-Iglesia

Presbiteriana
Refofll1ada
Report from the Mission Field
by Rev. William Farr
BUENA FE, June 30, 2008
DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS
OF THE RPCUS
Greetings in the lovely Name of Jesus: "Grace to
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ." All of the brethren of the Church in
Buena Fe greet you.
VVe do thank the Lord for His continuous blessings
upon us, His watchcare over us at all times. It is
hard to believe that a month has past since we
were in the States. VVe have been busy trying to
get things rolling again. Certainly the memory
of the two months we spent in the States will
remain with us for a long time. I can truly say
with the psalmist "It is good for me that I have
been afflicted" CPs. 119: 71). I thank the Lord
for allowing us all the wonderful times spent with
you all and permitting us such good fellowship.
It was so refreshing for us, both physically and
spiritually.
Our return trip was much better, no delays and
our luggage actually arrived with us!! vVe arrived
at the house in Quevedo on Sunday at 1:30 pm to
find that we had no electricity. The girl we left to
pay the light bill had not done so, thus the light
company cut our lights off. Well it took us two
days to go through all the paper work to have the
lights connected again.
Wednesday, June the 4 was our monthly meeting
of the Pastors Fellowship in Buena Fe. Needless
to say I was a surprise for them. None of them
knew we had arrived. The meeting was very
thank the Lord for preserving this
meeting and bringing the pastors together for a
time of fellowship. There are eight of us who meet
16 The oJGhalceclon
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regularly and all of them send their greetings to the
brethren of the RPCUS.
On Friday, 6 of June and Saturday 7, we were baok in
Guayaquil again for a leadership oonferenoe whioh
we have been attending for the past three years-in
Deoember of this year we have the last meeting-at
whioh about 300 pastors and leaders attend from
ohurohes in the ooastal region. On Sunday, June 8
we had a very well attended morning worship servioe
and it was good to see everyone again. Our arrival
was quite a surprise for the most part as we arrived
unexpeotedly.
During these past three weeks I have been oooupied
in the translation and preparation of the Seminary
project whioh I hope that by the month of August
will be ready to present. I have made up a oalendar
of studies for the next four years for the Baohelor's
Degree in Christian Ministry (a three year program)
and a Master's Degree in Theology (a four year
program). This oalendar of studies starts in April
of 2009. 'Ve trust by then to have all of the paper
work done so far as our assooiation with a university
(UNELA in Costa Rioa) and our reoognition before
the government as a university level sohool.
'Ve enoourage you to oontinue to pray for this
work. There are some ohanges being made so far
as the university system here in Ecuador, though
we will have to wait until the country votes on the
new constitution to see what these ohanges will be.
The universities are pushing for as much liberty
as possible with the least amount of Government
oontrol. I hope that oan be attained. It looks like
we win be voting around the end of September.
There is already a movement to vote down the new
oonstitution for its very sooialistio oharaoteristios.
On Friday June 20, we partioipated in a 'Valk For
Your Health maroh sponsored by the University of
Quevedo. There were about 400 people present. We
walked from the University to the Stadium (about 45
mins.). Sinoe then Mercy and I have joined a group of
people, mostly elderly folks, every Saturday morning
to walk for an hour at one of the High Sohools here
that has a very good traok and field complex.
'Ve are busy working on the second of the two offioes
we have for the seminary. 'Ve spent two days just
oleaning the floor!! I trust that in this coming week
to be able to finish some other repairs and then to
paint the offioe. On Monday I will start contaoting
my students here in Quevedo to try to start olasses
with them as soon as possible. I already have a
oonference lined up for the next three months-in
July we will be on the ooast in Cruoita with about 50
pastors and ohuroh leaders for two days, the 17, 18
and 19 of July. In August we will be in a very rural
area (a very mountainous region) about 3 hours
drive from Quevedo, and in September we will have
the same conference in the Buena Fe area. These
conferences are two sessions of 5 hours each per
day (each session oontains 6 lessons). Again we
a l ~ i n g the Nations ChTist's Disciples
enoourage you to pray for those who attend these
oonferenoes, many have never had formal training
and the vast majority will be hearing things (of the
Reformed Faith) that they have never heard before.
No doubt that the most needed thing for the ministry
in Eouador is books. 'Ve do thank the Lord so
muoh for the books we were able to obtain through
your efforts. The Lord bless you greatly for your
endeavors. But we trust in the very short future to
have another book project going and invite all to have
a part in this vital part of our ministry here. 'Ve
trust that you will also pray that the Lord would put
on the heart of people with the teohnioal training
required to translate more books into Spanish.
'Vhat a blessing it would be to have the volumes that
Pastor Moreoraft is preparing on the Catechism in
Spanish!!! There are many such books that need
to be translated. When we write a book or print
materials on the teachings of the Soriptures we are
making sure the foundations of our faith for the years
to oome. 'V hen we translate these books or printed
materials we are making sure these foundations are
expanded.
EnlaTge the place of YOUT tent, and let them,
stTetch out the cUTtains of J'OUT dwellings; Do
not spaTe; Lengthen yOWl" cords, and stTengthen
yOUT stakes. FaT you shall expand to the right
and to the left, and )'OU1" descendants will
inheTit the nations, and 1nahe the desolate cities
inhabited. (Isaiah 54: 2, 3)
I trust that these will be more than words of comfort
and promises to stay your hope: that they will be the
reality of your life. That we will be totally occupied
with the foundations of the Reformed Faith; that
we will be daily doing all that is possible for the
strengthening of the faith and the expansion that
faith to all the nations; that the desolate oities of dead
humanism will become the habitations of the living
in Christ.
May we all take courage in what the Lord is doing
among the Gentiles and pray earnestly that He would
continue to use us and all the gifts that He has given
us to strengthening and lengthening of the Reformed
Faith. "No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue which rises against you in judgment
you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the
servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from
Me, says the Lord" (Is. 54:17)
A DIOS LA GLORIA!
WILLIAM AND MERCY FARR
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