FRESH FROM THE

BAKER'S OVEN
September, 1992
News of th^^BiU-Baker Family
On Furlough during the 1992-93 School Year
Following 20 years of service in Latin America
Dear Friends and Supporters of the Baker Family,
The calendar says early September, the air is cool in the morning, deer can be seen just outside of
our house to the south. It is evident that we are not in El Paso. The time of furlough has begun.
Before getting into our plans for the future, we need to first bring you up to date concerning our
summer activities.
At the close of the school year, thoughts were not with furlough or the summer schedule but rather
matrimony. On the 30th of May, Billy married Laurel Anne Kuest at Logan Heights Christian
Church. Her father and I performed the ceremony.
The date was moved up on short notice when Billy called in early May to inform us that the summer
tour for Ekklesia had been canceled. After asking, "What do I do now, Mom?", Rosa replied,
"Well, you could get married early, live in our house during the summer and help out with the
Spanish work at Logan Heights until school starts." With that, the race was on and three weeks later,
Rosa and I had a daughter-in-law!
The summer schedule was hectic. We left on June 4th and returned August 6th. We visited 12
churches, 2 VBS's and four weeks of camp. Over 9,000 miles were traveled to Montana, Canada,
Oregon and Utah. Caleb was baptized while in Canada.
Many new contacts were made in contemplating the future of the ministry. The situation regarding
the merger between SAE and El Paso School of Missions was discussed with potential trustees and
possible new workers. If the merger does take place, the Lord has placed me in contact with people
who could provide positive direction for the new ministry.
Following our return to El Paso, we attended the wedding of Marilyn Wood and Jimmie Ouster on
the 8th.
Then we beganthe move to Nebraska. One trip was made to the Scottsbluff-Gering area to coincide
with knee replacement surgery for my Mother on the 14th. (Surgery turned out very well.) Upon
return to El Paso, Billy, Laurel and I immediately made a run to Fullerton, CA with a bedroom set
andpersonal belonging of thenewlyweds. (Toenable them begintheirjunior yearat PCC.) I attended
a trustees meeting of SAE on the 21st of August. Followingservices at Logan Heights on the 24th,
we began the final move to Nebraska.
Barbie has begun classes at Gering High School and is also taking a class on "Creation Science" at
PVBC. Frances andCaleb began classes on September 8th at Cedar Canyon Elementary. It will be
a big change for them. They came from a school of approximately 1,200 students and are entering
a "country school" of only 75 students in K ~ 8th grades.
Everyone is adapting to this different way of life. On morning walks, we have seen several deer.
We have come within 50 feet of a good sized buck.
Our goals are several. We need some family time in a different setting. We plan to be active with
Central Church of Christ in Gering. Of course, I will be visiting churches and sharing the work
we have accomplished during 20 years on the mission field and plans for future ministry.
This period of furlough will go quickly. It is our prayer that we will be more effective in the future
as a result.
SO MUCH FOR THE GOOD NEWS. . .
In beginning this section, I must let you know I have deliberated and prayed for two weeks in seeking
guidance about how to begin and what to say. Rosa says, "Just tell the truth." That I will do and
attempt to do so in such a way that the Lord's work will ultimately benefit.
I have been working on putting together a merger between two El Paso ministries for approximately
five years. Those ministries are Spanish American Evangelism and El Paso School of Missions.
In the Winter-1992 edition of the Spanish American Evangelist, 1 announced the plans for a time
of furlough. In that article, 1stated that 1would be working as of chairman of the merger committee.
During four months of negotiations, the merger committee (which consisted of members of both
boards) approved unanimously a plan for an expanded Joint ministry which would begin as the result
of the merger.
Let me quote directly from the article which was written over seven months ago:
"By performing a merger we now have the opportunity to take the best of both ministries and
discard the worst in an effort to create a new ministry which will be greater than either ministry
separately. We are creating a new ministry which will be completely restructured and
reorganized with clearly defined goals and objectives. The new ministry may begin debt free
with assets in excess of $500,000.00!
"The initial goals and objectives are as follows: 1) Publication and distribution of evangelistic
materials in various languages, 2) provide a base and assistance for new church evangelism,
3)develop an equipping ministry, 4) a short-term internship training program, and 5) a program
of benevolence. If the merger is successful, the work of the Lord will be strengthened as the
assets of both ministries are enhanced and multiplied."
I still firmly believe that the merger is in the best interest of both the Lord*s work and the
ministries of Spanish American Evangelism and El Paso School of Missions.
Shortly after the committee completed its' work, the merger fell apart. I do not know exactly why
this occurred but suffice it to say that satan has used personality conflicts between the two boards to
stifle the work of the Lord.
Prior to my leaving for the summer promotional tour, I was asked by the board of SAE to decide
with which ministry I wanted to serve~SAE or EPSM. In a letter dated June 1, 1992 from the board
of SAE, the following statement was made: "If you cannot humbly, honestly and wholeheartedly
promote this ministry, then we would expect you to voluntarily and with purpose separate
yourself from this ministry."
In responding to the SAE board, I reminded them that it was and is my desire to see the merger
completed and until I was convinced that the merger was impossible, I could not resign.
During the board meeting of SAE on August 21st, I was convinced the merger was not to be. This
placed me in a conflict of interest and I was forced, because of personal conviction to resign from
all positions with both SAE and EPSM.
When I came to El Paso 11 years ago, I thought I had found a ministry with which I could continue
until the Lord called me home. Leaving this ministry was not easy. It was something I did not
want to do! I do not by nature walk away from a problem.
changed greatly in the last 9 months. During 1991, in excess of three
million evangelistic tracts were producedan all-time high for the ministry. At the beginning of
1992, the ministry had eight full-time workers in the ministry. During the August 2ist meeting, I
learned that the number of full-time workers was now down to one and that less than 250,000 tracts
had been produced to date during 1992.
I nowask for your prayers. I love the ministryof SAE. With the Lord's help, I have given over 11
years to the expansion of SAE. Please pray for my family and the board members of both Spanish
American Evangelism and El Paso School of Missions.
I firmly believe that it is still in the best interest of both ministries to complete the merger. At
this point, I must quote from my letter of resignation, "I love the ministry of Spanish American
Evangelism. If, through a period of honest repentance and reconciliation, the merger does take
place without my involvement, I would consider returning to El Paso and serve with the new
combined ministry."
To those of you who have been supporting financially the ministry of the Bill Baker family, let me
say "thank-you," At the present time, I do not know where exactly the Lord will use us in the
future. I can state that we do plan to return to work on the Spanish-speaking field following our
furlough. We will be seeking out the Lord's will and searching for areas of service during the
furlough. Mypersonal goals have not changed. If you do not wish to continue to support financially
the Baker family in light of these developments, I understand. Rosa and I would appreciate knowing
of your desires either way.
During this period of furlough, we would request that any support be sent through Gering Central
Church of Christ. The church treasurer has agreed to forward any contributions to us. The envelope
enclosed is for your convenience.
If you would like more information from us concerning our ftiture, please contact us personally at:
P.O. Box 205, Gering, NE 69341 or by telephone at (308) 436-5776.
If you would like us to personally visit your church during this time of furlough, please feel free to
contact us.
Sincerely in Christ,
Bill Baker
Rosa, Barbie, Frances and Caleb
Fresh From the Baker's Oven
News ofthe BUI Baker Family Permit No. 1
Serving duringfurlough with: Postage
Central Church ofChrist PAID
P.O. Box 557 Gering, Nebraska
Gering, NE 69341
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
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Hission Services - Come Departaent
PQ Box S^t27
Knoxville, TN 37901-2427
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