Sunday, October 18, 2009

Letter from Sam Berberian - October 14, 2009





From Sam and Martha Berberian
P.O. Box 1602, 01901 Guatemala, Central America

Telephone: 011 (502) 2478-0634 (home)
Fax: 011 (502) 2443 6582 (home)







October14, 2009

Dear Friends,

I wonder if you are seeing 2009 as I am, looking back at Easter, and looking ahead at Christmas. If we have been as productive as the Lord requires from each one of us, never mind about time going by. But I hope I don't affect you with my guilt, if I haven't been as productive as I should; anyway the time is gone. As I grow older (I am almost 69), I have learned to be careful to put time and duty in the balance, and try to evaluate priorities from God's point of view.
Training Christian leaders has been my main ministry since 1977, when we arrived in Guatemala, so I have taught many Bible courses in different Bible Schools in this Central American country of almost 10 million people. I thank God for my wife, Martha, who backs me up in teaching, transcribing my books, and keeping the home fires burning. In the picture above we are with our three children, Steve, Lisa and Susy, who are married and gave us ten grandchildren. The picture in front of the Brotherhood Church in Beirut was taken back in 1973; they were certainly learning years, blessed by God.

As we come to the close of the school year in Guatemala, with blessings and conflicts mixed up, we thank the Lord that He enabled us to be part of many lives of those who are accomplishing their goals.

Taking advantage of school vacations, I'll be flying to Pasadena, California December 3rd (after a good many years), to see and fellowship with many of you, and remembering God's faithfulness and the friendship we have developed in Jesus Christ. I am praying that being there will be more than just being busy, to be a help through God's grace to each one of you. I will leave Pasadena December 14th. Brother Mike Youssefian is coordinating my agenda. (818)351-0962. His e-mail is: 7youmik@gmail.com
In the Panamerican University (where I am Dean of Theology) we have 170 students studying theology, in the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. About half are pastors and the other half are professionals serving in their churches. In the picture to the left Hugo Ruano received his PhD in Sociology of Religion. The other PhD offered is Applied Theology. In the picture below I am leading a teachers session.

In the Frederick Crowe Institute (where I am founder and Director), we have 145 students studying in the junior and senior high levels. More than 800 have graduated from high school since 1989 when the Institute was opened to provide education for pastors and leaders. 40% of our students are from very poor families, but have been able to study thanks to generous sponsors who give $300 per year per student ($30 per month for 10 months).

In both the School of Theology and the Frederick Crowe Institute we see in the coming months a time of enlargement, which requires more responsibility as well as wisdom, so things are not done because of the volume, admit needs, which the Lord can multiply, through his grace and power.

The enlargement of the School of Theology involves opening three new extension programs, as well as affirming the three extensions that we already have. Most of our extension students are pastors.

In the Institute, there are plans of enlarging more services to the needy people, on the level of individuals as well as communities, believing that this is a direct way of Christian witness and not simply solving people's problems. The Dr. Núñez Library is an important part of the Institute, providing access to 13,000 books, that otherwise would be impossible for them to buy because of limited resources. In the picture to the right, a group of students are reading in the library. Below, a good friend from Great Britain, Arthur Willis, visited our library. Both the Institute and the Library are under the supervision of the Doulos Foundation.
How gratifying it is to cross paths all the time with people on the street, who recognize me and express appreciation for a Bible course I gave them years ago or a sponsorship that made possible their studies. And they tell me what they are doing, the church they are pastoring, or what studies they were able to accomplish. Some of them tell me how they got to meet the Lord in the Institute, and now working in a church ministry, or helping in a very poor neighborhood of the city. This gives me much joy as you can imagine. That is why we are in Guatemala, to make a difference.

For the graduation at the Institute this year, scheduled for November 7, we invited a former student of ours, Rev. Juan José Pérez, to give the speech. He graduated from our adult high school program in 1993, being already a pastor, and today he has graduated as a psychologist, and is pastoring one of the leading churches of the Church of God Pentecostal. The majority of our students keep studying and reaching for more training, doing the best they can. For example, an Assembly of God pastor, Byron Mazariegos, after finishing his high school with us in the Institute, today has closed his Master's program in Theology and is one of our teachers in the School of Theology, teaching systematic theology.
If you wonder why all these details of the people we work with, it is just because you are a part of it through your prayers and giving, and we want to be thankful. We want to be like the Samaritan who came back to thank Jesus, not like the other nine who never were thankful. As you pray for us, we pray for you, so the Lord can make the difference in your life in these days of uncertainty that the world is going through.

As to my autobiography/testimony that came out earlier this year, Señor, Hazme Útil (Lord, Make Me Useful) young people have commented how the book encouraged them to follow their dreams. One person told me: "When someone meets you, they never think of all the things you have been through, to make you who you are now; so I can believe that God can use me too." The book has 47 pages, and includes many photographs of 50 years of ministry in Argentina, Lebanon, the United States, and visits to many countries, 36 in all. There are plans to translate it to English.

Luke 24:15 says: "As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them." The Lord today wants to walk with us, and inspire us to greater service for Him. I invite you to continue to be a part of our multifaceted ministry in Guatemala through your prayers and generous donations. Funds are needed to sponsor needy students, plus funds for the building that seems just out of reach, like this beautiful Guatemalan volcano, but ever more necessary to provide better service. If you need an income tax receipt, make your check out to CMM, Christ's Mandate for Missions, P.O. Box 7705, Charlotte, North Carolina 28241. The Director of CMM, Jorge Parrott, is a close friend.

Your brother,
Dr. Samuel Berberian mailto:samuelberberian@hotmail.com