Pre Christmas Blessings

There is always a measure of unease when we visit a new church.  And there is always a feeling of not wanting to be a burden.  So when we booked our stay with this church after picking up our van I was a little unsure of what to expect.  If you have read my previous posts you know that the folks here have made up feel extremely welcome here!

Yesterday we were privileged to spend the Sunday services here.  The bus kids had a special program in the morning service and it was so neat to see that our children had been included into the program.  Though our kids didn't know most of the songs they had costumes and looked adorable.

Simeon was a riot!  He had a look of fear and uncertainty on his face yet at the same time was trying to smile and be cheerful.  He would make eye contact with us and he would beam then he would look at the rest of the church and that expression would set in. 

Isabel just stood there with her arms crossed and a pleasant look on her face.  Nehemiah was a wise man.  Adeline and Bethany were angels.

After the service we enjoyed a Chili luncheon.  Brandon jumped right in as a waiter/server.  And I was able to help get some of the bus kids their food.

One of the best parts has been the fellowship...for all of us.  Our older kids recruited some of the teens here into making a new Confused Entertainment production.  From the little clips I've seen I think it will be very good.  I was able to answer lots of questions about Uruguay for Pastor Kaighens daughter who feels called to a Spanish speaking country.

We trust this time that we have been a blessing to the people here in some small measure.  And we are so thankful for more prayer warriors for us and our beloved country of Uruguay.

Ministry Moments

I apologize for my relatively silent blog, lately, we have been so busy that to think of things to write in the spare time I have to write them has been difficult.

We are witnessing God working out His will and His way in our lives and in those of whom we are called to minister to, and with. There is much to trust God for and much more for which to praise Him.

Because of sick kids, I missed Scott's preaching on Sunday night before last. From all accounts he did an excellent job! One lady said his preaching was impeccable. I believe this was the first time for us [our kids] to hear Scott preach expositorily. Not that it's a new concept to him. It is hard to preach through the Bible when you are the guest preacher or only preaching once a month. I'm excited to hear what the Lord has laid upon his heart as he teaches us through the book of 3rd John. Scott's desire is to begin preaching once a week. Please be in prayer for him as this requires not only study of the Bible but a re-study of everything to put his message into Spanish.

The past 4 weeks of SIGMA have been exciting and disappointing. We have witnessed, once again, that there are a handful of teens that excel in memorization. We have encouraged them to continue on but also to encourage their team members to memorize. What we are seeing is those who think it's their (the memorizers) job to do all the work. Boy, don't we already see enough of the "pew sitter" attitude? So now we take on the roles of helpers for all the teens in the areas they need encouragement, be it with devotions, verses, or service in the church. The exciting part is that even though the devotions are hard hitting we are seeing many of the young people faithful in completing them. A friend recently wrote "Today I chose_____because I want to be_____." All of us need to fill in the blanks but our young people especially need to learn that they are becoming today what they will be tomorrow. Please continue to pray for the young people here as they learn to set Godly habits in their lives.

Our ladies ministry ended for the year with a Christmas party. Amparo Lopez spoke on an unusual theme for Christmas...Proverbs 31. The year means looking forward to the next. What will we chose to do, to be, this year? Will we chose to be Proverbs 31 women because we want to honor God with our lives? I was struck with the fact that Jesus' mother, Mary, had this attitude. The Lord definitely has been at work this past year in the lives of our ladies. We have seen growth. We have seen incredible testimonies through incredibly difficult trials. We have seen women stepping up to serve. We have seen a burden for souls. We have seen results of prayer. And last night we saw further evidence of God's work in that we had 40 volunteers to work in the nursery this coming year! I believe 32 of them are new volunteers. Now we will be able to have 2 separate nurseries with 2 workers in each nursery, and each worker will only need to serve once a month.

Without a doubt God is working here. There is no question that your prayers have been answered. Thank you for your faithfulness to the cause of Christ here in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay!!!

The best part of Chrismas in South America

Have you ever wondered what Christmas was like in another country? There is the typical buzz and excitement that is associated with Christmas in the States. But in our part of the world there are some definite changes.

One of the things that I enjoy most is reading the English printed on the boxes of the toys in the stores. I know that this may sound odd but it is quite comical. The things that are printed on these boxes are absolutely unbelievable. I wish that I had written or photographed the best ones but unfortunately I did not.

Below are a few examples of what I have found. Please remember that you must read them exactly as they are written. These are also best if they are read aloud.

This a box for a small desk lamp. Possibly you can make out the lamp on the left of the photo.

The above photo was for a toy that was a flat plastic tray with several different colored golf balls that were to be stacked to make a pyramid.

I know everyone is looking for toys that have a 'lovely lustre' for their loved ones this Christmas

Another favorite is a disclaimer on a box that reads "The contents and color of the enclosed items are subject to amendment." I thought this must be one of those surprise gifts if the contents and color were subject to amendment.

I think that at times my wife was on the verge of embarrassment as I read the labels aloud in the stores. Sometimes with a TV announcers voice other simply monotone. I am convinced that all of the toys that don't make the 'grade' for the states end up in other countries where it supposedly won't be noticed. Regardless of the why, I certainly enjoy reading the boxes.

Borrmann Family Christmas Letter 2008

Heat, fireworks, bugs, and ice cream all are part of Christmas in Uruguay. It seems strange to think of summer weather in December, doesn’t it? For us, Christmas and winter weather go hand in hand, so when it is 90° outside, and hotter inside, it is difficult to realize it is just a few days from Christmas. This is our 3rd Christmas here in Uruguay! This month we completed 2 years here and we have definitely become more accustomed to life here, yet inexplicably we miss everyone more this Christmas than the previous two put together.

Thankfully, we have Jesus to remind us of the “reason for the season”. We are here in Uruguay because of Jesus and His great love for the world! His love for us is unimaginable as we ponder that He was born in humble stall, a far cry from the throne of Heaven. He knew His purpose was to become the final sacrifice for man’s sin. Jesus, the King of Kings, was not given a throne to rule upon, rather, He was rejected by those whom He came to save, and crucified upon a cross. The tiny baby we celebrate is the man Jesus that became the Savior for all who will believe in Him and confess Him as their Savior. What a precious gift!

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9
“But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23b

In the past year the kids have become nearly fluent in Spanish, and our Spanish is improving slowly and surely. After a change in Adeline’s medicine, to one we need to import, her asthma, though not totally under control, is improving. Brandon has shown no signs of his kidney disease this year! Kaitlin became our 2nd teenager while Bethany reached double digits in Feb, and Brandon turned 16 in Aug. Nehemiah joined the ranks of our children who were in school. It was so quiet at home with only 3 little ones. Isabel sat in the room while Nehemiah learned his letter sounds and is looking forward to school in March. At only 3, Simeon seems to have found his life mate in his little Peruvian friend, Keren. The two are inseparable and Simeon keeps talking about when they get married. J Silas turned one in November. He keeps us amazed as he copies the motions of the song leaders. And because of his Uruguayan citizenship we all received our legal residency by September.

Kaitlin is becoming a remarkable musician; she has begun playing piano for congregational singing and accompanying special music as well as playing her bells in the orchestra. Brandon is learning to play the trumpet and Bethany the piano; they are both doing remarkably well. Bethany has played a few offertories alone and with others, while Brandon is working on an offering with his friend who plays the trombone.

Scott taught the men throughout the winter about Christian marriage. Debbie taught the ladies Bible study for the past year. Brandon continues on as the game director for Kings Kids. And Kaitlin is a preschool Sunday school teacher. To see our children take an active part, along with us, in serving God out of love for Him is a tremendous blessing to our hearts!

Scott is overseeing the ministry here for the next year while our coworkers are on furlough. He is hoping to work up to preaching at least once a week. Already in the plans for 2009 are: 2 weddings, youth camp, Children's VBS, ladies meetings, home Bible studies, a full school year of Sigma, a fuller Bible institute year, a new church plant and a visit from an evangelist friend and his family. Plus a dream of ours to visit Israel will be realized this May when we take an early 20th anniversary trip. We are thankful to the Lord for the past year and we look forward to the year ahead. Thank you for your love for us and for your prayers!

Serving the Christ of Christmas,
Scott & Debbie Borrmann and
Brandon, Kaitlin, Bethany, Adeline,
Nehemiah, Isabel, Simeon and Silas

Ministry Moments

Last Saturday we had the first scoring week of the 2nd block of Sigma. Each team seemed to do well even after changing the scoresheets a bit adding in some things and removing others. One team already figured out their mascot, theme and verse. For the most part, they all seem to have a better grasp of devotions. Many are saying their verses. Scott and I are really looking forward to a full year of Sigma and helping the young people learn to run the race, marathon style. It is easy to do things for short bursts of time but it takes more endurance, and commitment, to be faithful day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year.

Sunday Scott led his first Lord's supper. I was so proud of him. Everyone was very encouraging to him and I think this service gave many of the church members greater confidence in Scott and his ability to pastor them over this coming year. As well as giving Scott the confidence to know he can do the work of the ministry.

With Christmas on the very near horizon our thoughts certainly fall towards how to make Jesus Christ stand out to us and to the Uruguayans. Each year I find myself desiring a greater focus on my Savior, yet each year is busier and harder to find that focus. Please pray for us as we strive to give Christ the glory and honor this Christmas!

Christmas in Uruguay 2007

At midnight on Christmas morning the entire city of Colonia erupted into a huge display of fireworks. For over 30 minutes we listened to the explosions. Let me say our 4th of July fireworks display have nothing on the Uruguayans Christmas display. We even had some of our own but we set them off at 10 pm.

This years Christmas was much easier than last years. This year we had some familiarity with our home, not to mention all of our things. The kids had presents from grandparents and bags full of treats. Simeon ate all his candy that morning then ran around hammering and drilling everything in sight with his new tool set.

We had the traditional asado meal on Christmas Eve our Peruvian friends, Pastor Daniel and Amparo and their children, and Pastor Cristian and Jessica and their children were with us for the meal. For a Christmas gift we gave them all time to call their families in Peru on our Vonage phone. I'll post the pictures of Christmas Eve later as they are on a different disk.

Christmas Card 2007

They said it couldn't happen....

but God must really want to encourage us, because today at our front door a man came knocking. Now this was not just any ordinary man this was a delivery man. And not just any delivery man, mind you, would cause me to write this post, but a delivery man of BOXES from the USA. Can you believe it?!

I could hardly contain myself when I opened my front door and saw this nice man standing at the door with a BOX, from the USA, just for us. Well, actually, a box of Christmas presents for the little ones.

The amazing thing is that the box only took 2 weeks to make it to us and it doesn't appear to have been opened by customs. Thank you, Bethany Hills Baptist, for taking a BIG risk in sending this box to us. And thank you, Lord, for this special surprise!!!