Brondos in Mexico 16 April 2003
Dear friends in Christ,
"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (John 20:22). Those words of Jesus, spoken to his disciples huddled together in fear on the evening of the day of his resurrection, remind us that all of us are also sent by Jesus to carry out the same mission for which he was sent: to bring peace to a broken world. As Jesus had told his disciples only a few nights earlier, shortly before his crucifixion, the peace he came to bring is different from that which the world offers (John 14:27). It is a peace brought, not by violence, destruction and bloodshed, but by disciples faithful to Jesus who go out into the world committed to working in the same way he did to transform that world. We pray that this Easter we may all be changed by the risen Christ as the originally fearful disciples were, so that we may become bold as they were to proclaim God's Word in a world which does not want to hear that Word, because it rejects the peace Jesus came to give and instead seeks to establish its own.
We hope that you have been well these last few months, since we last greeted you. In general, all has been well with us. David had a bout with Epstein-Barr virus in January and part of February, which slowed him down slightly. Other than that, we have been fine healthwise. Elizabeth is doing well at Valparaiso University in Indiana; she started her second semester in January, and was able to come home to Mexico for spring break for the first two weeks in March. Monica is in her last few months of sixth grade. Besides continuing to study trumpet, she has also been learning some tennis with her Dad. She has also enjoyed riding her new bike. Her greatest thrill, however, has been her new puppy Smokey, a miniature Schnauser. Alicia has been busy as a Mom, as usual, but has also had to be spending some extra time with her own Mom, who is now 87 years old and having some health problems. That has been kind of hard.
At the Theological Community where David is Dean, we have had the opportunity to have a couple of visiting professors this year: Dr. José Severino Croatto from Argentina, one of the most well-known Biblical scholars in Latin America, taught an intensive course on Second Isaiah for us in January, and Dr. Jean-Claude Basset, an expert in interreligious dialogue, came from Switzerland for a week of presentations on that subject in February in an annual exchange program we have with the University of Lausanne. In some ways, it's been a difficult semester. Overall enrollment dropped slightly, particularly because some of the students are going through financial difficulties. In addition, several students have had some personal difficulties. Juan Luis, a young man from a Pentecostal background, was run over by a car about a year ago, severely injuring his leg and hip. After improving slightly over the summer, he enrolled for classes last fall, but had to drop out since his leg got worse, and we all had a scare in December when they said they might have to amputate it from the knee down. We thank the Lord, however, that wasn't necessary and that he has now gotten much better, so that he has plans to enroll again next semester. Abraham, Juan Luis' cousin, also had to drop out to take care of his (Abraham's) brother, who also had been hit by a car and suffered some damage to his head. Manuel and Eldaa, a married couple who are both finishing their studies with us, have also had a hard time, since Eldaa's mother had a stroke last fall, and then they recently diagnosed her with terminal cancer, saying that they do not expect her to live beyond this present year. Just as I was writing this, Manuel called to say that Eldaa's mother passed away today. A couple of other students have had similar problems, either with their own health or that of a close relative, as well, and several students are battling other types of personal problems. So we ask for your prayers for all of them, including María Elena, Amanda, Laura, Sofía, Héctor and Dalia.
We will be celebrating Easter at our church, Good Shepherd, where we continue to experiment with some new things and are working to expand and strengthen our ministries. Next Wednesday, David is off to Tulsa for the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod Assembly, where he will be giving a presentation; hopefully, he will be able to see some of you who are from the Synod. We are also attaching a couple of pictures from a visit we made to Tlaxcala in January. May God continue to fill your life with blessings and strengthen you in the ministries in which you are involved. Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
Yours in Christ,
The Brondos family
David, Alicia, Elizabeth and Monica