Claire Holmes has sent her latest prayer news. She writes of
Read the prayer letter in full.
Welcome to the SAMS Prayer Line for the week commencing Wednesday 12 March.
Please pray for the members of the Anglican church of ‘Vida Nueva’ in Canal Beagle, Viña del Mar, Chile, which has been devastated by fire, caused apparently by an electrical fault. Remember them as they meet together in homes and begin the long process of rebuilding.
John Sutton of SAMS GB continues his short tour of eastern South America. Currently in Recife and Olinda (Brazil), on Friday (14th) he moves to Uruguay. Among those he will spend time with are SAMS Latin Partners Gonzalo & Leticia Soria. Pray for John’s time with them and with other members of the diocese.
Two special services merit our prayers:
(i) On Friday St Andrew’s School in Asunción, Paraguay, holds its Easter Service, with Patrick Butler preaching. Pray for Patrick’s ministry and that the whole service may bless students and staff with the life-giving message of Easter.
(ii) on Tuesday (18th) in northeast Spain, the Church of Christ, pastored by Sue Woodcock, will be holding a united service for Holy Week with the Baptist churches of Sabadell. Pray for this special event at a special time in the church’s year.
Finally, please remember Alf Cooper as he flies back to Chile on Monday (17th) after UK ministry, rejoining Hilary and the family in Santiago.
Linn Tedman, a SAMS Mission Partner in Asuncion Paraguay writes..
The main news focus has been on an outbreak of yellow fever in the country and some people have died. This caused widespread panic. The Government issued warnings as far back as eighteen months ago that Yellow Fever could reach Paraguay but no vaccination programmes were started. When yellow fever was confirmed there was very little vaccine in the country. People have been demonstrating and fighting each other and the authorities in order to get vaccinations.
Eventually neighbouring South American countries sent in vaccine and France has just sent 2 million doses. Over the course of a fortnight more people have been vaccinated. The problem seemed to be down to lack of monetary resources to pay for vaccine, but some money has now been found.
There is now a massive clean-up campaign to try to eradicate the breeding areas of the mosquitoes in rubbish which can trap water. A new law means that anybody who does not clean up will be put in prison. (Prisons are already grossly overcrowded.)
Here are several prayer letters from SAMS Mission Partners:
The Meldrums in Olinda, Brazil have sent this prayer news update about My Father’s House orphanage in Brazil.
Urgent prayer requests have come in from the Teacher Training College, FEISA, in Asuncion Paraguay.
Please continue to uphold the Venables family: Bishop Greg arrives on Friday to join Sylvia and mourners at the funeral of her mother that day. Greg and Sylvia will then spend most of March in the UK on a pre-planned visit.
This Friday the Pastoral Committee of the Diocese of Northern Argentina holds an important meeting in La Caldera, near Salta. They seek the way forward to break the stagnation in the diocese in recent years. Pray that God will direct the pastors and lay leaders and renew their vision and motivation.
Archdeacon Hugo Vergara will lead this meeting. Pray for him and his wife Techy who have been suffering cardiovascular problems caused by stress.
Also on Friday the team from the FEISA Teacher Training College make their second training visit to Yatnata in the Paraguayan Chaco helping mothers set up a nursery for the youngest children. Pray for their travel and for the impact of this two-day visit.
Finally, a reminder that the BBC2 programme ‘Tropic of Capricorn’ this Sunday at 8pm includes a visit to the Argentine Chaco with a short feature on the Wichi people and deforestation.
Some prayer letters have come in from SAMS Mission partners:
Elaine Hutchinson has sent though her latest prayer letter. It’s in PDF format ready to download.
So after a long and rather hot summer its back to school for a new term. Its been a rather busy few months …
The new academic year begins in Paraguay.
Today in Asunción, Paraguay, Patrick Butler will speak at the opening service of St. Andrew’s School; please pray for Patrick and the challenge and encouragement of his message for students and staff as they embark on this new journey.
FEISA, the Early Years Teacher Training College in Asunción, is also back in action and this weekend a team will make the first 2008 visit to the indigenous community of Yatnata to start a training programme with the mothers to enable them to set up their own nursery for the youngest children. Please pray for the FEISA team as they prepare the training and for the right mothers to attend and be committed to the programme.
Also in the Paraguayan Chaco this weekend a youth conference is being held under the leadership of Pastor Elvio. A group of 30 young people accompanied by 10 adults will share with other young people and leaders in El Estribo community. Called “Sowing well for good results”, the conference will challenge young people to develop daily Bible reading habits.