3-18-11

Worked with the church at Colon teaching on shape. It was exciting to see how the church accepted this teaching. we broke into small groups and went over each letter. there was so much discussion it could have lasted for hours. woke up early and went to a presentation on no mas violiancia- No More Violence at a elementary school lead by our host church. Then we went onto a special educational/vocational school. Tim, Rebekah, and Laura were able to teach a class on First Aid which was received beyond expectations. Afterwards we were asked if we wanted a tour of the school. It was beyond our comprehentation that there were completely self sufficient in all matter of the scholl. We started in the wood room were they made chairs ect, bakery, craft room, weaving room all the procuct are sold to support the school and the students. Then came the biggest surprise was that the school had a bio diesel operation on site that provides energy for the entire school. every 15 days they collect 1000 liters of used oil from restraunts and residental homes. 950 liter is for energy along with repelent. the other 50 liters is used to produce soap. this was so unbelievable to us i could write for hours. Pastor Felipe and his wife lorrena took us on a tour of there beautiful city. Heard from the misiones team sound like they are all doing well. They were sucessful yesterday in installing a fresh water system in a school using a river that was close to the school as a source. We feel so blessed for all they have been able to accomplish in this short time there. God is great!!! heading out now to teach the peace plan with our host church. Keep us all in your prayers as we are still expecting great things over the next few days. Givem Heaven the Agentina team

Colon

Greetings Argentine Supportors!
We arrived safely in Colon today by way of a 4 hour bus ride. The town is quaint, much smaller than Parana and a beautiful city. Pastor Torres met us at the bus station and we went to eat at a great restaurant....yes I did say "eat" again! We went to their church tonight where they fed us more food....yep more food! Tonight was a night of prayer for the church. It was evident they are a church of intercession as they had us praying in groups and they prayed over our team. Please pray for health as some members of the team are feeling run down as we have had little sleep. We have a full schedule this week visiting memebers from the church who need prayer, teaching kids at the church and have parties for the children. We are all having a great time, lots of laughter, bonding and sharing of devotions and prayer. We also heard from the team in Misiones and they were going to a school to work on the clean water project. They are all doing fine as well. Thank you for your continued prayers that God will give us insight and wisdom how to best be used here in Colon. Signing off.....but not to go eat this time...finally SLEEP. Blessings to all...from Team Argentine

So much inspiration!

¡Hola amigos y familias!

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging comments! Our time here continues to go smoothly. Yesterday we had the privilege of visiting the Christian school that Pastor Jorge’s church founded. This is not just any school! Jorge and the teachers have a grand vision for these students. Education has obviously made a huge impact on these kids’ lives, and Jorge is determined that these children will grow up to be leaders and influencers who care about their people. The school teaches the PEACE plan to the kids and participates in local PEACE initiatives as well. One of the ways they serve their community is by taking food and clothing to a group of about 100 children who live by the river and only eat garbage. Imagine elementary school kids reaching out to their peers who need help! So inspiring!

Last night we got to see some of this poverty for ourselves. It was heartbreaking to be among a group of children who were so needy. Yes, they were lacking resources, but what we noticed most was their need to be touched and loved. We’re praying that our time with them might have been encouraging and hopeful, and we are grateful to know that Pastor Jorge’s church ministers to this neighborhood weekly.

Today we returned to this same under-resourced neighborhood to help prepare a meal at the soup kitchen. Like the school, this is not your ordinary soup kitchen. Several ladies prepare food each weekday and then one member from a family comes and picks up the food to take home. They do this to encourage the families to eat together at home rather than at the soup kitchen.

This afternoon we joined a group of teenagers from the church at a children’s hospital. Get this: one of the teen girls started and leads this ministry where about 10 of the teens visit this 9-floor hospital weekly. Throughout the month they make sure to visit every floor. This is the main children’s hospital in this province so kids are from all over. Some parents are able to stay with their kids and others are not. The teens offer to pray with the children and parents, but they also write down their names and meet at the church later in the week to pray over each one. How inspiring to see these teens putting their love in action! They call their ministry Amor en Acción (Love in Action).

Tonight we are excited to join a small group with Pastor Jorge to share our experiences about our own small groups. We have definitely missed the other part of our team, but we did hear that they arrived safely in the province of Misiones this morning after a 9 hour, all night bus ride.

It has been amazing getting to know Pastor Jorge and 2 other pastors from the church, Victor and Diego. This church really has it goin’ on! They are making a huge impact in their community and are so focused on long-term solutions when serving their people. It is awesome to see the PEACE Plan at work here!

-Michele, for the team in Paraná

The Team being prayed for by Pastor Jorge (holding the mic) and the church.

Lunch in Parana

John playing bass during the service

The Team in Caminito, Buenos Aires

feliz domingo!

Hola Amigos! Buenos Dias de Parana!

Yesterday we learned how to eat in Argentine style, it took all day to get it down right. It is hard work but that’s what us missionary folk call sacrifice. I don’t even eat this well at home! So we started the morning eating and then took a break to have a two-hour meeting with Pastor Jorge. He gave us our agenda for the week. After this we walked across the street to an Italian restaurant and ate…. There was lots of great food, homemade pastas and tons of different sauces to choose from! Like I said, really hard work! It is great for our team to be bonding. The relationships being formed are so unique. We have become a united team in such a small amount of time. It will be sad to split up later today when Emmalyn,, Zeek, Howard, Kathy, Carmen, Tomo, John and two members from Pastor Jorge’s church go to Misiones. They will be in contact with extreme poverty and hardships in the Guarani villages up there. The Guarani people are the Natives of the country.

Church started at 8pm and went until 10. We didn’t have dinner until about 11:30, that is completely normal here! Michele, Penny and I (Rebekah) were all part of the worship service . It was very special to be singing in Spanish alongside our new Argentine family. Dave and Cathy gave their testimonies. The church prayed over our whole team and had a special prayer over Tomo who is from Japan and has family there. I think every person in the church gave me a hug and a kiss, their love was overwhelming, in a beautiful way. After dinner (amazing pizza, tons of different ingredients) we all crashed into our beds, knowing today would start early and have a heavier schedule. Tonight we will be visiting a poor village near by. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated!

-Rebekah and team

God brought us safely to Parana! Thank you for all your prayers--we survived a 36-hour plane and bus marathon. The team had dinner last night with pastor Jorge and a couple of other members of the local church. We are meeting with him this morning and are excited to find out our activities. We also look forward to attending the church tonight and meeting more of the congregation. We appreciate your continued prayers for safety, supernatural strength, and endurance to carry out all that God has planned for us.

Team Argentina

West Coast Team

East Coast Team

Argentina 2011

We are currently getting ready to depart to Argentina once again. We will be continuing the Clean Water Initiative work in Misiones as well as working with churches in Parana and Colon with various local peace projects.
Please keep us in your prayers as we finish all the last minute items to do as well as the churches and people of Argentina we will be working with and meet.

"Be encouraged, and know that you are part of a global force that is penetrating the darkness with His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9