Youth on Vacation… More Ministry Opportunities

I never seem to have time to get out these updates anymore and the more time I wait the harder it is to find time to get caught up. I figured I would just hit some of the highlights so you know what has been going on. On top of my regular activities of leading the women’s small group for the church, doing discipleships with the youth, visiting families from the church and non-believers I have been working on many other things.

July was a whirlwind as everyone was on vacation. It was great to be able to get together on a more regular basis with the girls, but also made my schedule rather un-regular and busy. I was able to spend some time just enjoying the youth on a more casual basis. We went to the Poncho Festival various times and I was able to enjoy some of the cultural aspects of Argentina, such as their music, food and art. We also celebrated the “Day of the Friends”. One of Soledad’s classmates invited us to her house for a party. One of the benefits of having all the “Study Groups” meet at our place is that I have really gotten to know some of the girl’s classmates and build relationships with them. The majority are not believers so I try to get together with them on a casual basis so that they can see that “Christians” aren’t just boring people who have crazy beliefs but can have fun without alcohol. I also had the opportunity to work on a puzzle and complete it with the help of some of the youth. It is a great way for them to open up and share what is going on in their lives.

I also had the pleasure of hosting Mariela for a weekend. Mariela is from Argentina but serves as a missionary in Morocco. She is a Doctor and is currently in Argentina to get training to work with women who are pregnant. It was neat to hear about her experiences in Morocco and the work that God is doing there. I have been wanting to meet Mariela for a couple years. She has connections to both my church back home (as many people who have traveled to Morocco have had the opportunity to spend time with her) and the church here in Catamarca (which supports her financially). It was a blessing to be able to host her and have her spend time with the girls and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. She is an example to many as they see that they too can be a part of missions or go as missionaries. Please keep her in your prayers as she returns to Morocco in a couple months.

I mentioned a couple girls that God had brought into my life at an opportune time. It is exciting to see what He is doing through these relationships. One of the girls is Belen, who happens to be a Pastor’s daughter. After getting together on a casual basis a couple times she asked me to do a study with her. Supposedly one of the mothers of her church wanted her to “disciple” her daughter but she didn’t know what that meant. So, I have taken her under my wing and I am trying to teach her what discipleship looks like. Please keep her in your prayers as she seeks to draw closer to God and serve Him. The other girl is Sonia, who I met at the local vegetable store. She is not a believer but seems to be open to God. She doesn’t have many friends as a couple years ago she had an accident in which a car ran over her foot and left her in a wheelchair for many months and still suffers fears of being out in public. Pray that God would be at work in her life freeing her from these fears and opening up her heart to receive Him as Lord and Saviour.