We Made It to Uruguay!
Praise God that after several years of longing to serve as missionaries in Uruguay, our family landed in Uruguay at approximately 2:45 a.m. on September 15! We flew out of Chicago O’Hare Airport at around 9:12 a.m. on September 14 on a 5½-hour flight to Panama City, where we had a 3½-hour layover. The flight from there to Montevideo, Uruguay, lasted just over 7 hours. The first flight was about half full; but, to my surprise, the flight to Uruguay was nearly full. We brought all of our belongings with us on the plane since it would’ve cost a lot more to ship a container. We may have stretched the limit of what we were allowed to bring in. We brought 25 totes, 5 carry-ons, 9 personal items, 2 musical intruments, 1 stroller, 1 car seat, and 3 tired kids! A few of the totes had cracks when we arrived, but nothing was lost or broken in our luggage. Christa did lose a sweater somewhere though. We were told to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, although Christa and I could break quarantine after 7 days if we took a PCR COVID test. It took us 3 days to get our apartment set up. Our daughter Emmalynn had a tough time adjusting. She didn’t sleep much during the first couple of weeks and was sick most of the time, although having three new teeth come through probably didn’t help either! I took a PCR test after a week and begin working on preparing our paperwork for our permanent-residency application. Not many people in Uruguay speak English, so it is challenging at times trying to explain to people what I need help with. The good thing is that it forces me to use Spanish more, which is what I need! Thank you so much for praying as we made this transition.
Ready to Give the Gospel
Christa and I had the joy to lead three precious souls to the Lord in September. I was able to go soul winning with our church’s Spanish Ministry and lead a young man and a lady to the Lord. Both were open to the Gospel and ready to get saved. Christa met a lady named Anne when we were giving away an electric fireplace before our move. Anne asked where we were moving to, and when she found out that we were moving to Uruguay, she asked, “Why is that?” Christa explained to her that we planned to be missionaries there; to which Anne enthusiastically responded: “Oh, I can put you on the prayer list at my church!” That opened the door for Christa to present the Gospel to Anne, who was trusting her works to save her. Anne sweetly prayed to trust in Christ to save her! Praise the Lord!
Prayer
- Wisdom as we prepare to apply for residency
- Our Spanish language classes beginning on October 4
Your missionaries to Uruguay,
Tim, Christa, Ethan, Evan, and Emmalynn Simmons
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- Our missions director and his wife were such a huge blessing to us!
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- Our Spanish pastor is translating for me.
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- Our church ordained me before we left.
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- Christa witnessing to Anne
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- Getting our luggage to our apartment!