Terry Bentley

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Prayer Letter/Ministry Update

Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina! Thanks for your prayers for me and our work here. With the busyness of the past months, I’ve neglected getting an update out.
My colleagues, Jonathan and Judy Grames, and Dan and Melody Taube returned in January from their six month Home Assignments. The time they were gone and that the majority of the daily work load in the office fell to me, was emotionally demanding. As mentioned in my last bulletin, I struggled with loneliness that I had never experienced before. Thank you for praying for me. God has met me in special ways and shown me Himself, and that He is sufficient for our needs. That hasn’t changed my circumstances, but it has changed my outlook on them.
Thank you for praying with me about my duplicate residence document. I received it in December, after 14 months in process. Then last week I found the old one in a jacket pocket! A friend said to me “this was probably more about you learning patience!” At least the mystery is solved as to where it was “lost”.
Transition is on the horizon again. And once more, it is not something I would choose. International Ministries has made the decision to close the Argentine field within five years, mainly as a response to the world economic crisis and the decrease in contributions to the Great Commission Fund, out of which our allowances and ministry funds are paid.
As a career missionary, it’s hard to think of leaving this place where God has given me a love for the people. Have we finished our work? Have we impacted people sufficiently for the Kingdom? Have we adequately trained those who will take our place? Having already gone through transition, one would think it would make it that much easier the next time around; but it actually makes another change even harder to think about. Leaving the preferred and familiar and moving forward into the unknown; mourning the loss, adjusting to changes, decision making and maintaining joy in the process, are all a part of the transition process.
As I’ve contemplated the idea of transition again, it reminds me that my trust has to be in God, and Him alone. It’s hard to live in a state of uncertainty, not knowing what the next step in my life will be, or when it will happen, unable to communicate any specific information. But God asks for our trust, even in the dark times. That is faith (Hebrews 11:1). Will we trust Him when we don’t know or can’t see the next step? He is faithful and will lead us. Our task is to stay connected to and trust Him. Sounds easy, but isn’t.
I share all this to help you understand the difficulty of transition and to say that I don’t know what my future holds, or how much longer I will be in Argentina, but I know that God does. And what He has planned for each of us is good (Jeremiah 29:11).
Thank you for your prayers as I walk through this transition. Pray that I will hear God’s voice in not only what He wants me to do in the next stage of my life, but also in knowing Him more intimately in the process. Even more, pray that this will not be a distraction for us and that we will concentrate on what God wants us to do here and now.
Please pray for my colleagues: Jonathan and Judy Grames, Joel and Lynn McGarvey, Erin Sabol, Bob and Sue Stern and Dan and Melody Taube, as they also face these changes and look to God for what He has for them.
More difficult news was received last week in that 30 international Alliance workers (from different countries around the world) will be called back to the U.S. due to lack of funding. Please pray for our colleagues whose lives will drastically change because of this.
I have had some enjoyable times in the last few months with several visitors between October of 2008 and January of 2009. Carletta, an American friend, came to visit in October and we did a road trip to Puerto Madryn, in southern Argentina. We saw penguins, sea lions, sea elephants, whales and an array of other Patagonian animals. It was a privilege to see God’s amazing creation up close and renew our friendship.
In November, Vi Beack, a former Peru colleague and her niece, Lisa, came to visit. We made the trek to beautiful Iguazu Falls in northern Argentina. It was fun relaxing and we played lots of games.
In January, I had the privilege of receiving former Peru colleagues Duane and Lois Thiessen for a week.
Also in January, I had the joy of hosting Peruvian friends Elliot, Marlene and Samuel Castillo for a week. We saw the sights of Buenos Aires and they got to see my “world” here and meet my friends.
I will be in the U.S. for my regular three month Home Assignment from June 10 to September 8. It will be great to see many of you then. Please call, write or stop by! You can contact me at my mom’s house after June 10:
(715) 256-1875
231 Countryside
Court, Unit B
Waupaca, WI 54981
Thanks to those who pray and give to the Great Commission Fund for our work in Argentina. Many are sacrificing in order to join with us to build the Kingdom and we are grateful for your partnership.

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