share magazine 2009 - issue 4 autumn

1SHARE issue 4, autumn/winter 2009/10

Also in this issueDevelopment on the spiritual frontline

Peru growing Pioneer thrilled by Brazilian progress

The magazine of the South American Mission Society. Issue 4, autumn/winter 2009/10

Keeping hold across milestones and thresholds

Registered Office: South American Mission Society, Allen Gardiner Cottage, Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3QU. Tel: 01892 538647 Fax: 01892 525797 e: [email protected] www.samsgb.org Prayer Line 0114 269 2121SAMS is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England, No. 65048. Registered Charity No. 221328. SHARE is published four times a year. Issue No. 4, 2009 ISSN 1367 6741. Editor: Robert Lunt. Design & Print: CPO

Some dates for your 2009 and 2010 diaries…

23 November Nick Spencer of Theos gives a public lecture on ‘Darwin: evolutionist, agnostic … and honorary missionary’ at St Giles’ Church, Oxford, at 7:30 pm. Charles Darwin was an admirer of and subscriber to the early work of SAMS.

29 November Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving for the Missionary Work of the Church.

5 December SAMS General Council meets.

1 February Transfer of SAMS and CMS operations into New Joint Entity to be called ‘CMS’.

May CMS/SAMS Cycle Tour, leading up to …

22 May Community Celebration (see back page).

And some news about publications and other resources …

- This issue of SHARE and Prayer Diary covers a four-month period to the end

of January 2010, after which …

- SHARE will be published three times a year, in February, June and October.

- The quarterly Prayer Diary will be replaced by a bimonthly South America Prayerlines. SAMS supporters will also receive CMS Prayerlines along with CMS Mission

Update which will include material about South America and appear bimonthly.

- So in April, August and December, you will receive these three publications, with SHARE added to the mailing in February, June and October.

- All these publications will also be available on the CMS website www.cms-uk.org, which will have a dedicated South America section embracing most of the material currently available on the SAMS website.

- SAMS supporters who wish to become members of the new Community will also receive the news and information publication Connect, which will, of course, include South America.

- The SAMS Prayer CD (or tape) will continue to be produced each quarter.

And on the road …The third Sheffield Area SAMS Roadshow is held on Friday 16 October at St Alban’s School, Wickersley, Rotherham, from 7:00-10:00 pm. Featuring the usual dynamic mix of South American food, dancing and presentations, the Roadshow will welcome among its speakers the Revd Mario Ágreda from Buenos Aires and Bishop Henry Scriven, CMS Mission Director for South America. More details from Bob Lunt on 0114 269 2070.

Dates and developments

‘Unbelievers… cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).

It’s all about the glory! Actually it’s about a lot of things, but it would be hard to sum up the purpose of mission much better than that we want human beings to have access to the very presence and glory of the God of creation. And that glory is seen in Jesus. “Where Jesus is preached the very glory of God shines through” (Christopher Wright, The Mission of God).

SAMS has preached this message and lived it for over 160 years and the results can be seen in the glorious witness of the Southern Cone churches. Now we have come to a new phase in our life as a Society. This is an exciting and challenging time for us. Integration with CMS is well on track and 1st February 2010 is the day when the New Joint Entity comes into being.

I have now worked in the CMS office in Oxford since the beginning of the year and can sincerely say that it has been a blessing for me. I don’t use that word lightly. I have been blessed by God, by the people of CMS, by the many advantages of being in a larger organisation and by seeing God at work in his world in many different ways.

To use a well worn cliché, this is only the beginning - the beginning of a new and exciting phase in the life of SAMS. There is so much more to be done and the potential for the witness of the Anglican Church in South America and of South American Christians in the rest of the world is enormous. We are stronger together with CMS and with SAMS International as we move forward, and we rely on your prayers and practical support during the coming transition and into the future. Thank you for all you have done and given in the past. Please stay with us into the future and continue to pray for the light of the knowledge of the glory of God to shine more brightly in what was once called (Lambeth ’68) ‘the neglected continent’.

Bishop Henry Scriven, Mission Director for South America


All about the glory

4 SHARE issue 4, autumn/winter 2009/10

Days to rememberNovember 2009 heralds two notable anniversaries, writes Bob Lunt. On the 6th we commemorate 150 years since one of the most tragic days in SAMS’ history, when missionary and crew of the Society’s schooner, Allen Gardiner, were massacred in Tierra del Fuego. And one week later we mark the 175th anniversary of Captain Allen Gardiner’s landing in Africa on his first missionary journey, a milestone to ponder at this time of integration between SAMS and CMS.

Massacre at WulaiaFollowing Gardiner’s death in 1851, ‘Hope deferred, not lost’ was the rallying cry of SAMS’ committee and supporters, as well as the title of a book by George Pakenham Despard, General Secretary and then missionary. Keppel Island in the Falklands was the scene of a ministry to Christianise the native Fuegians and to teach them useful crafts, and the ship was bought by the Society as a vital resource in the work. From Keppel in October 1859 she sailed for Wulaia on Navarin Island, Tierra del Fuego, with a crew of eight plus the Society’s catechist, Garland Phillips, and a number of returning Fuegians.

Arriving at the beginning of November, they set about completing work on a house by the shore and on Sunday 6th gathered inside it for worship, leaving only the cook,

Alfred Coles, on board ship. Coles was soon watching in horror as a band of Fuegians rushed into the service and attacked the party, killing Phillips and the seven crewmen as they tried to

escape. Coles jumped ship and rowed away in a boat. He came ashore and entered dense woods and for some days eluded observation, living on berries, mussels and limpets. Wet, cold and hungry, he fell in with some Fuegians, and though they “divided my clothes between them and gave me a coat of paint instead”, he found them caring and friendly. For four months he lived as one of them, until rescued by an American brigantine - under the same Captain Smyley who had first discovered the remains of the Gardiner expedition in 1851.

Coles lived into old age and always insisted that plunder was the reason for the massacre. The great SAMS missionary and bishop, Waite Stirling, discovered some of the bodies in 1864, including those of Phillips and Captain Fell, and gave them Christian burial. Five years later Stirling became the first outsider to live alone among the Fuegians, as divine grace, backed by resilient discipleship and gospel Alfred Coles in 1912, aged 75


teaching, were creating new lives, giving a foretaste of tremendous missionary endeavours to come across what is now the Province of the Southern Cone.

Allen Gardiner, Africa and CMSSixteen years before embarking on his ill-fated but landmark venture to Tierra del Fuego, Allen Gardiner had landed on another great continent, Africa, to carry out investigatory work among the Zulus. The date of his arrival in Table Bay was 13 November 1834, according to his book Journey to the Zoolu country (1836), so the 175th anniversary is near.

Gardiner seems to have journeyed independently, though one chronology of his life reports that in that same year he had undertaken tours for CMS accompanied by his brother-in-law. And according to the CMS archive, “It was Captain Allen Gardiner RN who first brought South Africa to the attention of the Society. He visited Dingaan, the Zulu chief, in 1834 and obtained permission for missionaries to be sent to them. On Gardiner’s return to England he spoke at the CMS anniversary meeting, and as a result Rev. Francis Owen offered to return with Gardiner. When the party got to Cape Town, a CM Association for the colony was formed. Owen and his wife and sister then journeyed to Dingaan’s town, arriving in August 1837. Within months, however, Dingaan’s killing of the Boers abruptly terminated the mission.

“Meanwhile CMS, unaware of what had happened, sent out a lay agent, W. Hewetson, and a surgeon, R. Philips, to join Owen. They agreed to try to work at Mosita, a site north of Grahamstown occupied earlier and then abandoned by the Paris Missionary Society. But that Society sent out fresh missionaries and CMS decided to withdraw entirely from the country.”

http://www.adam-matthew-publications.co.uk/digital_guides/church_missionary_society_archive_general/editorial%20introduction%20by%20rosemary%20keen.aspx

So, all these years later, reflects Bishop Henry Scriven, we are heirs of these pioneers in SAMS and CMS. Our paths will now combine for the glory of God and the continued spread of his Kingdom.

Chaco cheersThe last quarter of 2009 should see a double celebration in the town of Juárez in Northern Argentina’s Chaco area. The first is the consecration on 24 October of Nick Drayson as suffragan bishop for the indigenous churches of Northern Argentina. The second is the dedication, planned for early December, of the New Testament in Toba, fruit of many years’ work by Michael Browne and Toba translators Osvaldo, Hilario and José Manuel.

Dingaan, from ‘Journey to the Zoolu country’


Former missionary Virginia Patterson outlines how vital for Northern Argentina is the ministry of Siwok Crafts

“Archdeacon Isidro’s going blind and urgently needs a cataract op which will cost £1000!” said the email received at the team meeting of Siwok Crafts. It was wonderful to be able to send £500 immediately from the profit of sales of the crafts, just as we sent £1000 two years ago to cover the total cost of the operation needed by Pastor Rufino in Misión Chaqueña. These are just two examples of how your purchases of Siwok Crafts contribute annually about £6,000 towards the health and other needs of the Wichi people of Northern Argentina.

How many of you have got a wooden duck, woodpecker, key-ring or even a cheese-board, made in Misión Chaqueña? There must be many of these beautiful wooden items ‘at large’ in the British Isles, and they’ve been making a real difference to the lives of Chaco Indians for a long time. As a result of the late Bishop Bill Flagg’s vision and enthusiasm to help the people, the marketing of these wooden crafts by Alec Deane in Northern Argentina spread to the UK. But for Alec, the Wichi would not have been able to improve their standard of living or in many cases even stay alive. It has been publicly recognised that there are fewer deaths among the children of this one village, due mainly to their having more regular meals because their fathers are earning money by carving birds and animals.

In the past two years the business begun by Alec has gone through some major

problems in the workshop he had set up in Salta. This has meant that many Argentines now buy directly from the craftsmen in Salta and bypass those who live mainly in Misión Chaqueña. So the Wichi are more than ever dependent on sales to other countries, organised through Alec who has the contacts and ability to help them in this way.

But what can I do?


But what has this to do with you?Why should you bother with this one small village? Let Alec answer: “What has helped [us through this crisis] has been the export orders that came from you people [Siwok Crafts] plus a few others in Canada and US. The UK is our largest customer.” So the Wichi craftsmen rely on us to provide them with orders. These are imported to the UK, originally by Rosemary Tadman (Peridata) and then by Siwok Crafts after Bill Flagg retired. The crafts are sold mainly through Tearcraft reps, shops (including the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley and Hyde Hall), and by many individuals (like Rosemary Tadman) throughout the country. We are always looking for new outlets and people who will order crafts to sell within their church or community; could you be one of these? We really need more people willing to do something different for the Lord!

There’s another way we can all promote sales of Siwok Crafts and thereby help the Wichi to live with dignity. There’s probably a shop near you which sells wooden items of all kinds or craft items or Fair Trade products. Why not take a catalogue and ask whether they’d like to order any items? Maybe you could take an example of Siwok Crafts to show the quality of the work.

So here’s something you and I can do to make a positive difference to people’s lives, by buying something beautiful made by people who have so little but who are skilled in woodwork. If you

came to my house you’d be astonished to see the quantity of Siwok items in every room: birds, animals, photo-frames, penholders, banana stands, nativity scenes, crosses hung on the wall and new holding crosses (see front cover). The Wichi produce over 100 items ranging from the practical to the ornamental and include many that are suitable as presents. If you haven’t seen our catalogue, please ask for one by email to [email protected], phone 01280 823955 or Rosemary Tadman on 01342 322825. You can also buy online (www.siwok.org.uk) if you prefer; and a selection of items can be supplied on sale or return. All profits go to provide health care and a better life for the Wichi, since those who sell do so voluntarily and give their time and effort freely.

So whatever you choose to do, please remember that our aim is to bring help to the Wichi who are still struggling for their land rights and who, like Isidro and Rufino, will always be grateful for the help they receive from us all.

Partnering God at work“We are excited to be discovering Christ and working as if everything depended on us, knowing that everything depends on Him!” Gonzalo Soria in Fray Bentos, Uruguay.

“The Lord has much more to do, so let’s get on with it!” Ian & Siméa Meldrum, Olinda, Brazil.

Rufino and extended family say thank you


Bob Lunt visited Oxford to meet the man who is now General Secretary of SAMS as well as CMS.

Tim, tell us about yourself.I was born in East Africa and grew up mostly in Kenya. I came to faith in the UK, led by my father, and that faith gave me an understanding and a framework for how to live and serve. Now leading SAMS and CMS, I’m excited about how my Christian discipleship has unfolded.

Your family?I’m married to Sally and our children are Anna, who is 18, and Jonny, 14.

You’re clearly very enthusiastic about the merger with SAMS.I am very enthusiastic because it represents what’s going on all over the world. Discovering a new pattern for mission is required because of changes in how mission is developing, particularly as we’ve understood how we’re interconnected as a global church. Some areas are now recognised as sending as well as receiving centres for mission, and there’s a range of southern centres from which mission comes, rather than just people going to them from the north. So the merger represents on a smaller scale something happening on a global scale, and that’s why I’m committed to a united Society. Indeed, it’s based on the insight that it takes the Whole Church to bring the Whole Christ to the Whole World.

What can CMS offer the Latin American church?From our experience of mission we see the need to hear what God is saying through the South American context. God speaks in local languages – Asian languages, African languages, and therefore also Latin American languages. So listening is key - what is God saying through Latin America about himself and his world? What we can offer is space: we have a longstanding SAMS-shaped space in CMS and it’s wonderful that it will be filled by a South American mission we’ve grown to respect over many decades.

And what can the Latin American church offer the CMS world?It will be the Latin American perspective. Not only its liveliness and its priority for the poor, but also a long-term engagement with colonialism which helps us understand how conversion and culture are related. There’s the question of how Spanish and Portuguese have become part of people’s indigenous way of speaking, yet this is overlaid with local culture. Engaging with this puzzle produces a complex but rich viewpoint. The Latin American church and its mission provide a unique contribution to global mission.

Size matters. CMS is big, SAMS is small. Dangerous? Problematic?There are benefits in being smaller and in being larger: we’d like to take the benefits of both. Being large can be helpful, being smaller can provide a focus: I hope we can retain that. People committed to Latin

Tim Dakin: the man and his perspectivethe whole church sharing the whole Christ with the whole world


American mission will, I hope, feel that’s part of the CMS world as SAMS joins that broader picture. Also the wider world can feed into the SAMS focus and perspective.

How can CMS be informed about the SAMS world?We want people to engage with others. Those from Africa etc. need to meet with those passionate about South America, and viceversa. Cooperation is required to create a whole new blend for what it means to explore God’s mission and follow Christ. I’m still committed to the merger, despite the challenges we’ve been through in the process.

CMS has a membership; tell us about it and its implications for SAMS.CMS has been acknowledged by the Church of England as a Community of Mission; membership of this Community is a commitment to belong to Christ and make him known. It’s not about an institution, bureaucracy or signing a paper; it’s about

a way of life inherent to the way Jesus has called us all to follow, focused, accountable to him, and all in the context of fulfilling the Great Commission. As SAMS supporters explore membership, I hope they find that ‘the SAMS family’ is similar to what CMS calls ‘membership of a Community of Mission’, and we can all look forward to a new joint membership of a new Society.

Finally, what can we pray for?Key is understanding how we’re going to be part of the new Community of Mission; at Pentecost 2010 we have a major event for everyone (see page 20). Also, mission partners across the world are dependent on SAMS and CMS doing our jobs well; they need continued support and love in the future. In addition, there are GB staff directly affected by integration, with jobs discontinued, changed or expanded. Above all, pray that through this merger we may all be more effective in making the gospel known throughout the world.

The full interview with Tim features on the SAMS Prayer CD/Tape for October.

Tim Dakin: the man and his perspectivethe whole church sharing the whole Christ with the whole world

To glory - with gratitude from SAMSRevd Peter Wood, missionary in Chile from 1963-1972, died in July. He and his wife Evelyn had charge of St Paul’s School, Viña del Mar, and in that city started the Spanish-speaking church of San Pedro. Peter was also chaplain to St Peter’s English-speaking congregation.

Amy Nicholls, who served alongside her late husband Edgar in Chile and Brazil from 1965-1982, died in August. In the latter country they looked after the Boys’ Town orphanage near Petrópolis.


Richard Crofts talked to Chris Hawksbee about cross-cultural work in the Paraguayan Chaco

Chris, what’s new?Well, we broke down today on a journey back from the Chaco! But we were only delayed two hours.

Travel is a big part of your work?Yes, I visit five Indian communities or settlements, comprising villages of up to 50 families. I sit down with the church leaders and share pastoral advice, listen to ideas about how quality of life might be improved. It takes time; lightning visits are not productive. We drink tereré [cold herbal tea] and I usually take groceries and ask the pastor’s wife to cook a meal for us. Then we can sit and talk, and the wives and children feel able to join in the discussion. I’ve been called a ‘facilitator’, helping people to see their ideas become reality – and I want to share Christ’s love with them. Sometimes they ask for training, or maybe help with start-up funds for a project. It’s good to look with them at how God’s Kingdom can be present in their communities.

What are the challenges?Sometimes they try me out to see if they can

get a handout! Dependency is undignified and frustrates me; I try to help people in preparing a project, in how to present it and to be transparent in their request for funding. I learn a lot from people’s approaches and aspirations. Sometimes I can help, other times I link them with bigger organisations.

Agriculture features large in your ministry?Yes, but it’s been a bad year because of a long drought. Hopes of a good sesame crop were dashed; the plants grew but there was no weight in the seed, and then the prices were down to a quarter of last year’s. But the people will try again.

If the crops fail, how do the people live?Sometimes I just don’t know! They often have to work on ranches or in the Mennonite colonies, from where they send back groceries to the family. The families stay so the children don’t miss school. In good years they can grow sweet potatoes, manioc, melons, watermelons, maize and beans in their family plots. Then any money they have buys clothes, school items, even corrugated iron sheets for extending their house. It’s a hand-to-mouth existence, but I think the way we work alongside them does help.

What other areas do you help in?Beekeeping: again honey production has been low because of the drought. And housing: we’ve been teaching folk to make simple adobe dwellings, with a group of women and children among those making the mud-bricks. Each house is 12 x 8 feet and only costs £200 to put up. They also help reduce the incidence of chagas, South American sleeping sickness caused by the vinchuca, an insect common in poor housing.

Development on the spiritual frontline

Sesame plants


Among the beneficiaries is an entire clan of 40 adults and children previously living in one house. Church councils have helped: some houses were dedicated as clinics for the local health workers or a place where patients can receive treatment for TB until well enough to return home.

Did the drought end?Yes, after seven months we had rain which filled the water cisterns. And a European Union project, with Oxfam involvement, is drilling wells and we’ve been helping them source good water.

Let’s not forget your family.My wife Alison is teaching science full time at the Asunción Christian Academy. Benjamin, our youngest, is doing his first year of university here in Asunción; Hannah graduated in Illinois and will work on the lay team at All Souls, Langham Place; and Samuel is a civil engineer in Sheffield and might do a doctorate.

What can we pray for?First, against the Indian attitude of waiting to be served. We need the Holy Spirit to change attitudes in the church and from there to the community. Second, stumbling blocks in development can, I believe, be traced to a spiritual cause: a lot of people have left church and looked for godless solutions. Pray that teaching given in Study Weeks at Río Verde, particularly Bishop Peter Bartlett’s recent sessions on the spirit world and spiritual conflict, may be implemented by the pastors and leaders, passed on to their communities and create lasting attitudes against fear and superstition - and that the pastors might be able to counsel people appropriately. I find helping non-Christians in my work is very difficult – without the spiritual dimension it’s practically impossible. Pray too for rain, wells drilled and drinking water available.

Thank you for your prayers. We’re on the frontline and need them in order to transmit God’s love to the people.

Underground water cistern for harvesting rainwater


Peru growing“When I arrived in Peru in April 1998”, writes Bishop Bill Godfrey, “there were 4 Peruvian priests and one deacon, looking after 9 congregations. They were helped by two ordained missionaries from overseas. Now there is Anglican worship in 41 congregations, led by 24 priests, 8 deacons and 23 lay ministers; and in our two seminaries there are around 60 seminarians, preparing for the work to which God is calling them.

”This amazing growth has come about by an outpouring of God’s grace, for which we praise and thank him. Numerical growth must, of course, be matched by growth in faithfulness to Jesus, obedience to the Father’s will, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. As we prepare to push out in new mission, in the cities of Ica and Trujillo, it is so very encouraging for us to see that God is preparing his mission team ready for his new work.”

Ordinations this year included that of Ruben Mancilla (pictured second left) as priest-in-charge of the Mission of St Mary Magdalene in Juliaca on the altiplano (Peru’s highland region), near Lake Titicaca. Three auxiliary bishops have been authorised and will serve as missionary bishops in new and established areas.

Check out the new website of the Diocese of Peru at http://www.anglicanchurchperu.serifweb.com

In June the church of La Trinidad in Las Condes, Santiago, Chile, celebrated 25 years. Pastor Alf Cooper reflects and plans.

So many people contributed to a day which was, for Hilary and myself, the happiest of our ministry together, as it merged so many strands of the Lord’s masterful work here. We welcomed representatives of the church’s founders, of all the daughter churches La Trinidad has planted, and of the

mother church, Providencia. Every ministry of the church was represented too.

My first words that day were ¡All glory to Jesus! and that’s how we felt throughout the service. It struck me that I did not feel comfortable in any position - standing, sitting or kneeling.

Those 25 years are both a milestone and a threshold. We will go further! The enemy would like us out of the battle, out of the way, retired, defeated; but we renew our strength in the Holy Spirit and we’ll become ever more effective for God’s Kingdom.

Just as an atomic bomb detonates in a chain reaction from a very small nucleus, so the evangelistic explosion will reach our culture and our city!

For more about the church, see its website (in Spanish) www.latrinidad.cl.


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July 2009 marked a significant and historic event in the Anglican Church in João Pessoa, northeast Brazil. The leaders had been planning the 1st International Congress of Pastoral Theology of the Brazilian Anglican Church in that area.

In 1970, Stuart Broughton and his family, later joined by the Blankley family, were the first SAMS (GB) missionaries to be invited to begin a new outreach in northeast Brazil under the auspices of the Episcopal Church of Brazil. The denomination had been started many years before by American missionaries and had quite a strong presence in southern Brazil. Now Bishop Sherrill’s vision was to move further and further north, each time he himself being a pioneer bishop.

There had been a network of Anglican chaplaincy churches in strategic cities throughout Brazil, some over 150 years old, founded at the time when the Protestant faith was restricted by law to foreigners. One of these was in the city of Salvador, Bahia. This was where the bishop wanted to commence this new outreach.

Growth amid difficultiesThe Broughtons worked there for eight years with varying degrees of success. They were followed by others who often found Salvador quite a hard mission field. Later missionaries and a gifted Brazilian, Paulo Garcia, moved to the next city of Recife and started evangelising. The church grew, but as often happens in Brazil there were difficulties, disputes and church splits. The latest occurred around the same time as the controversy in the worldwide Anglican

Communion over sexuality. This resulted in the Province of Brazil excommunicating the evangelical Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti and most of the clergy of the northeast. These now rely heavily on support and encouragement from the Primate of the Southern Cone, Archbishop Greg Venables, as well as similar new dioceses which have been set up to oppose perceived liberal practices that go against orthodox Anglican doctrine.

Capable leaders, exciting projectsStuart was surprised and delighted to receive an invitation to the July Congress. He was asked to be the final speaker and spent just over a week in the beautiful city of João Pessoa, which had grown so much over the last 35 years. He couldn’t help being thrilled by the various mentions of the early beginnings and SAMS’ involvement. People came from other cities and there were international speakers too, including the Rev. Dr. Andrew Angel, son of former SAMS Area Secretary Gerry Angel. The most exciting part was to see the very capable, well-trained young men and women already working, few of whom receive salaries

SAMS pioneer thrilled by Brazilian progress


from the church. There are a further 14 students in the seminary and no shortage of gifted people ready to serve in various categories. There are exciting self-help projects supported with local church funds. One in particular at St Stephen’s Church, 40 kilometres away, is a market garden project expanding to supply city supermarkets.

Mission everywhereStuart feels very humble and grateful to God to have been invited to see some of the fruits of his 15 years’ service in South America and gives glory to God that it is an ongoing work. On the long return journey

to Australia, where he and Kathryn now serve, he sat next to a young Brazilian girl who was finding it difficult to cope. They talked, he offered her a book explaining the gospel message and in Sydney helped her negotiate customs and immigration in transit to Brisbane with her two suitcases and three surfboards!

The young man with Stuart in the photo is one of the clergy. There are others in training and those who cannot yet raise the finance. If you feel you’d like to know more or contribute financially, please contact SAMS (GB).

March in June is step forward for PeruIn July the Congress of Peru’s Committee for the Constitution unanimously approved a move to establish a law of Religious Freedom and Equality. The previous month Anglicans, led by Bishop Bill Godfrey, had joined over 15,000 Protestants who marched to the Congress building in Lima.

It is hoped the proposed legislation will give Protestants the right to have chaplains in hospitals, schools, prisons and the armed forces, enable children to have a religious education other than Catholic, tax exemptions, and to enter into agreements with the state on issues such as education, relief and development. “Attitudes will have to change”, says Bishop Bill, “but there has been a huge step forward. For example, the possibility of the state paying for our school teachers, as happens with the Catholic Church, would be an enormous benefit.”


Globecrossers …Latin Partner Mario Ágreda from Argentina spends October in the UK. Please keep his wife Paula and children Manuel and Maite in your prayers as they remain in Buenos Aires.

Separated for a longer period are Marcus & Tamara Throup. Between September and December Tamara is home in Brazil finishing her postgraduate course in Psychology, while Marcus is at Belfast Bible College undertaking a postgraduate sabbatical course in Theological Education.

Andrew & Maria Leake and family (Northern Argentina) come to the UK in December for two months, as do Linn Tedman and Caroline Gilmour-White (Paraguay).

Wendy Power is in the Paraguayan Chaco as a short term volunteer helping fellow-nurse Beryl Baker.

Henry Scriven, Mission Director for South America, visits the continent from 18-30 October. He’ll be going to Ecuador and Brazil, as well as attending Nick Drayson’s consecration and the Provincial meetings of the Southern Cone in Northern Argentina in company with Tim Dakin.

… and others on the moveRonald & Nicky Irene move capital cities early in 2010. They’ll be handing over their ministry in La Paz, Bolivia, to local leaders and moving to Paraguay to work with two congregations in Asunción, those of Cristo Salvador in Villa Guaraní and the mainly young people’s evening congregation in the cathedral church of San Andrés.

Ruth & Efraim Vilella are moving to Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. Ruth hopes to work in a project there and pay a monthly visit to the Casa da Esperança (House of Hope) project in Recife where she has worked since 2003.

James Palmer has completed his service in Chile. James, who lectured at the Centre for Pastoral Studies (CEP) in Santiago, is based in Cambridge until Christmas; we thank him and wish him well in the next stage of life.

Claire Holmes (pictured) completes her service in Paraguay in December after four years as a volunteer and then nine as a mission partner based in Concepción. We praise God for her ministry to children and young people.

John Wigfield has also moved on from SAMS service. John served initially in Chile with his wife Angela and was latterly based in the UK as SAMS’ Theological Resource Consultant. Again, many thanks to them for their work and fellowship.

Bob Lunt and his daughter/PA Elizabeth leave SAMS on 31 December when the Mission Education office and library in Sheffield close and their contents move to the CMS offices in Oxford.

The Ágredas


Arrival: We praised the Lord for a good flight, with spontaneous applause for the pilot on landing! Our ‘home’ is the church hall at Roque Alonso on the outskirts of Asunción. We have dormitory accommodation and outside toilets which double as shower rooms. Sometimes the water’s hot!

Saturday: Visited church in the neighbourhood of Zeballos Cue where local children were provided with a free meal as on every Saturday. They welcomed us and we sang to them accompanied by our accordion and violin! We then went over to San Lorenzo church where there are plans for a proper building; at present they worship in the space between two buildings using a wooden hut for shelter when it rains but which is nowhere near big enough to accommodate all the congregation. Do pray for this church, great on faith and outreach but with so little else. We have a lot to learn! We came to give the sewing club, set up during Mission Paraguay 2008, a boost by bringing 3 or 4 new machines and material and to offer spectacles to those who needed them. In Remansito we saw 60 people in two hours and found suitable glasses for almost all.

Tuesday: Storm with hailstones the size of walnuts, so fierce that the corrugated iron roof was dented in places!

The rest of the week followed a similar pattern with a visit on Thursday morning to Mirador church a few kilometres from Roque Alonso for children’s club and in Remansito the boys did a Hip Hop dance wearing the combat trousers they made in the sewing workshop. In the afternoons we were involved with the Toy Library which has a vast range of toys for toddlers and children up to about 10. Some don’t know

Mission Paraguay 2009In July and August two teams of volunteers with ages ranging from 19 to 77 each spent three weeks in Paraguay helping with youth and children’s work, social projects and church building. Here are some extracts from the diary of one of the teams …

Free lunch at Zeballos Cue

Sewing a bag


A warm Chilean welcomeShort term volunteer Rebecca Rimmer sent us her early impressions of Santiago.The first thing I noticed was the warmth of the people – every person I’ve met has taken the time to ask me my name and welcome me with a kiss! The snow-covered Andes are absolutely stunning but as it’s midwinter it’s extremely cold. No-one has central heating and so we wear our coats inside!

After a week settling in I’ve started working in a small school run by a Christian organisation called OPTE, whose vision is for every child to have equal opportunities in education and therefore ultimately to reduce poverty. OPTE is led by Ryan Cooper, son of Pastor Alf Cooper. The rest of the time I’ll be helping with English lessons and in the Kindergarten class. The children are poor but incredibly loveable - and we’re allowed to hug them (very different from England!).

I’m living with two lovely Christian ladies from Alf’s church, La Trinidad, and look forward to getting involved there too. I’m finding it difficult to understand the strong Chilean accent (after A-level pure Spanish!), but ¡gracias a Dios! I’m starting to feel at home.

how to play with toys at all and have to be encouraged to start, but once they get the hang of it they’re away! The scheme is run by FEISA, the Teacher Training College, using play to stimulate children’s ability to learn.

Time to go! We had mixed feelings about leaving the camp. We all get on so well and really gelled as a team. We shall remember our ‘home’ for many years to come: the kindness of everyone who served our needs; the greenery; the red earth of the football pitch; the birds - one even roosted half in, half out of our roof and made fearful noises every morning at 7.30 getting out; the constant noise at night of dogs barking; vehicle noises, particularly exhausts, as they battled their way up the hill on their way to the Chaco; cockerels who didn’t seem to know when they were supposed to crow so did so at all times of day and night; the cold, below zero one night, but the clear blue of the sky when it was cloudless; and the last Sunday in a cold church after one of the coldest nights of the year, with the doors open and our warmest clothes on enjoying a service that lasted 2½ hours! But excellent fellowship as a real sense of being part of the same family: brothers and sisters in the LORD.

It’s been very encouraging to see and take part in the work. Please pray for it to grow and develop through the many faithful Paraguayan Christians we’ve met.


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Keeping CountRejoicing in perplexityMany things in life are difficult to explain, confusing, complex or baffling. But one of the great privileges as Christians is to know that the Lord knows what he’s doing. As we trust in Jesus, the same yesterday, today and forever, we know the future is secure.It seems strange that this issue of SHARE is the last one produced by SAMS GB. But it’s good to remember the wonderful truth that God is building his church and he may not always decide to use mission agencies. Indeed, all who trust in the Lord Jesus should be mission agents and mission-focused, whether agencies exist or not.As I reflect on the finances of SAMS over many years, although there have been times of difficulty and testing, the overwhelming theme is of praise and thanksgiving for the Lord’s provision. There have been times when we have faced financial challenges and potential nightmares, but he who calls is faithful. I can testify to seeing God answer various financial needs in amazing ways, often beyond human understanding.As we give thanks to God, may we know his

Spirit’s guidance in our personal stewardship and in that of those entities he will use to serve his growing Worldwide Church. At the beginning of this financial year, SAMS Trustees approved an expenditure budget of £1.3m. For the first 7 months, we thank God that £502,000 of income has been received from supporters. If this trend continues, however, SAMS will end the year with a deficit of over £300,000, seriously affecting our capacity for ministry in future years. Everyone is struggling in the financial downturn, but please pray God will meet our needs; and we ask everyone to consider their giving in response to this situation.I was challenged recently at the Keswick Convention during a Bible reading from 1 Kings 17. Many things are perplexing, but as we press on towards the goal, we trust the Lord and Saviour, whom to know is life and perfect freedom. Let’s follow Paul’s exhortation, as we face the closure of the present SAMS entity, and ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (Phil 4:4).I have just received a letter from a SAMS supporter referring to Eph 1:3 – what an appropriate way to end an article about SAMS’ finances! Praise God.

Philip Tadman, Finance Director, SAMS GB

Exciting plans are afoot for Pentecost 2010. A nationwide city tour, including cyclists going from place to place, will culminate in a national celebration in Oxford. All the events will centre around the inspiring and calling of the Church to renew our commitment to mission. We will also be celebrating the new joint CMS and SAMS community and recommitting ourselves, in the power of God’s Spirit, to follow a mission lifestyle wherever we may live.

National Celebration: 22 May 2010This will be held at the King’s Centre, Oxford, on Saturday 22 May, addressed by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. It will begin at midday and run until around 6 pm, and will feature encouraging stories of mission work in different regions of the world, culminating in a celebratory service at 4 pm. Among the guests will be Alf Cooper, SAMS mission partner from Chile, who will also address some of the regional gatherings along the cycle route.

Tour de CMS/SAMS: 9 - 22 May 2010A team of cyclists will ride between selected SAMS and CMS churches around the country in the two weeks leading up to the event in Oxford. Members of the wider CMS/SAMS community are invited to join the evening services which will take place at the end of each day’s ride, and to cycle for one day, a few legs of the journey or even for the whole distance. All cyclists taking part will be encouraged to raise sponsorship for both CMS’ and SAMS’ work.

Bishop Henry Scriven will launch the tour by cycling from Hull to York on Sunday 9 May and the challenge will reach its climax when the team cycles into Oxford on 22 May. Anyone interested in cycling part or all of the tour should contact Chris Woo at the CMS office (email [email protected] or phone 01865 787517).

The h e a r t

of the tour and of

the celebratory services at each

stopping point will be to challenge us all to recommit

ourselves to mission and living a mission lifestyle, dedicated to sharing

Jesus and changing lives where we are and throughout the world.

What it doesn’t say on the tinThe church of Fray Bentos opened for worship on 2 October 1869 for British workers at the famous meat factory. Shortly after wards chaplain John Shiells set off to visit the British farms, at one time covering 50 miles on one horse in five hours! Now serving the Uruguayan community and led by SAMS Latin Partner Gonzalo Soria, the church is celebrating its 140th anniversary.

Community Celebrations

share magazine 2009 - issue 4 autumn

Documents

sams website

sams supporters

transfer of sams

sams prayer cd

share issue

issue of share

south american mission

cms prayerlines