Tim and Christa Simmons Prayer Letter: The Waiting Game

Thank you for being so faithful to pray for and support our family.

Spanish Ministry Campaign

We are helping our Spanish Ministry at our home church with a campaign this summer. One of the main goals is getting more visitors into church. During the Sunday evening services, those who are present are entered into a drawing for a gift card. Also, points are awarded for things such as attending the services, going soul winning, bringing a visitor, etc. There will be prizes at the end for the three people with the most points. Christa and I are also helping with the music again in the Spanish Ministry. She plays the piano, and I lead the music. I’ve been able to spend a lot more time out soul winning with our Spanish pastor this summer as well. We’ve been going soul winning on the south side of Milwaukee where a lot of Spanish-speaking people live. Our family is working on our Spanish as much as possible, but I’m not quite conversational yet. I’ve really enjoyed using what I know, as well as observing my Spanish pastor communicating with others in Spanish. God brought us across the path of a number of people whom we’ve been able to give the Gospel to, including Don, Hector, Yolonda, Laura, and several others whose names I don’t remember. Praise the Lord that several people trusted in Christ to save them as a result! Please pray for those who were given the Gospel but who didn’t make the decision to trust in Christ. We did our best to provoke them with the fact that now is the time of salvation and that eternity is a long time to regret not getting saved. The summer campaign will go through August 15 and possibly longer. Please pray that God will use the Spanish Ministry to see more souls saved and visitors in church for the glory of God.

Missions University

Every year, our support agency schedules a time of training and teaching for the missionaries called Missions University. It coincides with Youth Conference so that missionaries with teenagers can send them to that. It is always a great time to catch up with other missionaries and learn from others. The various sessions were very helpful, but there were times when I felt like I was on information overload, or as Dr. Mark Bosje (director of FBMI) puts it: “It’s like drinking out of a fire hydrant!” I am so thankful for all the work that the staff at FBMI do to help us get to the mission field and then to be successful once we’re on the field. We left there even more excited about the work God has called us to!

The Waiting Game

We received word back from Uruguay that there is now a different process to apply for the entry permit for our family. The language school told us they would apply for the permit on our behalf since they now require a special document, as well as payment in pesos. On July 30, we finally received the news that our application has been received. We do not know exactly how long it will take for us to get an answer back. The good news is that it looks like Uruguay will reopen in September for those who have the COVID vaccine. Please pray for God’s will as we prepare to leave.