Don and Martha Wehmeyer (Antioch Partners) - June 2014 Update
Merida, Mexico
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the name of the Lord! Martha and I want to thank you for your continuing support and prayers. We try to answer all emails as quickly as possible; the best address to use is dwehmeyer2@gmail.com.
We continue to divide our time between Del Rio, Texas and Merida, Yucatan. In Del Rio we are helping the small Presbyterian Church we are serving to become a “missional” church. This really means a change in perspective about the role of the church. For generations the church has been the local fellowship which would help send people to the “mission field.” The missional church looks at things differently. The mission field starts at the front door of our house. It is not that the church has a mission; rather it is our participation in mission that creates the church. The effort to change people’s long term habits of thought is daunting, yet the depth of spiritual growth that is afforded by this correction is immense. When followers of Christ understand that their every word and deed is a sign of God’s good news to all, then we feel the awesomeness of the privilege we have been given to be called children of God.
At the end of May I completed teaching a course in liturgy with another pastor, Aldo Chale, who is presently the director of theology at San Pablo. I learned that getting to Merida before five o’clock Monday, when the seminary begins its classes, is very difficult and expensive because of the airline schedules. On one trip I had to buy four one-way tickets and overnight in Mexico City. As a result I have decided just to help occasionally next semester at San Pablo and concentrate on leading retreats at the Gethsemane Retreat Center. This way I can work with pastors from Tuesday to Friday and choose much cheaper travel options. This coming July, I will be at the Presbytery of the Peninsula meeting and work out the dates of the retreats for the second semester with them and hopefully also with pastors from Chiapas and Tabasco. Martha continues to help me translate a new study guide for Calvin’s Golden Booklet which we hope to have done by the end of the year. She is also helping a great deal in Del Rio with Sunday School and women of the church. Recently she attended a week-long course in Mexico City to learn how to lead an AMO program.
We will be in Merida June 2-9. I am officiating the wedding of a young couple, and we will be attending the graduation of the class of 2014 from San Pablo. We will be meeting with Rev. George Wortham and Rev. Patricia Cruz C. to celebrate the graduation of Juan Quintero C., a student sent from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Chile. I have helped with many retreats with these pastors in Vallenar, Chile. We look forward to returning there again this coming January.
Last week, I was at the Seminario Del Sureste of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico. What a great experience that was. I had not been there for two years, and it was great to find the installations were neat and tidy! The students at the dining hall were very friendly. Each time I sat down, someone would come sit by me and ask questions. Each student has a chore to do, and I saw them working enthusiastically. The Outreach Foundation is helping restore a major building hurt by flooding several years ago, and that project looks to be about halfway complete. There were several requests for help from the music department. They need another piano for students to practice on, sheet music of all kinds and four guitars for practice. If you or your church would like to help with any of those needs please send your gifts to The Outreach Foundation, and they will forward them to the seminary. These are pictures of students from that trip.
In late April, I had a wonderful retreat with a group of 20 contemplative Presbyterians in Atlanta. This is a yearly gathering when we are able to chant the Psalms in plain song, celebrate daily Eucharist and offer spiritual direction to one another. It was a great retreat built around the parable of the prodigal son. I highly recommend to everyone to make an effort to find a place where the Psalms are chanted to see if that might not be a good spiritual practice for them.
Martha and I do need continued and additional support for our ministries. Please let us know of any churches that are interested in serving in Mexico or with the Hispanic population here in the United States.
Donald and Martha Wehmeyer
Amount needed in 2014
The Outreach Foundation seeks to raise a minimum of $20,000 for the Wehmeyers' ministry in Mexico. To make a donation, click the Donate Now link in the sidebar.
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