Thursday, June 28, 2007

The "typicals things" in Carlos Paz

Before I leave for Santa Fe to see the Mocovi tribe, here are some pictures of Carlos Paz... A typical car

A typical street


A typical idol store
(No seriously, people buy their own personal Mary statues at the Catholic stores.)

A typical stoplight
(Earning a few centavos washing windshields at stoplights.)

And if you were wondering, a typical day (typical is a relative term):
9:30 -Wake up
10:00 - Coffee
11:00 - Morning run
2:00 -Lunch
3:00-6:00 - Ministry related work/Siesta
6:00 - Afternoon coffee/errands
8:00 - Early dinner
8:30-12:30 - ESL classes
1:00-1:30 Bedtime

Tonight, we are having a "Fútbol" party. Argentina plays the US...we'll probably loose. It's about the fellowship anyways.

-Kristen

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Discouraging Days

These past few days have been kind of discouraging as I mentioned earlier. Sunday when we discovered that someone had stolen the sound system, that was only the beginning. Over the past few days, we have realized that more and more things are missing. This has been quite a discouragement.

On top of that, today we had no water. Literally, the only water available was the pool in the back (typical for here) and the bottles of water. So.. just to give you an idea. Just to use the restroom, we have to go out to the pool and fill a bucket with water, remember its the middle of winter. Then, we pour some of that water down the toilet. To wash our hands, we put soap on our hands and lather, then rinse our hands in the "soapy bucket," and finally rinse our hands in the "clean water bucket." And doing dishes, well let's just say we don't do them. Why no water? Who knows, remember this is Argentina.

Aside from the discouragements and obstacles of the day, I spent some time with Ayalen, a girl down the street, and her friends. She likes to bring her friends over to "show off" her American friends. Because of this, I find it's better to take them out somewhere instead of spending time with them in the house. We walked downtown to a park and just played around and talked. Its funny how they often asked "Have you been to Hollywood, Disneyland, and New York?" As if all Americans are famous or know someone famous. Nonetheless, I see it as an opportunity to spend time with them.

Tomorrow, I leave to visit a native tribe about five hours away. This should be a really neat opportunity just to observe and learn about the native people. I'm going with a family, the Hammond's, that we have met who are doing some research on the tribe. The bus leaves at 12am and arrives around 5am - long but it should be worth it. Hopefully, I'll have some great pictures to share.

Until later,
Kristen

Monday, June 25, 2007

The Spiritual battles continue


"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

After the many encouragements and open doors from the past week, we had a major discouragement yesterday. When we arrived at the church building for morning services, we found that someone had broken into the building. They broke into all the offering boxes and stole the offering, took the sound system, and stole many other small valuable items. This was a major shock and mystery as we can not fully understand how they got in the building. The disappointment just reminds me that the spiritual battles continue. Satan is out to discourage and distract us from the many things that the Lord is doing.

On the other hand, the Lord is continuing to open doors with contacts we have made at these ESL classes and the family down the street. During the evening service at church yesterday, the father of the family down the street walked in 15 minutes before the end. Although he was late, the very fact that he took the effort to walk all the way down the street in dark, cold winter weather reflects genuine interest in spiritual things. For those of you at GBC, I am working on a little description of all the family members so that you can better pray for and get to know this family. Oh and by the way, little Bianca came home from the hospital today!

Until later,
Kristen

Saturday, June 23, 2007

A few pictures

Ian and Tomi on their "adventure"...
(They were trying to catch snakes and bugs in the cold, winter weather. Let boys be boys!)
The past few days, I have spent a lot of time with the family done the street. I took Ayalen and her friends out for a walk. They are into the modeling phase as you can see.

Then, yesterday, I took her for a hike, and we had a great conversation about the Gospel. It is sad to see that what she thinks of the Gospel has nothing to do with what the Bible says but a mix of the movie "The Passion of the Christ" and her Catholic teachers.


A few days ago, I took her sister, Nahir, out for ice cream because she went to school five days. She sure did enjoy it and made a big mess!









Last night, Amy and I spent some time fellowshipping out at a restaurant where Claudio plays the piano. I think it was around 3:00am until we went to bed!

















This morning around 11:30 am, I took Ian, Nahir, and her brother Tomi for a hike up the mountain. It was cold and windy, but we had a great time. It ended up taking us about 2.5 hours; I think we figured it was about a 5km trip. Great times!This is Tomi.And the view...

Until later,
Kristen

Thursday, June 21, 2007

So many doors, so many opportunities

The Lord has been opening so many doors for the Gospel in the past few days. From Lestisia and Marcielo down the street to the ESL classes at night, we have had many opportunities to share with them the glory of the Gospel. After classes last night, we talked with some of the people that stayed about our sinful state and the work of Christ on the cross to redeem us from our sin. One lady said that she did not understand. How can grace be enough? She was struggling to understand salvation by grace ALONE based on nothing from ourselves. Yes, it complex yet so simple. Another lady, afterward admitted that she is terrified of death. Amy explained to her that she was too until she understood the Gospel. I was thinking this morning of Isaiah 55:1-2 that says,

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."

This is the offer of the Gospel - it is free and completely satisfying. The Lord is softening the peoples' hearts and making them ready to hear. We sent them with a little book that explains a true Christian. They took it eagerly and promised to read it.

On a different note, we have also had several opportunities with Lestisia, Bianca's mother from down the street. Yesterday, when Mr. Donell was taking her to the hospital to see Bianca, he shared with her her spiritual need and the free offer of the Gospel. Later when the baby was doing so well, she came over to talk with Mrs. Donell. Grinning from ear to ear she asked, "Can you teach me how to pray and say thank you to God?" Mrs. Donell explained to her that there are no special words, God knows our thankfulness by our hearts and the way that we come before him like a child comes before a parent. She said that she was going to go home and pray with her children, thanking the Lord for all that he has done.

Then, she said that her daughter, Nahir, who faithful comes to church, has been telling her about a family in the church with lots of children. They all come every Sunday and bring all the children. Lestistia said, "I know what she's trying to tell me...She wants our whole family to go to church. Often its the mother duck that leads her ducklings, but for us the baby ducks are saying 'Come on, Mom, lets go!' If Bianca is out of the hospital, we will all be at church on Sunday." We could have never dreamed of an opportunity like this to reach the entire family, Mom, Dad, and all the children with the Gospel. Please pray that the Lord would continue to soften their hearts and give them seeds of faith. It amazes me to see how the Lord is orchestrating so many open doors and working in so many mysterious ways.

Last, here is a link to the Carlos Paz news of the ESL classes. They ended up getting all of us on it! Bear with the Spanish, but you can enjoy the pictures. http://youtube.com/watch?v=8lcPvJooSKU

Rejoicing and still walking by faith,
Kristen

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Bianca Agostina

Bianca Agostina
(Photo by Amy Donell)

Last time, I mentioned a little bit about the baby down the street we were concerned for. Bianca (16 days old) caught some kind of sickness from her siblings and started having respiratory problems. (This is the little sister of the children and girls that we have spend a lot of time with.) Anyhow, we were very concerned for her so the Donell's took her an hour away to a "better" hospital that could care for infants under 1 month. When they got there, doctors rushed on her and put her in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). She was in very critical condition last night. This morning, Mr. Donell took the mother, Letisia, back to the hospital and had a wonderful opportunity to share the Gospel with her.

To all of our surprise, the baby is now doing much better. She is now off oxygen and all medicines but will stay in the hospital for several more days. The Lord was so gracious to heal her so quickly and on top of that, open these doors for the Gospel. Just an example, when the mother came by to tell Mrs. Donell the good news, she was so elated and relieved. She asked Mrs. Donell how to thank the Lord or what special prayer she could say. Mrs. Donell told her to come before the Lord just like her children would come thank her. I think that the Lord is using this opportunity to soften the parents' hearts and make them ready to hear the Gospel. Please pray that the Lord would make their hearts receptive to the Gospel.

Resting in a Sovereign God,
Kristen

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

ESL Classes and Caring for Kids

We started back ESL classes again Monday. Here are some pictures of classes to give you an idea.
There have been incredible opportunities from these classes. Yesterday, we had only about 30 students because it was a national holiday. Yet, last Wednesday, there were around 60 students. After the lessons, we discuss a short movie clip from various movies. Each of these movies contain songs/concepts that encourage spiritual conversations and thinking deeply about life. During this small group, the people who have stayed continue to think about relative truth vs. absolute truth along with church traditions vs. a real relationship with Jesus Christ. The Lord continues to open many doors with these classes.

The other day, I was reading 2 Timothy 4. Verses 3-4 say, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." This is exactly what I am seeing with many of the people with whom we are working. Often people will believe only what they want to believe. Like one teenager we were talking to, he said "religion" is important, but the majority of the emphasis is on the person and "doing good" instead of completely resting in the work of Christ on the cross to forgive sin.

Today, we have been caring for some of the children down the street. This is Oriana.
This is Lautaro.This is Juan Cruz.

The little baby, Bianca, that was born 16 days ago is struggling to breath. In the States, she would be in the hospital, but apparently "there was no room." For the past 24 hours, we have kept her here with an air purifier, but she's really struggling now and cannot get enough oxygen. The Donells are taking her to a hospital an hour away. Please pray that the Lord would heal her little body. She is so precious and it's hard to see her struggling to breath.

Walking by faith,
kristen

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Gladys Aylward


I have been reading the book Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper recently. A few days ago, I came across a quote by Gladys Aylward, missionary to China. She was speaking of her parents, and I have to say the same:

"How good they were to me. I realize more fully now as I look back. How great was the sacrifice my parents were making in allowing their daughter to go off alone to a place thousands of miles away...How much I have to thank them for, that they did not try to hold me back."

-Kristen

Thursday, June 14, 2007

La Rioja

This past week we went to La Rioja to meet Claudio, Amy's finance's, extented family. It was a genuine taste of Argentine culture! Here is a map of Argentina. The red star is where we are, Carlos Paz and the blue star is the city of La Rioja in the province of La Rioja. It is about a 500km trip, and it took us about 5 hours because we only drove between 80-100km/hr. (You do the math. ;)) La Rioja reminds me a lot of Arizona, flat and dry with mountains in the background.

Wednesday, we went over to the grandparents' house for the big asado. The majority of the family, about 50, came to celebrate the grandparents' birthday and meet Amy. The food and festivities were incredible. We got there around 1:00pm and started our meal with homemade empandas, these are like turnovers filled with meat or vegetables. These empandas had potatoes, olives, onions, and hot peppers. Que ricisimo! (How delicious!) Then we had locro, the authentic stew, I wrote about several weeks ago. And then... the asado. One kilo of meat per person, thus 50 kilos total! As you can see in the pictures, we could have fed a Chinese army!I had a great time with the cousins. They helped introduced everyone.


After the incredible dinner, we had the coolest part. The family set up microphones and sang for us. The whole family has incredible talent from song writing to playing the guitar, violin, and piano. The sweetest part, at the beginning, they sang a song for us, that they had written, welcoming the Donell's into the family. Then they sang for the next five hours! As time went on, the time become more exciting and they moved into dancing. It was all very sweet. At the end, I was a little worn out..but a great time.

The next day, we drove around the city and out to the desert. It was cold and windy but a beautiful view.Until later,
kristen

ESL Classes

It has been a few days since I have updated my blog, and I apologize. We went on a trip for several days. But I sure do have a lot to share now!

On Monday night we started helping this American from our church with ESL classes. He has done this before in other countries and takes the opportunity to share the Gospel with those attend. He advertised a lot for these classes and got the Municipality all excited for him. I was a little skeptical, but he was sure that he would have a class of about 50. Amy, Mr. Donell, and I got to the municipality building early to set up. The next thing I knew, the news reporters were there to advertise. The interviewed Nathan, the American, and had Amy translating! By the time the classes started we had 45 students! Nathan teaches with a very interactive and exciting method. It was very cool.

Between the two hours, he showed a short movie clip with the song "Where is the Love?" by a group called Black Eyed Peas. He showed it as an opportunity for discussion after the class.

After the class, eight people stayed to further discuss the movie (in Spanish because this is a beginners class). One of the most thought provoking phrases that we talked about was, "If you never know truth, you'll never know love." We went into a a discussion on relative truth and real truth. It really challenged some of the people to think about "What is truth?" Unless there is a basis for truth, truth is all relative. Mr. Donell took the opportunity to present the truth of the Bible and the Gospel with them. What a perfect opportunity! I found this discussion very interesting and different from other conversations we have had because these were educated people who could really think deeply about philosophy

Excited about the more opportunities that are ahead.
-kristen

Monday, June 11, 2007

Church Asado

Last night, we had a group of about 40 people over after church for an asado. This is where they buy all different cuts of meat and grill it for about three hours. The general rule of thumb is to buy about 1 kilo of meat per person! On top of that people brought all sorts of dishes to go with the meat. It was incredible! Here is all the meat before it was cooked...
The meat on the grill when it was almost ready!

Great fellowship. Apparently this was the first time that a group like this has gotten together spontaneously after church. We had a sweet time and fellowshipped until about 2:00am! It was all worth it.
-kristen

Pictures from the Marriage Conference

Here are some pictures from the marriage conference...
Jose Moreno, our speaker, drinking mate the cultural drink.
Amy and Claudio
Mr. and Mrs. Donell
We got some great pictures. Last night we had an asado until 2:00am! I'll put some pictures up from that in a little bit.
-Kristen



Saturday, June 9, 2007

Marriage Retreat and Karate Tournament

The rest of the marriage conference took place today. Of course I did not attend, but I heard that the Lord really blessed the messages and the fellowship between the couples. The Donell's see this retreat as the foundation for further marriage counseling. So many things that we take for grantid that we learn simply by growing up in church, these couples do not understand. This retreat laid a good foundation for the picture of a God-centered marriage. Some basic, Biblical truths, such as the concept that God ordained marriage in order to further glorify Himself or that marriage reflects the image of Christ and His church are foreign ideas to many Argentines. What an incredible opportunity for these couples to hear the truth of the Scriptures!

Here on the home front, Ian and I stayed at home during the morning of the conference. In the afternoon, he had a Karate Tournament..another cultural experience. As his first, he was very excited and nervous all the same. Just to give you a perspective, the tournament was supposed to start at 2:00pm. We arrived at 1:30pm, I waited around for what seemed like a long time with all the other parents. Waiting...waiting..The Karate officials kept working on something with the registration and explained that they were having a little trouble. Then, some ladies brought out a table full of snacks and drinks. People talked and snacked. Any Karate tournament? Finally, around 3:00pm the tournament started. When it started, it started and went on for almost four hours! Ian did very well with his "Kata" but the "Sparing" was more challenging. I enjoyed watching him, but it did go a little long.

One last thing, for those of you who are wondering about the "solutions" to the problems I mentioned in my last entry, Mr. Donell had to laugh. He said, "We've been here for seven years and do not have "solutions. There is no way you [speaking of me] are going to have them in two months. But, when we get them, we'll let you know."

Much love,
Kristen