Family Radio Mission to Montevideo, Uruguay
May 22th June - 2nd, 2008
LETTER #1
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (I Corinthians 1:21)
Friday, May 23, 2008. Our group of 18 “Ambassadors for Christ” (12 men and 6 women) from various parts of the US has arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay on another Family Radio tract distribution trip. Seven members arrived yesterday and the rest today.
We plan to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the people here during the next nine days by distributing thousands of the Family Radio Does God Love You? tracts and hundreds of Bibles in the Spanish language. As is customary on these trips, the Spanish tracts were printed locally and contain (1) the current Family Radio broadcasting schedules for this area, (2) School of the Bible information (which offers free correspondence courses in English and Spanish), and (3) a reference to the multilingual website. The Bibles have been purchased here as well.
We currently have 150,000 tracts in our hotel and have ordered 50,000 more for delivery on next Wednesday. We also ordered 260 Spanish Bibles and can order more as needed. We also have many booklets and CDs of Family Radio’s Bible teaching materials in Spanish and over 1,000 tracts and some booklets in Portuguese, which is the principal language of neighboring Brazil, and also tracts and booklets in English. Some members of the group brought the Family Radio materials as checked baggage.
Uruguay is located on the east coast of South America. It is bounded by Brazil on the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean on the southeast and south, and Argentina on the west. With a population of about 3.4 million, it is the fourth smallest country by population and the third smallest by area of the 13 countries on the continent of South America.
Montevideo is the capital city and the main population center with about 1.3 million people in the city proper and over 1.8 million in the greater metropolitan area. Since it is located about as far south of the equator as Atlanta, Georgia is north, it is late autumn here now; and the weather is cool.
Montevideo is also the principal seaport located on the southern coast, which is actually the north shore of an estuary of a large river named “Rio de la Plata” (Silver River). The estuary is about 170 miles long, and its mouth opens to about 140 miles wide where it joins the Atlantic Ocean, thus making it the widest estuary in the world.
Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Its natural harbor soon developed into a commercial center competing with Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires. Uruguay’s early 19th century history was shaped by ongoing conflicts between the British, Spanish, Portuguese, and colonial forces for dominance in the Argentina Brazil Uruguay region.
Spanish is the official language of Uruguay, and is spoken by almost all of the population. A mixed Spanish Portuguese dialect called “Portuñol” or “Brazilero” is also spoken. The literacy rate is very high, and some estimates place it at more than 95% for people aged 15 and over.
Uruguay is considered to be South America’s most secular country. It has no official religion. Church and state are separate, and religious freedom is guaranteed. Estimates vary, but about 62% of Uruguayans identify with the Roman Catholic church, about 4% are associated with other Christian denominations, and about 3% are Jewish. The remaining 31% are members of other religions and many profess no religious faith whatsoever. Macumba and Umbanda, of Afro Brazilian origin, are currently the fastest growing religions in Uruguay due to immigration from Brazil.
We are looking forward to sharing the Good News of the Gospel with the people of Uruguay, and we are praying that God will grant repentance unto salvation to many in this part of the world.
And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. (Luke 4:43)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #2
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: (Hebrews 12:28)
Saturday, May 24, 2008. This was our first full day of tract distribution, but our work was hampered by inclement weather cold and windy with rain showers. The relatively few people who were out on the streets downtown were hurrying along carrying umbrellas and most kept their hands in their pockets to keep warm. Consequently, the acceptance rate was moderate to fair (less than 50 percent). The people who do not take the tracts merely walk on by without showing any animosity toward us or the tracts they apparently are just not interested in learning anything about God or His Word.
Several teams worked at different places along the main street called "July 18" that runs through the central part of Montevideo, but the volume of people was low due to the weather and the fact that regular business traffic is slower on Saturday.
One team went to a large bus terminal but was not allowed to distribute on the property by security personnel, and that prevented access to most of the people transferring between buses inside and catching taxis on the terminal property. As they worked their way back to the hotel along the main street, they found a fairly busy Saturday morning fruit and vegetable market that occupied about 3 or 4 blocks on a closed off street. The acceptance rate was a little better in the market than on the main street.
Another team went to a large Saturday market on the edge of the city, and hundreds of vendors had just finished setting up their stalls and tents in anticipation of a good day of business. All manner of produce, foodstuffs, clothing, jewelry, electronic gadgets, and a variety of other items were for sale.
Normally the market is packed with thousands of customers and tourists, but attendance was greatly reduced due to the inclement weather and many vendors closed up early. Nevertheless, overall acceptance of the tracts was quite good, and we thank the Lord for the opportunity to distribute the precious Gospel of Christ to the people there.
Several teams reported meeting people who listen to Family Radio daily programming on a local secular station (1090 AM), and many were happy to receive FR additional materials, including the Spanish version of "We Are Almost There." We learned that the station is broadcasting several hours of "Bible Reading Fellowship," "Family Bible Study," "Open Forum," and reading of the book "Time Has an End." One of our Spanish speaking members talked to a listener from Brazil who was very grateful for some books and tracts in Portuguese to share with people in his home town.
Overall, we had a pretty good day of distribution in spite of the weather, and we are looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us tomorrow. We are praying for better weather and higher distribution rates in the coming days, and that God will open many doors to the True Gospel in this part of the world.
"If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” (John 12:26)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #3
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)
Sunday, May 25, 2008. By God's grace, we had beautiful weather for tract distribution today. It was sunny and warm, and many more people were out and about than yesterday. All of our teams worked in and around a number of Sunday street markets called "ferias," which are basically "flea markets" where vendors sell everything imaginable from live animals to bicycle parts. The vendors set up stalls and tents on blocked off streets at various locations in Montevideo, and thousands of shoppers stroll through the markets until evening when everything is torn down and hauled away.
The tract distribution rate was significantly higher than yesterday due to the greater volume of people, and all the teams experienced a somewhat higher acceptance factor maybe 50 to 60 percent. However, the discard factor here seems to be higher than we have seen in other Latin American countries.
Some of those who do take the time to read the tracts have shown an interest in learning more about the message presented, especially the 2011 dates for the Rapture and the end of the world, and that provides opportunities to give them additional information about Family Radio and the time line of God's salvation and judgment program as explained in the "We Are Almost There" study and other Family Radio booklets.
Several people who received a free Bible were extremely grateful. One member gave a Bible to an old man dressed in well worn clothes who could not believe the Bible was free. He tried to pay for it with the only money he had a few coins with tears in his eyes, but when the money was refused, he gave our member a big hug and many thanks. We like to tell the people that the Bible is a gift from God, just like salvation.
We experience several such heart warming encounters every day as God sends people our way to encourage us. One member saw a young girl reading a tract out loud to her grandmother at a busy bus stop near a large shopping mall today. At the same time, a group of teenagers nearby were mocking the tracts, tearing them up, and throwing them down. The girl seemed oblivious to all that, and she just kept on reading to her grandmother, who kept on listening intently.
We pray that God has many people in this city whom He is drawing to eternal life by the power of the Gospel.
“So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” (I Corinthians 3:7)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #4
“That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,” (Luke 1:74)
Monday, May 26, 2008. Today was cloudy and cool with no rain, and our tract distribution progressed at a fairly good rate everywhere we worked. All teams reported about the same acceptance factor as yesterday (50 to 60 percent) but with quite a few discards put into trash cans and dropped on the ground. We try to keep them picked up and recycled as best we can, but it gets to be a time-consuming exercise in some locations.
Since many people take a tract, read it for a few seconds, and drop it, we can see why Uruguay is considered to be the most secular country in South America. In general, the people are not very religious and show very little interest in the God of the Bible. We get the impression that that most of them do not know if God loves them and do not care if He does or not. In that respect, the general attitude in Montevideo seems to be a lot like most big cities in the US and Europe where our group members have distributed Does God Love You? tracts.
We read somewhere that the people of Uruguay enjoy a high standard of living compared to other South American countries, and that might explain the reason why very few of the well-dressed business people in this city take the tracts. On the other hand, one member came upon a group of about 30 construction workers taking a lunch break today, and all but one or two accepted the tract. We find that kind of high acceptance rate by the less affluent people to be the case in nearly every country we have worked in Latin America, and we hope that was an indication of the reception we will have in the poorer areas of this city and the smaller towns that we plan to visit.
However, many thousands of tracts have been taken and kept by the people during our time here in spite of the lukewarm reception, and we thank the Lord for that. We take comfort in the knowledge that God is control, and that we are just unprofitable servants doing that which is our duty to do (Luke 17:10).
Our teams worked outside of a couple large hospitals, four universities, a shopping mall, and a central bus terminal today. We attempted to obtain permission to distribute inside those facilities, but we were unsuccessful at every location, which is further evidence of the secular nature of this city. We learned that the best times to catch the students are at 7:00 to 8:00 am and 3:00 to 4:00 pm when they arrive at the beginning of the two main shifts of classes, and we plan to send send out teams at those times to cover all the universities during the next few days.
To close on a positive note, a long-time Family Radio listener helped our group leader obtain permission to visit a large men's prison on Wednesday, and we ordered 265 more Bibles for that purpose.
Please pray for God's hand of protection and guidance upon us as we proclaim the True Gospel of salvation here and for His perfect will to be accomplished in the hearts of the Uruguayan people. We know God has a purpose for bringing us here, and we rejoice that He has given us this privilege to serve Him in this country
“In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.” (Luke 1:75)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #5
“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” (Isaiah 44:8)
Tuesday, May 27, 2008. We had good weather again today and another productive day of tract distribution. People apparently have had some time to read and discuss the very important message on the Does God Love You? tract and are showing a somewhat greater interest in learning more about the Gospel of Christ and the ministry of Family Radio. That gives us opportunities to give them some Bible-teaching materials and tell them about the Family Radio programming on the local secular station (1090 AM). All teams reported an improvement in the overall acceptance factor as well.
One team went out before 7:00 am to distribute to the students entering two universities for the morning classes, and many tracts were given out. That team then took a half-hour taxi ride to a less-affluent outlying town called Cerro where they experienced excellent acceptance of the tracts (over 90 percent). The people were friendly, and they met a woman Family Radio listener to whom they gave some Family Radio booklets. She said she had been thinking about requesting the “Wheat and Tares” study and was delighted to receive a copy of that book from the team.
On the bus ride back, a man read the tract for awhile and handed it back to one of the Spanish-speaking team members. When asked why he did not want it, he said, “What is it about?” Our man explained that it was about the Gospel of salvation and that the verses on the tract were from the Bible. The man apparently had little or no knowledge of the Bible, and when he learned that it was the Word of God that tells mankind about eternal life and eternal damnation, he asked for the tract back and got off the bus. Could it be that he is one of the “great multitude” whom God is saving in these last days of the Great Tribulation period?
The four other teams worked at various places along the busy “July 18” street that runs through the central part of the city. The city is on a peninsula surrounded by water, and the “Cuidad Vieja” (Old City) area is at the western end of “July 18.” That area is picturesque tourist attraction with many shops and restaurants that were quite busy today. Most of the tourists at this time of year are from other countries in South America, and the acceptance of the tracts was high by the tourists and the locals in that area.
Two of our men met a man who has been a Family Radio short-wave listener for many years. He invited our members to his home and showed them some materials in Spanish that he had collected over the years. He even gave our Spanish-speaking man an extra copy of a Family Radio Short Wave Bulletin from 1983 that showed pictures of the WYFR facility being constructed at Okeechobee, Florida. It is always a great blessing to us when we meet other members of the Family Radio family in nearly every country we visit on these trips.
We received the order for 50,000 more tracts and the order for 260 more Bibles today, and we plan to take those Bibles to the men’s prison tomorrow. We thank God for all the tracts that went out today and pray that He will use His Word in the hearts of these dear Uruguayan people according to His perfect will.
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #6
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008. The weather was cold (low 50s F), very windy, and overcast with scattered showers today, but we had a wonderful day of tract distribution in spite of the weather. All of our teams reported good acceptance rates, and most handed out full backpack loads of tracts as well as some Bibles and booklets.
Two teams went to smaller suburb areas (Las Piedras and Paso Molino) where they worked at busy bus stops and markets and reported about 60 to 70 percent acceptance. As we had hoped, the people in the smaller communities seem to be more receptive to the tracts as compared to what we have experienced in the central part of Montevideo. Two other teams worked in busy areas in the central part of the city and were able to empty out due to the high volume of foot traffic there. They also reported fewer discards, which was an encouraging sign.
The team that visited the men’s prison submitted the following report:
“Our team of three men and one woman took a 35-minute taxi ride outside the city of Montevideo a sprawling prison complex called COMCAR. We brought about 6,500 tracts, 285 Bibles, and hundreds of Family Radio Bible-teaching booklets for the 4,000-plus inmates, the hundreds of prison employees, and visitors.
“When we arrived at the principal checkpoint, they took our passports, searched the men in the group, and then we were escorted to the Director’s office with whom the group leader had made contact last Monday. He had notified the prison staff about our visit today, and about a dozen of the Christian leaders, who are themselves inmates, were waiting to help us with the materials and take us around the huge complex, which has seven large cell blocks called “modules.”
“We were warmly greeted by the inmate leaders in charge of every cell block, and it seemed that there is indeed a great hunger for the Gospel amongst the leaders as well as the other inmates. They even carried the boxes of Bibles and stacks of tracts as we apportioned them for each 3-story module.
“It was depressing to see the miserable living conditions in that institution. There were four or five inmates packed into tiny, damp cells with no light, heat, or beds. Some could only peep through a little slot to receive the tracts and Bibles. The hallways were dark and wet. There was excrement everywhere, flies in swarms, sewage running in open ditches on the concrete floors, and potholes everywhere. There was no showers and no hot water for washing. The men just washed themselves and their ragged clothes in buckets of cold water, and the cold wind blew right through the cell blocks. Food was served from a big pot into bowls stuck out through the bars of each cell. To sum it all up, the squalid conditions were similar to what they must have been like in medieval dungeons.
“We also gave Bibles, tracts, and booklets to many of the prison guards, and told the spiritual leaders to share some of the materials with their families when they visit. The spiritual leaders were very appreciative of the efforts that we made to bring the True Gospel and the warning of Christ’s imminent return. We know that this prison will never be the same again, and we are grateful for God’s providence and the door of utterance that He has provided.
“We are thankful the Lord has used us, who were once spiritual prisoners, to bring this message of hope to those desperate men. We are praying that God’s hand of mercy will touch them, give them new hearts, and set them free with the peace that passes all understanding as they read the tracts and study the Bibles they have received.”
“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law;
fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.” (Isaiah 51:7)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #7
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Thursday, May 29, 2008. The weather was cold (low 50s F) and very windy like yesterday. It was mostly sunny today, but the wind chill feels like about 40 F. Since winter is approaching here, the season is equivalent to late November in the northern hemisphere. Many of the locals are bundled up in heavy winter parkas, cool caps, heavy gloves, and some wear scarves over their faces like it is below zero; but we had another good day of tract distribution in spite of the weather conditions that keep many people from venturing out.
Three teams took highway buses for 1.5 to 2 hours to three different cities to the east and west (La Paz, Maldenado, and San Jose), and each experienced high acceptance rates (80-90 percent) in those places. In addition, they each reported meeting people who listen to Family Radio programming on the Montevideo station (1090 AM). It must be a fairly powerful station to reach those outlying cities, and we are always glad to talk to those people and give them booklets. We seem to have encountered more listeners here than on any other trip in recent memory.
The experiences of the traveling teams were similar in that they arrived at their destinations about 10:30 to 11:00 am and found most of the shops closed and very few people on the streets until activity started picking up around 1:00 pm. Consequently, those cities did not offer high-volume tract distribution opportunities and the fact that our time at each location was limited, but we are grateful for the number of tracts that did go out and pray that God will use them for His honor and glory in the lives of the people there.
Two teams worked in several suburb areas (or barrios), and one came upon a large flea market (or feria) on closed-off streets where there were hundreds of vendors and shoppers. Much to their delight, they found the acceptance was higher than normal in those places.
Our group leader received permission today to visit a women’s prison with about 300 inmates, and he plans to distribute 20 or so Bibles, tracts and other materials there tomorrow (Friday).
We praise and thank God for His wonderful provision and the fact that the work is progressing well. Please continue to pray for a mighty work of grace in the hearts of these dear people of Uruguay.
“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me;
yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #8
“And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7))
Frisday, May 30, 2008. We thank God for giving us another very productive day of tract distribution. Once again the weather was cold (low 50s F) but mostly sunny and not quite as windy as yesterday.
Two teams took 45-minute bus rides to two different cities (Colon and Canelones) where the acceptance rates were high (80-90 percent); and they met some more people in both of those cities who listen to Family Radio programming on the local AM station. One of our members in Canelones encountered a large group of police officers (possibly police cadets) walking two abreast and was able to hand out about 60 tracts in one minute as they rapidly passed by in formation. Nearly all of them took a tract and kept it.
One team went out early in the dark and cold to two universities, but the number of tracts distributed and the acceptance factors were lower than they experienced at the other two universities earlier this week. They then worked in several rundown suburb areas (or barrios) that had trash everywhere, and all the fenced-in houses had one or more barking dogs for protection. Not many people were outside the homes, but for those who were, the reception was nearly 100 percent; and the team was able to give out several Bibles and booklets to the needy residents there.
This city has many trash-recycling people patrolling the streets with horse-drawn carts, and those were the areas where they lived with their horses. We always offer tracts to those people as they slowly pass by; and, almost without exception, they eagerly take the tracts and immediately begin reading them.
That team finished the day in the town of Cerro, where they had been last Tuesday, and they experienced the same very good acceptance of the tracts, the low discard factor, and the high distribution rates there.
With regard to the discard factor, we have learned that the people’s tendency to drop the tracts on the ground is not necessarily intended to be insulting to us or the tract message. It seems to be part of the culture here to casually drop all kinds of unwanted stuff – like candy wrappers, food containers, plastic bottles, and similar items – just about everywhere instead of putting it into trash cans. Consequently, there are numerous people constantly sweeping up the trash on the streets all over this city and the other towns we have visited.
Our group leader and one of our Spanish-speaking members took 48 Bibles, about 300 tracts, and some Bible-teaching materials to the women’s prison this morning. The prison officials were very appreciative of those gifts, and promised to distribute them to the women there.
Again, we praise and thank God for His guidance and protection, and the fact that the work is continuing at a rapid pace. We are looking forward to what He has planned for us to do during our last two days of distribution in this country and are praying that He will grant repentance unto salvation to His chosen people in this part of the world.
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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” (Luke 4:18)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay
LETTER #9
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 15:57)
Saturday, May 31, 2008. This letter covers our activities for the last two days in Uruguay. It was mostly sunny but chilly again today (low 50s F); and, by God’s grace, we had another productive day of tract distribution.
All teams worked in the usual busy locations in Montevideo today such as the Saturday street markets (or ferias), a hospital, a school, a large bus terminal, an amusement park; and the overall acceptance was about 50 to 60 percent as in the past.
We met some more Family Radio listeners again today, and they are always grateful for the Bible-teaching booklets we give them. One lady listener, who speaks fluent Spanish and English, asked for a supply of tracts and materials to distribute and came to the hotel today to pick them up. She was born somewhere in South America and used to work in the US as a Spanish teacher and translator.
Sunday, June 1, 2008. Today was a beautiful calm and sunny fall day on which to finish our work here. We distributed the remaining materials and about 12,000 tracts at some of the large Sunday markets (or ferias), and other busy places in Montevideo.
Our group leader encountered the same lady who picked up a supply of tracts from him at the hotel yesterday as she was distributing them in one of the markets. We are praying that God will raise up more faithful men and women to continue the work of proclaiming the True Gospel in this country after we leave.
The large crowds of people and good acceptance allowed most of the teams to finish by 1:00 pm; and we enjoyed an afternoon of rest and private Bible study prior to our departure tomorrow. By God’s mercy and grace, we have been able to distribute 200,000 Does God Love You? tracts and about 525 Bibles in the Spanish language to the people of Uruguay on this trip.
The following incidents are just two examples we have seen of how God is working to spread the True Gospel of salvation in the world today:
A young business woman waiting in the lobby of our hotel today gladly accepted a Does God Love You? tract in English from one of our lady members after a brief conversation. Although she had been raised in the Muslim religion in Tunisia, she was very interested in learning about the Gospel of Christ. She even encouraged us to consider visiting her country (which is situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa) to distribute tracts and Bibles like we were doing here. Since she did not have a Bible, our lady member gave her own personal English Bible to the young woman and pointed her to the Family Radio website information on the back of the tract.
Secondly, a man and his wife refused a tract in a large market, but their son of about 14 years of age gladly accepted it and immediately began reading it as he walked along behind his parents. About two hours later, the young man was seen picking up discarded tracts; and, when asked why he was doing that by our group member, he smiled and said he was going to share them with students at his school.
May our gracious Lord have mercy upon the young lady from Tunisia and the young man in the market according to His perfect will.
All of us are thankful that God has given us the desire, the capabilities, the resources, and the time to serve Him on this wonderful trip; and we are rejoicing that God gave us many interesting personal experiences and caused everything to run so smoothly. We are praying that He will accomplish His good pleasure in the lives of many of these dear Uruguayan people for His honor and glory.
We are also very grateful for God’s provision, guidance, and protection during our time in here in Uruguay; and we wish to thank the listeners and supporters of Family Radio for their prayers and financial support that make these mission trips possible. We consider our being Ambassadors for Christ in this manner a great privilege and honor and highly recommend it to others
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“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:13-14)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Uruguay