Harvest NewsA quarterly mission newsletter to inform and involve LCMS Christians in God’s mission

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD

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Read more inside...• Witness and mercy in Latin America and the Caribbean• Concordia Seminary, Buenos Aires• Spotlight on LCMS missionary and Argentinian pastor

Argentinian Pastor Horacio Witzke with youth group members at the central congregation of San Pedro parish, Misiones Province, Argentina.

Throughout the region, the LCMS works with par tners to share the Gospel.

Latin America and the Caribbean ministry at a glance

In Spain, Rev. Gustavo Lavia is based in Madrid, but serves the small Lutherancongregations that meet in five different locations around the country. Rev. Laviaprepares orders of worship each week for Lutheran families to worship in their ownhomes. He runs the Internet-based “Bible Institute” that trains lay leaders andfuture pastors in Lutheran doctrine.

MissionariesThe LCMS supports a team of 10 career

missionaries and their families and three

GEO missionaries serving in five countries in

Latin America and the Caribbean. Missionaries’

countries of origin include the United States,

Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Nigeria.

LCMS-supported missionaries include:

• Rev. Ed and Cherie Auger, Cayman Islands

• Anthony DiLiberto, Peru

• Rev. Mark and Sandi Eisold, Peru

• Jamie Endorf, Peru (GEO)

• *Rev. Obot and Abasifreke Ite, Jamaica

• Rev. Ted and Becca Krey, Dominican

Republic and regional director

• Katie Lane, Peru (GEO)

• *Rev. Gustavo and Rosana Lavia, Spain

• James Neuendorf, Dominican

Republic (GEO)

• Christel Neuendorf, Dominican Republic

• Danelle Putnam, Dominican Republic

• *Rev. Walter and Ana Ries, Dominican

Republic

• Bruce and Sarah Wall, Peru

*Alliance missionaries, sent jointly throughthe LCMS and a partner church body.

Theological EducationBecause of the needs for more pastors,

deaconesses and teachers to serve in Latin

America, the support of Latin American

seminaries and theological programs is a top

priority for the LCMS in the region.

Spiritual Care for Church WorkersThe lack of resources, support

and continuing education for the

Latin American pastors has led to

burnout and resignations. Supporting

pastors and missionaries with further

education and ongoing spiritual care

is vital to the church, and an LCMS

mission priority.

Church PlantingWe are planting churches today

through the joint efforts our of LCMS

missionaries and Lutheran brothers and

sisters in Latin America and the Caribbean.

MAP KEYPartner Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (IELA)(Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Argentina)

• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB)(Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil)

• Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile (IELCHI)(Iglesia Luterana Confesional de Chile)

• Lutheran Church of Guatemala (ILG)(Iglesia Luterana en Guatemala)

• Lutheran Synod of Mexico (SLM)(Sinodo Luterano de Mexico)

• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Paraguay (IELP)(Iglesia Evangélica Luterana del Paraguay)

• Lutheran Church of Venezuela (ILV)(Iglesia Luterana de Venezuela)

• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti (ELCH)(Eglise Evangelique Lutherienne D’Haiti)

Associated Church BodiesAssociated church bodies are established Lutheran Church bodies who have some association with the LCMS but are not yet full partner churches.

• Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia• Lutheran Church of Panama• Lutheran Church of Uruguay

Emerging Church Bodies• Dominican Republic• Jamaica• Peru

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The LCMS is working alongside our partners throughoutLatin America, by providing resources and missionworkers. Supporting partner churches and global

seminary education are priorities for LCMS work in theworld, as are acts mercy accompanied by Word and

Sacrament. We boldly pray that the Lord will provide formore workers in the harvest fields of Latin America!

In the Cayman Islands,Rev. Ed and Deaconess Intern CherieAuger serve at Safe Harbour LutheranChurch, providing both native islandersand temporary residents of GrandCayman with Word and sacrament andother spiritual care. Rev. Auger alsoserves as a mentor for Lutheranpastors in training in Central America,through a partnership with theLutheran Church—Canada.

In the Dominican Republic,the Lutheran mission team works to bear witness to Christ’s Gospeland to share His mercy with theDominican people through churchplanting, a new Lutheran school and Good Shepherd LutheranHome, a home for developmentallydisabled children.

In Peru, the LCMS mission team is in thebeginning stages of church planting in San Borja, aneighborhood of the capital city, Lima. A result of post-earthquake disaster ministry since 2007, a Lutherancongregation is meeting in Lunahuana, wheremissionaries visit regularly to encourage and teach.

In Jamaica, Rev. Obot andAbasifreke Ite serve at St. AndrewLutheran Church in Kingston and reachout with the Gospel to the rest of theisland’s population.

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Seminary students file into a second-

story classroom carrying notebooks,

textbooks like Pieper’s “Christian

Dogmatics” and hot beverages that will help

keep them awake through class. However,

these future pastors are not on a campus in

the U.S. — they are in Buenos Aires,

Argentina. Their notes and books are in

Spanish, and the beverage they carry is not

coffee — it’s yerba mate, a traditional

Argentinian tea-like drink.

HistoryMore than 100 years ago, God sent

Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS)

missionary pastors as His witnesses to

immigrant communities in Argentina.

Through these pastors, God established

Lutheran congregations around His Word and

Sacraments. These first congregations

eventually grew into the Evangelical Lutheran

Church of Argentina (IELA) — a church body

that today includes more than 30,000

baptized members worshipping in 265

congregations, served by 80 active pastors.

In 1942, the IELA established Concordia

Seminary, Buenos Aires, to train Argentinian

men in the pastoral ministry — to be God’s

witnesses, proclaiming the Gospel to

congregations and people throughout

Argentina.

The Seminary TodayNow, 70 years later, the four full-time

and 15 part-time faculty members of

Concordia Seminary Argentina continue to

train servants of God — including pastors,

deaconesses and lay leaders. Since its

beginnings, the seminary has trained 171

men for the Office of the Holy Ministry.

Currently, more than 470 students are

participating in its various training programs.

Pastoral education students graduate with a

“Bachelor of Theology,” having completed

five years of classroom study, a three-month

pre-vicarage, a year-long vicarage and a

senior thesis.

During the 2011 school year, 19

residential students studied towards the

Bachelor of Theology degree, with an

additional 13 future pastors taking classes

online through the “Theological Education

for Hispanic America” program. During the

2012 school year, there are 10 new students,

mostly from other countries in Latin America,

including Chile, Guatemala, Paraguay, Spain,

Uruguay and Venezuela.

Nestled in a suburb of Buenos Aires, the

campus also houses Concordia Institute, a

Lutheran day school that teaches students

from pre-K through grade 12. Through the

school, seminary students have contact with

the families of more than 700 non-Lutheran

students. The campus serves as the home for

Concordia Lutheran Church, a congregation

which started in 1983 as an outreach to the

families of the school.

Offerings from the IELA’s 265

congregations, individuals and special

fundraisers come together to completely fund

the seminary. The annual “Seminary Day”

celebration, held on the seminary’s campus

each May, is a church-wide event drawing

upwards of 700 people for worship,

traditional Argentinian ‘Asado’ (Bar-B-Que)

and other activities. Students benefit from the

support of IELA congregations, scholarships

and wages from full- or part-time jobs.

A Growing NeedOut of the IELA’s 265 congregations,

nine parishes have no pastors. In Argentina, a

parish may consist of one or more

congregations. Parishes are organized into

circuits and circuits form districts. There are

many opportunities to expand into less-

reached areas of the country with missions

and church plants — but available pastors

are few.

The Rev. Sergio Fritzler, director of the

seminary, said, “Currently, we see many

vacant congregations and limitations on our

ability to do mission … and yet, we have a

shortage of students, and thus, future pastors.

It’s something for which the church has a

plan and for which we are praying — that

God would send more workers.”

“Every day, we need more and more

pastors,” said the Rev. Carlos Nagel,

president of the IELA. “We give thanks to

God for this — it’s a good problem to have.”

The Rev. Noberto Gerke, president of

the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Paraguay,

said that simply to minister to members of

existing Lutheran congregations, 50 more

Concordia Seminary celebrates 70 years of ministry and continues to expand its reach.

Pastoral education in Argentina — and beyond

Men enrolled in the pastoral education program atConcordia Seminary, Buenos Aires, for the 2012school year began classes in early March.

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pastors are needed in Argentina, Brazil, Chile,

Paraguay and Uruguay — without

considering the pressing mission needs in

each of these countries.

Graduates of the Argentinian seminary

currently serve congregations and missions in

Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay and

even places like Australia and at Concordia

Publishing House in St. Louis, Mo.

Expanding to Serve the Entire Region“Theological education and mission are

not two separate things — we believe that

one is part of the other,” explained Fritzler.

“We believe that it’s a bonus for our students

to have positive practical experiences in

mission fields and congregations. The

experiences of vicars in mission fields like

the Dominican Republic or Salta (a region in

northern Argentina), give them tools, and

most importantly, a vision, about the mission

of the church and churches in mission.”

The Lord continues to expand the reach

of the seminary as it begins educating

students from Bolivia, Chile, the Dominican

Republic, Paraguay and Venezuela. Currently,

via Internet, five Dominican men are

studying for the Office of the Holy Ministry

and two women are studying to become

deaconesses, learning from the Argentinian

faculty through online courses. These men

will provide the Christ-centered witness

needed to lead new congregations of the

emerging Lutheran church body in the

Dominican Republic.

In Bolivia, Guatemala, Spain and

Venezuela, there is no education institution

for training pastors comparable to the

thorough pastoral preparation program

offered at Concordia Seminary. For the men

from these countries hoping to one day serve

as pastors, completing the six-year residential

program at Concordia Seminary is the only

available route to ordination.

During this 2012 academic year (the

school year in Argentina runs from early

March through mid-December), about a third

of the students are from other countries –

men who will return to their home countries

to as pastors, serving the people of their

church bodies.

The need for pastors in other Latin

American countries is even more dire than in

Argentina. “We hope that these men would

take up leadership positions to train their

own people and teach in their Bible

institutes,” explained the Rev. Ted Krey,

LCMS regional director for Latin America and

the Caribbean.

Partnership with the LCMSThe LCMS is providing scholarships for

13 students from other countries to complete

their pastoral studies at the seminary. LCMS

funding also allows seminary professors to

continue their education through advanced

studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and

Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.

The seminary, which is celebrating its

70th anniversary in April 2012, “is a great

treasure for the church, but it is also a

responsibility,” said Fritzler. “We ask the

church to pray — that the Lord would send

more workers to the harvest field. We also

ask the church for its support — to partner

with us through offerings in support of all

our needs.”

The campus Concordia Seminary, Buenos Aires, Argentina also houses a Lutheran day school and a Lutheran congregation.

Help & Learn • Give a gift to support the ministry of Concordia Seminary in Buenos Aires.

Use the enclosed envelope to mail in a gift designated “Argentina Seminary.”

• Watch, “The Harvest Fields,” a five-minute video, featuring the seminary,

at http://video.lcms.org.

• View photos from Concordia Seminary online at http://photos.lcms.org.

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Meet Anthony DiLiber to and Horacio Witzke, serving in Peru and Argentina.

Two faces of LCMS mission work in Latin America

Meet Anthony DiLibertoA rural village mayor.

Grape farmers. Families

whose homes were lost or

damaged by the 2007

earthquake. Middle-class

engineers interested in

learning more about the Lutheran faith.

These are but a few of those who God

has led across missionary Anthony

DiLiberto’s path since he began serving in

Peru in 2008. Through building relationships

with the townspeople of Lunahuaná, guiding

short-term teams through witness and mercy

projects over the last three years, connecting

with local government officials and teaching

English-as-a-Foreign-Language classes,

DiLiberto has laid the groundwork for

ongoing mission work in Peru.

Contacts made by DiLiberto and LCMS

short-term teams have now grown into a

Lutheran congregation that meets twice per

month with Bible studies for young and old

and a worship service. DiLiberto and other

LCMS missionaries are now residing in Lima,

Peru’s capital, where the team is working

towards the planting of another

congregation.

In January 2012, DiLiberto began serving

as an LCMS career missionary in a new role:

mercy outreach specialist. He now

concentrates on identifying and developing

ways for members of the emerging Peruvian

Lutheran church body to reach out with the

love of Christ to their neighbors in both word

and deed.

We give thanks to the Lord for sending

His servant, Anthony, to serve in the harvest

fields of Peru!

Meet Horacio WitzkeRoads made of red-

colored earth crisscross

back and forth over hilly

terrain, bordered by small

forests and tobacco, tea and

yerba mate fields. A solitary

white Volkswagen slowly makes its way up a

summit en route to a small, Lutheran church

in the isolated countryside. Its driver is the

Rev. Horacio Witzke, pastor of the San Pedro

parish in Misiones Province, Argentina. The

parish actually consists of nine separate

congregations and Witzke serves as pastor to

all of them.

Witzke accepted his first call to this rural

parish upon graduation from Concordia

Seminary, Buenos Aires. Congregations in the

parish can only hold two worship services

per month, because of the time that Witzke

must spend traveling between them.

“Nine congregations in a parish for one

single pastor is almost impossible to

manage,” said Lidio Haubert, a member of

San Pedro. “I think that we could have more

[services], but it would wear out the pastor.

Our pastor doesn’t have time for anything —

his life is dedicated to only this.”

Despite the challenges, Witzke is joyful

in his work and counts it as a privilege to

serve the people of San Pedro (the parish

shares its name with a nearby town). “It’s a

privilege to have the responsibility of

bringing the Word of God to so many people

and families,” he said. “We work for the

people of God and for God Himself in

thanksgiving for what He has done for us.

Jesus Himself commanded us, ‘Pray, that the

Lord would send more workers to the harvest

fields’ (Luke 10:2).”

Witzke’s ministry provides just one

example of the need that exists across

Argentina for more pastors — so that pastors

who are stretched thin across many

congregations can focus their efforts and

devote more time to outreach and church

plants, so that the church might grow.

“We need more pastors — we don’t see

our pastor very often because he has many

locations to visit and they are all very far,”

said Yolanda Yanke, also a member of San

Pedro parish. “It’s our greatest concern — to

have more pastors and more support for our

congregations.”

Missionaries Anthony DiLiberto and Katie Lanelead children in Lunahuaná during Bible Study.

Rev. Witzke preaches on Sunday morning at thecentral congregation of his parish.

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If you are not a pastor, I’d like to dedicate

this issue of Harvest News to you. Why?

Read on…

I ama pastor. I’ve been theologically trained

and mentored by wonderfully gifted professors

and colleagues throughout my entire career as a

professional church worker. And I will testify, first

hand, that well-trained pastors are absolutely

essential to a growing church body.

However, that is part two of the whole story.

As I listen to fellow believers around the

world rehearse their history, I have learned that

people are most often drawn to the Gospel,

initially, through the caring touch of hands of

mercy, and through the personal words of witness

imbedded in simple conversations between

friends. And before long the Word spreads, as

people begin to realize that there is life and hope

in the lives of their friends…and one by one the

number grows….and they long to hear more.

Today, our focus on theological education is

a direct response to the growing number of

Christians (and yes, non-believers!) who want to

hear more…who need a shepherd! Throughout

the global Lutheran community, the number of

congregations is expanding well beyond the

number of trained pastors to serve them.

And yet you and our fellow Lutheran

believers show no signs of slowing down.

Lutherans are still touching people with hands of

mercy, and witnessing to

their friends with the Word

of life. And, the need for

trained pastors keeps on

growing.

I invite you to read in

this issue about the genesis

of a new church plant in

Peru. And then, rejoice

with us at the message

of opportunity and hope contained in this issue. It

is part two of the story.

That’s why I want to dedicate this issue to

you, fellow believers, fellow Lutherans. Witness

and mercy begins with our Lord and through His

gifts of Word and Sacrament, He strengthens and

enables your faithful witness resulting in the need

for shepherds.

May God continue the good work that He has

begun among us!

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Dr. David C. Birner

Interim Co-Executive Director

Office of International Mission

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Director’s L E T T E R

My Dear Par tners in the Gospel

Letters should be signed and addressed to Harvest News Editor, 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

Send email to: infocenter@lcms.org

Individual free subscriptions may be ordered by calling 888-843-5267, or by registering at www.lcms.org/harvestnews.

Copyright © 2012 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Permission granted to reprint Harvest News articles. Please notify infocenter@lcms.org.

Rev. Dr. David C. BirnerInterim Co-Executive Director Office of International Mission

Harvest News StaffCarolyn Niehoff, Elizabeth Truong

EditorDeaconess Pamela Nielsen

ContributorJames Neuendorf

Rev. Dr. David Birner

Dear readers,

We pray that you enjoy this editionof Harvest News, filled with storiesof how God is working through theLCMS to share the Gospelthroughout Latin America. You,too, are part of this story — Godblesses your gifts to the LCMSenabling our work in the world.

Many of you have called or writtenour office to let us know about amailing error related to theprevious issue of Harvest News.Thank you for alerting us to aproblem that has since beencorrected.

I invite you to share the stories inthis issue with your family, friendsand congregation — may they be asource of encouragement and joy!

In Christ,

Deaconess Pamela NielsenManaging Editor

Apr. 1 J.P. Cima, Vietnam

Apr. 2 Sarah Berta-Somogyi, Hungary; Michael Vogel, Taiwan

Apr. 3 Michael Piescer, Japan

Apr. 10 Shauen Trump, Kenya

Apr. 14 Megan Kincaid, Hong Kong; Joel Scheiwe, Hong Kong; Rachel Sekki, Taiwan

Apr. 18 Robert Ferrin, Hong Kong

Apr. 20 Elliot Derricks, Macau

Apr. 27 Gretchen Weesner, Asia

Apr. 28 Andy Jones, Germany; Matthew Fick, Taiwan

Apr. 29 Jennifer Rasch, Nigeria

Apr. 30 Richard Larson, Asia

May 1 Ed Strohschein, Hong Kong

May 2 Hannah Kiefer, Macau; Sarah Weider, Indonesia

May 4 Deborah Aarhus, South Korea

May 9 Todd Roeske, Philippines; Virginia Taff-Lagergren, South Africa

May 11 Michael Rodewald, South Africa

May 15 Delaine Baker, South Korea; Matthew Heise, Eurasia

May 16 Rita Flohrs, Germany

May 18 Sandi Eisold, Peru; Kalia Lo, Cambodia

Prayer ResourcesMay 19 Jerry Markin, Vietnam

May 21 Jacqueline Noel Engelbrecht, Asia

May 26 David Bickel, South Korea; Persephone James, Hong Kong

May 27 Donna Meyer, Papua New Guinea

May 30 Steve Kosberg, South Korea; Carl Rockrohr, South Africa

June 4 Sarah Wall, Peru

June 7 Kevin Baker, South Korea; Carl Hanson, Hong Kong

June 8 Chen-Hsi Hanson, Hong Kong

June 11 Tony Booker, Czech Republic

June 13 Ted Engelbrecht, Asia

June 14 Mary Ettner, Vietnam; Janet Moeller-Abercrombie, Hong Kong

June 16 Allen Piepenbrink, Hong Kong

June 18 Deborah Going, Indonesia

June 24 Andrew Schaff, Taiwan

June 26 Christine Bickel, South Korea

June 27 Judy Newhouse, Hong Kong

June 28 Mark Wolfram, Taiwan

June 29 David Pfeifer, Thailand; Iantha Scheiwe, Hong Kong

L April, May & June Missionary & Personnel Bir thday List

Military chaplains with birthdays in April:Chaplain Douglas Ochner, Germany; Dr. Dennis Scheck,Fort Eustis, Va.; Chaplain Jeffery Wollberg, Battle Creek,Mich.; Chaplain Derek Wolter, St. Louis, Mo.; ChaplainThomas Waynick, Washington, D.C.; Chaplain WilliamYates, Air National Guard

Military chaplains with birthdays in May:Chaplain Marc DiConti, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; ChaplainDonald Ehrke, Fort Bliss, Texas; Chaplain Matthew Franke,McChord Field, Wash.; Chaplain Timothy Sowers, RedstoneArsenal, Ala.; Chaplain Charles Varsogea, England

Military chaplains with birthdays in June:Chaplain Sean Ballard, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.; ChaplainWalter Diekroger, Chillicothe, Ohio; Chaplain Randy Loux,Fort Bragg, N.C.; Chaplain Carl Muehler, Norfolk, Va.;Chaplain Matthew Prince, Parris Island, S.C.; ChaplainTimothy Rosenthal, Hickam AFB, Hawaii; Chaplain RobertStroud, MAF Committee; Chaplain Mark Tews, Afghanistan;Chaplain Arleigh von Seggern, Nellis AFB, Nev.

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CPH’s Amazing Desert Journey includes the LCMS Project:

Clean Water a refreshing outreach opportunity.

Join the Journey! A VBS with Purpose. http://vbs.cph.org

A glass of water to you ... the gift of life to them.

Did you know?

You can help!

P.O. Box 66861

www.lcms.org/vbs

In Christ,

for the Church

and the World!

Contact Information

888-THE-LCMS314-965-0959 faxinfocenter@lcms.orgwww.lcms.org

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Harvest News

1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005.

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD