• Dear family and friends,
  
  It’s a beautiful morning in rural Pennsylvania. Karen, our daughter Lyndsey, and our grandkids Kyla and Quinn are heading to HersheyPark for a day of water rides. I’ll join them later for a bit of splashing around.
  
  But first, this:
  
  √ It would be tough to find words for how great it’s been to re-root in Millersburg, Pennsylvania and at David’s Community Bible Church. To be here for and with family, to revel in and contribute to the rich life of our home church, to go farm-hopping with the grandkids and watch in awe as incredibly self-assured 11-year old Lorraine takes us with her around the farm as she feeds her Amish family’s cows, pigs, chickens, and horses … All I can say is, it’s a profoundly rich pre-launch gift.
  
  √ Our support level is now at 71% of where it needs to be in order for us to move to our awaiting work in Colombia. We’re very encouraged by this. If you’ve been considering joining our financial support team but have not yet committed, this would be a great time for you to do that. Write or call us, or simply go to http://uwm.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d51738c53f3016d069e94ccb0&id=532f44df86&e=3550f97595. And thank you!
  
  √ We’re close enough to our target that we’ve begun to firm up our calendar. Here’s what we think will happen and when:
  
  *Reach 100% of support requirement by December 31, 2017
  
  ** Take 7 weeks of pre-field training at the Center for Intercultural Training in North Carolina (January-February, 2018)
  
  *** Move to Medellín, Colombia! (March-April, 2018)
  
  **** Begin our first six-month annual stint of working out of Connecticut (January, 2019)
  
  ***** Return to Colombia for second half-year stint working out of Colombia Biblical Seminary (July, 2019).
  
  ****** Thereafter, continue 6-North, 6-South rhythm of work (Colombia and Connecticut)
  
  √ If we were going by the book, we’d be holding off on starting our ministry commitments until we’re fully funded and fielded. But some things can’t wait:
  
  * I’m making steady, if painstaking, progress on my English/Spanish/Hebrew-translation role in making the high-quality online Hebrew classes available to Spanish speakers as part of a team assembled for this project (and its Biblical Greek counterpart) by our Biblical Seminary of Colombia.
  
  ** The Theological Education Initiative is blooming under our feet. Surprising numbers of prospective missionary-scholars are knocking on our door for orientation, counsel, mentoring, and pathways forward. Good grief this seems to be an idea for this moment. How to keep up?
  
  *** In theory, we’re doing ‘full-time support raising’. And, in a way, we are. But it’s been, well, umm, a little unconventional.
  
  **** I’m taking an online course called ‘Nonprofit Management for the 21st Century’ to complete my certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership at Indiana University’s Lilly School of Philanthropy.
  
  ***** I’ve registered to take an online version of the stupendous course called ‘Perspectives on the World Christian Movement’ so that we can thereafter offer ‘official’ versions of this phenomenal learning experience at David’s Community Bible Church and elsewhere.
  
  ****** David’s Community Bible Church has embraced Karen and me in ways that include opportunities to serve concretely. Lots of teaching, preaching (Gospel of John), some mentoring, etc. We’re loving it!
  

  √ Coming up, I’ll teach the book of Isaiah at beloved Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, Lebanon; deliver a three-part lecture series at an annual ‘intellectual conference’ that’s being revived at Christ Church Cape Cod (Massachusetts); etc.
  
  √ Karen is beavering away at Spanish, with Colombian friend/teacher Magdalena on her Skyped-up laptop screen for encouragement and orientation.
  
  √ Karen is also turning over the soil on the spiritual formation training that will equip her for a critical slice of her eventual contribution within our United World Mission and also within our seminary community at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia. Lots of planting, watering, and sunshine to follow.
  
  √ It occurred to me recently, as I was watching Karen bravely find her space in and around small-town Pennsylvania and its surrounding country roads, that this woman is a born missionary. She is interested, she engages, she plunges in, she makes eye contact. Where did I *find* this woman?
  
  √ I’ve been invited to *fish* in Michigan and on Long Island Sound! Somebody’s got to do it …
  
  √ Yes, this feels a little vulnerable, mightily dependent, occasionally lunatic, and recurrently exhilarating. We’re in very good cheer, encouraged, hopeful, determined. All that stuff.
  

  Thanks for walking with us!
  
  Much love,
  
  David and Karen

Hey Mama, we sold the house … Our road to life-shaping formation of Latin American Christian leaders like Andrés & Johana Alemán (shown in their apartment, left, and with members of their church plant in a troubled settlement high above Medellín) begins in Indianapolis and passes through Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Andrés and Johana, recent graduates of the South American seminary we’re preparing to serve, are thoughtful, purposeful, gritty, and winsome Colombians who could be serving in a more comfortable environment. And now friends. An odd exhilaration comes with speaking goodbyes to beloved people and places and migrating toward new ones. How will we fare there? Will we be warmly received or an interruption to busy lives? Will we thrive in the necessary chaos of this transition or go numb against its million pokes at normalcy? Will the Lord be there as he has been here? Is the One in whom we’ve trusted truly reliable? Only time tells, though assurance sneaks in quietly meanwhile with each step, never before it, never in advance. Leaving Indy: 13 years of life in our ‘124’, transformed by Karen into a most welcoming space. We release this gift in order to receive our Maker’s next provision of a place to thrive and serve. Thank God for U-Haul! Then, inexplicably, people show up. Connecticut people, even. Insanely busy Northeasterners. The people with whom we’ll soon share life as we operate out of that state for half of each year. The people of God are so often resilient, responsive, and resourceful. Even when the Celtics are on and it’s dark already, and raining, and Dave is coughing like some flu-ridden maniac. They become fellow travelers, even when they stay as we go. And here we are in rural Millersburg, Pennsylvania, settling into our home church’s beautifully named Haven House (on the left with all those jeans on the clothesline). The view out our back door takes in Amish farms that were once cultivated by my Pennsylvania German ancestors and are as lush and productive as ever under Amish hands. Yup, we’ve gone and done it! Sold the house, hit the road, headed for service in Colombia where so many like Andrés and Johana await the academic challenge and loving embrace that we believe God has created us to provide. Our support level stands at 57% Our goal for hitting 100% is December 31 When we hit 60%, we can register for our seven weeks of pre-field training at the Center for Intercultural Training in North Carolina (January-February). Click here to join our financial support team. Our mailing address is: 739 Church Street, Millersburg, PA 17061 United World Mission Account #31538 205 Regency Executive Park Drive Suite 430 Charlotte, NC 28217 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Don’t mess with us. We’re Packer dudes.

Colombians seek a fresh start. View this email in your browser A time for this. What a time for investing in the lives of emerging Christian leaders in Latin America! In this stage of a peace process that has attempted to bring fifty years of civil war to an end, Colombians long for a different nation than the one they’ve known. Don’t get me wrong. There is much to love in the rich legacy of regions and cultures that makes up today’s Colombia. At the same time, many tears and too much blood have flowed in a country in which resurgent violence has been the wolf at each generation’s door. Colombians want to move beyond, to create a new Colombia for themselves and their children. You can feel it in the air, you can see it signs along the street, you can discern it in the mingled stories of displacement, of forgiveness, in the attempt to manage expectations that have been betrayed too many times. You can almost feel the hope. And hope, in this region of the world, does not come cheap. What a privilege to be invited into the lives of Colombia’s emerging Christian leaders at a time like this! In the last few years, our Biblical Seminary of Colombia (BSC) has stepped outside of the safer confines of the evangelical community to take its place among the accredited universities of this country of nearly 50 million people. Firmly anchored in biblical conviction, the BSC now competes on quality alongside the established giants and the peppy newcomers of the Colombian educational scene. Our arrival (soon, we hope!) in Colombia and our integration into the BSC team are part of the plan to deepen BSC’s ministry and extend its reach into higher levels of degree offerings. Colombians look towards a nuevo futuro: a new future. The nation’s Christian citizens will have a voice in shaping that future. We Baers get a front row seat and an oar in the water as soon-to-be residents of this unique and compelling country. This is a season of ‘holy risk-taking’ at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia. The Lord is drawing not only exceptional emerging leaders onto its roster of students. He is also populating the leadership and faculty of the BSC with an astonishing mix of Colombians and other leaders who are prepared to mentor a generation of Latin America’s finest Christian leaders in the direction of their full stature. Over the next years, we will introduce you to some of these tremendous new colleagues. Meanwhile, have a look at this recently produced English-language video about the BSC. I just watched it again. I confess that, every time I view it, this brief video moistens my eyes with a sense of deep privilege that we get to be a part of this. And the real thing is even better than the video. The Biblical Seminary of Colombia has an honored legacy of 72 years of service. Right now, in what feels to all involved as a very special moment, the seminary under great leadership is moving from strength to strength. Our support level has reached 57.18% When we hit 60%, we’re cleared for pre-field training (5 weeks). When we hit 100%, we’re on our way to Colombia. Click here to join our support team! We were talking about critical moments for theological education and leader training. This is certainly one of those in Colombia. You’ve read about the peace agreement between the government and the largest rebel group (called FARC). The terms were controversial. People of good will found themselves on opposite sides of the debate and the referendum. Matters of justice and forgiveness should have been at the core of Colombian Christians’ consideration of the issue and, in many cases, they were. Answers have not come easily.  Yet everyone is weary of conflict and eager for a fresh start. When I was last in Colombia, the FARC guerrillas were ‘pre-mobilizing’ for the laying down of their weapons and their integration into Colombia society. The Biblical Seminary of Colombia has had students who are former soldiers of the Colombian Armed Forces and others who are former guerillas. Just think of the dorm room conversations. Think of the demand for and the opportunities for genuine, hard-won reconciliation. Here’s a fascinating glimpse of young FARC guerrillas on the eve of demobilization. Betcha’ they look differently than you imagine. And here’s a great quiz that will test your knowledge of Colombia. We want you to know all that you can about our future home. After all, you’ll visit us. In other news: we’ve sold our home! The transaction is scheduled to close on May 10. This is a HUGE step on our path to Colombia. The Indianapolis church group that is our spiritual family here (called CHEERS) had an Orange Party. Don’t ask me, I don’t know where these ideas come from, either. And finally … Karen continues to work diligently on Spanish via Skype with her teacher Magdalena in Colombia. She’s progressing nicely, although we can still only speak together in Spanish in the present text. If it happened last week, we’ll need to do English. If it hasn’t happened yet, same thing. If it’s goin’ on right now, we’ll amaze you. We’ve already moved some things into the Haven House, where we’ll live in the company of the good folks (really just redeemed sinners, at the root of things, but beautiful people because grace makes all things beautiful) at David’s Community Bible Church in Millersburg, Pennsylvania for the duration of our support-raising season. We’ll move in bodily in the first week of May. This is going to be an amazing gift of reconnection and we hope to serve this community well during our stay. My (Dave’s) father, Raymond ‘Mim’ Baer, recently entered a nursing home near Millersburg. It’ll be wonderful to be near Dad and Mom Baer. David is working with Eduardo Vargas, a recent graduate of the Biblical Seminary of Colombia, to get the phenomenal on-line Hebrew-learning materials produced by Bible Mesh transitioned into Spanish. We’re making great progress, although there’s no such thing as an uncomplicated issue when we merge an ancient language and modern technology from two continents in the way that we’re doing. I’m loving it. The other side of Dave’s work (developing our United World Mission’s Theological Education Initiative) is blossoming. We’ll tell you about it. Leaving our wonderful home in Indy is bitter-sweet. But we are buoyed by the promise of new things that await us. This continues to be a profoundly vulnerable and blessed season, all at the same time. We’re pumped. Our mailing address is now: 739 Church Street, Millersburg, PA 17061 (yippee!) Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Dear friends,

Sometimes you just gotta’ get down and dirty and fast.

That’s what these UNFILTERED mailings are about. If God has placed us Baers and our calling on your heart, read on. If not, please go back to what you were doing. No hurt feelings.


√ Getting to Colombia

Our house has not yet sold. That’s a concern. We need to sell this puppy.

The percentage of the funds United World Mission has established for us to raise that we’ve seen come in has hit 56%. We’re told this is a jaw-dropping outcome for six months of trusting effort; that’s the good news. There’s still 44% to go; that’s the other side of the coin. Missionaries do develop a special sense of tender dependence upon people of good will and common cause in a process like this one. There oughta’ be a word for the peculiar gratitude that ensues.

Karen’s Spanish lessons continue apace. Her teacher Magdalena wrote a side note to me about Karen’s ‘discipline, passion, perseverance, and great attitude.’

We are a month away from  moving East to move South, on which more below.


√ Our health

Karen is well after a series of uncharacteristic medical crises the landed her in the ER and the hospital. Many tests later, we’re without a diagnosis and probably won’t get one. Wo we do the next thing, and trust.

I’ve been in agony for five days with the worst sore throat of my life. The doc says it’s a virus that will pass. She did not say ‘Stop your whining and belly-aching’, but I could see it in her eyes.


√ Moving east

We have decided to move to our temporary home at the Haven House of David’s Community Bible Church in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. This is the church were I grew up, where my parents still are, and where I was nurtured into deep faith in Jesus as a teenager. We can hardly wait. We’ll be based in this beautiful, rural, Pennsylvania Dutch (German) location for the duration of our support-raising process. When we’ve finished that process, we’ll head to Colombia from there.


√ Current ministry

How to describe this? It’s just kind of burgeoning (I can’t remember the last time I used that word in a sentence). Almost too much to keep up with.

* I’ve had the enormous privilege of two week-long work sessions of the Vital Sustainability Initiative with phenomenal teams in Lebanon and Colombia.

* A series of talks, including ‘Five Things I’ve Learned by Failing at Leadership’ at LeTorneau University and its Honors College, out in Longview, Texas.

* Continued every-day progress on translating BIBLE MESH’s Hebrew-language teaching into Spanish for the Biblical Seminary of Colombia and Spanish-speakers everywhere, together with my Colombia colleagues Eduardo and Milton.

* Coaching and counseling, as part of my new role leading the Theological Education Initiative, with gifted people at various stages of finding their way to God’s calling as missionary scholars.

* An invigorating role on the Executive Committee of the Global Forum of Theological Educators’ as we plan for a 2nd gathering in 2018/2019.

* Near daily blog-writing on Isaiah as an early stage of preparation for a Spanish-language commentary on this biblical book.

* Coming up: a series of sermons and meetings at the Wethersfield (Connecticut) Evangelical Free Church, where Karen and I met; this church, with its growing Latino subgroup, is pastored by a guy I grew up with in Pennsylvania. His father pastored me in that church I mentioned earlier. Both Brooke and Ruth Solberg remain a force in Karen’s and my life.

* Also coming up: a small role at Langham Partnership’s annual ‘Vision Weekend’ in San Diego. Langham is one of the missional families in which Karen and I feel like adopted son and daughter. We love these folks and what they do.

* And coming up after that: one of the ministries I most admire in this world has asked whether I’d serve on their board. For reasons I could poke around at with a stick if you asked me to do so, this represents both a great opportunity and a huge, inviting affirmation at this stage in Karen’s and my transition. Plus, the organization is simply stocked with committed, talented, visionary, wonderfully enjoyable people.



√ Family

Karen is with family in Alabama as I write this. She’s bonding with little Cooper, our youngest of eight grandchildren.

Son John (Captain, US Army) will compete in and lead a series of two-man teams in the Army’s grueling ‘Best Sapper Competition’ in late April at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. And I’ll be there to watch! John’s brigade commander has provided him with all the resources he needs to ‘bring this thing home to the 101st Airborne Division’ (in which son Christopher also serves). Although I would have thought that Ranger School and Sapper School were likely the hardest thing a person could sign up for, John claims that the much shorter, three-day ‘Best Sapper Competition’ (this year will mark his third participation) takes the cake.

My father, in Pennsylvania, is in a nursing home for rehab. Karen and I are looking forward to being close to Dad and Mom soon.


√ The vision

Ever clarifying, ever invigorating, always challenging, much larger than we are. If God is not in this, we’re toast.

With deep affection,

David (and Karen)



==============================================
You are receiving this email because we believe you may want to stand with our work in Latin America and beyond.

The Baers ramp up Where are the Baers …?

As our service with the United World Mission ramps up, we’re finding fruitful opportunities while we’re still in the US. Lots of them, actually. In this issue, we’ll tell you mostly what David is up to. When you’ve had your fill of that, we’ll brief you on Karen’s doings in a soon-coming Baerly There … Our support level = 41% In our new work, I (David) will divide my time between the Biblical Seminary of Colombia, on the one hand, and leading the Theological Education Initiative, on the other. Although our critical focus for right now remains raising the remaining 59% of the financial support that will get us posted to Colombia (six months) and Connecticut (six months), my days are already filled with invigorating responsibilities on both of those fronts. Let me give you some examples. ONE: UWM leadership has given me free reign to design and develop the Theological Education Initiative (TEI). This initiative will deploy highly trained scholar-missionaries to places in the world where growing churches most need their highly specialized gifting. I’m having a blast as I work with a TEI colleague to build something that does not currently exist. I love the networking, the strategic relationship-building, and the easy access to influencers and door-opens that comes from twenty-five years in global theological education. Every week, I find myself in deep conversation with prospective scholar-missionaries who sense exactly this calling on their lives. These are amazing people. And they trust me! I feel as though life has prepared me to listen, to counsel, and to partner with such people via an ability to understand three things: their journey, the needs of churches and seminaries worldwide, and the missionary process. TWO: While I was at Overseas Council (OC), one of the most exciting projects we ever developed was called the Vital Sustainability Initiative (VSI). I’ve been asked to continue working with seminaries in Beirut and Medellín to assist them in fulfilling their respective missions as part of the ongoing work of the VSI. I’ll travel to Colombia and Lebanon in February as part of this important work, which is a collaborative initiative shared by Overseas Council and a great ministry called ScholarLeaders, International. As a bonus, one of the seminaries I get to work with in the VSI is our very own Biblical Seminary of Colombia. Got fresh flowers? Chances are, they were grown in the area around the Medellín airport in an area called Rionegro. Wanna’ know more? Read this. FUSBC Say what .. ? : Since acquiring university-level accreditation in the Colombian educational system, the 72-year-old Biblical Seminary of Colombia is known by its Spanish acronym: FUSBC. Say it this way: FOOZ-BAY-SAY   Sometimes, when you have a little space like this left over, all you can do is put in a picture of your dog. THREE: This gets really cool, so buckle up. One of my God-given passions is training emerging Christian leaders to read the Bible in the languages in which it was written. There’s just nothing like watching a young pastor or leader come alive to this level of intimacy with God’s Word. Well, the Biblical Seminary of Colombia recently struck a deal with a cutting-edge distance-education enterprise known as Bible Mesh. We’re translating into Spanish Bible Mesh’s excellent on-line instructional materials, which are developed for English speakers. As a result, we expand access to this amazing learning material to Spanish speakers around the world. Here’s the kicker: for doing this, Bible Mesh provides all graduates of ‘our’ Biblical Seminary of Colombia with life-long free access to these online classes. Wait, I’m not finished. In order to translate the online Hebrew instructional material, we need someone who’s fluent in English, Spanish, and biblical Hebrew. That’s me! And there aren’t many of us. ‘Makes a dude feel downlight useful. But, wait, there’s more. I get to work with a Colombian pastor who’s a graduate of FUSBC (if you read upstairs, you know what those letters mean now). Esteban (not his real name) is a native speaker of Spanish and is pretty darn good at English and biblical Hebrew. But he’s not yet strong enough in these languages to do this work by himself. So I mentor him into accurate engagement with the language of Scripture and into communication to online students that we hope will be second to none. I love to imagine the Spanish-speaking sons and daughters of our Lord who will be more ably shepherded because their pastores have had the very best preparation available. Is this cool, or what? I spend a day a week on Bible Mesh. FOUR: Colombia is a complex, fascinating country of 48 million people. There’s no place quite like it. I spend half a day each week reading through Colombia’s history, culture, politics, spirituality, etc. FIVE: As part of my ramp-up to writing a Spanish-language commentary on the Old Testament book of Isaiah, I’m reading Isaiah every month in Hebrew this year. This is a pump-priming exercise rather than full-contact research. But I’m having a great time blogging my thoughts as they come to me on Canter Bridge. If you have a strong stomach, check it out. A former student and colleague in Costa Rica is working with me to make the biblically reflective pieces on Canter Bridge available in Spanish. You can also catch up with our life as UWM missionaries on our Baerly There … website. SIX: Etc., etc., etc. Life feels pretty fluid right now. It’s a blessed, unsettling, hopeful interlude between the former chapter of ‘regular life’ (whatever regularmeans) and the next one. Will you help us get to Colombia so those people at the beginning of this email can relax?The Lord has prepared us for this next step, immersed us in vision for nurturing emerging Christian leaders and their families, and filled our tanks with the training and experience this vision requires. Maybe you haven’t thought of yourself as a financial partner that would help bring this vision to fruition. But you could be. Please pause and ask yourself—and your Maker—whether this has your name on it. Or your church’s or small group’s name. Let us know what you think. And thank you. Click here to join our financial support team. In other news: √ Karen has come through an unexpected health crisis with the support of our intercessors group (The Guardians) and some superb medical professionals in Indianapolis. She’s well, but there was a little peering over the cliff before we got things backed up to the clearing where the campfire burns.   √ In our next Baerly There …, we’ll get you caught upon what Karen’s up to. √ Selling our beautiful home in Indianapolis is taking longer than we’d hoped. This is an obstacle to taking our next steps. Please ask God to bring a great family who will buy this house and thrive in this space as we have. And soon! √ Karen and I will be in Costa Rica and Colombia on TEI and FUSBC work from January 19 through February 6. Please ask our Lord for ‘traveling mercies’, as that venerable old expression puts it. √ You’re the best. Thank you for caring. Unsubscribe when it’s time (This is not Hotel California.). Otherwise, just hang on! Until our home has sold, our mailing address remains: 124 West 64th Street Indianapolis, IN 46260 David’s contact details: 317-809-0483, david.baer@uwm.org Karen answers here: 317-997-8432, karen.baer@uwm.org United World Mission 205 Regency Executive Park Drive Suite 430 Charlotte, NC 28217 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list