The journey continues...

One could say that my time in Argentina is a journey; one with many ups and downs. One in which I am challenged, encouraged, stretched and at times discouraged. It is a journey that I would not give up for anything, because I know that God is at work not just in me but through me.

Some of the highlights or not so high moments include:

After returning from the week with the missionaries I spent the next week sick… of course I finally broke down and went to the doctor. Thankfully my health is back to normal, but I am now struggling with back pain and constant headaches. Please pray that I would be healed in this area.

God has also been working on my character. One of the areas in which I have been seeking to heal me in, is in the area of communicating through conflicts, which means I need to experience conflicts. I have seen growth in this area as God humbles me and gives me the courage to seek forgiveness from those I have offended as well as forgive those who have offended me. It is a slow process but one in which God is being glorified.

The church, El Encuentro, has finally decided to get on their knees before the throne of God. For many months, a lady of the church has been encouraging the church to focus on prayer. A couple months ago, she left the church, but all of a sudden God opened up the heart of many other members and now we are having Wednesday night prayer meetings. It has been encouraging to see about 20 people show up to pray for the church and the various needs of its members. Pray that God would build up El Encuentro as we seek His face.

At a church meeting a couple weeks ago, they decided to change the meeting of the Sunday services to the morning. For me this is a bummer personally as I have truly enjoyed the evening services. It has also been discouraging as many of the youth have not been attending lately. The culture here in Catamarca is very much a night one and many of them struggle to wake up in time to come to church. Pray that God would be at work in the lives of the members and help them to see the importance of these worship times.

I had the opportunity to take a week and visit Southern Argentina with a friend and her family. This trip was not only an adventure as I got to experience the beauty of God’s creation but a time in which I was able to see God’s hand protecting and guiding us. We went in a ‘new’ used car, which had trouble just about the whole trip down, but God never left us in a place without a way to fix the car. More so, he gave us the opportunity to help Oscar who was having troubles of his own. On the drive down we camped in various cities, enjoyed sunsets, waterfalls, rainbows, lakes, rivers and so much more. I also had the opportunity to encourage my friend as she has been struggling lately with the concept of church and religion as opposed to a relationship with God.

I was finally able to meet with Pastor Jimmy and his wife Marisa to discuss my ministry plans for this upcoming year. I am no longer on the official “Youth Ministry Team” which plans the youth group activities. I am now in the ministry of discipleship, small group studies and visitation. To me this change in title not only removes a lot of stress from my life, as I have no desire to plan the youth activities but also is very encouraging as I can focus more on what God has given me a heart for, discipleship. Pray that God would give me wisdom in knowing who to spend my time with as one could get busy doing a lot and get burnt out quickly. These past weeks have been super busy with visitations of families from the church, youth and English students who I am trying to reach out to. Many nights I collapse into bed exhausted, but also refreshed knowing that I have the privilege to serve God full time.

There are still many conflicts and broken relationships that need to be healed. Pray that God would humble hearts and give people a desire to resolve these conflicts. It is very common for people to walk away from the situation and cut off all times with some one as opposed to confronting them. It tears me apart to see how people are being divided but I know God is faithful and will be glorified in Catamarca!

A couple of the youth have been baptized in the past couple weeks. 3 young men from El Encuentro were baptized while I was on vacation. (Elio, Adrian, and Andres) Pray that God would be at work in their lives encouraging them to obey Him. This past Saturday I was able to go to the baptism of a friend, Danny. It was an emotional night watching him decide to take this step of obedience. Danny is a young man who comes to my house on a regular basis looking for someone to talk to. He is very familiar with the Old Testament but does not know much of the New Testament. I have been able to encourage him to continue reading the Bible as a whole. Pray that he would be committed to obeying God and allowing God to change him.

Finally, pray for this upcoming weekend as I will be going with some of the youth to a congress in Cordoba. There are 6-7 of us going and most of them are very discouraged at the moment. They left the church a couple months ago and are seeking God’s direction in finding a new church. Pray that God would speak to them this weekend and reunite the fire in them. Pray for healing of broken relationships and guidance to the church that God has prepared for them so that they can serve Him faithfully.