Uruguay, South America: March 9 – 19: I left mid-afternoon on Tuesday, March 9 for the day long journey to Montevideo, Uruguay with layovers in Miami and Buenos Aires. I arrived on Wednesday, March 10 and was met at the airport by members of my “spiritual family” in Uruguay (Ricardo and Mirta Horack, Romi and Lilo Hennig, and my hosts Rainer and Andrea Kunze.) A bit weary from the days travel, I had a steak and potato lunch, and then I rested before our meeting Wednesday night. Carlos and Ruth, Rainer’s parents, whom I have known for over two decades, came by to greet me in the late afternoon. Carlos has been a key to opening numerous doors of ministry for me in Uruguay. I was not scheduled to minister on Wednesday evening, but was privileged to attend a meeting of all the department leaders of the Central Mennonite Congregation of Montevideo. It was exciting to hear all that was happening through the church. Carolina Hennig, Romi and Lilo’s daughter who is also Rainer’s niece, sat by me to translate the meeting. Rainer Kunze serves as the senior leader, and through his leadership, there have come numerous changes and innovations, including a newly purchased facility, a Spanish speaking service and a vibrant youth ministry. After the meeting, as is the norm, Rainer and I spent until midnight fellowshipping the events of the day.

Thursday, March 11: I spent the morning with Rainer discussing the agenda for the visit. In the afternoon, I was surprised by a visit from Heinrich and Sonja Marten and their family, who were visiting from Germany. I had known Sonja from my early visits to Montevideo, as she was the youth leader then. She later married Heinrich, who lived in Paraguay, and through my visit to their home in Paraguay, I met Ronald Balzer. During the following years, they moved to Germany, where Kathy and I were able to visit them. Heinrich, once again, has invited me to return to Germany. He spoke to me about a revival among the youth there, and he believes that my message on Sonship: The Path to Fatherhood would be extremely timely. We are praying about this possibility. Later in the afternoon I was the guest of Ricardo and Mirta Horack. Ricardo and Mirta are the houseparents for the Mennonite Student Home. They are also faithful members of my spiritual family. At 7:00 PM, I shared a short devotion on “Ask, Seek, Knock” with the Mennonite Prayer group at the facility, and ministered to a handful of people.

Friday, March 12: Heinrich and Sonja Marten returned to say good-bye before they left for Colony Delta. We were joined by Sonja’s brother and wife, Irwin and Renata Kunze. Irwin is an evangelist and church planter living in Colony Delta. He recently spent time ministering in Germany, too. For lunch, which is most always the big meal of the day, Rainer and Andrea had invited a missionary couple from Costa Rica, who attend the Central Mennonite Congregation. This couple is involved with youth ministry throughout the nation of Uruguay.  At 4:30 PM I was hosted by Rainer’s sister and next door neighbor to minister to a small group of ladies, two of whom had the tragic experience of losing their children. At 7:00 PM I arrived at the building to meet and share with perhaps forty or fifty of the men from the congregation. I spoke to them from a message inspired in me by Charles Simpson on the “Three Temptations of Christ.”  I was truly blessed by the response of these men.

Saturday, March 13: I spent the morning and lunch with Colonel Carlos Marquez, his wife Susana, and daughter Carla. Both Carlos and Carla have been guests of Kathy and me here in Stafford. Carlos had been stationed in Haiti with the United Nations forces. Carla is a dental school student in Montevideo. It was good to be with them in their home. I left mid-afternoon to spend a time of fellowship with another couple with whom I relate to, Helmut and Fanny Bachman. Helmut and Fanny, also, have been visitors in our home, and two of their children, Philip and Jennifer, spent a number of weeks here with members of Harvest, the Ellenwood family. Saturday evening I was the guest of the Mennonite Youth Group. Perhaps sixty to seventy youth showed up for this meeting. They surprised me with a mock interview of me, which was a bit better than them throwing me fully dressed into Rainer’s swim pool a couple years ago. I shared with them a message I had prepared from Genesis 1 called “Let There Be Light.” The meeting went quite late, but thanks be to God, Sunday in Uruguay was autumn daylight savings time, so the clocks were turned back one hour.

Sunday, March 14: The Central Mennonite Church now has two meetings on Sunday mornings. The first meeting is in German. Rainer shared a message for this meeting, and Helmut Bachman sat by me to interpret it. I shared at the 10:00 AM service a message on “Setting Our Course.” After ministering to a number of people following the message, I was a guest of Romi and Lilo’s for the famous “asado.” This is not simply a meal, but it is an event. Romi and Lilo’s family, all of whom have been guests in our home, joined us. I find it impossible to explain an asado, but if you ever go to Uruguay, you are in for a tremendous treat. We finished the asado around 5:00 PM, in time to enjoy a meal at a beautiful Montevideo restaurant. Rainer, Andrea and I were guests of Irwin and Petra Bachman, and Hans Marten and Rosi Specht. Once again, we had a fabulous evening of fellowship, and of course, I had another delicious Uruguayan steak. (I put on five pounds during this trip.) It seems to be the custom in nearly every place I travel to “fellowship around food.”

Monday, March 15: Along with overseeing the Mennonite congregation in Montevideo, Rainer owns and operates a warehouse in the free-zone near his home in the suburb of Carrasco. For lunch on Monday, Rainer had invited his business partner, Pablo Merera and Pablo’s girlfriend Alejandra. I carry a burden in my heart for Pablo. He’s a great guy, very animated and has a great sense of humor, but he needs Jesus Christ. After lunch, Rainer had a business appointment, so I sat with Pablo and Alejandra, sharing my testimony, and speaking to them about their need for Christ. Please pray that these seeds that they openly and warmly received would bring forth fruit. After spending most of the afternoon with Pablo and Alejandra, I was hustled off to the home of Peter and Ilona Reimer. My initiation to the German Mennonite Congregation was at a meeting in their home almost two decades ago. Peter, Ilona and their three boys have been precious friends over all these years. As is the custom, we shared supper together, usually made up of coffee and light sandwiches or pastries. Peter then took me downtown, where I was scheduled to speak at a meeting hosted by Intercessors for Uruguay. Cristina and Robert Mostratano have been friends for many years, and Cristina serves as the president of “Red de Intercesores.” The room was packed with people even standing in the stairwell. As is the case in Uruguay, Rainer faithfully was there to translate for me. I spoke on “Sowing and Reaping” from the book of experience of the Biblical character Job. Afterwards, since there were so many people, I called forth church and prayer leaders who were in attendance, laid my hands on each, and then had them pray for the other members of the audience. I am glad that I did this, because I was still ministering to some until midnight.

Tuesday, March 16: Rainer and I left after lunch for Colony El Ombu. I had been invited to this colony, which is about three hours from Montevideo by two of the leaders Irwin and Bernd Penner. I have been visiting this colony for many years, and have some wonderful memories of my visits. Bernd and Evelyn and their daughters welcomed us in their home. Rainer was handling some business over the phone, so Bernd’s daughter Jessica was translating for me. I was shocked by her command of English, since El Ombu is quite isolated in the interior of Uruguay. That evening I spoke on the “Brazen Serpent,” and again I am thankful to God for helping me communicate His heart for these people. Rainer and I stayed with Andrea’s mom, Crista Klaussen, who was widowed a couple of years ago. Her husband, whom I knew, had been the bishop of El Ombu, a position now held by Irwin Penner. I was encouraged by my time in El Ombu, and I only hope that I was able to encourage them.

Wednesday, March 17: After breakfast in El Ombu with Crista, and a couple members of her family, Rainer and I headed back to Montevideo. Upon arrival, I packed and then rested for a time before we met with the Mennonite Central Congregation leaders: Ursula, Friedhelm, Peter, Helmut, Fanny, Rainer, Andrea. Once more, it was a wonderful time of fellowshipping and sharing together. I was in tears saying goodbye to them. These are precious people, and I feel like a member of their family. They have always received me so graciously; I am humbled by my time with them.

Thursday, March 18: Rainer and I went to the Free Zone for me to see how the warehouse had grown, and the business had expanded. It was also a chance to say “adios” to several friends, including Pablo. The week had sped by quickly, and now it was time to prepare to return home. I was privileged once again to share communion with Rainer and Andrea, and to pray a blessing over them and their three children: Valentina, Nicole and Rafael. As is always the case, saying goodbye is bitter-sweet. Ricardo, Romi and Lilo, joined Rainer and the family at the airport to send me off. I wish to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His presence, His help, His grace and His strength for this journey. And, as I close, I want to pass on to my Lord, all the kind words spoken to me, and all the honor and respect afforded me in this visit. Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ, and blessed Holy Spirit, You and You alone are worthy to receive this kind of reception. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. God bless Uruguay! (More than likely, I have omitted some meetings or times of fellowship, and I apologize for these omissions.)

Friday, March 19 – 21: I arrived home from South America and was welcomed at Dulles Airport by Kathy, who was accompanied by Bradley Stuart. The record snow from this winter was now gone. I spent Saturday trying to catch up with emails, and other correspondence, and get ready for sharing at Harvest on Sunday. Sunday afternoon we opened our home for a time of fellowship with the Harvest family. On Tuesday I was back on the road to meet with Dan Wolfe, Gary Bergel and Dick Nielsen. The four of us get together about once every six weeks just to update one another, and pray for each other. On Wednesday evening I met with the Harvest Leadership Team, which consists of Kathy and Me, along with Bradley Stuart, Bill and Melody Bannister, Jeff and Linda Ellenwood, and Dennis and Lauralee Harding.

Thursday, March 25 – 28, Kathy, who is my favorite travel companion, and I flew to Kansas City to spend some time with more members of our spiritual family, Dick and Carolyn Burton. Dick and Carolyn were able drive us to Carthage, Missouri, and to join us on Friday for the Church of the Nations Cluster Conference. The conference was hosted by some new friends, Mike and Mary Morgan, at Bykota Ministries. Tony Fitzgerald, founder of COTN International was the keynote speaker. As most of you know, I came into a defined relationship with Tony toward the end of last summer. On Friday evening Tony shared from Romans chapter one revolving around the question, “Of what are we fully convinced or persuaded?” On Saturday he shared a decade by decade history of the COTN network of churches. Kathy and I had a nice time of fellowship around lunch with Mike and Mary Morgan. A major emphasis of this year’s conference was “helping Kids in Crisis.” As always, a highlight of the trip was spending time with Dick and Carolyn. We flew from Kansas City on Sunday morning, and arrived home a half hour before our Harvest Men’s Meeting. In that half hour, my adorable bride Kathy fixed a meal for the guys who came. I want to share here that Kathy is an example of a Proverbs 31 woman for me.

Breaking News: Eric Samuelson, who edited the rough draft of my upcoming book – Becoming Sons – has now completed a thirteen unit study guide for the manual – Sonship: The Path to Fatherhood. I will be meeting with Eric next week, and the study guide will soon be available for individuals or groups. Eric has also connected me to a missionary in St. Petersburg, Russia, who is interested in having the sonship manual translated into Russian. PLEASE, pray for Eric and me as we consider the course and strategy of the Sonship message for the future. Bradley Stuart, also, has introduced the manual to a Brazilian congregation in Florida, who have an interest in translating it into Portuguese. I am indebted to Eric and Bradley for these connections.

New clearing house for information regarding my dad and his recent heart attack.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimmcnally/

log in and you can get email notice of updates, leave a message, etc.

thanks
-sean

As some of you may have already heard, my Dad suffered a massive heart attack yesterday afternoon. We are thankful that he was at home and mom was there to recognize the warning signs and get him to hospital quickly.

He is currently in intensive care, but is responding well to the treatments he has been given. We’re all praying for a quick and complete recovery and are well aware of another miracle that happened this very Easter weekend.

I will try to keep this page updated as we have more information.

Matt is on his way up from Florida and I was with mom last night in the ICU. She was able to go home and get some rest, but is back at the hospital this morning. I’m headed that way myself right now.

Thanks again for all your prayers.

-sean