"He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NRSV)

Let us first introduce ourselves…

Let us introduce you to our family. As pictured here, we are David, Kate and our two children, Emily (5) and Matthew (2). We currently live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While New York City was our home from 1995-2005, Kate is originally from Massachusetts and David from Indiana. In 2005 we heard and accepted God's call to pull up our roots in New York City and move to Argentina as long-term mission personnel for the ELCA.

How do we serve the ELCA as missionaries?

We serve as the ELCA Global Mission Regional Representatives for South America. As we faithfully live into the accompaniment model for mission (www.elca.org/globalmission/policy/index.html), our primary responsibility is to develop relationships of trust with our Lutheran brothers and sisters in five countries in South America: Argentina (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Unida), Bolivia, Chile (http://www.iksynod.org/ministry/globalmission/chile.asp), Peru (Iglesia Luterana Evangelica Peruana) and Uruguay (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Unida). Each day we walk hand-in-hand with our companion churches to identify and develop projects that promote church growth, leadership development, peace and reconciliation, sustainable development as well as other priorities that strengthen Lutheran communities in South America.

We also coordinate a Young Adults in Global Mission (www.elca.org/globalserve/youngadults/) program in Argentina and Uruguay. This program offers young adults from the U.S. between the ages of 21 and 30 the opportunity to spend a year overseas living with a family and volunteering with a church or social service agency.

How can you and your congregation be involved with our ministry?

For us, the Christian faith is lived most fully in community with others. In the same way, our ministry will not be rich and life-giving without the meaningful involvement of friends and neighbors who are our companions for the journey. We hope that you can become active participants in our ministry.

Here's how:

Pray: Whether we are at home in Argentina or visiting our companion churches in the region, each day begins with prayer and meditation. Prayer is our source of strength for the journey and how we know that we are safely held in the palm of God's hand. Please consult our Prayer Page for specific information on how you can pray for us and our companion churches in South America. Please know that you are also in our prayers.

Learn: We know that individuals and congregations want to learn about the ELCA's companion churches in South America and have regular updates from missionaries serving there. To this end, we publish a periodic newsletter along with mission reports that provide information and pictures from visits to our companion churches. General as well as country specific information is also available from the ELCA (www.elca.org/countrypackets) and the I-K Synod sites.

Sponsor: Without the direct support of gifts from sponsoring congregations and individuals, our family would not be able to serve as ELCA missionaries to the South American region. If you have not done so already, please consider making 2006 the year that you or your congregation takes a further step in supporting global mission by becoming sponsors of our ministry.

To become a sponsor, please click here or contact The Reverend David Lerseth, Director for Global Mission Support, ELCA Global Mission, 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631, Phone: (773) 380-2641, E-mail: dlerseth@elca.org.

Visit: As missionaries, we believe that just as important as going out into the world, is our coming back and sharing the story of mission with those at home. Every 22 months, we will return to the U.S. on home assignment and will have the opportunity to share our experience more intimately and directly through visits to sponsoring congregations.

We also hope many of you will be inspired to come visit and experience the life of our companion churches in South America for yourselves.

Please contact us to explore ways of getting more directly involved.

How to be in touch with us:

David Wunsch david.wunsch@elca.org
Kate Lawler kathryn.lawler@elca.org