semesters the Montevideo Bible institute program has also offered one of its classes in some of the local churches. This semester’s class in the churches will be the General Epistles.

Iglesia Bíblica Marantha. Two teen girls from our little group in Pando attended the retreat mentioned earlier. Camp is always an encouragement to the teens, several of whom are now young adults making significant decisions about their future. Some have expressed interest in taking the Bible institute General Epistles course at the church in Pando. This appears to be a real possibility, which would mean that the weekly teaching for everyone would focus on these books, with several of the young men and women being required to do additional work. This could be the next step that some of them need to take.

Celebrating Dad Garwood’s birthday long distance

with the church in Pando

One year ago Don and Pat Garwood returned to the U.S. after years of faithful labor with this and other churches. (Don is Déborah’s father.) In June JM was able to spend two nights with them in FL and two nights with his parents in SC, where he took the next class in the D.Min. program. (It was a brief but encouraging week of study and of profitable conversation with friends, teachers, and family. Upcoming work in the program promises to mesh well with the Bible-college project.) Pray for the Lord’s continued strength, health, and encouragement for our parents as they continue to serve in their churches in Jacksonville and Greenville.

In September we plan to travel to Treinta y Tres, where Déborah has been asked to speak at a ladies’ retreat.

Thank you for your continued prayers for health and safety. Much of Montevideo—compared with many places in the world—is relatively secure. We do not take this for granted and are in need of the Lord’s daily (and nightly) protection. The kids continue to be healthy and are doing well in school.

Thank you for all your kindness to us!

April 2016 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 16:00:00 +0000

January & February. Thank you for praying for summer camp at Camp Emmanuel in Guazuvirá. Our entire family participated each week on some level, either as campers or staff. We’re especially grateful this year for the ministry of Elías Huamán, who dedicated many weeks away from his family in Peru to serve the Uruguayan church. He turned our Uruguayan, Argentine, and North American eyes away from our familiar, comfortable surroundings to realities in the rest of the world—the real world of primitive and civilized savagery, where billions do not know Jesus and where Christians suffer for their loyalty to Him. At the same time he encouraged our churches to financially support their pastors and to engage in gospel work on the local level. His preaching coincided with some difficult but positive steps toward independence among some of the churches here.

March. FEBU (Facultad de Estudios Bíblicos del Uruguay: College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay) began the third year of classes with 27 active students. Most of these are studying part time; some are auditing a course. Ten students (these from Montevideo, interior Uruguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica) are taking a full schedule of classes: Gabriel, Manuel, Exequiel, Maxi, and Vanessa (third-year students); Noemí (second-year student); Iván, Katherine, María, and Priscilla (new first-year students). Please pray that these men and women (and others who have studied in past years) would continue to seek the Lord, be diligent to take full advantage of this opportunity, and discern and follow God’s leading for future ministry within Uruguay and beyond. If the Lord continues to bring new students, the need for a more suitable location potentially increases. Our desire is especially to strengthen the FEBU program (in terms both of discipleship and academics) and to further equip our teachers. Please pray for wisdom as we seek to know the Lord’s mind and as we take steps toward these goals.

FEBU students, March 2016

Opening service of the 2016 academic year

April. FEBU is set up as a non-profit organization, subject to a general “assembly” of Uruguayan pastors and other church leaders. This larger group approves two committees that work together to make decisions and handle most day-to-day business. We seek input from students and teachers. All of this takes place within the bounds of a doctrinal statement that has, so far, been very functional and agreeable to all of the churches and mission organizations involved. Please pray that God would preserve this wonderful unity. On April 18 FEBU will hold an annual meeting of this larger “assembly.”

The first children’s class in A’s neighborhood

Later in 2016. In an earlier letter we mentioned churches we have not visited for several years and the possibility of our traveling this year to see them. We are not currently planning a trip of this nature for 2016. We are waiting for an answer from the Immigration Department to our request for permanent residency (for JM, E, and DJ). When we receive this status, we will also be eligible for a six-month window of permission to bring a tax-free shipment of household items into the country. Please keep praying not only for permanent residency but also for the timing of this status and for the timing of any corresponding travel to prepare a shipment. Elizabeth’s and DJ’s schooling and the differences between the academic calendars from one hemisphere to the other also complicate planning.

The 2016 school year is off to a great start!

This semester’s schedule will be challenging for our family: E is in school in the morning (8:00- 12:00, a 20-30 minute bus ride away) and DJ in the afternoon (1:00-5:00, a 20-minute walk away); JM and D teach or are otherwise on call in the evenings (7:00-10:00). So far God has given grace. We rely on your prayers! Thank-you!

January 2016 Report

noreply@blogger.com (John Mark and Deborah Steel) — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 17:30:00 +0000

We want to thank you for your part this past year in what God is doing in Uruguay. We don’t know what 2016 will hold, but we do have full confidence that Jesus, the King of the nations, is building His church. In this report, we’ve described several situations that seem to show us a glimpse of some of the specifics of His building work:

Several teens from Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha (IBM) in Pando recently graduated from high school and plan to pursue further schooling in March. The Lord has kept them from much temptation; but please pray that they would persevere and that God would continue to guide and keep them. Some of them have expressed interest in taking classes in FEBU or in EMU’s Bible institute. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s provision of a pastor for IBM.

The Lord has given grace to us and to our children as they have adapted to schooling in Spanish. In December Elizabeth finished fourth grade (her second year of school in Uruguay) and Daniel James finished the required K4.

In October we mentioned the family of A, whose decision to keep her twin babies had led to opportunity for individual Christians to respond to the family’s great physical and spiritual needs. This relationship continues.

At an October pro-life event

This month many children and teens (including several from IBM) attend summer camps. JM will be counseling and helping with music during some of these weeks. Please pray for God to use His Word in the hearts of each.

In March JM will teach Intro to Music and Homiletics I, and Déborah plans to teach Spanish Grammar. Please pray that God would use these classes (especially the last two) to give further ability in, understanding of, and commitment to expository preaching among the churches in Uruguay, beginning with these students of the Bible.

On a daily basis we are in contact with needy people. We walk past them on the sidewalk. We physically brush (read “are shoved and crammed”) against them on the bus. They come to our door asking for help, sometimes leaving with a bottle of water, a blanket, or a tract. We do business with some of them, and some are neighbors. We need wisdom and grace to move from superficial contact to conversation about their need of Jesus to save them from their sins. And we need God’s Spirit to work in the hearts of those who have listened to the good news. Please pray specifically for eighteen individuals with whom we have ongoing opportunities.

The Facultad de Estudios Bíblicos del Uruguay (College of Biblical Studies of Uruguay (FEBU) opened in March 2014 with approximately fifteen students, half of whom took a full load of classes. While totals remained fairly steady for these first four semesters, the number of new students the second year (2015) was much smaller, resulting in scheduling changes. Beginning in March, we plan to offer first and third year classes; but, again, the class schedule assumes a minimum number of students. We believe that FEBU represents a very good opportunity for Christians in this region to be trained in preparation for service in their local churches and beyond. And we believe that FEBU is the best option for some. We want no fewer and no more than those whom God chooses to send. The next couple of months will hold opportunity (especially during the weeks of camp) to encourage potential students to consider training in FEBU or in EMU’s Bible institute. We are in need of prayer that—by God’s grace—we might play whatever role God wants us to in the discipleship of each one, both in and outside the classroom.

Students at the November FEBU pastors’ block class

Thank you again for your part in all of this.