Welcoming a New Vicar

On Sunday, August 17th, Phil Gurgel was installed as vicar here at "Cordero de Dios" (Lamb of God) congregation in Torreón. He will be with us until next summer.

Phil arrived in Mexico in June of this year. He first headed to Puebla, a city in central Mexico, to study Spanish at a language institute. After about two months of classes, he hopped on a bus and headed north to Torreón.

Having a vicar here in Mexico is valuable for a number of reasons. For starters, Phil will be a great help at the mission congregation Mike oversees. This frees up Mike's schedule, and gives him time to carry out his other duties as field coordinator, which currently include teaching at the seminary and visiting Mexican pastors and congregations in other areas. Having a vicar in Mexico also gives the people here a chance to meet a pastor-in-training. And it provides students from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary an opportunity to experience life and work on a mission field.

We look forward to having Phil with us this year. And we are thankful for the vicars we have had in the past - they are always a huge help on the field!