All Alone... in Argentina

The past 4 weeks have flown by with many new experiences, challenges, frustrations, concerns, times of joy and whatnot. As you all know, (or should know by now), I am working alongside Scott and Ruth Millar in a new church plant here in Catamarca. But for the past month I have been flying solo with the church. Scott and Ruth are currently in the states awaiting their oldest son’s wedding. It is a time of encouragement and refreshment for them as they get to enjoy the family and leave behind the stresses of the work here in Catamarca.

I on the other hand, have taken on many of the responsibilities of the church. In fact, I’ve been in charge of everything from cleaning the church, keeping track of the offering, making sure there is a speaker and worship on Sunday evenings (No, I have not had to preach myself!), opening and closing the church for various events, helping out with outreach activities and conferences alongside other churches, and many other things on top of my regular activities and discipleship times. I have one more week to go and I can honestly say that I am exhausted. It has been a good month, but I’m ready for the Millar’s to return!

Some of the adventures I have had while they have been out of the country are:
* Running a red light and having the Millar’s car confiscated by the police. I admit I ran the light; it was either that or slam on my breaks as it turned from green to yellow to red rather rapidly. I learned from this situation that I have NO CLUE what my rights are here in Argentina. For starters, the transit police can not confiscate a vehicle, they have to call the regular police to come and control the situation. Also, one can not have their car confiscated for running a red light… (the cop just wanted me to pay him off and when I didn’t do it, he threatened me with 23 hours of jail time, which also didn’t work.. though it did scare me a bit.) Also, one can not trust the police, you have to remove EVERYTHING from the car before they tow it or it won’t be there when you retrieve it. Thankfully, the girls in the car with me knew this rule. After a weekend of not sleeping, I was able to recover the car. It is now safe and sound in my possession and I’ve decided that yellow means STOP at all costs.

* Another adventure with the car is trying to find gas to keep it running. Currently, the political situation here in Argentina is in chaos. The farmers have decided to go back on strike due to the increase of taxes. They are blocking all major roads and not letting food, gas, buses, etc through. Yesterday there was a 3 hour or more wait for people to put gas in their cars and they were only allowed to put in 25 pesos worth of gas, which is about ¼ a tank. Thankfully on Wednesday I saw this coming and was able to put in 50 pesos before things got worse. The car is now parked in the garage and only used on rare occasion. Hopefully things will be worked out quickly as all transportation (Buses and taxis) are running out of gas and not doing their regular rounds. Please keep this in your prayers as I need to leave the Country sometime before July 1st to renew my visa. I am a bit concerned that I will have no way to travel if things don’t get better quickly.

* God has tested me in my area of trust and dependence upon him. Various times I have received a phone call or message on Saturday letting me know that the person in charge of preaching was not going to be able to come for one reason or not. God always seems to provide someone though and we have not once been without a preacher or someone who is able to lead the worship time.

* Another interesting event is that Jimmy and Marisa, the Pastor of El Encuentro, where I used to work have decided to return to Ecuador. The news was a surprise to most of the congregation and leaked before they had the opportunity to share it with the congregation. But God is good and is continuing to work in the lives of the members of this church. Though I was not surprised by the news, I was saddened. I left the church on good terms but had not had the opportunity to talk to Marisa since I left. Our relationship has been strained due to various situations, but in the past couple weeks we have been able to get together to share and work things out. Please keep them in your prayers as well as El Encuentro and Julio who will be taking over as Pastor of the church.

* It seems that when everything is going well with me in regards to ministry and my walk with the Lord, Satan enjoys putting a damper on that. A couple weeks ago I received an email saying that my support level was low and I needed to raise money quickly to bring it back up. Thanks to many of you I have been able to raise it some what. I am always amazed at the people God uses in this area. He always seems to shock me. I am still short a bit so keep it in your prayers. The good thing is, I have no doubt that God will supply my every need, so Satan wasn’t able to keep me down for long.

* My house seems to full of people constantly these days. I think we have ended up hosting people every week for the past month. These visits have been encouraging yet tiring at the same time. It is blessing to be able to open up the doors to those in need. Whether it is Veronica, (the wife of Pastor Walter from Hualfin) who came into town for medical testing for the daughter. Javier who came into town to preach at the church. Two women from Santiago who came into town to speak at the women’s conference. Or girls from the area who need a place to stay at night due to lack of transportation. I would say hosting is a blessing but also a lot of work at the same time. It usually means that my roommates and I end up all cramming into my bedroom for the night and someone has to cook for a lot of people. Not to mention the cleaning before and after that has to be accomplished.

* Speaking of the house, just about all year we have had various problems that always occur with older houses. The owner finally sent a plumber to take care of the bathroom and check out the water damage in the walls. We shall see if he has to return to completely open up the wall and replace the piping.

Not everything has been a trial or an adventure. There have been many activities that have been encouraging and enjoyable. Such as:

* I am currently leading a small group on Friday night with 4 other ladies from the church. The topic we are studying is “LOVE” and how we can show this love to others in practical ways. We have been able to meet on a semi-regular basis but each time has been encouraging to me.

* My discipleship times continue to be an encouragement to me. Each of the girls is experiencing different trials in their lives, but God is at work in them. Keep them in your prayers, as the temptations of this world are often very strong. Thankfully, the girls open up with me and are honest with what they are struggling with during this time. Pray that the lines of communication will continue to be open and honest and that I can know how to best encourage them in their walk with the Lord.

* The Wednesday prayer meetings are a time of encouragement for me. It is usually a small group of two other ladies and me, but man do they know how to pray. We usually spend a time sharing what is going on in our lives, passages God is using to speak to us, and then an hour praying for our families, the church, Catamarca, Unity among believers, the government. I look forward to this time each week.

* As my life has been so busy during this month, I have had to make an extra effort to find time alone with God. One day I even disappeared from my house and spent two nights and one full day in the church. It was special time for me as I had all day in the Word of God, in prayer and reflection. These times of escaping have become crucial to me. Pray that I will continue to make this extra effort to be alone with God.

* I have had the opportunity to participate and support two important activities during this time. One is an outreach activity that the church in the North put on. I was pretty much the go-to women, making sure that the sound equipment and what not got their and back safely. The other activity was a one day women’s conference in which various churches participated. I hosted the speakers, set up the sound system, prepared the PowerPoint, etc. It was exciting to see unity among the women and be able to host this event in our church.

* Somehow amidst all this business I have been able to get together various times with some of my English friends. God is good and always uses me to encourage them and give advice. The topic always seems to turn to God at one point or another in our conversation. It helps that we usually get together on Sunday nights after the church reunion. I’ve even been able to meet some of the classmates of my friends Patricia and Gisela. I have also had the opportunity to spend time with various classmates of the youth. What I am doing in Argentina is usually a good way to bring up the topic of God. Pray for these casual moments of sharing Christ through my words and my actions.

* On top of all of these formal ministry activities, there have been many informal ones. Especially in terms of visiting people for their birthday or sitting and drinking tea with one of the youth who stops by to visit. Carolina’s 21st birthday was a blessing to me. Not only was I able to surprise her with a visit from her best friend from Salta but we through her a party. It was neat to see all the youth who had been ‘fighting’ in the past get together and enjoy one another’s company. God is continuing to restore these broken relationships.