Sola Fides
A Letter from César Carhuachín, mission co-worker serving in Chile
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Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings from Decatur, GA!
We are still in the United States waiting for our Chilean visas. My wife Dania and I especially seek the Holy Spirit’s gifts of patience and faith.
Our visa application has been in the Chilean Immigration Department for more than six months. The first week of October I sent an email to the Chilean Consulate in Miami asking them about our application’s status. They responded that the Chilean Consulate does not answer these kinds of questions. They added that I would have to wait for the answer from the Immigration Department and that I could check the Immigration Department website for updates. I want to tell you all, my brothers and sisters, that I check that website twice a day (morning and afternoon). The situation is that my application has been in the same box on the website for more than four months. There are three boxes on the website, displaying the progression of an application and my visa application has “sat” in the second box for the last four months. I ask for your prayers and support, so we can have patience and faith every day and receive our Chilean Religious visas so that we can depart and serve in Chile, South America.
On Sunday, October 6, Dania and I participated in the worship service at Columbia Presbyterian Church in Decatur,GA. She led the Prayer of Illumination, and I read Scripture. This was a good time for us and an opportunity to support the vibrant congregation we attend every Sunday, enjoying the great sermons of Rev. Tom Hagood. We love to serve the Lord together in the church and other Christian organizations. Please, pray for us and our service to God
In October, I was invited to talk in two different church activities of the “Comunidad del Camino” Presbyterian Church of Barranquilla, Colombia. On Thursday, October 3, I lead a study group about “The Reformation of the XVI Century” on Zoom. I shared that the Reformation was not only the reformation of the Church. It was the reformation of society, including areas such as the economy, the relationship of the church with the government, education and marriage. The purpose was to underline that the Reformation was a movement that centered on the church’s reformation. The important theological changes also had societal and cultural implications. I emphasized that we need to reform our relationships with society and culture today. As a church, we have to minister in the unjust and violent society wherever we live and transform it into a society with social justice and peace.
On Sunday, October 13, I preached at Comunidad del Camino by Zoom with a sermon entitled: “The Church’s Reformation. Yesterday and Today.” I pointed out that the Reformation was the work of God through his Holy Spirit. I pointed out the center of the Reformation’s message: Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus et Soli Deo Gloria. I added that the Holy Spirit is still working in the Church today leading us to renew our spirituality, from one centered on dogmas and creeds to one spirituality centered on Jesus Christ, following his life’s example. To renew our relationship with the natural resources from irresponsible exploitation to protection and care of them, saying that this is God’s world, where we should be living as one big family. The congregation responded to the sermon with an activity where the five “solas” of the Reformation were remembered. It was a great Sunday where the Church Reformation was celebrated.
I am supporting the Latin America Theological Fraternity (FTL). This was founded in 1971 by some theologians such as Dr. Samuel Escobar (Perú), Dr. René Padilla (Ecuador), Dr. Orlando Costas (Puerto Rico), Rolando Gutierrez Cortez (México), and others. It is a Latin American organization that brings together men and women, theologians, pastors, seminary professors, and church leaders who work on God’s mission in many countries. Currently, I am the elected president. We provide online conferences and table conversations about scripture, theology, the church’s mission, worship, pastoral care, church history, etc. The FTL always works to theologically reflect and dialogue by looking to promote a contextualized mission of the church in each country. This coming November 1, we will have a table conversation about the past Lausanne Congress IV and how it is related to Latin America Theology. I will be part of the group this time. Please pray for us so we can theologically reflect and dialogue focus on a contextualized mission in our societies.
Finally, I want to invite you to sign up to receive my mission connection letters, please do it at: presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionconnections/rev-c-sar-carhuach-n/.
In advance, I want to thank you for your support of God’s mission around the world. Your prayers and financial support allow us to serve as mission coworkers around the world.
Blessings to you all!
