The “34th Man” Tour

Chilean miner makes major impact

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There are so many things that deeply impressed me about

our time with Jose Henriquez (the Chilean miner) and his wife,

Blanca. They stayed at our house when we were not out on tour

in other parts of England, along with Alf and Hilary and Melanie

Cooper. It was a packed schedule with a number of reporters

turning up at each event from local and national press and radio

and there was some TV as well. Jose told his story far more times

than just at the events themselves – and the first day we went to

six services!

But all the way through Jose saw it as a calling from God to share what he and

the others had experienced in that mine. One thing that especially impressed me

was that for 17 days, before the rescue drill broke through, Jose was praying with,

and for, his fellow miners and sharing the Gospel with them – using and quoting

Scripture, though of course he had no Bible with him.

‘How did you remember all those Bible verses?’ I asked in one interview. ‘Well

I knew the Bible from having been to church, Sunday School and Bible Studies

almost all my life. And I had memorised verses; so it was not difficult.’

That was quite a challenge to our audiences and congregations: you never know

when you might be stuck down a mine without a Bible! Of course it is so much

more than that, and more serious. The pioneering mission movement of which

we are the inheritors was totally Bible-based and a response to the commands of

Scripture. We today ignore the priority of Scripture at our peril.

We used to learn Bible verses, Authorised Version, of course. But now the Bible

is almost too conveniently available to us. I am not sure how many versions I

can get on my phone, certainly more than I need. Also, this is the year when

we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible.

I hope Christians will be inspired to take seriously the need to ‘read, mark, learn

and inwardly digest’ the word of God.

Over the years SAMS, now CMS, has shown its commitment to Scripture by

making the translation of God’s Word available in the language of people’s hearts.

Don’t miss the articles in this edition of Share on the work of both Tim Curtis

and Mike Browne. It was a wonderful privilege to have both of them in the office

in Oxford at the same time as Bob Lunt was visiting to do some research in the

library. The three of them represent the dedicated work of translation into Enxet,

Toba and Wichi. The person we missed on that occasion was Nick Drayson who,

of course, coordinated the translation of the Choroti New Testament.

SHARE is produced by the Church Mission

Society, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ. Tel:

01865 787 400. Registered Charity Number 1131655.

If you have any questions regarding the

content, please call us or email:

info@cms-uk.org

Bishop Henry Scriven, Mission Director for Latin

America

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A Chilean miner speaks and thousands listen: “He’s a real God, who loves the whole of humanity. He answers and responds to our prayers.”

The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners was the good news story of 2010 – and the

34th Man speaking tour, organised by CMS, with Chilean miner Jose Henriquez and CMS

mission partner in Chile Alf Cooper, has helped keep Latin America on the mission map

with British churches in a fresh and vigorous way.

During the miners’ ordeal, Jose became the unofficial pastor of the group, helping fellow

workers keep up morale and organising prayer meetings twice daily. With barely three

days’ worth of food, a supply of polluted drinking water and no idea if anyone would ever

find them, Jose said, ”We decided unless we prayed and God did a miracle there would

be no way out. And that became our daily hope and confidence.”

When the drill finally struck their shelter and supplies began arriving from the surface,

every miner received a miniature Bible with his name embossed on its cover – sent

in canisters in a tube through a 12 centimetre bore hole, the miners’ lifeline with the

outside world. According to Jose, 22 of the miners committed their lives to Jesus whilst

underground—the day they were rescued, they met for a prayer meeting before surfacing.

When the miners were reunited with their families several testified to having a strong

sense of a “34th man” with them – Jesus.

In January and February 2011, CMS organised

its 34th Man Tour – with Jose telling his

story of faith, survival and rescue, and CMS

mission partner Alf Cooper, Protestant

chaplain to the President of Chile, sharing his

perspective of how God intervened in this

catastrophe to capture the attention of Chile

and the world. Jose believes himself to be

living evidence of a miracle. “The living God

exists!” he told rapt audiences. “He’s a real

God, who loves the whole of humanity. He answers and responds to our prayers.”

More than 20,000 people attended events in London, Oxfordshire, Durham, Nottingham,

Sheffield and Cheltenham before the team moved on to Ireland. Sandwiched between

was a visit to Washington DC, following a summons from President Barack Obama for

Jose to address the Annual US National Prayer Breakfast.

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Jose and Alf: ”The living God exists.”

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Commenting after the tour, Alf Cooper said: “My reports to

Chile express how fruitful the tour has been for the Kingdom

of God, with crowds attending and many giving their lives to

Jesus….We witnessed that immense awe that comes upon

crowds that become aware of the presence of God…. the

UK is hungering for spiritual reality.

“We would often encounter people who told us they

had never read the Bible, like a taxi driver who took us to

Heathrow and ended up praying that Jesus would enter his

life. We felt that this was a realistic approach to mission

today: mission sponsored by CMS from Chile to Europe, the

other way around to traditional mission enterprise.

“A particular highlight came for us when we met with the

President of the United States. He was visibly moved by

Jose s story and commented to us how he admired Jose s

leadership skills.”

John Martin, CMS’ media coordinator for the tour,

summarised: “The tour has kept Latin America on the mission

map with British churches in a fresh and vigorous way.

“The UK media, taking its cue from the BBC for which the

Chilean rescue was the great good news story of 2010, has

been content to report on Jose ‘straight’ without cynicism.”

If you missed hearing Jose’s story firsthand, you can listen free at www.cms-uk.org/resources/podcasts

Community faith reignited by 34th Man tourCMS deliberately chose mining areas among the venues for the tour. The message had special resonance with mining communities in north-east England, many of whom still struggle following pit closures throughout the region. Gaenor Hall of CMS, who was instrumental in organising the tour, explained: “One venue, Kirkby In Ashfield, is a community that had been economically destroyed by the miners strikes and pit closures of the 1980s. “Church work in the community became difficult. People were bitter and up to seven years ago, murders were still taking place within the mining network out of resentment.“Jose and Alf went to Kirkby Miners’ Welfare. It was standing room only.“I found myself sitting in a corridor talking to a local minster. He was in tears, unable to believe that CMS would send the tour to Kirkby “an out of the way insignificant nothing of a place...” As a result of the meeting, this minister rededicated his life to mission in his community.“As the meeting came to an end, I was stopped by a lady who wanted to donate to CMS – she took out her purse and emptied its contents into the bag I was holding. Her friend asked what she was going to do, as that was all the money she had until her pension was paid again. “The lady replied, ‘God will supply. I know it is right to give’.”“Please continue to pray for what God has started. One of the ministers is producing a DVD of the event and giving it as a gift to every church in the area of Kirkby, Sutton and Skegby.”

Friday night live SAMS Ireland hosted its annual Friday Night Live mission event recently which saw more than 700 people gather at the Craigavon Civic Centre in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, to hear about the work of the Anglican Church in Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Spain. Chilean miner Jose Henriquez, along with his wife Blanca, was among the guest speakers. Also there were CMS mission partners Alf Cooper, Peter and Sally Bartlett and associate mission partner Bishop Carlos Lopez. Earlier in the evening the mayor of Craigavon, Stephen Moutray, hosted a reception for the Chileans and key people from the SAMS Ireland family. Commenting on the event, the mayor said: There is no doubt that the Chilean miner has left a deep impression on all of us.” Other guest speakers included Gwen Carlisle and Mags Southern, teachers who have worked for more than 30 years in St Andrew’s College in Asunción, an Anglican school in Paraguay.

Journey into the Paraguayan Chaco by Jack Sanderson A charming collection of firsthand stories and illustrations about the indigenous tribes of Paraguay’s Chaco area by a former SAMS mission partner has just been published.

Journey into the Paraguayan Chaco is penned by Jack Sanderson who grew

up in Paraguay and went on to spend 27 years there as a missionary from 1918 to

1922 and 1930 to 1953.

The book details Jack’s horseback journeys in the Chaco and is illustrated with

his own paintings. Jack often delighted his children with his stories of the exotic

arid terrain of the Chaco lands, his friendship with the Indian communities and his

encounters with jaguars, pumas and snakes.

During a visit to Illinois, the hot and humid weather reminded Jack, then 82, of

Paraguay. A talented artist, Jack began to paint his memories and the stories followed.

Jack, who passed away in 1996, dedicated his stories “to all the Chaco children

who shyly held my hand or brought me a small gift of pumpkins or beans and

loved to sit on my veranda and play the gramophone”.

The collection, edited by Asuncion-based CMS mission partner Caroline Gilmour-

White, is available in English. Spanish and Enxet editions follow later this year.

Caroline reports, “When the Sanderson family sent us these fantastic pictures

and stories, we quickly realised we had something very valuable and should

publish them.”

Financial resources were few so teamwork was key. Personnel from four

different mission organisations helped with the pre-print production. The

Spanish translation was done voluntarily by Paraguayan university students

and CMS mission partner, Tim Curtis, and the Rio Verde Bible translation

team working in the Chaco will translate the stories into Enxet.

The book is a fantastic resource – not only for western people to understand

what an Indian culture is like and how it has changed but also to re-establish

the history and identity of Enxet Indians, explains Caroline.

Jack’s encounters with people, nature and wild animals are so vivid, the

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Jack (left) and his son Peter

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reader feels he or she is there with them. It’s appropriate for anyone aged nine

upwards and enjoyable for children and adults alike.

Sales of the book will benefit Chaco communities and will go towards literacy

projects as the Indian communities seek to maintain their cultural heritage in a

rapidly changing world.

Available from the CMS Shop: www.cms-shop.org.uk or contact David Orritt,

Tel: 01704 892566

Spiritual depths“Materialistically poor but spiritually rich” is how CMS

mission partner Andy Roberts describes the Christians

who live and work on a shanty town beside an open air

rubbish dump in Olinda, northeast Brazil.

Andy said: “I would never expect to find happy people living

amongst rubbish but for many Christians who live in that very

poor community, they are some of the happiest people I have

ever met because they really can see the difference Jesus makes in people’s lives. In

the western world we often source our happiness from materialistic things but these

people, who are very materialistically poor, are spiritually very rich.”

Andy and his Brazilian wife Rose work as mission partners at the My Father’s House

project for vulnerable boys, which works in partnership with the Living Waters Church

in a bid to reach out to the surrounding community – a particularly dangerous area - to

support people both physically and spiritually through faith in Jesus Christ.

The couple are also youth leaders at Living Waters – which was set up beside the

rubbish dump back in 1993 by CMS mission partners Ian and Simea Meldrum.

Andy first met Rose when he was in short term mission, working at the Living Waters

Church during his gap year, aged 18, in 2004. This was Rose’s home

church; her family are from the area around the church and she was

brought up in the shanty town. Through the dance ministry of Living

Waters Church, Rose became a Christian in 2001 and she’s been a

leader of the dance group, called MISART, ever since.

Andy’s placement in Brazil shaped the rest of his life. “I thought I would

be in Brazil for just six months, but God had other plans.” Working

with the street children on the shanty town, Andy says his eyes were

“opened” and he was challenged about his role in the world.

“I realised that in the short time we have on this earth we need to use

that for God’s glory and make the most of our lives. The way I thought

Andy Roberts’ anecdotesMugging averted “A friend of mine – taller and blonder than I am – was using a video camera out in the open in the shanty town. Local gang members thought this was an easy target. Quickly my friend found three guns pointing at his head and was brought to his knees. These guys would not have messed around. But someone else passing by told the gang that my friend was from the church. The three gang leaders quickly backed off, apologised and left my friend and the video camera intact.”

Andy, left, and one of the My Father’s House boys, Rodrigo

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I might do that is go to Brazil as a mission partner

and spend a little part of my life, and who knows

maybe my whole life, trying to help people.”

He continued: “Rose grew up on the shanty town

amongst that pain and suffering and to see what

God has done in her life has been a real inspiration

to me. The boys in the project, too, are hugely

inspiring.”

More from Andy Jonathan’s story“One person I will never forget is one of our young boys called Jonathan. He was 13 years old when he came to the project. Jonathan was a gang member and the gangs were after him and wanted to kill him. I never found out what he had done but it was something very serious because he spent 10 months with us [at our safe house] until he ran away and when the gangs caught up with him, they shot him in the shoulder. Thankfully he survived. When he was in hospital another project leader and I would visit him. I remember paying for him and his uncle to live with his grandmother far away from the gangs to be safe. Jonathan was doing really well until his mother, who had psychological problems, became jealous of her mother having custody of her son. So she went and got Jonathan from his grandma’s house and brought him back to the city. On Christmas Eve 2008, the gang shot Jonathan five times in the head and killed him. The Bible says that the devil comes to kill, destroy and steal and that is something he tries to do all over the world - but perhaps it is most apparent here in Olinda.At Christmas time, I always remember Jonathan because the last thing he said to me was, “You and Rose and the rest of the guys at the project are the only ones who ever believed in me.” We weren’t able to save Jonathan physically but I am sure that we got through to him spiritually. We believe in Jonathan, because we believe in Jesus.”

Spanish magazine profiles mission partnerWhen mission partner Sue Woodcock was

growing up she knew she wanted to travel but “if

anyone had used the word missionary, I would

have run a mile”.

Speaking to Barcelona Metropolitan magazine, Sue

said: “I’d kind of grown up with the idea that the

world is out there and you can work anywhere. I

had no idea where my work would take me.”

As it turned out Sue’s work has taken her all

over the world. “I…have lived most of my working life outside of Britain - in Iran,

Uganda, Bolivia and Spain,” she told the magazine.

Sue has been pastor of the Església de Crist in Sabadell, north-east Spain, for the

past 12 years. She was the first female priest in the diocese.

In a wide-ranging interview with the popular English-

speaking lifestyle magazine and “what’s on” guide

to the Catalan capital, Sue said: “I work with a little

Spanish congregation of about 40, functioning in

Castilian and to some degree in Catalan. Histori-

cally, they were all local people from Sabadell but

nowadays about a quarter are from outside. We have

South Americans and one Australian.”

She continued: “I was brought up in the Church in

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the sense I was sent to Sunday school and was confirmed. That is the graduation

from Sunday school and the point where most people never go back. I kept going

because I had a friend there and we went to different schools. She kept going, so

I kept going.

“When I went off to [Oxford] university, I found myself in a hostel with about 12

students [who] said: ‘Come to church with us on Sunday.’ I’ve often wondered

what would have happened if I’d been with a group of people who’d said, ‘We’re

going on an excursion on Sunday’.”

In those early weeks at Oxford Sue said she discovered that being a Christian

wasn’t about one hour on a Sunday morning, rather, “It’s got to be all or nothing.

So I began to look at mission work.”

She summed up: “There are all sorts of places I’d still like to go.”

You can read the full interview with Sue online at www.barcelona-metropolitan.

com/articles/interview-reverend-sue-woodcock

Enxet people reading God’s word in their own language CMS mission partner Tim Curtis (pictured) has lived in

Paraguay’s rural Chaco area for 28 years, coordinating a Bible

translation project that will give the Enxet people the written

word of God in its entirety.

The New Testament was presented to the Enxet church in 1997 and

now Tim and the Bible translation team - Juan, Martín and Asunción -

are translating the Old Testament.

At their office in Rio Verde the team is now checking drafts of the Old

Testament, a painstaking process which will last several years, with a

tentative publication date for the complete Bible (including updating

the 1997 New Testament translation) in 2015.

Tim has found during his time with the Enxet people that having the gospel in

their mother tongue has been a real anchor for them – against a backdrop of

change - and is also proving a really valuable tool for helping the church to grow in

maturity as it is nourished by God’s word and as lives are transformed.

The translation project is helping improve literacy and reinforcing the Enxet lan-

guage and culture at a time when it faces the danger of being eroded by outside

influences.

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We caught up with Tim and asked: What difference will the translation

of the complete Bible make for the Enxet people?

The publication of the New Testament in 1997 sent a clear message to the Enxet

community that they matter. This has also been the experience with other Bible

translations in Latin America among smaller, marginalised groups – such as the

Toba and Wichí people and many others. The gospel message is one of hope as

Enxet Christians realise that God has a purpose for them too.

How is your work helping to improve literacy?

Although some other reading materials are available in the Enxet language for use

at some schools, the Enxet are using their New Testaments. I am sure they will

use the completed Bible when it is published. We are encouraged because all the

drafts we produce are monitored by members of the Enxet church and they are

always giving us feedback. We also have young people coming in to our transla-

tion office to improve their reading using Bible passages. Church leaders will come

to us and ask if we have, say, a copy of Genesis or Exodus for a Bible study group

or a particular meeting.

Can you explain more about the literacy group you are running for young Enxet people?

We’ve found that a lot of teenagers from the villages are sometimes at a loose

end. At the weekends there are more activities, like football tournaments, but

often on weekday evenings there isn’t much happening. So youngsters from Yat-

nata’ village – about five kilometres away – regularly meet at our office to practise

their reading with biblical passages.

People who cannot read sometimes join the group, so they can see what the

others are doing. When new folk come I find out who can read. If people are just

beginning to read, I find ways of encouraging them.

I often cook a meal afterwards – so maybe that’s the attraction! These sessions are

very important for increasing the number of readers. Many like to prove they can

read – it is something exciting. Cell phones have also given a boost to literacy. Every

teenager wants one and you need to know your letters and numbers to use one.

Do the young readers get the chance to practice their skills in Enxet churches?

Yes. The importance given to public reading of the Scriptures in Enxet churches is re-

ally encouraging. In Makxawaya, where mission work first started, the church encour-

ages young readers of both sexes to come up to the front with their prepared Bible

readings. You might have ten or more readings in a service, in Enxet, Spanish and

Guaraní. We give our latest drafts to younger readers, as well as to church leaders.

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How would you characterise your work over the past 28 years?

It has been tremendously satisfying. Some of the young people that I knew when

I was first here in 1983 were in little more than rags, perhaps not even shoes. My

first contact with them was in one of the schools where I had been asked to help as

a volunteer. Two of those pupils went on to become Bible translators, ten years later.

They remained in our translation team until we finished the New Testament project.

They then went on to become quite influential people in their community. Elvio

Cabañas went on to become a church leader/pastor and he still is, although he now

has a very good job with the Paraguayan Ministry of Education, in charge of dozens

and dozens of indigenous schools all over the Chaco. His brother, Isidro, was also

on the team and is one of the political leaders in his village. Remigio Romero, who

lives in El Estribo, works with my colleague CMS mission partner Ed Brice producing

Bible teaching materials and also has experience producing literacy materials. It’s a

joy to see how things have changed from when I first knew them.

Small groups and big dreamsDaniel and Ellelein Kirk, with their children David and Joshua, are in

Chile. Daniel trains lay Christians and is also part of a leadership team

working with churches in the poorer areas of the coastal city of Vina del

Mar. Ellelein is involved in women’s discipleship groups and parenting

workshops. Born in Argentina and Mexico respectively, Daniel and Ellelein

have lived in Vina del Mar since 2005. They attend the church of Gomez

Carreno just outside Vina and take part in preaching, pastoral work and

small group discipleship.

Here Daniel provides the latest update on their ministry.

Small groups

I look after biblical training at our church and one of the joys over the past year has

been studying the Bible, sharing and praying together with small groups of people,

one of which meets by Skype! This group started in Santiago, Chile and now has

members in the UK, Chile and the US. Jon, a group member, works with Latin Link

after a Stride placement in Chile last year. Timo, a Chilean who goes to church in

the business area of Santiago, is now in the US pursuing an internship at a church

in Washington, DC. James, a member of the large Barratt family well-known for its

pioneering mission work with SAMS and CMS, is currently working in the Andean

mines and exploring studying at the Bible college next year.

I also have two discipleship groups in my church, one of older guys (well older

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than me) and one for guys aged 18-22. The groups provide an opportunity for

each of us to study God’s word together and be accountable to each other.

Extending education

This year we will be offering some intensive Study by Extension to All Nations

(SEAN) courses - Bible courses for Theological Education by Extension. The idea

is that we will have lots more youngsters with basic studies under their belt so

that we can start a two year discipleship programme in 2012.

This year I will be teaching a course to pastors on Latin American church history

in the Anglican Seminary in Santiago – the Centro de Estudios Pastorales. My

two basic texts are Carlos Fuentes’ The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and

the New World and Justo González’s The Story of Christianity. Both authors come

from a Latin perspective; this fits with my desire to get us thinking about the Latin

American context in which we serve.

I will also be doing some religious education teaching of sixth formers at the

SAMS founded St Paul’s school in Vina del Mar, a school founded by the Anglican

Church of Chile - which functions within the Chilean educational system but with

a special Christian emphasis. This will be a first for me and has me rather nervous

so prayer for that will be much appreciated.

Big dreams

Looking ahead, we are dreaming about planting a church in the second largest

city in Chile, the port of Valparaiso, in the second half of 2012. Valparaiso is where

the Protestant faith first entered Chile and has a huge Victorian Anglican church,

which is unused except for organ recitals. The bishop, archdeacon and our pas-

tor are supporting us in praying and dreaming about the project. We are hugely

excited, nervous and would love to have your prayer for this.

Northern Argentina – a century of mission. By Bob Lunt“Resolved: That a Mission be started in Argentina upon the lines laid

down in Mr W.B. Grubb’s letter of September 15, 1910.” With these

few handwritten words from the Minutes of SAMS’ General Committee, an

outstanding mission enterprise was set in motion – one whose centenary is

being celebrated across the Diocese of Northern Argentina this year.

The vision belonged to Wilfrid Barbrooke Grubb, trailblazer amongst the

indigenous peoples of the Paraguayan Chaco, and was supported by Edward Every, Bishop of

Argentina with Eastern South America. Grubb’s attention was drawn by the annual gathering of

Bob Lunt

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6,000 Indians to harvest sugar cane in the fields of Leach Brothers near San Pedro, and this firm saw

mutual benefit in inviting the Anglicans to set up a mission. Some SAMS committee members were

doubtful because of a financial deficit, yet for others it was “the greatest [opportunity] the Society has

had placed before it, and it is unthinkable that we should not undertake this work. Let us make this

venture of faith. God has put this great opening before us. We cannot mock Him by standing still.”

So on 9 April 1911, Grubb, accompanied from Paraguay by Richard Hunt and Edward Bernau,

arrived at the cane fields. Their reputation went before them and trust was established with the

Indians; yet Grubb made no bones about the challenges of such work “in rough places” and the

qualities required by missionaries. They were to be single men who would undertake a two-year

“apprenticeship” there, after which they would either be sent home or taken on for four more

years. Then they would take UK leave, be allowed to marry (should they wish) and return with

their wife. The health of Grubb and Hunt’s own wives had suffered in the Chaco and they now

remained in the UK.

For three and a half years the pioneers accustomed themselves to the different ethnic groups and

their ways. Hunt, a gifted linguist, studied the languages for both communication and comparison,

reducing some to writing. They accompanied the Wichi Indians home when the harvest was over,

observing their nomadic lifestyle, beehive-shaped huts, fear of spirits, infanticide, the manufac-

ture of alcohol from the algarroba bean and the subsequent drunken feasts. They had learned

“the [Spanish] names of God and devil, but they are to [them] words without significance, clouds

without water, trees without fruit”.

Convinced, nevertheless, of their calling and conscious of God’s blessing on Paraguay, they transferred

in December 1914 to the Chaco itself, settling on land given by Leach Brothers near the River Bermejo.

Years of education, medical care and gospel explanation reached fulfilment on 3 April 1922, when

eight adults were baptised by Bishop Every and presented with a copy of Mark’s gospel in their lan-

guage. A simple wooden cross now marks the spot, because the mission soon moved away from the

encroaching river - but not before a congregation of 193 attended Christmas Day service.

Richard Hunt described those eight as “the first fruits of the coming harvest”. A century on, Suf-

fragan Bishop Nick Drayson of the Diocese of Northern Argentina has visited every indigenous

congregation in the Chaco – well over 100! His confirmation of 1,500 people and dedication of

new churches shows that Hunt’s foresight and

faith in a great God were not misplaced. As

retired bishop David Leake affirms, “The work

initiated in 1911 in San Pedro is one of the

outstanding stories in Christian mission.”

A Chaco scene from the past

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Influencing the affluent for JesusBabs Owen has been a mission partner in Paraguay for the

past nine years where she is a primary school teacher at St

Andrew’s College, a private school offering a Christian education

for three to 18-year-olds, based in the capital, Asunción.

St Andrew’s was founded in 1963 by Thea Wedgwood, an

English missionary who wanted to provide a Christian educa-

tion in English and Spanish. The school was started as a means

of reaching the middle to upper classes of Paraguayan society

with the gospel. The kindergarten began with just six pupils,

and classes took place at the back of the little Anglican chapel.

Because some of the first parents were people of influence in

Paraguayan society the school gained credence and was able to grow. Today St.

Andrew’s has 370 pupils.

At the end of July, Babs will be leaving her post and relocating to the UK. We caught

up with her in England, just before she returned to St Andrew’s for her final six months,

and asked her to reflect on nearly a decade of living and working in Paraguay.

How would you describe your time at St Andrew’s College?

It has been amazing and something I never dreamt I would do. Some things I

didn’t enjoy at first - like the insects, the heat and having to learn a new language,

which was quite daunting. But all of those things are put aside when you see the

way in which the kids have grown in their faith and the opportunities for me to

grow in my faith and walk with the Lord.

What is the school’s vision?

The vision is that when the children finish school at 18 they will be a light to the na-

tion of Paraguay. We teach children from affluent backgrounds and many will go on

to work in influential positions, so the vision is to send them out to have a Christian

influence on others. Throughout their schooling we do Bible studies, camps and lots

of things that challenge them in their faith. In their final service each pupil is given a

candle, which they light. The idea is that they take that out into the world and shine

for Jesus. And if after 10 or 20 years they find their light has diminished or they have

lost their faith, they can go back to school to relight that light for Christ.

What kinds of professions do the children go into?

Many ex-pupils have returned to work in Paraguay after studying abroad. We have

a number of doctors, lawyers, architects and business people and a few who have

gone into politics.

Babs Owen: “amazing” experience in Paraguay

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Can you describe a typical working day?

I get up at 4.45am, catch a bus at 5.30am and arrive at school for about 6.15am.

There is always a staff meeting at 7am. School starts at 7.30am with a Bible study.

As a primary school teacher I am responsible for two classes. In the morning I

teach a full primary curriculum in English; then in the afternoon I teach my other

class. School ends at 3.30pm; then there are things like marking, planning and

meetings.

How has your time in Paraguay strengthened you as a Christian?

Sometimes in the UK we can become very comfortable in our surroundings and

relationships with friends, family and colleagues. When I went to Paraguay I sud-

denly found for the first time there were situations when I didn’t know who to turn

to. There may be things you don’t want to share with others, especially as you are

among other missionaries and you know they are dealing with their own situa-

tions. For the first time in my life, I realised what it meant to depend on God and

that has helped develop my faith.

Michael and Silvia BrowneBy Bishop David LeakeMichael Browne gained his PhD in microbiology from Liverpool Uni-

versity. When he asked his chaplain for guidance as to an active church

in his hometown of Woodbridge in Suffolk, he was directed to St. John’s.

Michael had already tentatively responded to a request I had made to

SAMS for a person who could learn the Toba language and undertake

the translation of the New Testament.

To Michael’s astonishment the first Sunday he went to St. John’s he heard the

vicar’s wife repeat the Lord’s Prayer in English, Spanish and Toba! Unknown to

Michael, the vicar’s wife was my sister Dorothy, who was brought up amongst the

Indians with Toba as her first language.

Such a “Godincidence” was enough to convince Michael of his calling. After

orientation at a Summer School of Linguistics with the Wycliffe translators, Michael

went to Argentina.

After a time in Buenos Aires learning Spanish, Michael next found himself in the re-

mote forest village of El Churcal in a small one roomed hut amongst the Tobas, where

he was to absorb the culture and village life and learn the complex Toba language.

After this intensive immersion he moved to the small town of Ingeniero Juárez. He

Congratulations to Efraim and Ruth Vilella who have had a baby boy! Max Hollingdale Vilella was born on 19 January and Ruth and Max plan to rejoin Efraim in Recife, Brazil at the beginning of March.Caroline Gilmour-White and Peter and Sally Bartlett were in the UK over Christmas. Caroline returned to Paraguay at the end of February and Peter and Sally returned to Paraguay at the end of March.Tim Curtis has been visiting the UK from Paraguay since the beginning of January and attended the CMS conference in Swanwick on 26 March before flying back to Paraguay at the beginning of April.Michael and Silvia Browne have been in the UK visiting from Northern Argentina, and returned to Salta at the end of February. They completed their long sevice with CMS on 28 February as mission partners but continue as CMS associate mission partners.Babs Owen was in the UK from Paraguay for Christmas and returned on 1 February. She completes her time with CMS on 28 February but will be volunteering at St Andrews School in Asunción, where she has been

teaching for the last nine years, until this summer when she will return to the UK to stay.Gwen Carlisle and Mags Southern returned to Paraguay at the beginning of February after spending Christmas in the UK. They end their time with CMS but start with SAMS Ireland in April.Short-termer Victoria Martineau left in January to spend a year in Santo Domingo, Ecuador and short-termer Mike Belton returned from volunteering at San Mateo School in Lima, Peru in November 2010.Finally, please pray for mission partner Sue Woodcock in Barcelona, who is continuing to receive treatment for pancreatic cancer.You can find out more about where and when these Globe+crossers might be in your area on the CMS website www.cms-uk.org and click on the map of Latin America, which will take you to the Latin America pages of the CMS website. The We’re Visiting section is on the right of the page.

Globe+crossersSHARE APRIL 2011 15

carefully chose four Tobas as his translators and set about the work of coordinating

the translation of the New Testament.

Michael adapted the detailed discipline of a microbiologist to the work of language

and translation. With the translators he would work through the exegesis of each

verse, unforgiving of any vague terminology, keeping a close eye on the original

Greek, and where possible and necessary, adapting illustrations to Toba cultural

reality. All this endeavour had its wonderful culmination with the presentation of

the Toba New Testament to the Toba people in the form of a large lectern sized

bordeaux coloured New Testament inscribed with golden lettering “Naa’me Dios

‘Laqataqa” (God’s Words), with hundreds of copies following for the people.

Michael’s initial big task is finished, but there remains a great demand for Bible helps,

literacy materials, a Toba-Spanish dictionary and manuals for Christian teaching.

Although Michael will cease to be a full time mission partner he will continue to

use his linguistic gifts and experience as an associate mission partner. Silvia will

continue to contribute her gifts of Christian art and drama in teaching.

The Toba people and those who have been closely involved in the work of translation

with him praise and thank God for all he has done, his achievement with the New

Testament – a translation of excellence. We wish him and his family – wife Silvia and

sons Kevin and Christopher – God’s richest blessing in all they do in the future.

A strong call from Chile to SpainCMS Latin partners Carol and Juan Zamora in Seville,

Spain, are retiring after nearly 20 years of service and

returning to their home country of Chile. As Latin Americans

coming from a South American diocese to Europe they

were true pioneers.

Reverend John Battman, friend and colleague of the Zamoras, writes:

Juan and Carol Zamora from Chile visited Spain in 1992 as part of an evangelistic

team from the Southern Cone that planted a church in Mostoles, Madrid. The

following year Bishop Arturo of the Spanish Episcopal Reformed Church invited

them to move to Spain to work for the church there. Leaving Juan’s fruitful ministry

as Archdeacon of the Valparaiso area, they moved to Seville, with three of their five

children, (17, 9 and 5 years) and were based at San Basilio Church.

Being mission partners from Chile to Europe involved a big change of culture,

church and family circumstances. The work has been challenging. Juan writes

“Only our profound conviction of a strong call from the Lord to work in Spain

stopped us from turning round and returning to Chile.”

God has honoured their faithfulness. Juan’s ministry based on San Basilio has

seen that church win many to Christ and share with other churches in outreach

and celebrations, reaching people of many nations. Juan says: “I give thanks to the

Lord for the testimonies of those who have come to know him during these years,

some in miraculous ways; for lives restored and homes saved from disaster. We

have seen people changed and eager to make a new start.”

Carol served as director of a United Protestant Churches’ social programme min-

istering to the marginalised, especially immigrants. Both of them had leadership

roles interdenominationally in Seville, and Juan within the Diocese. Please pray for

them as they return to Chile whilst four of their five children remain in Europe and

thank God for these faithful and humble servants.

Integration update It has now been just over a year

since the full integration of SAMS within CMS. In our Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) we pledged to do an annual review of

progress for the first three years. So a small group has been set

up, chaired by the Canon Penny Avann, which will report back to

trustees before June. It will work through the MoU and see what

has been done and what still remains on the ‘to do’ list. The group

will consult widely but would love to hear YOUR views. Please write

to Bishop Henry Scriven at CMS, Watlington Road, Oxford OX4 6BZ

or email henry.scriven@cms-uk.org

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