Our Missionaries in Guatemala
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  Since Rally Day 2006, we have been collecting our Sunday School offerings to support a specific missionary family and the ministry to which God has called them. Through prayer and information provided by LCMS World Missions, we adopted and began praying for the Talsma  family. The Talsma family is most appreci ative for our prayers and I hope these articles introduce a more personal tone to those prayers.
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Talsma Family – Guatemala    March 2007

Let me tell you a bit about us:
Our mission goal of assisting to better equip, through theological education and biblical training, laypeople and aspiring pastors of the Guatemalan national church remains during our 5 years here.  The theological education program moves forward by offering courses, including those for worship, leadership, and teaching, to laypeople and further preparing lay pastors and other men designated for the ordained ministry.  (Lay pastors, here, are men who have come forward willing to serve as congregational leaders although their livelihood is gained by other means.)

When we first arrived, about a dozen men had completed coursework, in varying degrees, to become ordained ministers.  Each of these men now have mapped out the remainder of their training to know exactly what is still required of them.  They are each pursuing their studies with the intent to complete as soon as they can.  Five men graduated last summer and were ordained in their respective congregations.  Three men remain in classes.  

Dale's position as Theological Educational Missionary is with the coordination of part-time Director Rev. Ared Rodriguez.  Their work is overseen by a theological education sub-committee of the national church leadership.  Dale also is becoming acquainted with another responsibility on the regional level for World Mission of our synod.  This newer role will allow him to assist other missionaries across the Latin American/Caribbean region in their separate tasks and cooperation with national Lutheran church bodies.  

Our family consists of 21 year-old Tiffany who is completing her studies in Business Administration at University of MI.  Adam is a freshman in Civil Engineering at MIT in Boston.  Toby is a high school junior and Dalan an 8th grader.  Jason brings up the "rear" as a 10 year-old 5th grader.  The younger three attend the Christian Academy of Guatemala about a 10 minute drive from our house in the capital city.  
LCMS World Mission may have already shared with you that our family also worked in Nigeria, West Africa, from 1986-1999.  Two of our sons were born there and it became the childhood home of our oldest two; Tiffany and Adam.  We went to Nigeria first as Bible translators for the Lutheran Church of Nigeria, a sister synodical body to the LCMS.  Three years later church planting and leadership training became our highest priority and when we left, Dale was teaching in the Lutheran seminary and acting as administrator and mission counselor of the country's mission work.  We are thankful to the Lord for the rich years of working with His people in the LCN and know it laid the groundwork for what we are called to do now in Guatemala.  The years in Africa made us sensitive to different cultures and worldviews not similar to our own, helping us see the profound impact these important elements have on what and why people do what they do.

We are excited to know you are partners now with us as we continue trying to be faithful to what the Lord wants us to do with His Church, CONLUT, in Guatemala.  Our deepest desire is to share, and enable others to share, the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, which is the only name by which anyone can live a life of peace, forgiveness, and hope.

Cheryl Talsma