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a publication ofSouth America Missionwww.southamericamission.org
on South America all 2010
M
any
eans
by
God is transforming
communities in South
America through
His church
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on a Missionary JourneyYears of grassroots efforts to build relationships
through teaching and simply being with people has brought
the professional class church-planting team in Santa
Cruz, Bolivia, to this point: the formation of a
community of people who meet on a regular basis
to worship, grow in learning and take steps to
impact their world for Christ.
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Gods work in the world is expansive and ar-reaching,
even to the ends o the earth. Te strength or the task
the power o the Holy Spiritis limitless. Sometimes in
the breadth o the geography and the awesome magnitude o the
power, we lose sight o our role. But there it is, sandwiched in the
middle o Acts 1:8, You will be my witnesses.
Tis issue oWindow on South America is about being witnesses
to the risen Jesus in any way we can. We are compelled by Christs
love and by the conviction that His love is good news or all peoples.
When I consider the many means our missionaries use to share
the Gospel and apply the reality o the resurrection in a broken
world, Im taken aback. Airplanes. Radio stations. Christian
schools. Medicine. Food pantries and house construction. Boats.
Motorcycles. Crisis pregnancy counseling and drug rehab. Art.
God is using all these things to give witness, to build leaders to
build churches through South America Mission!I hope your reading will lead to prayer and praise. Tats where
these stories take me. But they also lead me to ambition or more.
Call me greedy, but when I hear o the eternal impact o our
missionaries, when I consider the great heritage we have in ministry,
I long to see the Kingdom inuence expand.
SAM 2020grows out o that ambition. I praise God or the ruit
we have seen over many years. And I long or even greater ruit in the
years to come. Sel-satisaction will not get us there. SAM 2020is our
proactive eort to ensure South America Mission will be available,
obedient and useul in the uture.
Heres a road map o where we are headed:
2010-2011: ReectionListening and Dreaming
2012-2013: Retoolingraining and Implementation
2014: RejoicingCentennial Celebration
Right now, I want to invite you to join us in the rst stage,
Reection. Over the next year and a hal, we will invest our energies
and resources into hearing rom God and exploring opportunities.
Where do we need to grow? Change? Repent? What would make
SAM missionaries more eective? How can we delight our great God?
I cannot overstate how important this process o renewal is.
Teres a lot o research and analysis and planning ahead. But mostessential is listening to God. We need more than distant memories
o encounters with our Father to drive us orward. We need a
renewed experience o Gods presence and power.
As you read about the ways SAM is building the church and
bearing witness to Jesus today, will you pray with us about
tomorrow? I believe that we only have a glimmer o the possible.
May God use us and renew us or His glory and delight.
by Kirk Ogden, Executive Director, SAM
YOU WILL BE
MY WITNESSES
How can we build on the oundation o a century o ministry and apply
lessons learned so that we can be even more efective in a world changingaster than we can understand? How can we delight our great God?
twenty
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No Longer Just a Mechanic
Neat rows o well-dressed mourners, acing
the ags and photos o a military uneral,
crowded the hangar. om Trossel and his
wie, Janine, sat quietly grieving the deaths
o our o oms coworkers. At that point,
ve years in the United States Coast Guard
had not prepared om or this loss.
Serving through search and rescue
missions over the cold water o the northern
Pacic is what they loved to do. It was what
they elt called to do. Rescue swimmers,
pilots and crewmen alike risked their own
lives to save the lives o others. Now, our
had ollowed that to a conclusion that
seemed unthinkable. Teir helicopter had
crashed in search o stranded sailors.
Many at the service that day talked about
the sacrice o these our men. However,
one man spoke o a greater git. Te
chaplain spoke o Jesus Christ and how
these men reected, in their sacrice, the
ultimate sacrice that Jesus made. Te
our knew what they were risking and yet
chose to lay down their lives or someone
else. Chie Rescue Swimmer, Pete Leeman,was among the men who died that day. He
knew what it was to be on the receiving end
o that git. He knew what Christ had done
or him. In act, it was what Christ had
done or each o them.
Te rst time om Trossel heard about
missionary aviation was rom Chie Leeman.
He was working as a helicopter crewman in
the USCG, ministering to peoples physical
needs. He wanted, though, something even
biggeran opportunity to minister to
spiritual needs as well. om didnt know,
however, how to use his skills and training
to minister when he was just a mechanic.
Pete Leeman attended a church that
supported a missionary pilot and his wie,
Mike and Kay Libolt, in Bolivia, and he
arranged a dinner or everyone to meet and
talk. om was intrigued. Could God really
use an aircrat mechanic as a missionary?
Mike and Kay invited om and Janine to
go to Bolivia with them that February. Te
Trossels accepted the invitation.
One encounter on that trip was lie
changing or om. Marv Fluger was an
aircrat mechanic in Bolivia, using his skills
and abilities to serve God. He ministered
to the physical and spiritual needs o the
people o Bolivia. His vehicle or ministry
was the aviation ministry o South America
Mission, called SAMAIR. om had ound
his place to go and serve.
Airplanes, Pilots and
Mechanics Fulflling VisionTe ways in which an airplane can meet
a persons physical needs are oten very
apparent. At SAMAIR in Eastern Bolivia,
they airlit victims o arming accidents and
car accidents, children with hemorrhagic
dengue ever and old men with cancer. Tey
receive calls to carry women who are
delivering babies in crisis as well as babies
born with birth deects. Tey rescue snake-
bite patients and people cut o rom ood
by oodwaters. In those ights, it is easy
to see how they are helping. ownspeople
honor SAMAIR and even the local news
sometimes eatures their stories.
But there is so much more to the ministry
o SAMAIR Bolivia, rich in history with
over 33 years o service. Te ministry is
about more than healing broken bodies.
It is about the healing and redemption o
broken souls, and the building up o the
worldwide church o Jesus Christ.
SAMAIR is passionate about aviation
ministry because o the unique opportunities
it brings to minister to spiritual needs. Tey
pray or and with passengers on every
ight. Tey simply share the Good
News o the gospel with those they are
transporting. Tey console people who are
scared or have lost someone dear. Tey y
pastors out to villages to preach, or preach
in the villages themselves.
Another reason SAMAIR is passionate
about aviation ministry in Bolivia is because
o the key role it plays in the ruition
o the SAM vision: Multiplied dynamicchurches spread across South America that
transorm local communities by embodying
Kingdom-o-God values.
How exactly does SAMAIR contribute to
this? SAM missionaries such as Drs. Placido
and oni Mercado y to reach remote
villages like Zapoc where they encourage
and train people like Humberto, one o the
ew evangelical pastors among the Ayor
Missionaries have always had to travel, at times over great distances and by various
modes, to do the work of building the church. The apostle Paul, for example, traveled
by boat across the sea. South America Mission, through SAMAIR, travels by Cessna 206
across the southern sky at 3000 feet. This is the story of how God uses ordinary
missionaries to multiply churches in hard-to-reach communities in South America.
transforming local communitiesBY AIRin South America
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people group. Missionaries like Je Orcutt
and Je HAuse, working with SAMs
leadership training institute in Bolivia
CIEuse SAMAIR to reach communities
like Robor and San Ignacio de Velasco to
hold extension classes or people eager to
grow as leaders in the church. Katie Wells
travels by air to get to the remote village o
San Fernando where she lives, working in
the local church encouraging and discipling
local women. Janine Trossel ies to isolated
places to minister where children and Sunday
School teachers have no access to educational
tools and conveniences like bookstores, copy
machines, email or the Internet.
All o these missionaries join those
o years past in using SAMAIR to give
wings to Gods Word. One o the biggest
blessings at SAMAIR, however, is not only
helping SAM missionaries reach out by
air, but helping Bolivian brothers andsisters whom SAM missionaries have helped
train to reach out as well. Sandra Jaldin, a
Bolivian medical doctor and partner with
SAM, ies to administer medical care in
places like Florida de Velascoa place in
the Amazon jungle where ew people will
ever go. Youth groups rom local SAM
churches and students rom CIE travel
with SAM missionary Dana Wilson out
to Santo Corazon, where they preach the
Gospel and simultaneously grow in their
own aith, becoming leaders in the Bolivian
church. Alonso Aguilar, a pilot who trained
at SAMAIR or ten years and who desires
to be a missionary to his ellow Bolivians,helped plant two churches in places barely
accessible by land. It is exciting to be a part
o a ministry that touches so many lives and
contributes directly to the growth o the
church in South America.
Seventeen years ater that rst visit to
Bolivia with Mike and Kay, om is still just
a mechanic. Yet, God uses him. He also uses
oms missionary colleagues, pilot Greg Dahl
and mechanic David Mozombite. He uses
SAMAIR in a unique way and He shows
that there is no better place to be than in
the center o Gods will, which has SAMAIR
ying across the Bolivian sky, aiming to
touch down in a world being redeemed byGod through His church.
Te Trossels have served with South America
Mission since 2003. om is the program
manager and lead mechanic o SAMAIR
Bolivia. SAMAIR currently ministers in Bolivia
and Peru, with six missionary pilots ying
ve Cessna 206s sustained by our dedicated
missionary mechanics and administrators.
top: A remote community ocks to welcome SAMAIR touching down. above let: SAM missionary
Dr. Placido Mercado (center) and SAMAIR pilot Alonso Aguilar (right) prepare to y to Zapoc
with three Bolivian indigenous church leaders. above right: om Trossel, SAMAIR program
manager and mechanic, samples some dried bee at Katie Wells place in San Fernando.
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transforming local communitiesBY RIVERin South America
She was in her 40s and was a bit hard looking. She had
obviously made an eort to dress up and was a bit more
daring in her get up than the other women rom the
communities along the rivers who came to receive medical care
that year. As she recited her symptoms, SAM missionary and
medical doctor oni Mercado elt strongly impressed to say, Creo
que lo que usted tiene es angustia del almaI think what you
have is angst o the soul. Te womans ace crumpled. She sobbed
and said that her husband had just let her or a younger woman,
though she had begged him to stay. Her kids were mostly grown.
Her name was Soledad and that was how she elt, completely
alone. oni prayed with her and then asked Mery, a team member
rom Guayaramern, to continue to pray with Soledad and oer
counseling. Merys story is very similar to Soledads. Mery led
Soledad into a relationship with Christ that day.
Tis year in June and Julythe sixth year o sailing the rivers o
the Benioni asked Mery about Soledad. Mery said she is living
with her son in the big city, and still ollowing Christ. Tere is no
more angst in her soul. She is not alone. Christ lives in her.
Te Mamor River at dusk. Photo by Jason Weigner.
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SAM missionaries, Bolivian ministry
partners, and volunteers rom the States
and Canada set sail each summer on El
Misionero (see photo above and ront cover)
to minister to the spiritual and physical
needs o the people who live along the rivers
in the Amazon Basin in northern Bolivia.
Te vision o this ministry is that the
ullness o Jesus Christ through His body,
the church, will radiate among the river
communitiessome so rural and isolated
that the proverbial ends o the earth come
to mind upon setting oot on their shores.
Medical outreach with prayer andcounseling as a critical component, bible-
school teaching and games or children,
and movie nights and preaching to
youth and adult audiences are the primary
strategies employed to build the church
through this ministry. North American
missionaries and also key Bolivian partners
o SAM carry out the work. For example,
Enoel Suarez, pastor and missionary rom
Te Beni, is the key player in the planning
and logistical operation o the trips. Enoel
is an evangelist as well; he is the primary
speaker who preaches the gospel message in
the large-group events held in the villages.
Te captain o El Misionero, Jonathan,
and his wie Patricia, both Benianos rom
Guayaramern, do more than just guide
the boat down river. Jonathan always
wears his guitar strapped to his back or
leading worship, and Patricia helps with
the childrens ministry and is available or
counseling and praying with women.
Tis year, God worked in a proound waythrough two Bolivian-christian brothers
who joined the work. Te trips started in
June and ended 30 days later. On day six
o the initial voyage on Te Mamor River,
Csar Surub, an indigenous church leader
rom the Chiquitano people group, and
Humberto, a pastor among the Ayor,
agreed to be let in a village in order to
set out even deeper into the jungle to visit
people who live too ar rom the shores to
be reached in a one-day stop. Humberto
heard that there are Ayor people in the
jungles there, and he wanted to reach
them with Gods message o redemption.
Csar and Humberto both are key partners
with SAM; they have both participated in
SAMs leadership training programs. Teir
willingness to sacrice to reach their own
people is a testimony to their commitment
to see the church grow in Bolivia. Te Beni
rivers ministry team picked up Csar and
Humberto on the return voyage some 15
days later.God is using this ministry prooundly
to reach the ends o the earth. As people in
the Beni continually respond to redemptive
outreach eorts, the vision or seeing
Gods church multiplied becomes more
compelling. Like Soledad, people are nding
comort and hope in Jesus. And like Mery,
Enoel, Cesar and Humberto, Bolivians are
impacting their world or Jesus.
top l to r: Pre-medical clinic worship; Enoel Suarez; Night lie on the boat; El Misionero sailing, drying provisions o bee on the roo. bottom l to r: Boat
captain, Jonathan, leading worship; Bolivian missionaries charting their course; ypical thatched-roo home along the river; Ayor pastor, Humberto.
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Students of La Esperanza SchoolSanta Marta, Colombia
God is transforming communities in
South America through His church.
What is the church? The beautiful
community set apart by obedienceto Christ and called to change
the world.
Creatively, and in the fullness
of Christ, SAM is engaging this
continent with a single vision:
to see the transformative, dynamic
church inuencing the entire land
from the Colombian Coast to the
tips of the Andes Mountains.
Manyeansby
TheDayoftheIndianAmmiTrainingCenter,Chapada,Brazil
ProfessionalClass
ChurchPlanting
SantaCruz,Bolivia
Drilling for Water in FUA, an Ayor Indigenous CommunitySan Jose de Chiquitos, Bolivia
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TeachaMantoRaiseFishAmmiTrainingCenter,Chapada,Brazil
Chapada
Asuncion
Santa Cruz
La Paz
Pucallpa
Guajira
Mazamari
BRAZIL
PARAGUAY
BOLIVIA
PERU
COLOMBIA
Recife
The children of the Santan ChurchAsuncion, Paraguay
TheWayuuIndianRadioStat
ion,Oasis
TheGuajiraDesert,Colombia
omesforthosewhohavenoShelter
DoisUnidosRecife,Brazil
ServantDay,SantaCruzChristianLearningCenSantaCruz,Bolivia
PregnancyCenter,LatidosdeE
speranza
Pucallpa,Peru
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I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
(1 Cor 9:22b NIV)
transforming local communitiesBY LANDin South America
The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians
9:22, writes about his method
o giving up certain liberties
or comortsin Christ to appear more
Jewish, so that the gospel would be more
attractive to the Jews. Tis and some o
his later interactions with the Gentiles
are moving examples or missionaries. In
Peru, Motociclistas por Cristo, aka MxC,
uses this same principle to minister to the
motocross community on their turthe
motocross racetrack.
Motocross is very popular in Peru. Large
groups o peopleracers and their amilies,
event coordinators, mechanics, spectators
and their supporterstravel throughout
the country to participate. Te racers are
typically proessionals, oten successul
business owners who can aord to leverage
the investment and risks that motocross
requires. Te motocross community in Peru
also, or the most part, views Christianity
as boring and legalistic. In general, they are
not church goers nor do they have much
interaction with evangelical Christians.
MxC ministers at races and sees two
mission eldsthe spectators in the
grandstand and the racers and their amilies
on the track. o reach the spectators, MxCusually brings a group o trained, passionate
evangelists to share the Gospel. Oten
they oer puppet shows and ace painting
or the kids and clear one-on-one Gospel
presentations or the adults using selected
Bible verses and questions rom the booklet
Sharing Your Faith Without Fear. Sometimes
the race coordinators give MxC access to the
main PA system; these are great opportunities
to share the good news o Jesus
boldly, or everyone to hear.
Almost all o the MxC evangelists
are Peruvians rom Mil Palmeras
Church in Pucallpa, a church
planted ve years ago behind the
vision o SAM missionary Julio
Chiang, a ormer Latin American
motocross champion.
Te ocus on the racers is a lot less
direct, but no less intentional. Unlike
the spectators, these people attend each
race and they orm a community, a
brotherhood o sorts. MxC desires to share
the gospel with the racers in the same way
they would with their own amilies or co-
workersthey work to get to know them,
to develop a genuine love and care or them
that is unique in their lives. MxC goes
alongside the racers, sometimes literally
when they rev up their own motorcycles
and join the race. MxC also helps to meet
the tangible needs o this community
to make their events run smoothly, by
oering ree mechanic services, emergency
medical treatment, and providing young
people rom Mil Palmeras to serve as saety
aggers during the races.
Trough the development o personalrelationships, MxC is making a real impact
in the motocross community. Currently
two Peruvian national champions are
Christians through the direct involvement
o MxC.
Tere are also many others who know
Christ now because o this outreach. Te
entire community expresses their respect or
this ministry. MxC, based out o Pucallpa
MOTOCICLISTAS X CRISTO
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and born out o Mil Palmeras church, is
having a proound impact or Christ in a
community with little witness to Jesus.
One amily impacted by MxC is the
Odicio amily. Freddy and Julie and their
two sons Cesar and Freddy Jr. became
Christians through the work o SAM
missionaries at Mil Palmeras. Tey are the
owners o a motorcycle parts business in
Pucallpa, and Freddy Sr. and the boys race.
At one time Freddy Jr. was the national
50cc champion. Tey are a well-respected
amily and they are not shy about being
witnesses or Christ. Besides being involved
in the training o uture leadership at
Mil Palmeras, Freddy occasionally races
with MxC and sells motorcycle parts at a
discounted rate through the mechanics
tent at races. Julie plays an integral role
in the evangelism outreaches at the races.
Te Odicios are trustworthy co-workers in
reaching Peru or Christ.
Another amily impacted by MxC are the
Listros, SAM missionaries serving their rst
term in Pucallpa. In July, Christian Listro
and his son Gabe were able to participate
in their rst races. Tey got to meet and
race with a man rom Pucallpa named
Alan who has been racing his whole lie
and isnt a ollower o Christ. Alan invited
Christian and Gabe (and their motorcycles)
to travel with him to the national race in
Oxapampa. Christian wasnt planning on
attending this event, much less racing, but
with an invite rom Alan he accepted. Te
trip to Oxapampa normally takes 15 hours,
14 o which are on a dirt road. In the rainy
season, this road is impassable. Tey set out
or Oxapampa at 3:00 am one morning and
suered a at tire in the rst three hours.
Not long aterwards they encountered a
ew rivers to traverse; their truck stalled
which necessitated some creative engine
starting techniques. Once they had to stop
and remove a allen tree blocking the road.
About 12 hours in, they lost all o the lug
nuts on one o the wheels and had to wait
or a mechanic to deliver new wheel studs
in the middle o the jungle. Tey nally
arrived at the hotel in Oxapampa at 10:30
pm, 20 hours ater departing Pucallpa.
Te race with Alan was a wonderul time
at a beautiul track in a beautiul setting.
In the last practice run, Christian launched
crookedly o a jump and crashed hard. Alan
was right behind him and ran over his leg
causing a huge lump to swell on the outside
o his right shin. By the end o the evening,
the lump was the size o a graperuit and
Christian couldnt stand up because o the
pressure. But with some rest and lots o anti-
inammatory drugs, he was able to race the
next day. Tey headed home ater the race,
this time through the night over a short,
15 hour trek. Christian returned home and
began to ask himsel: Was it inconvenient?
Was it painul? Was it worth it? And an
emphatic yes was his response to all o
those questions. It was a blessing to suer
to get to know Alan better.
For SAM missionaries and the brothers
and sisters at Mil Palmeras, those long jungle
road trips and crazy motocross crashes
provide the context or the ormation o
meaningul relationships that gloriy God
and strengthen the church.
acing page: SAM Peruvian missionary Julio
Chiang pops a wheelie and shares the Word
o God. below: youth saety aggers rom Mil
Palmeras; Christian Listro (center) with ellow
MxCers; Mil Palmeras parishioners pray and share
the gospel at the races; raceday extreme action.
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1021 Maxwell Mill Road, Suite B, Fort Mill, SC 29708 | (P) 803-802-8580 | (F) 803-548-7955
samusa@southamericamission.org | www.southamericamission.org | 501(c)3: 59-0662279
The Proven Leader Partnership (PLP)
Grace ChurchRacine, WI
Reston Bible ChurchReston, VA
Calvary ChurchCharlotte, NC
Trinity Presbyterian ChurchCharlottesville, VA
First Baptist Church of Indian RocksLargo, FL
Memorial Presbyterian ChurchW. Palm Beach, FL
First Presbyterian ChurchN. Palm Beach, FL
South America Mission
and US partner churches
focused on equipping
proven national leaders
and pastors to carry the
Gospel forward in
South America
THE PARTNERSHIP PURPOSE
South America Missions (SAM) leadership training
and development programs have identied leaders
and given them the basic tools of ministry. The track
records of these proven leaders give us the
condence that we are investing where Gods Spirit is
already at work. As these leaders have been faithful
to the message we have brought, we now want to be
faithful to them in further developing and equipping
them for the leadership roles thay have taken on.
We are seeking strategic partnerships with churchesthat will enable these leaders to take the next step.
20@2000 is our goal, that is twenty churches
committed to investing $2000 per year in this
partnership program. This investment will strengthen
the foundations and raise high the pillars of the
South American church. For more information, please
contact us using the information below.
PROVEN LEADER UPDATE SEPT 2010
Rosimeire Bakairi, Brazil
Multiplied dynamic churches spread
across South America.... Those are the
rst words of SAMs vision statement.
In Brazil, at the Ammi Training Center,
a more contextualized statement might
read, Multiplied dynamic churches spread
across 340 people groups speaking 181
different languages.... This is the world that Rosimeire pro-
cesses as she grows in leadership through the PLP program.
Rosimeire graduated from Ammi in 1999 and returned to her
village. But pressure to marry an alcoholic forced her to ee.
Ammi invited Rosimeire to return to work in the kitchen. She
quickly developed a ministry to the single women on campus.
In 2005, Ammi invited her to explore teaching in the classroom
while she continued her womens outreach.
Today, in 2010, Rosimeire is still teaching, and leading. The
PLP program is currently supporting her study of linguisticsand anthropology at ALEM, a Wycliffe Bible Translators afliate
in Brazil. Her goal: to return to teaching and leading at Ammi,
better equipped to build leaders to build the diverse and multi-
lingual church in Brazil.
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Six months into my time here in Santa Marta, Colombia, God is
reassuring me everyday that missionary service is His calling or
my lie.
When I was 17, on the brink o going to college, I prayed to God,
I dont want to just blindly ollow you, Lord. I want to choose
you over all else. Even i upon graduation I have the opportunity
to pursue the Asian Dream (not very dierent than the American
dreama good job that provides nancial security), but I dont
believe it is o you, I want to pursue what is o you. I that is a call
to missions, then I want to choose missions.
Over the ve years it took me to nish my studies, I tried at times
to orget that prayer I prayed at the age o 17, but thank the Lord,
He did not orget. Missions conerences came and went during my
time in college and I had built up a box o brochures and articles
rom various mission agencies that I had contacted.
Sure enough, on the eve o my last college exam, my boss at the
bank where I was working called me into her ofce. She oered me
the Asian Dreaman opportunity extended to only two people in
my area each year. Tat night, I went to a local coee shop to study
with a riend. It was there that God presented me with the choice
I prayed about ve years earlier. I received an email rom South
America Mission, Sam, we still have your inormation in our
database and are contacting you to see i you are still interested in
serving youth in South America. I so, here is urther inormation
on how to take the next step in your application process.
Tere were two distinct options beore me. Among other
things, one presented a picture o nancial success, the other
an opportunity to rely on the Lord to provide nancial support
through the people o God.
I shared with my riend my story ater he questioned the change
in my demeanor ater reading the email. He smiled and said, You
know what you need to do. Te Bible talks about perect peace that
comes rom God; I had it in that moment o making my decision.
As God continues to blow me away here in Colombia by
opening my eyes and heart in new ways through the stretching
o all that He has created me to be, that peace is still with me. Its
a peace that comes rom knowingundeniable experience ater
undeniable experiencethat the God I serve is the one true God
and the hope and lie that He oers is or all. Tat hope and lie
is why I am here in Colombia, and it is the message I take to the
youth with whom I work.
Sam se is rom Vancouver, British Columbia, and is serving in Santa
Marta, Colombia. His outreach eforts are to youth and young adults in
the university, as part o the ministry o La Esperanza Church.
As you pursue God and sense a call rom Him to serve in overseas
missions, we want to talk to you. Please read below to see how we can
begin to engage you regarding serving with South America Mission.
Sam TseSanta Marta, Colombia. A vision for South America born out of service to God, and sacrice.
South America Missionis not looking for perfect people. We are looking for those God is calling andequipping. Together we can work to multiply dynamic churches across South Americachurches that
transform local communities through the embodying of Kingdom of God values. To begin a conversation
with us about serving, please email us, Go South on our website, or follow us on twitter and facebook.
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SAM missionary perspectives
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The Ammi Training Centerin Brazil is unique. First, every student
is indigenous. Tey come rom all over
Brazil, representing many dierent tribes
and languages. Second, while Ammi is
certainly a Bible instituteoering a ull
range o Old and New estament courses,
theology, doctrine, preaching and teaching,
etc., it is more than this. It is a disciple-
making institute, a transorming-local-
communities institute. Ammi teaches
in areas as diverse as spiritual ormation,
missions, agricultural development, and
Christian educationshaping well-rounded
members o the body o Christ, people well-
suited to lead a growing church among the
tribal peoples o Brazil.
It is said, Give a man a sh and he eats
or a day. each a man to sh and he eats or
a lietime. eaching that makes a dierence
or liethat osters sustainability in all
areas o livingis a priority at Ammi.
Steve White, SAM missionary in Brazil,
recalls ormer SAM executive director
Bill Ogden saying, You dont know what
you know. In other words, you may not
realize what your education and experience
have taught you, but the reality is you have
knowledge and skills which many tribal
peoples in South America could benet
rom. (Te same is true, o course, in the
reverse; we must always remember this as
we engage the world). Bill went on to give
an example o his maxim being true rom
his time serving in Peru. Everybody had
chickens, he said, but they didnt have much
chicken to eat because so many o the chicks
became lost. So Bill introduced a simple cage
o encing to put over the chicks to protect
them rom their wandering-o tendencies.
Suddenly there were more chickens than ever
beoresometimes you dont know what
you know that can make a real dierence.
Recently, a summer work-team rom
the First Baptist Church o Indian Rocks,
Florida, came to Ammi with a plan to
raise sh. eam member Charlie oney
had learned on a prior trip to Brazil that a
common lack o protein in the diet causes
the hair discoloration oten seen among
the indigenous. Charlie raises tilapia back
home in Florida and thought, Lets take
this to Ammi. Lets introduce a source o
protein in the villages. Te arm-raised
tilapia project is underway at Ammi and the
students are participating, eager to make a
long-lasting impact in their communities.
In addition to a sh arm, there is a garden
inside a ence at Ammi, teeming with many
dierent vegetables: carrots, cukes, lettuce,
collards, tomatoes, spinach, and green beans.
Tere is also a compost pile inside the ence.
Te garden is easy to cultivateit never
changes location ater slash and burnand
the vegetables are delicious.
Ammi recently started a chicken project
as wellwith a coop at its centerwhichraises and provides 100 chickens to Ammi
every six weeks. Te total cost or Ammi
to raise and provide chickens is less than
the cost o buying them in the market.
Ammi is modeling prudent, sel-sustaining
development that its students witness and
take home to implement in their villages.
Roland Bunch in his book, wo Ears
o Corn, says that the developing world is
littered with the rusting hulks o the rst
worlds misguided help projects. Tis is
not just cynicism. Its reality that calls or
missionaries to be better listeners, more
in tune with dierent cultural traditions.
Te tilapia project is wildly popular among
Ammi students. Fish is a major source o
ood in Brazil, and indigenous people love
it to boot! As Steve White directs the tilapia
project at Ammi, working alongside the
students, he constantly asks, How will you
do this in your villages? Tere are certainly
impediments to overcome, but as the
students realize the potential and are also
aware o these hurdles, they are developing
an important oundation or sustainability.
A garden, a chicken and a sh project
at Ammi. What do they have to do with
taking the gospel to the nations? What do
they have to do with building leaders at
Ammi to build the church in Brazil? Gods
redemptive work extends to all o creation,
to every need spiritual, and physical. Ammi
teaches that God ullls all o our needs, and
our own development eorts reveal God
at work in this way. And as the students at
Ammi grow into leaders and transorm their
communities, the transormation is holistic,
with evidence o Gods goodness seen in theblessings o spiritual and physical provisions.
Give a man a sh and he eats or a day.
each a man to raise shand he learns
how to take the Gospel to the nations.
Teach a Man to Raise Fish
Ammi is modeling prudent, self-sustaining
development that its students witness and take
home to implement in their villages.
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It really doesnt matter where you
go these days. Even i you are trying
to hide rom it, the economic news
generally dominates the headlines.
Consumer condence is a measuring
tool that we use to determine how well our
economy is perorming. When people are
condent in the economy, they will spend
money. I there is little or no condence
then people tend to save, cut back, or hold
their money or a rainy day. Saving and
cutting back are not inherently negative,
but when done collectively and to a very
large degree, the impact on a nations
economy can be negative.
I have been thinking recently about
measures o condence in the worldwide
church and in missions. Are there church
condence indicators that we can look
to or measuring the health o the church?
Is the church giving or holding back itsresources o money and personnel? Are
more missionaries, or ewer, being sent to
the elds?
As we attempt to measure church
condence, lets rst o all consider a
command and a promise rom God. First,
God gives us a directive to make disciples
o all nations. Tis is an ongoing charge and
is not dependent on how much money is
in the bank. With God the resources are
endless. In act, God says that He is the
owner o the cattle on a thousand hills.
Second, in Pauls letter to the Philippians,
he states, But my God shall supply all your
needs according to his riches in glory by
Christ Jesus. Among the key words here
are all your needs.
Under the authority o such commands
and promises as these, the church can move
orward in its ministries, in accomplishing
its goals, and ultimately in sending
missionaries. Our church condence
should be very high and certainly less
dependent on economic conditions. We can
indeed give cheerully in all situations; and
love, which compels us to service, always
transcends the economics o ones nation.
We can give and go, in ull aith and trust,
as we strive to ulll the great commission.
I recently came across an articlesummarizing a recent Gallup poll.
Te summary stated, But among the
major institutions in American lie,
Americans ranked their condence in the
church or organized religion as ourth
behind only the military, small business,
and the police. Te poll shows that 48% o
Americans have a great deal o condence
in the church. Tat number was at 52% a
year ago. We should always be concerned
when we see indicators o declining
condence in the church. Tis, however, is
not a reason or us, the church, to retreat.
We can move orward ambitiously under
the authority and peace o the commands
and promises o God.
South America Mission (SAM) has a great
deal o condence in the church. In act,
the SAM vision, mentioned throughout
this issue o Window, is church-centric:
Multiplied dynamic churches across South
America transorming local communities
by embodying Kingdom o God values.
Our primary strategy to achieve this vision
involves contextualized discipleship and
training programs that develop church leaders
o strong spiritual conviction and character.
Te Bible, in 1 imothy 3:15, states
that we, the church, are the pillar and
oundation o the truth. It is encouragingto hear this, to know that this is what God
is building through us in South America.
Wed like to invite you to join us in
showing condence in and a commitment
to the church. It is always worth it, even
in economically unstable times. We can go
orward together in partnership knowing
that we have the commands and promises
o God to stand on.
by Kenny KrestanDirector o International Sta Development, SAM
CHURCH
CONFIDENCE
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Fall Issue 2010 | Volume 22 | Issue 2
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Fort Mill, SC 29708
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PERMIT #91
SAM and The Ammi Training Center ofChapada dos Guimares, Brazil, will host
CONPLEI 2012MARK THE DATEJuly 4-8, 2012www.conplei.org.br
Te National Counsel o Evangelical Indigenous Pastorsand Leaders o Brazil will bring together peoples rom
many tribes, languages, and nations or their 7th National
Congress in July, 2012. Te Ammi raining Center (a
SAM institute) in Chapada, Brazil, will host the event in
2012. CONPLEI, SAM and Ammi will work together
to hold this important event, but to meet all o the needs
we need the strength that the partnering with the wider
body o Christ provides. o fnd out how you can help,
contact us through www.southamericamission.org