July in Argentine Winter

“Her hair was four inches from my face and about to make me throw up. It was crawling with bugs and smelled like it hadn't been washed in months.

I was likely the first white person she ever saw.  She was a Toba, the native Argentineans who were extremely discriminated against by others. They lived in a neighborhood, full of trash and dogs. Their cramped houses with many people stuffed inside were made from scraps of metal, tarp and plastic. They could not leave the neighborhood without being in danger;  they were hated because their skin was a little darker. 

 

There was one small church, barely holding on because it didn't have money and very few people attended. The pastor worked at a construction site for 8 hours a day, had a seventh grade education and didn't have any resources to preach other than the Bible itself.  Please pray for these believers.”

  from Rebekah

Walking into the Toba village, the only thing I could focus on was my step so I wouldn't walk in dog feces, trash or animal carcasses along the dirt roads. Our team was led into a one room building with two bare light bulbs and a concrete floor: the church. The pastor introduced us to the staff of four women: the majority of the church. Then we went out and invited all the children we could find to a VBS program. 

As the children walked in, I thought that it was going to be too much. They were rowdy and disrespectful. But once everyone was seated and quiet, something in the room changed;God’s Spirit began to move.  The kids were enjoyed themselves. We sang songs, played Argentinean games and told the story of the Prodigal Son. I could tell the children loved it because of the giant hugs they gave us and their ear-to-ear grins. 

We returned the next week.  The pastor told us there were 30 new adults and teens at the church because of the VBS we put on. It was inspiring to see how many lives were changed because of three hours we spent encouraging children.  God continues to use “the least of these.” 

from Savannah

Savannah and Rebekah participated on a missions project to Argentina this July with MK2MK, a ministry within Cru for missionary kids living outside of their home country.   There were 20 kids on this project, mostly Americans, who came from 14 different  countries.  Their activities for the summer included street evangelism, conducting VBSes for local churches and doing acts of service (such as cleaning and painting) at Christian rehab facilities near Buenos Aries. 

"Don't say you are an American. That might be an obstacle to the gospel."

The last week of July I traveled to Ukraine along the Black Sea and spent the week with a Campus Crusade summer project for student leaders from Russian speaking countries.   Countries represented here are Ukraine, Russia, Moldova and Belarus. 

The students and staff at this project were great and the spiritual conditions were fantastic.  The physical conditions, for me as a spoiled American, were tough: no plumbing and electricity only a couple of hours each day.  Here is the "big house" at the camp.  From far left:  three outdoor showers fed by a blue water tank, the only outhouse in the camp, the kitchen, a bunkhouse (top floor) and billard room (ground floor).  We had our meetings and meals under the tent. 

 Below here are some of the bright shining faces of the students attending this project.  I was the only American and the only native English speaker at the camp.  Only 2 or 3 of the students spoke conversational English.   In spite of that, I enjoyed greatly getting to know these students and learning of their hearts for the Lord and their desire to glorify Him on their campuses. 

I spoke six times from Matthew's gospel that week.   This is my translator Helen; she translated each talk into Russian.   She also helped me navigate through a few culturally tough situations.  

And seeing the multitudes, Jesus felt compassion for them for they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.  Turning to His disciples, He said, "The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few..."  (Matthew 9:36-27)  Several times we went to a nearby beach and shared our faith.   Since English speakers were so difficult to find, my partner in evangelism was my translator.  She was the one who said to me that being an American might be an obstacle to the gospel in this part of the world. 

We had a great gospel conversation with these guys.

I finally found an English speaker on this beach.  Andre and I had a great talk about not just being religious but about having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  We talked about the great commandment from Matthew 22 (and Deuteronomy 6:5), loving the Lord God with all our heart, soul and mind. 

This picture doesn't seem like much but a half of a step back and I would have fallen 1000 feet straight down "the cliffs of insanity" to a rocky beach.   After this pic was taken I turned around, looked down and said, "He didn't fall?  Inconceivable!"  I kept waiting for someone to say, "That word does not mean what you think it means."  But my audience was not familiar with the movie, "Princess Bride."