by Ryan McAdams

The doctor stared at me, expectantly.

My wife was staring at me. My baby cried on her lap. The clock had passed midnight.

Through a translator, the doctor had asked me, “Shall we inject her?” And now, I had to decide.

Leading to this decision, we had to decide to leave the church at our meeting site and venture to the doctor’s office and then the hospital at ten at night. We had to decide to leave because we had decided to re-join the church earlier in the evening after deciding in the morning that my wife and sick baby should stay at the hotel to rest. In addition to all of that, we had decided to take this trip in the first place.

So, who should receive the blame for the circumstances in which we found ourselves? Do I blame the baby for her weakness? Do I blame my wife for her strong desire to re-join the church for that final meeting? Do I blame the team for pushing us physically? Do I blame Argentina for its unsanitary environment? Do I blame God?

No! If God has given me the role of head of my family and I intend to fulfill that role, then the responsibility and blame for these decisions lie on me.

I struggled throughout the trip with my desire to assign blame as a result of our difficulties. Bags too heavy? Why did my wife have to pack so much? (I could have told her that we needed to pack less [and then helped her!] beforehand.) Baby not sleeping well? Why didn’t the leaders schedule more breaks? (Solely by virtue of joining the team, we knew this would probably happen.) Even in my life here, I battle with the same train of thinking. Running late? Why did my co-worker have to start talking with me as I was leaving? (I could have politely excused myself [or impolitely, and then have other consequences with which to contend] or have prepared to leave earlier to account for things like this.) Feeling spiritual disconnect within the family? Why do other people have so many activities and demand so much of my time? (If I really value our spiritual lives, then I can step away from other activities that interfere with that time.) In every case, I have the option of blaming others or accepting responsibility for the present state.

But, why should I accept responsibility? To answer this, we can start with the first human, Adam. Eve ate from the tree, gave some to Adam, and then God asked Adam to explain himself. Adam attempts to absolve himself completely when he responds, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. (Genesis 3:12) He implies that Eve made him eat, but he even also adds a subtle jab at God with the sneaky reminder that God gave him this irresistible temptress. I need to resist the temptation to blame Adam for my tendency to blame others here, but let’s just say that I fail in good company. So, what does God do? Does God tell Adam, Oh, you’re right! Eve, I’m holding you responsible for this whole mess, and Adam, I’m sorry for giving her to you. No! God holds Adam responsible not just for eating the apple by himself, but for allowing Eve to eat as well!

Solomon saw this attitude enough to pen a proverb about it. Proverbs 19:3 says When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord. This cuts straight to the point. If I believe God is sovereign (and I do), any blame I point outside of myself will inevitably rest on God. But, Solomon clearly places the blame on the man.

Even to come to Christ, one of the first steps involves taking responsibility for your own sin, and realizing that you do deserve condemnation for it. The beauty of the gospel is that Christ took the punishment the sinner rightfully deserved and that God doesn’t hold that sinner responsible any more! This incredible reversal leads to incredible gratitude precisely because that forgiven sinner understands the magnitude of his responsibility before Christ took it.

All throughout the Bible, God holds man responsible for his sin and the decisions that he makes. And yet, I see in my heart, and all around me in the world this attitude of self-victimization and evasion of responsibility. Throughout my time as the head of my own family, I’ve struggled (and grown, thanks to God) in this area, and our time in Argentina helped me reflect even more on this truth as I had to confront my own thoughts in various circumstances there.

Ladies, I hope you can mine some helpful truth from these thoughts, but I have targeted men in particular for two reasons. First, I have found that many of us seem to share this struggle.

But secondly, and probably more importantly, God has called men to lead, whether in the home or in the church, and people have all sorts of ideas about how leadership looks (or ideas about manliness). Some of these ideas come from the Bible; many do not. But, I can confidently say that the idea of handling responsibility does come from the Bible, and that many young men pursuing manliness overlook this aspect of leadership.

It is my hope that those men younger than me would learn this more quickly than me, and that we would all grow in our humility, which according to the apostle Paul, is the attitude that Christ exemplified.

I give God much thanks for the trip he allowed me, my family, and my church to take to Argentina this year, for the lessons in responsibility I learned, but also for the joy and fellowship we experienced with the church in Tucuman and within our own family as well.

To conclude the story, I authorized the doctor to inject my daughter. They also prescribed her some medicine to quell her vomiting, which worked for the remainder of the trip. The church and translators showed us much hospitality, even in the sixteen hours between the hospital visit and our plane flight to leave. We were able to return home safely, and have no regrets about choosing to take the trip.

Editor’s note: This is a continuation of a series of articles being provided by the 2013 Argentina short-term missions team announced here.

By Pastor Patrick Cho

One of the greatest joys for me personally when I visit Tucuman is simply sitting with Pastor Jorge and talking with him about ministry. I suppose it’s easy to adopt a mentality that we are going to Argentina to teach the Argentines about ministry and the Bible. But when I sit with Pastor Jorge, I realize that I am in the company of someone who has years of experience in a ministry environment that is arguably much more difficult. Every time I have visited Tucuman I have gained a wealth of wisdom listening to his “war stories.” Besides the value of the insights that I receive, I am grateful for the camaraderie and fellowship we enjoy in the Lord. One year, we sat out on the church patio together with a guitar and took turns singing songs of praise. Neither of us knew what the other was singing, but it didn’t matter because we were singing to the Lord.

This year, our team was invited to Pastor Jorge and Norma’s house for lunch. This has become somewhat of an annual tradition to go over and enjoy a hearty beef rib BBQ out on his front lawn. The food is great but the company is better. It is such a blessing to spend a day with the Ahualles, to see them interact as a family and to benefit from their warm hospitality. Even through an afternoon of relaxation and hanging out, I am challenged by their example of hospitality and love.

One of the goals our team has on our summer trips is to be a blessing to the church leaders in Tucuman. Pastor Jorge and the leadership team of IBM Tucuman work tirelessly to minister to their church family and the surrounding barrios. The community where they reside is riddled with drug use, physical abuse and violence, drunkenness, and even murder. Meeting with people to address issues of the heart is constantly exhausting and the leaders there have to carry the burdens of the people with them. I’m sure at times it is easy to become discouraged. Pastor Jorge has shared on a number of occasions that it is particularly difficult when church members seek to hurt and attack. I’ll never forget his helpful illustration – It’s always more bearable to suffer the bite of a wolf because you know that the wolf is out to hurt you, but the bite of a sheep is especially painful because you never expect one of your sheep to bite you.

It isn’t even just with Pastor Jorge but with the other leaders as well. Beto Barrionuevo has become a dear friend over the years, and I have really come to appreciate the conversations we have had about ministry as well. I’m struck by his humility as he asks me for advice about certain ministry issues. Like Pastor Jorge, he is older than I am with many more years of experience. But he is eager to grow and learn. He loves the church and wants it to be as strong as possible, but also confesses that at times it is extremely difficult.

When we go to Argentina, we make it a point to encourage these leaders in any way we can. We support them financially, provide books and resources, and bring them gifts for their family. We want them to know that there is a church on the opposite hemisphere who cares and is praying for them. I know how difficult and disheartening ministry can be and how much these men can sometimes feel like they are on an island to fend for themselves. The relationships we have built over the years have been a tremendous blessing and joy, and the trust that has developed between us has been equally strong.

This year, when we left Tucuman and arrived in Buenos Aires, we were taken to the pastoral training center that was established by Eduardo and Matias Buldain. The center is actually located at their home in San Justo, about a half hour drive outside the city center. About six young men were there to take an exam and Eduardo asked if I would be willing to share a devotional with them in the morning. Understanding how these men were being invested in and the kind of training they were receiving really encouraged me. I was thrilled to hear that one of the classes they would be taking was on expository preaching because there is such a dearth of good preaching in Argentina.

It was a huge privilege to address these men and encourage them from the Word. What was especially neat was that one of them was a member from the church in Tucuman studying to enter pastoral ministry. All this reminded me of one of the major reasons for our return each summer. This nation is starving for the gospel and solid biblical truth and there are a handful of faithful men seeking to minister to the people there. We have such an awesome opportunity to be a part of it even in a small way. We can encourage these leaders to press on in the work and to be faithful to their calling. Praise God for this wonderful opportunity!

Editor’s note: This is a continuation of a series of articles being provided by the 2013 Argentina short-term missions team announced here.

By Josh Liu

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them (Romans 12:4-6a)

If you have been at Lighthouse Bible Church for any length of time, you might have heard missions described as “‘doing church’ somewhere else.” To briefly explain, the believer’s mission is to make disciples of Christ through the vehicle of the local church because of love for God and love for people (cf. Matt. 16:18; 22:37-40; 28:18-20; Acts 1:8); this mission ought to be the focal point for all believers everywhere. Thus, what we seek to accomplish here in San Diego we seek to accomplish on our missions trips – “doing church” somewhere else. Indeed, it truly is a special opportunity and an amazing experience for a church to send its members to meet a church in another hemisphere for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Still, overseas disciple making presents some unique obstacles; one in particular is the language barrier.

For many southern Californians, proficient fluency in a second or third language may be uncommon. While many of my peers (myself included) studied Spanish in high school, their language skills have since then deteriorated. For our missions trips to Tucuman, Argentina, a portion of our financial support goes toward translators’ transportation, meals, and so on. In previous trips, there was need for a 1:1 missionary to translator ratio in conducting an evangelism campaign with Iglesia Biblica Misionera (Missionary Bible Church, or IBM) in Tucuman. This year, the team focused on encouraging and teaching the members of IBM, which required fewer translators. Nevertheless, the translators were an integral part of our ministry to and relationship with IBM. Here are the main translators for the 2013 Argentina missions team:

Left to right: Martín, Pablo, me, Wanda, Florencia

Daniela

I had the privilege of getting to know new translators and catching up with old ones; some are part of the church (i.e. Pablo), some returned to visit and made themselves available to us (i.e. Wanda); and some were completely new to IBM (i.e. Martín, Florencia, Daniela). These translators volunteered and graciously served us. They each have different backgrounds, different experiences, different gifts, but all supported our team’s goal of encouraging, discipling, and serving IBM. Translating is incredibly difficult and draining! Martín and Pablo translated our main messages–between Pastor Patrick, Roger, and me, we preached 10 times. Pablo and Daniela helped me with a children’s program; Martín, Florencia, and Wanda helped me in my personal interactions and conversations with church members. I was thoroughly encouraged by their servant’s attitude. Praise God for how He brings together different members of the body of Christ to further His Kingdom!

While my focus and ministry were aimed at IBM, I had the opportunity to encourage and serve some of our translators. Knowing my background in TESOL and experiences with international students, Pablo, Daniela, and I talked about English language education in Argentina and how it can be a means of ministry both inside and outside the church. Perhaps the highlight of my time with the translators is exchanging testimonies of how God graciously saved us.

The testimony of God’s saving grace to Florencia (shared with permission): her brother, Martín was saved first from her family at a Christian camp. Over time, their whole family eventually began going to church. Florencia remembers attending church since she was nine years old. However, she shared that she was saved when she was 14 years old, two years ago. She was walking to school early one morning when a van suddenly pulled up to her. She was pushed into the van and kidnapped! Her kidnappers began asking her a series of questions and eventually learned that they kidnapped the wrong person. During that time, Florencia thought, “If I were to die, what would happen to me?” She prayed to God and trusted Him with her life. Shockingly, the kidnappers let her go. She found the church that she used to attend nearby and was taken to school where she met with school officials, her parents, and the police. Her attitude towards life now has completely changed. She shares that despite any circumstances, even life threatening events, she always has hope in Christ’s death and resurrection. Now, she seeks to love Christ more and serve Him in everything she does.

It is incredible to witness God’s work in another person’s life and to be blessed by the fruit that is bore.  It is a privilege to serve alongside another member of Christ’s body for the furthering of His Kingdom purposes. It is a blessing to encourage and edify other parts of the body, even unexpected parts not usually connected to the local body of IBM. Let us pray for these translators–for their faith and ministry–who helped us “do church” somewhere else.

Editor’s note: This is a continuation of a series of articles being provided by the 2013 Argentina short-term missions team announced here.

by Eugene Park

Throughout the years I’ve gone to Argentina, my role has changed. Some years I just go as a team member. Other years I go as the team leader. But one role that has never changed is being the music guy. Each year I try to bring down new music that they can learn and continue to sing even after we leave. What the members of the Tucuman church learn through the teaching time is extremely important. But what is often overlooked is the learning that can also happen through the singing of biblically centered songs that sing the truths of the gospel. This is why I take my role as the music guy seriously, both at home and abroad. Lyrics in music have the opportunity to teach biblical truth. That’s why I’m so thankful for ministries like Sovereign Grace Music that seeks to produce gospel centered songs that the church can sing. In recent years they have produced albums in Spanish. These songs have been a mix of translated songs from English that we sing at LBC and songs written in Spanish. These albums have been a tremendous help to me as I’ve been able to take these songs down to Argentina and share them with the church. Sovereign Grace also puts the music sheets online for free download.

When we arrived in Tucuman, a handful of people kept coming up to me and asking if I had new songs for them. I don’t remember this happening in previous years. But that encouraged me because it showed that they have been enjoying the songs that I’ve been bringing and they wanted more of the same. And during the singing times led by Beto (music leader at the Tucuman church), they would often sing songs that we had taught them in previous years.

I feel a special kinship with Beto as we’re both the music leaders of our churches. Each year we spend time together talking about music, going through songs, and helping each other with our respective ministries. I really appreciate the faithfulness he’s shown over the years. We have seen leaders come and go from the church in Tucuman but he’s been there from the very beginning.

During the teaching sessions throughout the week, we would start out with some singing time led by Beto and someone else. Then they would call me up to sing and teach them a couple of songs. This year I prepared the songs La Gloria de la Cruz (The Glories of the Cross), Gracias Cristo (Jesus, Thank You), Mi Vida es Cristo (All I Have is Christ), Venga Tu Reino (Let Your Kingdom Come), and Contempla A Dios (Behold Our God). All these songs came from the Sovereign Grace album Eres Dios. The church in Tucuman loves to sing so they learned these songs quickly and were soon belting them out. One of the blessings of being up in front is that everyone is facing me and so I get to hear (and sometimes feel) the full brunt of everyone singing.

Equipping them for ministry has always been a priority and it’s no different with the music. This year we left them with a few Eres Dios CD’s as well as the songsheets for all the songs. We give them all the songsheets in case there are other songs on the CD they want to sing.

While I didn’t do any “official” teaching in Tucuman, I know that people were still taught Scripture through the music. I hope they will continue to learn and be shaped by the gospel through the music. Now I gotta figure out what to sing next year!

Editor’s note: This is the first of a series of articles being provided by the 2013 Argentina short-term missions team announced here.