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Below are excerpts from three letters sent to the Southeastern Synod from congregations of La Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (ILAG) - the Augustinian Lutheran Church in Guatemala. ILA San Pedro Apostol and ILA San Juan Bautista are two of the three newest ILAG churches.
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From: Iglesia Luterana Agustina Jesus de los Milagros.
Community Israel - January 04, 2011
Dear Brothers and sisters from the Southeastern Synod. Receive our cordial greetings. We hope and pray that your health is well and that our Lord is pouring many blessings on you.
The members of the congregation Iglesia Luterana Agustina Jesus de los Milagros wish that you have a prosper year. We send you many hugs for each one of you. Know that you are always in our hearts, we pray for you every Sunday asking God to give you health, hope and unity. We remember our brothers and sisters of your synod who have visited us and we send special greetings to them.
The church members and Padre Ricardo realized different activities in the church. We taught catechism to the children of the church and we studied the bible. We did these with the objective that all the members of the congregation are able to participate and that all of us can serve God.
For this New Year 2011 we have set ourselves a goal, to construct the church building. It has been difficult because we do not have the funds to start. We have our faith placed in God that He will help us, He will give us our health and our strength to work.
We ask you to pray for us so that we can reach our dreams. With prayers and our faith placed in God we can receive what we ask from Him.
The children from our congregation send you many blessings and hugs to each one of you.
We hope that one day not too far away we could continue to communicate through letters.
Attentively,
Parish Council
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Iglesia Luterana Agustina San Juan Bautista.
Community El Playito Cerro Alto, Coban, Alta Verapaz.
Region 5 Nimla a' Coc
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ from the Southeastern Synod.
May the peace and love of God be with you all. We hope that you are successful in your daily spiritual and material activities.
We would like for you to visit us in the love of Jesus Christ because we think it is important to get to know each other in order to exchange experiences and ideas.
Attentively,
Leader of the church in the community El Playito Cerro Alto.
Herlindo Ixim
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Iglesia Luterana Agustina San Pedro Apostol.
Community Bella Vista, Rio Negro, Coban, Alta Verapaz.
Guatemala, January 23, 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ from the Southeastern Synod.
May the peace and love of God be with you all.
Receive a cordial greeting from our church. The objective of this letter is to greet all the brothers and sisters from your Synod and to let you know that we are part of the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala.
On behalf of the Parish Council, Santiago Can Caal
Community Bella Vista, Rio Negro
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A delegation from the Southeastern Synod will visit the ILAG May 21-28. Traveling by van, by boat, and by foot, the Southeastern Synod group will go from the ILAG Lutheran Center in Guatemala to the rural villages of Chumila Ixila II and Community El Porvenir de los Martires. The cost for the trip, including airfare, will be between $1,200 - $1,500, depending on the number of people in the delegation. To reserve your spot, or for more information, please contact Pastor Nancy Christensen at nchristensen@elca-ses.org, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
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It's also time to start planning for spring floods. Record snows this winter combined with an unusually wet autumn have forecasters calling for a serious threat of flooding this spring. If you live in a flood-prone area, you might be eligible for flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. These policies take 30 days from the date of purchase to take effect, which means that if you live in an area that could potentially flood, you should apply today. For more information, visit 
My friend shared with me a story about a recent worship service that got off to a bit of a rocky start, with a little confusion about the readings and who was doing what, and that sort of thing. After the service and before the meeting one member complained bitterly about the worship, saying, "I would be embarrassed to bring a friend to our worship, we're so disorganized."
The 2011 Rostered Leader Reports to the Synod Bishop are due February 15. 
This men's retreat at Lutherock offers an opportunity to be in a place where God can teach us a lot about ourselves and faith through the mountain waters. There is time for learning knots, entomology, and for casting practice before heading out together to the rivers on Saturday and Sunday morning.
