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

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

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

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

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

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