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This year I had the privilege of
traveling to Argentina
with Missions Reality. This was my first experience out of the states, with the
exception of Canada.
It was such a joy to be able to be a part of this ministry. It was a new
experience for me in a lot of different aspects as well as some of the familiar
parts of missions. I have been on mission trips before, however they have
always been in the United
States.
When we
began this course I wasn’t ready, but by the time our plane finally took off
from the Atlanta airport to head to Buenos Aires, I was ready
and excited to be going. It took a little bit of work to actually get out of
the United States.
When we arrived at the Atlanta
airport we went to head to the gate for our next flight, and when we got there
it has been cancelled. The next flight was not until the next morning, so the
airlines gave us all food vouchers and put us up in a hotel for the night. We
didn’t get a lot of sleep, but a missions trip isn’t about sleep. While we were
in the process of getting to the hotel a few of the guys on the team were able
to share the gospel with some of the people in the airport. It was neat to see
them jump right in, it was also a little convicting for myself, because I was
more focused on sleep than winning souls.
The next
morning we were up early and had to re-register and get new tickets. We made
our flight. There was another 2 hour delay before we actually took off. We got
into Buenos Aires, Argentina late that night. Then we
traveled to the Bible Institute. We arrived and warm greetings met us and pizza
as well. We finally got to bed.
Sunday we
dove into ministry with some meetings in the morning with staff, and as a team
that afternoon we practiced our music and dramas that we would be using through
out the week. That evening we were taken out to eat to a nice restaurant where
we were served the famous Argentine Steak. I know why they are known for it now
too! We finished our evening participating in a MufaPufa with the Argentine
Bible Institute students. This was the opening week of school for them. There
were many students at the BI but also in the bi-lingual program. We met many
students from the US
that were studying there.
Monday we
were able to do OAE downtown Buenos
Aires. This was my first time participating in OAE. I
was nervous, but quiet time that morning really calmed my fears. God is
amazing, and when we allow Him to work in our lives He always blesses and grow
us in ways we would never dream possible.
We also
were involved in school activities and put on multiple programs. This happened
on Monday afternoon, and Tuesday. I participated in the puppet drama. This was
a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work. I was the puppet and I had to
concentrate. God really used this in the schools. The kids were captured by it.
We saw quite a few decisions for salvations. We were also able to talk to many
of the students too.
In regards
to speaking, we had to have translators with us. There was no one on our team
that spoke fluent Spanish. I know a little bit, enough to get by, and to get
around, but not enough to have a solid conversation. The translators were such
a blessing to our whole team. They served with diligence and such a joyful
spirit. They never once complained about our lack of Spanish. They also helped
us learn how to more effectively share the gospel in their culture.
Large
majorities of the Argentine people are of the Roman Catholic faith and strongly
believe that their good works will get them to heaven. I talked to one man on
the streets. He was aware that he was a sinner, and he knew exactly what he had
to do to get to receive salvation, but he didn’t want to make that decision. He
was set that his good works would allow him to get to heaven. My heart really
broke for these people. I think a lot of Americans as well. The culture in Buenos Aires is a lot like America, they are poorer but they
still do everything the same as we do, and it is very much Americanized as
well.
On one of
the days we went to a church to help with a mini mufapufa. A young girl in the
area wanted WOL to come and do this for her birthday. It was her 15th
birthday, which in Spanish culture it is huge. It can be as big as a wedding
for some girls. This girl however instead of a party she wanted her community
to hear the gospel and to have fun at a mufapufa. She was from one of the
poorest communities in Buenos Aires.
To make a long story short, we went and played and had a lot of fun with the
kids that came. The really cool thing though is that 55 kids accepted Christ as
their Savior, and 23 committed to going to the Bible Club in that church that
had just been started the week before.
There are
so many more stories and adventures that I could tell of my trip to Argentina.
However, the best thing of the trip is that people were saved. That is the
whole point of this trip, beyond the delayed planes, food poisoning (yes I was
one of the lucky few who got sick), and whatever else we could choose to
complain about, God was glorified and people’s lives have been forever changed.
This was the greatest joy and privilege anyone could be a part of. Overall we
were able to be a part of 100 life changing decision. It’s not about the
numbers at all, 100 people are now headed towards Glory, but even if it would
have been just 1 person. It would have been worth it all.
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