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.

by Richard Shin

Coming on the heels of the Argentina short-term missions trip, there are a number of exciting items to highlight here around the Beacon.

1. First off, I would like to remind you that there is an Argentina missions report night coming this Sunday, August 11 at church 5:30-8pm. Be there to get a full report of how God worked through our team to minister to the members of IBM and how the team was encourages themselves through the experience as well. Food will be served!
2. Some of the members on the team are going to be giving us a personal take on something they’ve learned and experienced while in Argentina. So stay tuned the weeks to come for those articles. Here are the links to their articles:
   • Eugene Park
   • Josh Liu
   • Pastor Patrick Cho
   • Ryan McAdams
   • Stephanie McAdams
   • Roger Alcaraz
   • Grace Alcaraz
3. I want to take this opportunity to remind you of the four journal entries Pastor Patrick posted of the team’s time in Argentina. You can find them in order here, here, here, and here.
4. And while we’re at it, let me also remind you of the past Argentina teams’ trips we’ve been able to capture here on the Beacon. You can find the articles in reverse chronological order here.

As you can see, while the trip itself is over, there is plenty to do and read in regards to the missions trip. Let us continue to be fervent in prayer for the brethren in Tucuman. Stay tuned for those reflection articles. See you on Sunday!

by Pastor Patrick

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Today was our last full day in Tucuman, which means that it was our last day with the members of the church in general. When we leave for Buenos Aires tomorrow, some people will come to see us off, but we had to say goodbye to most of the church tonight. The day began with another 9:30am pick up from the church. Stephanie and Charis stayed back at the hotel because Charis was still feeling sick. The rest of the team headed back to the Catholic retreat site to meet up with the church.

In the morning session, I gave a message about the everyday practical ramifications of the gospel. The reception we have had to the teaching has been really encouraging. Many people have shared about how they have been challenged by the messages and are seeking already to put the principles into practice.

After the morning session, we had a long break before lunch. The men and ladies started their respective soccer games again, but most of the attention was at the volleyball court where a team of Americans and Argentines were assembled. Eugene, Roger, and I got to play with three of the Argentine guys and it was total domination. The church tried to put together teams strategically to overthrow our reign on the court, but they were unsuccessful. I suppose I should mention that it certainly helped that the net was pretty low, but even still, it was fun.

For lunch, the kitchen prepared rice with a savory meat sauce. It was muy rico especially with “the ministry” (a.k.a. Tabasco and Sriracha). Eugene Park and I have been sitting with a number of the young youth girls and getting to know them. It was fun today helping them practice their English and getting them to try hot sauce.

After lunch, we enjoyed more free time full of sports, great conversations, and an impromptu children’s program hosted by Josh Liu. Josh taught the children about the difference between “God’s way” choices and “my way” choices. It was a good time to help the kids understand the sinful condition of their hearts and to present the hope of the gospel which is the only way their hearts could change. After the teaching time, there was a wild and very loud time of games.

For the evening program, we split up the adults and the young singles once again. Josh Liu preached to the singles about “Treasuring Christ’s Sacrifice” from Philippians 2:5-11. It was a lesson about living a life that reflects a heart for the gospel. Afterwards, Ryan and Stephanie split up the young men and women and addressed significant contemporary issues and developing a biblical mindset. I had a chance to preach about conflict resolution and the Peacemaker Pledge. One of my goals was to really make today’s sermons as practical as possible so that the people would know what they could begin doing as a result of what they had learned.

After the evening program, Pastor Jorge led the group in a time of appreciation for the interpreters and for our team. Little children were sent out from the kitchen with small gifts for each one of us. It was really a great time of encouragement. Many people expressed their thanks and how much the weekend helped them in their walk with Christ. Even the translators told us how much they appreciated the lessons they learned while they translated for us. The evening ended with many hugs and kisses and seemingly endless picture taking, but it was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

by Pastor Patrick

Saturday, July 13, 2013

The team got an earlier start this morning since the plan was to spend the entire day at a place across town. Pastor Jorge came to pick us up around 9:30am and we met up with the church at a Catholic-owned retreat site. We began the morning with worship and Josh Liu taught from Luke 10:38-42 about the priorities of Martha and Mary. It was a nice time of worship together and another opportunity to instruct the church continuing on the theme of “First Love.”

After the morning worship time, lunch was served. Today, it was meat loaf with a side of rice. It’s been a lot of fun watching the locals try Tabasco sauce and Sriracha. Some of them have really taken to spicy food, but others have definitely been repulsed by the heat. Once lunch was over, we had an afternoon of free time and sports.

It was a real blessing being able to sit and chat during the free time with numerous people from the church. Still, it was heart breaking to hear of some who had fallen away from the faith to pursue the things of the world. Some parents also shared about difficulties and struggles they have been having with children who have been getting drunk or taking drugs. One mother in particular recently became a Christian and now is living with a family who doesn’t believe. Her husband refuses to listen to her especially when she shares the gospel, and her children don’t want to live at home. Instead they want to be with their friends taking drugs and drinking. It was so painful trying to encourage her to persevere in faith and prove to be a godly example of Christian character to her family.

Free time also meant we had time for soccer and volleyball. The men asked if I wanted to play soccer, but I tried to express how “unfortunate” it was and how “disappointed” I was that I didn’t wear the right clothes for sports. I watched them play for a little while and then headed up to play a few games of volleyball. The ladies in the adjacent field also had a game of soccer going, and it was pretty fun watching them all run around celebrating in an exaggerated way after every goal. After one goal, one of them even paraded around the entire field holding a water bottle as if it was a trophy.

After the free time, we met for the evening session. I preached to the adults about the responsibilities of parenting from Colossians 3:20, and especially about implementing loving and godly discipline with their children. I was overcome with emotion as the various parents came to mind who shared about the struggles they were having with their children. I just told the group that I would preach as long as was necessary because of the importance of the topic. Afterward, we even had a brief time of Q&A.

At the same time as the evening session, Josh Liu took the singles and youth to talk about “The Judgment of God” from Romans 2:1-5. Originally, Ryan and Stephanie McAdams were going to help with a split session between the guys and gals to provide testimony and instruction for the young adults, but Charis had become ill and so the family returned to the hotel. Instead, Roger Alcaraz shared with the guys about the consequences of the choices made in life and also about God-honoring repentance. Grace Alcaraz spoke to the ladies about modesty.

When the evening session ended, we had dinner together. Dinner consisted of pasta in tomato sauce with chunks of beef. They served this with bread. It was a very filling meal and super tasty. I resolved to exercise self-control and refuse seconds, and this became very difficult when I found out they were serving large chunks of steak along with the pasta for seconds. But with the Lord’s enabling, I was able to resist. Eugene Park and I had a great time conversing with two youth gals over dinner, one who was very new to the church. The new gal, Ana, mentioned that she had heard a lot about our team and how she was glad to finally meet us in person.

After dinner, we had more time to interact with the members of the church. It’s hard to believe that we only have one more full day with the church before heading off to Buenos Aires! Time really has passed by very quickly. Please pray for little Charis as she recovers from her illness. Please pray for the team that we would make good use of the time we have left with the church. And please pray that God would accomplish much good in the church through the teaching times and fellowship.

by Pastor Patrick

Friday, July 12, 2013

The team was happy to sleep in this morning since our transport didn’t arrive until 10:00 am. We got to spend most of the day together with the Ahualle family at their home. As usual, Norma prepared a delicious late breakfast and lunch for us, and we all had as much asado (gloriously fatty beef rib meat) as we could handle. We were joined by Beto and Liliana Barrionuevo and their family. Beto serves as one of the leaders of the church. I was thankful for some wonderful conversations with Pastor Jorge and Liliana about ministry in general. It was a great time of mutual encouragement.

After lunch, we spent the siesta (afternoon break) back at the hotel where we could rest up for the long evening. We headed back to the church around 6:30pm for the first of two general sessions together. After Eugene Park introduced some new songs to the church, Roger Alcaraz gave the first of the sermons from 1 Peter 3:13-16 entitled “A Living Testimony that Speaks.” We took about a twenty minute intermission with coffee and facturas (pastries), and met again for the second session. There was more singing and then I was able to preach from 2 Corinthians 3:18 about “Making God Big.”

After the evening sessions, we cleared out the room and got it set up for dinner. Dinner was served around 11:00pm. This has been typical for times in Argentina. It’s amazing how late people stay up (and the kids, too!), but it was a great time of fellowship together. For dessert, the servers from the kitchen brought out oranges. Immediately, Eugene Park suspected we would engage in our traditional orange peel fight, and of course we did. We enjoyed a wonderful and long day of ministry, encouragement, and fellowship with our brothers and sisters here in Tucuman. Praise the Lord!

by Pastor Patrick

Thursday, July 11, 2013

It really is great being back in Tucuman and being able to see everyone from the church! After a long day of travel, we arrived in Tucuman to familiar faces and loving embraces. We began the day at Lighthouse early in the morning. The team met at 6:30am to load up the van and prepare for our departure. Members of the church came by around 7:00am, and it was an encouraging time of prayer and send off. We drove up to LAX without facing any major traffic and were pleased to learn that our flight out to Houston would be departing on time.

Once in Houston, we enjoyed a leisurely layover and had a chance to grab dinner at the airport. Unfortunately, our flight to Buenos Aires was delayed by about an hour, but this was far better than previous years where flights were cancelled altogether! Once in the air, the team was pleased to find that the entertainment system onboard was pretty high tech. (There were over 200 movies to choose from!) We landed over an hour after our scheduled arrival time which made us rush from the international airport to the local airport for the last leg of our trip to Tucuman.

The scene at the local airport in Buenos Aires was pretty crazy. There were two extremely long lines that basically filled the terminal. We were sure there was some strike or crisis going on, but a local friend who met us at the airport assured us that this was normal for Argentina. We patiently made it through the line to the counter only to find that the airline bumped us to a later flight because we were too late for the one we were assigned to. Still, we were relieved to have received our boarding passes and checked our luggage without a hitch and without any exorbitant luggage fees. When we arrived in Tucuman, we were about two hours later than expected, but the team arrived safely and we had all our luggage. It was great to arrive at least on our scheduled date especially since that was something the team was praying for. We knew our time this year in Tucuman would be significantly shorter, so we didn’t want to spend the night at the airport like in previous years. Praise God for His provision!

We were taken to our hotel and quickly checked in and dropped off our luggage. From there, we visited a house in one of the local barrios where we were served empanadas. Needless to say, we were very happy about the meal. From dinner, we were transported to the church building where we found the members worshipping together and awaiting our arrival.

Pastor Jorge took some time to introduce our team, and we got a good laugh out of Eugene Park’s rock star status in Tucuman. What an ovation! After our team introductions, I had the opportunity to preach from Revelation 2:1-7 about the Christian’s “First Love.” Many people shared that they were encouraged and blessed by the message. Afterwards there was a time of fellowship over coffee and cake, and our team members were able to catch up with all the familiar faces here at Iglesia Biblica Misionera in Tucuman.

We are now back at the hotel after a very long day! The team is washing up and looking forward to some much needed rest. We wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and support. There is much work that needs to be done in this country and in this city. The believers here are not accustomed to expository preaching. Churches are full of people hungering for God’s truth. Praise God for Pastor Jorge and his ministry. We are thankful for his commitment to the gospel and the work he does to shepherd the flock tirelessly in Tucuman.

by Eugene Park

So we started the campaign on Tuesday in a community called Amalia, which is where the church is located. Our schedule during the campaign starts with us going around door to door in the morning and sharing the gospel. At times there are contacts that the church wants us to visit. Typically these contacts are parents who send their kids to church events, but do not come themselves. So when we get the opportunity to share the gospel, the conversations can quite often last for up to an hour or more. We typically try to involve them in the conversation when sharing the gospel with them.

After the morning session we meet back at church for lunch, which has been delicious. We have had pastel de papas, milanesa, etc. Then after lunch we will typically go back to the hotel and rest up during siesta. We could go out again but most people are sleeping so it wouldn’t be worth it.

After siesta we go out again and continue to go door to door. We also spend time inviting people out to the evening program. Most people are receptive to going to some sort of program that is held in the community. And for the evening program we try to make it part fun, but also instructive. This year the evening program changed depending on what was going on. For the skit we would either do our skit based on the four soils parable or the youth of the church would do a skit called “Salti“. After the skit I would sing the song “Jesus, Thank You” both in English and Spanish. But some nights there wasn’t a guitar so if that happened, someone would share their testimony instead (we had to exhibit a lot of flexibility). Then after that one of the guys would share the gospel with the crowd. Then after the gospel presentation we would go out into the crowd and start sharing the gospel again but in small groups or a one on one context.

Each day we did the same thing but in a different barrio. On Wednesday we went to 24 de Septiembre. On Thursday we went to San Pablo. And on Friday we went to SMATA. Each of these days gave us the opportunity to glorify God through the sharing of the gospel. And even though everyone didn’t accept the message, we knew that as messengers our role was to give the message as clearly and accurately as possible. Overall the team was really blessed this week as all of us had fruitful opportunities to share the gospel.

But even though the campaign is over, the missions trip is not. We still have the opportunity to encourage the church and support the leadership these last few days so hopefully we will make the most of our time.

The tradition of Cesar losing a foot race also continued. And as a result he had to shave. So just warning you that when we return he’s gonna look different. And the orange peel fight tradition lives on, even though I find myself participating less and less each year. Must be the maturity setting in.

On Saturday we took a trip to Tafi del Valle. It is a resort area that is about a three hour drive from the church. During the summer it’s jam-packed with people. But now that it’s winter down here, it was practically deserted because it gets seriously cold there. But when we got there we saw that it was a really nice place that was next to a big lake surrounded by mountains. It was definitely cold, but it was also very picturesque and so we spent the next hour taking pictures down by the lake. Then after the picture time people split off and did different things like play volleyball, soccer, or just hang and talk.

Lunch was pretty awesome as we got to enjoy asado, the traditional argentine grilled steak. Just watching the guys setup the grill and cut the raw meat to pieces made me feel manly.

After lunch we boarded the buses again and started the long drive home. And that’s where I am now, in the bus as it winds its way down the mountain. I had better stop before I lose my lunch. Hope to update you again at least one more time before we head back to the US of A!

by Eugene Park

So on Sunday we had service in the park as we’ve typically done these past few years. First we sang some songs together. Then I went up and introduced a new song, “Jesus Thank You.” Yes, I know we sing this song back at home but I was able to get a translated copy of the song. The people of the church really enjoyed singing that song and how the truths of the lyrics helped them to understand the reasons why we should be thanking Jesus.

After singing that song together, I gave a sermon based on 1 Timothy 4:6-9, talking about the importance of being in spiritual shape for the purpose of godliness. I told them that it wouldn’t be easy. But in the same way that getting into physical shape isn’t easy, getting into spiritual shape takes hard work.

Afterwards we enjoyed a nice lunch of hamburgers with chimichurri. Then after that it was all about soccer. A few of us played with the Argentines and we had a lot of fun. Even the ladies got a match going with Naomi and Elisabeth diving in and playing with them. I’m sure we’ll be playing a lot more soccer before this trip is done.

In the evening there was a youth event. Josh got the opportunity to share his testimony and tried to encourage the youth to do all to the glory of God, even in things like sports and studying. Jonathan then shared a message on trusting in Christ. It was a nice reminder to all of us to trust in Christ in all situations.

The next day was July 9 which is Argentina’s independence day. On that day, Tucuman becomes the capital of Argentina because their declaration of independence was signed in Tucuman. It was a huge deal as the president of the country came to Tucuman to participate in all the festivities. (On a side note, this is why those air traffic controllers went on strike last week because they knew it would affect a lot of people trying to travel to Tucuman) There was a plan to go down to the 9 de Julio park and take in the parade. But for some reason the parade was cancelled. Instead we heard a parade go by our hotel, but they were protesting something. Sheesh, it seems like that’s all they do.

So that gave us a chance to hangout with the translators and get to know them. Some had just arrived that Monday morning on a 16 hour bus ride from BA so it was important to spend some time with them. We even treated all of them to ice cream. Even when the weather is cold, ice cream is always good.

That evening there was an event in the park where the youth did some sort of skit. Afterwards Cesar shared the gospel and then we all fanned out and started talking to people one on one and continued to share the gospel with them. It was nice to meet some of the people of the barrio and share the gospel with them. Hopefully some seeds were planted!

After dinner we went out into the central square with many members of the youth group and just walked around. Then someone got the bright idea to have ice cream a second time that day. So back we went, but this time with all the youth, to enjoy some ice cream together despite the chilly weather. And you know what? It was still good!

Today we start the campaign. We are praying that God would soften the hearts of people to hear the truth of His word. I hope you can join us in praying for that as well. You can also pray for the health of our team. Some are suffering from allergies and others are suffering from head colds and headaches. Carlos says he’s handing out the Advil like it’s candy. I figure that it’s because we are still trying to recover from the lack of sleep as a result of all the delays we’ve encountered. Hopefully this won’t affect us too much during the campaign. Thanks for reading! Hope to update you again by the end of the week.

by Eugene Park

So why do crazy things happen to us?

So we stayed at the airport that night, knowing that we had a flight the next morning at 6:30am. We got in line at 5am, checked in our luggage, and then boarded the plane. So we are thinking, “Yes, we are finally going to Tucuman.” But then someone came over the intercom and said that we are going to be delayed for a while. And they kept on getting on the intercom telling us that we can’t leave yet. Then finally, after siting on the plane for two hours, they told us that the flight was cancelled. Oh yay. So we went back and went through the whole process again and they booked us on the afternoon flight that was going to leave at 3:30pm that afternoon. So we stayed at our same spot in the food court again. I think the security guys were wondering why we were still there. Someone even overheard one of them ask another security guard, “Son los chinos de ayer?” Translation: “Aren’t they the Chinese from yesterday?” I guess they didn’t notice Cesar.

So we just hung out at the food court for another 4 hours and then Eduardo came to eat lunch with us. Before we left for lunch we tried to check in our luggage. But then we found out that our flight was cancelled again. Eduardo went around to the different people related to the airline and asked what could we do. We finally rescheduled our flight for the next morning again at 6:30am.

So to help us get over the disappointment of not leaving, we went to Siga la Vaca for lunch. Siga la Vaca is an all you can eat place with all the meats you want on an open grill. Yes, we enjoyed it.

We weren’t going to stay another night at the airport so we got hotel rooms. And after showering for the first time in 3 days, we walked around downtown to the usual spots we typically go to.

The next morning we got to the airport at 5:20am and found that the place was packed with people trying to get to Tucuman. Even though things were rushed, we were able to board the plane and this time we actually left! Finally!

Seeing Pastor Jorge waiting for us at the gate was a nice sight to see. We went to the hotel, dropped off our stuff, and then went over to his place and enjoyed some awesome asado steak for lunch. It was also a great time of fellowship together as both his family and the Barrionuevo family got to share with us the highs and lows they have been experiencing. For six of the team members, this is the first time they got a chance to hear about the ministry in Tucuman.

That night we went to the church and they had a welcoming service for us (the one that was supposed to happen two nights ago). There was a time of singing, team introductions, and then I shared with the church the different reasons we come to Argentina: to preach the gospel, support the local church, and support the leaders of the church. Then afterwards we had the traditional empanada dinner. It was really encouraging to see the team engaged with the people of the church and talking with them. Even though I see it year after year, it’s still surprising to me to see how fast people become close to one another. Some of the team members didn’t even speak Spanish that well but did their best to communicate. Although it was delayed, it was a great start to our time in Tucuman.

Thanks for reading. Keep praying for us! Hope to give another update soon!