Identity?

In the campaign, we are also hosting events in our meeting room every Saturday afternoon. Along with going on campus to talk with the girls, we are inviting them to a time to hear about their value as women, what is true beauty, what a perfect God thinks about them, who Jesus really is, and so much more. Last week, our first talk was about our identity and value as girls, given by our national director's wife, Leticia Bloise. She asked us to think about the labels that we've been given from our families, friends, teachers, and the many people that have influenced us in our lives. Sharing how these affect the perception of ourselves, she asked us to share in pairs some of our answers. I was partnered up with a friend of Erika's from class, Ana. After I shared a few of mine, she was very quick to speak up, and with a stern, "No, nothing that anyone has ever said affects me, I don't let it affect me," the conversation came to a halt. I saw right through it.

In talking to and interacting with so many girls now on campus, it gets easier to read through a persons words to their thoughts or see through their defenses. I could see right through this girl. It was almost like a calling out for love. She had obviously been affected with the things that people have conditioned her to believe about herself. I didn't push past her answer because she wasn't budging. I started praying. Then Leticia brought us back together to share some of our answers. My partner shared the same thing with the group. That nothing that anyone says affects her. Leticia was able to share with this girl some personal vulnerable stories of how the labels had affected her and how she had replaced those lies with the truth of Jesus. After the talk was over, Ana began to tear down her defenses and share that in reality everything affected her and that she was holding so much in. We got to see the Lord soften her heart. It was an experience for our student leaders to be involved in as well. They were encouraged by the way the Lord is working through the campaign to touch the lives of students.

I'm not listening to your rules...

As you might have seen in my newsletter, this is the flier for our new women's campaign on campus. We recently started this new project! Its been a great experience so far. We are going on campus asking women really hard questions like:

What is beauty to you?

What makes a woman valuable?

Are women valued in society today?

What do you see when you see yourself?

How do you think God sees you?

Our focus is on two very distinct campuses. One is the humanities campus with the English Translation, Psychology, Law, Sociology and History majors. We have found the women to be open and willing to talk. In talking with two girls who are Sociology majors, we discovered that they had conflicting views on the church vs. God. Like so many Argentines, they went to Catholic private elementary, middle and high schools, where they are taught what to do to be a "good girl" and taught a bunch of "out-of date" teachings on the Bible. The power and love of the gospel is nonexistent in many of these schools. So as you can imagine, the picture of God they receive is one of a rule imposer, condemning them. Who would want that God? To have that perception of the Lord, I wouldn't want that either. What's the need for another authority in our lives to boss us around? 

In talking deeper with the girls, the Lord gave us the chance to share about our personal relationship with the Lord and what He's actually done for us in his LOVE. How He's changed us, how he delights in us and allows us to delight in Him. Praying for the need of the gospel to come through to these girls, they kept sharing their views of religious people and their even less desirable religious rules. One of their comments was about how they didn't like that people just believed what was imposed upon them, that they heard something in school and then blindly followed it. When did the need for Jesus become a blind-dumb following? It is about questioning and searching and discovering why do I really believe this? I encouraged the girls to question to seek out answers, not just believe "because someone told me." In conclusion to this conversation we were able to present the Lord how He really is, desiring the hearts and lives of these girls, and wanting to know them on a personal level and caring for them.  They were left questioning things they'd believed for years about the church and more importantly about who God is...Could He really care about ME? 

changes in Animana...

As you may remember, I went to the town of Animana last year and had the chance to go back. Last year the kids of the town were horrible. They were mean and had such tough exteriors. You could just see the fact that they had such a hard life and had lived through many things at home. It was a very tough time to have patience and love for the children and teenagers.

This year we were totally surprised with the way the kids had changed. They were so loving and willing to talk and hug and hang out with us. I got to see many of the children I met last year and see how much they had really changed. It was so surprising the way they had opened up and softened their tough exteriors from a year ago.

These are a few of the teenage girls I tried to make relationships with last year and didn't have any results. This year we spent a lot of time hanging out and talking deeply about the Lord. It was a complete change. In the second picture is one of my friends from last year who was the most special to me.  Josue is his name,8 years old, and he comes from a hard family story as well, having lost his dad at a very young age and his mother who doesn't care much about him. As well as last year, he's still the trouble maker of the town, but he remembered what we had talked about the story of Jesus. One day he was waiting for me early in the morning, he had been walking around waiting for me and shooting birds with his sling-shot.  He had a lot of questions for me about the Bible and about who Jesus was. I had a kid's magazine for us to read together. He read to me that morning and his questions continued. It was a great experience to share the love of Jesus with him, that he doesn't see from his neighbors, his friends, not even his family.

making connections...

The culture and way of life in these towns of the Valleys of the North are very particular. They are very much small town ways of living. Its normal to leave your doors unlocked all the time and people are just trusted, bikes are left outside of the neighborhood grocery. There's a trust within the families as well, where the kids can roam free to all of the other houses in the town.

One of our daily walks to visit houses.

Along with that comes a curiosity when new people come to town. We would be walking down the street and meet new people all the time, especially the kids. They would come up to us and ask what we were doing, who we were, or why we were visiting their town. My favorite thing to do was to ask the kids who came up to come along with us to invite for the film projection we were going to do that day. They would come with us and of course knew everyone in town so they could tell us who lives where and how many kids lived in the house and all the details! It was a great way to have a mini tour guide!

 A few connections we came across, or the Lord brought our way were the son of the pastor of a church way deep in the mountains who got us connected with his dad, Marcelina who works in the Municipal center as the Secretary for the Council of Women, and the bakery's owner told us of a family in need who lives up in the mountain in tents.  They don't receive any help from the town because they don't support the government, so some of the guys on our team paid them a visit to share the gospel with them as well as leave them clothing donations.  The connections were just un-ending in all of the little towns.

open doors in San Carlos..

As I explained in my prayer letter, the Lord gave us so many opportunities in the small town of San Carlos. Along with all of the contacts we made, there was one family there who are believers. They were a vital part of our time spent in the town. Martha, the mother, was a prayer warrior during our time. She has 3 daughters who all attend the schools. The principals allowed us to show the Jesus film in the schools, presenting the gospel to all of the students.

However, we didn't get to hear much about the results from the showings. Because it was in a school, we couldn't pray or ask the crowd who had accepted Christ. The evening after one of the movies was shown for the 2nd-5th grade group, I was talking with Martha's daughter. I asked her how she liked the movie and if she learned anything new. She told me that she loved it and her teachers did too. She said that after the movie in her normal class, her teacher couldn't stop crying with tears of joy because of what she had seen. It was a great conformation that the Lord is working and moving in the hearts of the people.

many stories to tell...

There are seriously so many stories that I've got stored up that I'd love to share from the Valles Project. I shared a couple in my prayer letter that just went out this month, but I have so many that I want to share with y'all!

The three and a half weeks were full of adventures and exciting surprises. The work we did there in the North was very different from my day-to-day here in La Plata. Some of the main focuses are to share the Gospel with the people of the towns, distribute donations, get the local churches connected with the non-believers of the area, provide love and fun for the children and teenagers, and so much more.

Our prayer throughout the project was that the Lord would surprise us. One afternoon we loaded up a truck with donations and our team of 9 and went up the mountain, stopping house by house to give them out along the way. We stopped after about 4 houses well up the mountain where 3 women, one pregnant, and their children were waiting on the side of the path.

It turns out they were waiting on the March of the Virgin to pass by. The Catholic church holds marches or mini parades through the towns with the images of the virgin or statues to stop house by house reciting prayers and worshiping her and asking her to bless the town. These women and their children had been waiting over 5 hours for the virgin to pass. Instead of finding the virgin, we stopped to share with these women the hope of Jesus and give them  clothes to take home to their families, baby clothes for the expectant mother, school supplies for the kids, and some food items as well. It was a great picture to provide these Mothers with the hope they were waiting on and didn't even realize it.

preparing for the valles...

We are getting ready here to go on our annual mission trip to the North of Argentina to serve the communities in the region of the Valles Calchaquies. There are about 6 different teams of staff and students who will be going this year. It is a project we volunteer for one, two or three weeks to help fulfill the needs of the people in these impoverished areas.

We bring donations of clothes, school supplies, medications, as well as food items. There are also times of loving and teaching the children and adolescents of the towns. We focus on teaching them values that Jesus held. Some of the home situations are very tough, so it is a time for these children to have fun while growing as well.

In some of the projects, the staff and students set up soccer training camps. The reason I love this so much is that it gives the kids a chance to have a father-figure in their lives for a short time. Many of the fathers are distant or absent from the families in these small towns. It is a great way for these children to experience the love of a Heavenly Father as well. Here is a little info about the trip (if you can read Spanish, if not, the pictures are pretty!)...

There is also a blog for the project that you can explore and see some more picture slide shows and videos of projects in the past. http://proyectovalles.blogspot.com/

Keep us and the preparations in your prayers!

our winter project....

Over 120 students heard the gospel over the two weeks of our winter project. As you may know, I came down to Argentina on a Summer Project with about 20 other college students and staff. We had a great meeting people and sharing the gospel in relatable ways with the college students of La Plata. This year marks the first year without a summer project. Its a bittersweet experience, but we decided to plan our own project here in our city with our very own student leaders. We wanted to see the benefits of a summer project right here at home. 


The week before was spent in prayer for the Lord to work over the project. About 4 hours a day we spent praying for this new experience with our students. The over two weeks there was a focus on every student involved in our movement having two spiritual conversations per day. I was amazed at the drive and commitment from our students.

                                           The Architecture Campus:

One conversation in particular that stands out to me was with a girl Johana. She studies Architecture and is from far down south in Argentina. She was taking a break from her class and we (Sam a fellow STINTer, Gaby a new student leader, and myslef) asked her if she wanted to do a picture survey about her life and spiritual things. She agreed and then as the questions went along, she revealed to us that her parents were once Catholics and now had converted to be Muslims, following the Islamic faith. She was in a confused middle ground between the two. She was practicing parts of both religions without knowing why. 


We shared with her how it is possible to have a personal relationship with God and how He is not looking for us to do things to earn that relationship. How the concept of Grace says that we receive a relationship with Christ not by who we are or what we've done. We all fall short of God's glory. 


This hit so close to home for her, that when we told her that the Lord was waiting for her and wanted this relationship, she said, "Of course!" Almost like she was saying why wouldn't I want that? It was amazing to see her heart laid out in front of us. She was so ready for that conversation, showing me once again that I'm not able to change lives! 


More stories to come...

not as we planned

      After two weeks in Cordoba, we took a 12 hour bus ride back to Buenos Aires to pick up  students there and the next morning took a 26 hour bus ride south to Piedra del Aguila in the province of Neuquen. Every year Campus Crusade in Argentina holds a summer Mapuchee Missions Project. There are over 46 indigenous communities inhabited by Mapuchee indians in the region all with spiritual, social and emotional needs. Through the project we hope to share God's love by sharing the gospel, meeting some of their physical needs, and training the existing believers on how to share their faith and helping them to serve those around them. 

      Students and professionals from all over Argentina were a part of making this project happen. I got to go back to the town of Piedra del Aguila again this year. At the beginning of the project we had a retreat with all of the teams. Things went a little crazy. Our forms of transportation were nothing but cooperative. There were many busses and vans that broke down or couldn't make it to the retreat in time. We had a great time despite the set-backs of the other teams. We worshiped together and also spent time learning how to minister to the Mapuchee Indians. We learned more about them and their nature gods that they worship and the reservations that they have about different cultures. 

        At the end of a meaningful and helpful weekend, we split off into our respective teams to be sent off to different small towns around the South of Argentina. We didn't have very far to go. Our team stayed in the same town where the retreat was held. We had an amazing time of learning and growing in ministry. around 100 people heard the gospel of Jesus in those ten days! One of my favorite things was when we traveled to a nearby little town named Santo Tomas. It was a town with a few dirt roads, a municipal building and a school. Since we were there during their summer, we helped out with the summer camp in the school. We played with the kids there and showed them the love of Jesus. We also had a projection of the Jesus film for children, which we had about 25 young people in attendance. (Pictured below) Overall, it was a wonderful experience for our team to show the love of Jesus to the town. 

Below: One of our teammates Leo sharing the gospel with the kids after the movie.

start of a new year

      Aside from arriving back to the sweltering heat of La Plata, I had a smooth transition. I got my last taco in the Airport, spoke English to the sales-lady and headed here to Argentina. January here, as you may know, is the busiest month in ministry. This year we had our staff retreat, summer camp, missions project, and then vacation. 

     For staff retreat, a couple from Florida came to give all of us staff a seminary course on the history of the church and missions. It was as if we were all back in college again. The mornings were spent in class, learning about our early church fathers and how Christianity started. The afternoons were spent with our class groups working on our presentations. It was a great time to build relationships with the staff as well as to learn in a class-like intensive atmosphere. We all got to spend New Year's Eve toasting to what the Lord was going to do in our lives, ministries and cities over the next year! 

Staff women preparing the salads for our New Year's Eve cookout! 

      Emotions began to heighten as we prepared for camp "Revolucion" 2011. Seven days of heart changing worship, in-depth ministry training for the students, delicious 3-course meal times, deep small group talks, and a lot of new friendships being built.

Big Group Outside Meeting Room 

campamento 2011

Returning back again this year to Cordoba was exciting and refreshing...

       Every year we have the summer camp in the same place called the Hotel Casa Grande. There is a girl there named Antonela, the daughter of the couple who owns the snack bar in the hotel. Antonela and I had a strong connection last year at my first summer camp. Despite my limited Spanish speaking skills, I was able to share the gospel with her right there in the entry-way of the hotel one afternoon. So this year, needless to say, I was excited about being reunited with my 14 year old friend Anto! The second I got to the hotel, day 2 of being back in Argentina, I went to visit my buddy Anto. Her parents said that she wasn't there and that she'd be back the next day.

        I saw her the following day and it was a fun reunion, she was just as excited to see me. Over the next week we got to spend time talking and hanging out. One afternoon the Lord gave me the opportunity to talk deeper with my friend. I explained the gospel once again and we had the chance to talk about a personal relationship with God instead of just attending her Catholic church's mass once a month. The idea interested her and she asked questions about the religion she was following and about the relationship I was offering. We had a great conversation, she still wasn't ready to accept the gospel. However, the Lord provided a good time for me to step out and share my faith with Anto. I am going to continue praying for her and await next year back at the Hotel Casa Grande to reconnect with my friend! 

christmas blessings

Wow I know its been so long since I've updated this. If its any consolation, the day after Christmas I was on an 11 hour flight back here to Argentina and just stopped traveling 3 days ago. That would make the total of days traveling to Staff Retreat, Camp, Mapuchee Missions Project, Vacation...40! Before all of that traveling I had the blessing of spending time with my family and friends! Here are some pictures...

With my brother and three cousins in Cherryville, NC

With high school friends in Lexington

With my family at the Christmas eve service at SGPC.

It was a wonderful time at home visiting and catching up on the 14 months I had missed. One of the many blessings the Lord sent my way was on the morning after Christmas, I woke up to snow on the ground! I remember last year my family calling about the huge snowfall in Lexington in 2009. It never snows in Lexington! Meanwhile, I was burning up here in Argentina (because its summer) while at home they were enjoying the snow. This year we all got to marvel together at the white coated wonderland of Whiteford (my neighborhood). It was such a blessing before returning to 104 degree weather in the dead of summer Argentina!