A missions trip that will never end.

Well, this is it.

We left from the airport in Buenos Aires on Saturday evening and had an incredible plane ride. The 11 hours on the plane were filled with some really awesome testimonies- all I can say it that God truly does answer prayers. We had the opportunity to see how God set up a divine appointment for us even two years in advance when someone had problems buying tickets and ended up on this flight. Don't miss your divine appointments- God prepares them for you, so be open.

After arriving safely in the United States yesterday morning, we headed out our separate ways. This team was definitely very different from any team we've come in contact with. There was so much unity among everyone and it was amazing.

God definitely did teach us all a lot on this trip. He taught us a lot about commitment and completely relying on Him. Even if we didn't see any of the results of the seeds that were planted this week, that is such a beautiful thing because that's total faith that God is going to be working even when we don't see it at the moment! But we did see results. That was the amazing thing. There were only 3 people that came to the church before we came. On our last night, every seat was filled. Praise God!

We heard from the church after we left that people are already coming in from the streets asking about the church and that 23 new people were at their latest service.

God is doing great things. And He will continue to do so.

This is a missions trip that will never end. It continued on the plane ride, our ride home, and every day after that.

Thank you to all that prayed for us this week and supported the team. If you've been keeping up with the blog or heard any of the stories from those who went, remember those amazing testimonies- and know that you had just as much a part in them as we did. Thank you so much and may God bless you abundantly!

Until next time.

-the Argentina team: Professor DiTrolio, Pastor Mark, Alexandra, Bess, Adam, Evan, Tiffany, Jennifer, and Chris.

 

Day 7: Thursday.

WHAT A WEEK!

It has all come down to this, the final day of ministry with the San Vicente church plant.

We all have become part of a very special Argentine family, with all of their wonderful hospitality and open community. We came in as strangers with uncertainty about what to expect and now we do not want to leave the friends and family that we have made. Words can only do a poor job at best to describe the relationships that have been made while we have been here in San Vicente. The most important relationships that were made were the relationships with God and the wonderful people here. A lot of people describe the church as a family, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that there is a definitive church family that is growing up in spiritual maturity and out in physical numbers.

God is God for many reasons, and words are a poor excuse for explaining those reasons. But the important thing is that God is being real and straight up with the people here and there are many that are being real with Him and that is amazing to see.

Day 6: Wednesday. The Good Day

Today was an incredible ministry day and it also offered an unexpected, but much welcomed surprise! The morning consisted of canvassing a neighborhood and witnessing about Christ. There were several great testimonies. Early on we met two young girls who were interested in Christ, but still reluctant to accept Him. The first was named Emelce, and she looked to be about 16 or 17 years old. She came to the door holding a young girl close to about a year old that she said was her daughter. She expressed interest, but told us she had to go and talk with her mother about it first. Not long after we met a girl named Sabrina on the street. She told us she that she had never heard the Gospel message before, and you could tell she was really searching for something. But like Emelce, she had other things to attend to. The need in this country is so great, especially in the youth and adolescents of San Vicente. But they aren't the only ones in need. We also met a lady by the name of Nidia, who was very open and gracious. She told us that she had been divorced for about 20 years, and was living by herself here. She has been out of work for about two years now due to a lower-back injury, and was having trouble keeping up with the bills, and had no one to help her out. She was very lonely and empty, and we told her about Jesus and how He is able to fill that void in her life, and she prayed with us to accept Jesus into her heart! All these are only a sampling of what God was doing in the streets of San Vicente this morning.
At lunch time, we found out that we had an appointment with the mayor! Our entire group had the privilege of meeting the mayor of San Vicente. He was very excited. There are not many North Americans that choose to visit this fine town. He talked to us about the town and affirmed his belief in Christianity, and we were able to pray with him right there in his office! He also decided to help Pastor Robustiano with speeding up the paperwork for his new church and said he would announce it to the public! It was a huge blessing for the church. In the afternoon, we had a great time of ministry at a park. Many children loved the puppets and the great Bible message presented by Jenny! The kids were truly interested about what we were saying and many received information about receiving Jesus as Savior. Tonight at the service, Pastor Rubstiano preached a great message about returning to the Father's house. A great spiritual time of rededication and prayer followed. God continues to do great things.

Thank you Speed the Light!

The mayor and us!

Witnessing comes in all forms.

Carlos! 

Day 5: Tuesday.

We've got three more ministry days left, and God still has a lot of things planned!
Today was incredible. It was our day of fasting and praying, so we spent a lot of time in the Lord's presence, worshipping, and interceding for the people of San Vicente. We spent most of the morning doing just this, and then we went out into the streets and talked to people and set up a prayer station table. We returned to the church and spent more time praying and being still before God. It was indescribable.
Following our time of prayer, we washed the feet of Pastor Robustiano and his wife Giselle and as a team prayed for them both and their ministry.
There was no siesta today. But that's ok! We had something even better! In the early evening, we went to the house of an older man in the church, Jose Louis. We've been praying for him for a long time but he is lonely and absolutely loves the company of the team- especially the guys. We all agree he's one of the coolest guys ever. Seriously. He invited us to his house for a 'light snack' to give us strength for the rest of the ministry day. Wow. We walk into his house and there is maybe one thing in each room. He did have Direct tv though! His house was not much, but when we came to his garden, he set up a table for us. And it wasn't just any old table. It looked like a painting of the Last Supper. It was a long plank of wood covered with a white sheet. There was a huge fallen tree in his backyard, and he cut the trunk into long logs for us to sit on. He also made a gazebo-type tent over it so we would have shade. Wow. AND he was quite the cook. I can't even describe the food he made. Some light snack! We were all so blessed by his kindness and generosity and ended the time by praying for him.
We went to the plaza where we continued with the children's ministry. We did a few puppet shows and get quite a workout from holding the puppets, and we were able to share Jesus with the kids and pray over them. Adam and Evan took charge of balloons, Bess and Alexandra face-painted, Jenny, Chris, and the leaders worked with the kids, and Tiffany worked hard to protect all of our stuff and keep everything under control! Professor DiTrolio had the opportunity to talk to three ten-year olds in the park. He explained the salvation bracelets to them and the Gospel message. The three boys, Marcos, Herman, and Nacho, were truly impacted and prayed to accept Christ right there in the park.
We headed to the church for prayer before the service where Jenny shared a sermon about the woman with the issue of blood and shared her testimony. The Lord truly worked through her and everyone who came was touched by the message. Jenny specifically prayed that the Lord would bring five new people to the service. Not including children, five new people came to the church. Prayer works. Several prayed for salvation and others came up for prayer for healing. All in all, it was an incredible day. God is still working. And like we said, there's only three more days of ministry, but there's still a lot God has planned! Can't wait to see what they are.

Buenos nachos!
-the Argentina team.

Day 4: Monday.

Another incredible day out in San Vincente. After a morning devotional and time of worship, we set off to go door-to-door again in the town.
1. We encountered a dog who grabbed a chicken in front of us and devoured it viciously.
2. Evan invited some people to church who were doing drugs on the street although he didn't know it and almost took drugs. But it's all good! He didn't.
3. Jenny and Alexandra felt led to stop at a particular house that was off our route and spoke to a man that was leaning on his fence. His name was Carlos. He shared his story and how he was a Mormon, Catholic, and a whole bunch of other things but never found satisfaction. He was also exposed to a lot of witchcraft and spiritual warfare and was depressed after the deaths of several family members. He was hesitant about Christianity at first when we spoke to him. Jenny and Alexandra felt led to share their testimonies and Professor DiTrolio translated them to him. He shared with Carlos the Gospel story and how Jesus could give him hope. He gave his life to Christ right then and there on the street! It was amazing. You could see a complete change in him when we passed by his house a few minutes later. He was joyful and smiling. It was such a beautiful thing.

[Siesta break.]

We headed out to a very run down area of San Vicente. The houses were close to being shacks. The doors were made of duct tape or hanging cloths. Most of the houses weren't any bigger than our bedrooms at home. And we complain? We set up a table in the middle of the street with face-painting and balloons and started playing some Christian music through the speakers, and our of nowhere, dozens of kids crowded around us excited and curious. We started off with a few puppet shows that the kids absolutely adored. I'll tell you one thing: it takes a LOT of upper body strength to lift those puppets! Forget P90x. Want a workout? Try puppets. We were sore about two songs and holding each other's hands up! Funny story: while behind the curtain, struggling to hold up our hands up, a small kitten KEPT on reappearing between our knees and the curtain! Since it was so tiny and we were afraid of squashing it, we kept trying to push it away but it was so stubborn! It reappeared later and Adam accidentally kicked it because he didn't see it. Seriously, who does that? Haha. Anyway, we did the funny "Sin Chair" skit and we had the kids read verses and interact with us and Jenny shared a great short message to them about Jesus. About fifty of the kids prayed to accept Jesus into their hearts that evening.
There was a mob of kids that rushed for face painting, balloons, and salvation bracelets, and though it was hectic because we couldn't understand everything they were telling us, it was amazing. They were so happy and smiled from ear to ear.

During our service, we did the Sin Chair skit again (so much fun!), Alexandra shared her testimony, and Adam and Evan both shared an incredible message about faith with an incredible testimony. God really spoke through both of them! It was a beautiful time of prayer (Carlos came!) and worship afterwards.
God is working in beautiful ways! Looking forward to an even greater day tomorrow. We will be fasting and praying tomorrow and having Communion. It will be a beautiful day.
You never cease to amaze us, God!

Keep praying! God bless you all!
-the Argentina team.

Day 3: Sunday

Here we go. (As I'm writing this, there is a choir of dogs singing in the distance. )With each passing day, we see God working more and more, in big and subtle ways. We woke up early in the morning, Jenny shared a beautiful devotion about Jesus and the Samaritan woman, and then we set up to go door to door again and invited people to the church and handed out tracks. Some of us made a little jingle to remember our Spanish phrases since we didn't have a Spanish-speaker in the group. It was effective!
We took a beautiful afternoon siesta and did some ministry in the park. Puppets, human videos, face painting, balloon animals, and more attracted quite an unexpected crowd that got to hear the Gospel message! Don't underestimate God!!
The group in the church has grown already and people are really experiencing something incredible here. Through testimonies that have been shared, other human videos we've shown in and out of the church, and children's ministry, the people in the church have been touched and are so thankful.
We're off to another day or evangelizing and inviting in the morning and a park outreach in the late afternoon followed by another service. God will continue to do great things! Keep praying for the people of San Vicente! God bless!
And as Adam put it, Buenos Nachos!
-The Argentina team.

Day 2: Saturday.

Day 2: Saturday.

We are already beginning to see how God is working this week! Because of weather, we had to postpone our outdoor outreach and instead went door to door inviting people to the church. Each of the three or four groups were paired up with a Spanish-speaker who did not necessarily speak English. It was interesting because us Americans were doing most of the talking. Here’s where our middle and high school Spanish comes back to haunt us. We were able to reach a lot of people and different age groups. After taking an afternoon siesta nap, we resumed our door to door ministry. Interesting fact: Since most of the houses in the area are very small and open and most people cannot afford a doorbell, the equivalent is clapping one’s hands outside of the door or property! Fun stuff.

Since us English speakers were doing most of the talking door to door, a few people ended up laughing at our poor speech but it definitely generated a lot of curiosity, which was good! At one house, Jenny had to yell from the gate to the window of the house across the property because that’s where she was. She began with her Spanish introduction but got confused when the woman started speaking indistinctly, making Jenny lose her place. Jenny, after a awkward moment of silence, shouted the only thing that came to her mind: “ME LLAMO EST JENNNNNNNNNNY!” The woman didn’t respond well to our call. On the up side, one of the students designed and created a logo for the new church and is going to paint it in and outside of the church building! 

In the service we had a puppet show for the small children and Pastor Rocco shared a great message about faith.

Highlights after the service:

-0 guests on the first service, 15 guests tonight!

-On Friday we were praying for one woman’s sister. The next day, her husband came and rededicated his life and the sister came with her husband and both gave their hearts to the Lord. Literally at the same time we were praying as a team for these people, there was a spiritual battle going on- the sister refused to go to the church and would not let her husband go. He did anyway, she came at the end out of nowhere, and both are saved. The Lord answers prayers!

-“A woman came up after the service full of sorrow. She asked for prayer and told us (translated through Professor DiTrolio) that her husband died and she was depressed and lonely. After his death, she lost her job and her house was robbed- they took everything and she was literally left with nothing. Even though there was a language barrier, I was able to lay hands on her and pray for her. I hugged her and held her tightly as she sobbed. I really realized how prayer and worship is the universal language. She never smiled once, she was robbed of all her joy. I had a translator remind her that she is God’s original masterpiece, and she started to weep. I just wanted to see her smile. I couldn’t bear to let her leave in sorrow. I prayed with her again and as she talked with another woman, I sat next to her and held her hand tightly for about ten or fifteen minutes. Then she looked over at me... and smiled. It was the most beautiful thing.”

-Small children came up to pray and we were so moved that they were in tears. It was so amazing to see God working in their lives.

God is already working! Wow. Keep praying for the people of San Viciente!

God bless!

-The Argentina team.

Day 1: Friday.

Alright here we go: day one in Argentina! 

On Wednesday we arrived at school to prepare all the last-minute things for the ministries and the guys spent the night at Professor DiTrolio's house while the ladies stayed at Pastor Mark Boucher's house. After "slaving away in the kitchen preparing our dinner," he reached into the oven and pulled out a large container of KFC. Best home-cooked meal ever! On Thursday morning, we gathered early to practice at the school and had an amazing lunch at the DiTrolio residence before heading off to the airport for our 10:00 flight. There's not too much to recap about the flight besides the fact that it was 10+ hours in the air with little much going on. Great food though! (Although the flight attendant did spill Professor DiTrolio's breakfast all over!)

We arrived in Buenos Aires a little past noon using our Speed the Light van and headed straight to our lodgings: Ronda de La Laguna Cabanas. (http://www.rondadelalaguna.com.ar/) There are dogs everywhere. After getting settled in, we went out for lunch with the pastor of the new church down here and his family. Oh yes, and that Speed the Light van... let's just say it needs a little push before it can get started. And since the ladies cannot be expected to push a van, the gentlemen have to muster up all their strength to get it started each time. It's quite a sight to behold!

Thank the Lord for siesta! A siesta is a short nap that the people here take in the early afternoon, usually after the lunch meal. Most of the stores around the area are closed for this time, and it was great to be able to get back, relax, and catch up on some sleep. Let's just say we're all pretty excited for our siestas!

We headed to our first church service at Iglesia Amistad Cristiana at 6:30 to prepare for the 7:30 service. We were surprised by the size of the church- it is only a small room with tiled floor and the total number in the congregation is three. We believe that God will increase this number and bless this church! It is a new plant, only two months old, and the Lord is already working.

We spent that hour setting up a few things and preparing ourselves spiritually and praying as a team. It really was such a beautiful time of prayer. We started the service out with some traditional Spanish worship and performed the human video for "Everything" by Lifehouse. Afterwards, Bess Harbison shared a powerful testimony about returning to our First Love. Following this, Pastor Mark spoke to us about finding true wisdom "when life just doesn't make sense" using Job 28:28 as a foundation. It was a powerful message and he shared an encouraging word with the pastor and his family. We ended the service with prayer for the people who attended for their needs and we fully trust God with all we brought before Him!

Pastor Robustiano, his wife Gissell Acosta, and their daughter Aricol, joined us for dinner around 10:00 and we all shared a wonderful time of fellowship around the table. We all thought it was great how Pastor Mark called their daughter Aerosol because that's how he remembers her name. Because there was such a downpour, the guys had to push the van back and forth in the street for a while before it started. Brute strength right there! Now we're off to bed.

We are praying that God brings more and more people to the church to hear the Word. Keep praying! God bless!

-The Argentina team.

This is where we are staying for the week.

There are dogs everywhere! Sheesh!

Come on, start!

Pushing the van. It's a Mercedes-Benz. Ironic, huh?

This is the entire church building at the moment. But God will make this church grow!

Look! Pastor Mark is pushing the van all by himself!!

Pastor Robustiano and his family!