Borders

 As quarantines continue all around the world, we continue to wait for the Argentine border to open.  We will be returning as tourists since our visa has expired.  Our family is prepared to return just as soon as possible.  We are partially packed waiting for word that the border is open to tourists from the United States.  

We are keeping in contact with people from Jujuy and cannot wait to see them all again after being out of the country for over two years.  Somedays we feel impatient, but are reminded to wait patiently as it says in the Bible in Psalm 37:7, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."  We know that his timing is perfect and that he has a plan in all that has happened in 2020 and will happen in 2021.

Tourists

Living here in Jujuy, we are often asked if we are on vacation.  Our kids stand out, like in the picture (Can you find our daughter in the picture on the left?)  There are a few things that we noticed about other tourists that make them stand out (other than the color of skin).

In Jujuy, the people do NOT:
*start a conversation with people they do not know
*talk loudly - EVER
*point

*use their hands to eat (except for empanadas) or only use only a fork to cut and eat

*touch things in a store without asking (except supermarkets)

*walk around the house without shoes

*throw things to someone who needs something (like borrowing a pencil - you hand it to them)

*complain about lines when waiting for something

*tap a foot in impatience while waiting

*say "hi" to a friend across a room, without going over to greet them properly with a kiss on the cheek

Well, I think that you get the idea.  

Merry Christmas!

 

Finishing Itineration

 

Funerals in Argentina

When someone dies in Argentina, the culture is different than in the United States.  When a person dies, within a few hours a wake starts.  It is a non-stop, roughly 20 hour wake (it can be less, depending on the family).  For example, a sweet lady, 80 years old, died at 8:30 pm.  Her body was prepared, arranged, and sent to a funeral home for the wake to begin at midnight.  The body is placed in the casket without embalming fluid.  People come and go throughout the vigil until the ceremony to place the lid on the casket.  In this case the ceremony was at 4:30 pm.  The family was there the whole night.  She was transported at 5 pm and buried at 5:30 pm.  The whole process is less than 24 hours because the body is slowly decomposing during this process.  

Im-Pacto de Fe Baptism

Last weekend, the church Im-Pacto de Fe (that we helped to plant) had a church service / picnic.  We baptized 6 people in a small creek - these were huge decisions to follow Christ, decisions that were not taken lightly.  We had a wonderful time!

Getting Ready ...

Yesterday, we headed up to a small town north of the capital city of Jujuy.  Volcán, Jujuy is a town of about 2,500 people. We will be having an evangelistic campaign at the end of March, during "semana santa" (Holy Week) leading up to Easter on April 1st.  Pray with us that God will continue to open doors in this small town and open hearts.  

Knives & Blankets

Everyday life always has it's ups and downs.  Chris was recently invited to speak at a church's first (ever) missions service / convention.  He did an amazing job!  But after service went outside to find that one of our car's tires had been punctured by a knife.  So, he got all of the stuff out to change it (and put on the spare) - in his nice dress clothes, of course.  After he had finished, a few more people were coming out of the church.  Another pastor found that his van had not one, but two flat tires that had been cut with a knife as well.  This is a problem, since no one carries TWO spare tires.  So, they started calling around trying to find a tire repair place that was open - even walked around town a little trying to knock on doors.  No one was open / available.  Which really wasn't surprising since it was 1 am early Sunday morning.  The pastor called his car insurance and they said that they would send someone "right out" and that it would take 2 hours (or possibly more) since the only available towing company would have to come from the neighboring capital city of Salta.  Chris finally got home around 3 am and the pastor (to his house) around 5 am.

While Chris was gone, I needed to get ready for a baby shower the next day.  With limited funds, we are always creative in what we give to people.  I made (from leftover materials) this pink fleece baby blanket with purple trim.  We are praying that things go well for this young couple with their first baby.  We could only stay at the baby shower (which was an all night event) for a short time because then we were headed to the 43rd anniversary  of the church, Templo Buenas Nuevas.  

The anniversary service was great!  We enjoyed a wonderful guest speaker, our presbyter from Salta, and tasty food prepared by the ladies of the church.  It was chilly that night, since we are at the end of the fall season.  God is continuing to move here in Jujuy!  Continue to pray with us and for us for more salvations and health as we travel. 

New Church Location

We wanted to give you an idea of where our next church plant will be... The building in the top picture is a house that the kid's club has been meeting in and the picture on the left is the stairs leading up to it.  The stairs are one of the first things that will need to be repaired (especially when it rains) before we can have an adult service.  The living room, in the small pictures below, is a great start for a meeting room, but is very limited in its capacity.  There is an open area (like a soccer field) where the kids can play; this area is right next to the river, but since they all live next to it, it's not a problem (except during the flood stage).  The last two pictures are of the road leading into this community and a video of the kids playing (just to give you an idea of what it's like).  Not all of the kids stayed to play and the pictures I took of the living room were taken before most of the kids arrived.  Pray as we start ministering in this area!

Newspaper Advertisements

We wanted to share with you some random pictures from our daily newspaper, to give you an idea of what the people here see each day.  These are advertisements for witches, red magic, black magic, tarot cards, mystics, fortune tellers, and other ways to get a miracle.  The other half of this section of advertisements deals with the sex trade, but we chose to not include those ads.  

Pray for the people of Jujuy!

 

Kid's Ministry Relaunch

We relaunched our kids ministry at the church, Im-Pacto de Fe, on Saturday.  There were 35 kids and 10 adults there!  Our team put together a great time for the kids: a clown, a drama about the lost sheep, sandwiches and pizza for after the lesson with sodas, and songs to which the kids could dance and sing.  We also had some of the kids come up front to lead a few songs (with help) and to pray for their community, family, and friends.

Baptism Service

Today, we had our first baptism at the Río Reyes.  It was a great Sunday service!  We also had a barbecue (cookout) after the baptism to celebrate!  We thought we would share some of the pictures and one of the videos... Enjoy!

Praying for Brussels & Pakistan

As our world continues to experience the terror of bombings, our family continues to pray for the countries, people, and friends all over the world.  This picture is a us praying for some good friends in Brussels (and their kids).   Please pray with us for peace, safety, and for God to do something good with what seems to be only a tragedy. 

Mortuary Blanket (Death blanket)

In Argentina, especially in certain provinces, it is required by law for each vehicle to carry a Mortuary Blanket.  This is in case you come across a dead body, so that you can cover it.  My kids call it the death blanket.  It is considered part of your Emergency Roadside Kit that you cover, which includes: a fire extinguisher, flares, reflective triangles, reflective vests, jumper cables, first aid kit, etc.  Now you might be thinking that you can carry any blanket, but sadly no.  You must have a certified mortuary blanket.  Some provinces do not have this law and others do not enforce it.  But we have heard that there is one (Entre Rios) that will fine anyone not carrying it and require them to buy it (on the spot) or have their car impounded.  Do you have a death blanket??

3 Finger Blessing

Our largest Catholic church has these two large statues.  Many people have asked what they mean.  

Well, I guess that depends on who you talk to.  Most people would tell you that it is a blessing or a sign of blessing. (If you want to read more about the history, I suggest that you start HERE.)  Others have speculated that it has to do with one finger for apostolic succession and the other for temporal power (which is why the pope kisses the ground when he visits a new country).  Others believe that it stands for the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). 

Regardless of when it started or where it came from, this symbol has deep meaning: we all want to be blessed.  Religious people here in Jujuy also have a custom of making the sign of the cross (a sacramental), with a kiss on their fist, when they pass any Catholic church.  

Building Project

Missionary Fellowship

 Once a year, the missionary fellowship in Argentina gets together for a meeting and to fellowship.  We elect a field moderator, secretary, treasurer, etc.  We give reports, go over finances, etc.  It is similar to an annual business meeting at any business or church.  This year, we met in El Calafate, a town in southern Argentina that has a huge moving glacier named Perito Moreno (Pay-ree-toe More-reign-oh).  It was cold and windy, but we took a few hours as a missionary family to go see it.  Our family is spread out in the picture below.  As always, it is great time spent together with other missionaries from around Argentina.

Prayer...

Our house has a two "bedrooms" outside.  One is used as an office and area for homeschool; the other is a play room or guest room.  Recently we started a prayer meeting with the core members of our church plant.  We meet at our house everyday (except Sunday) at 5:45 a.m. until 8 ish.  In Argentine culture, some people are just going to bed at this hour - especially during the weekend.

We are praying for a breakthrough in our area!  There isn't much our outside room (that was the train room), but since it's summer, we can also use the outside porch area.  A friend mentioned that part of Jujuy (our province) was on a show recently.  We had never watched the television show, Naked and Afraid, but we looked at some clips and did some research.  They were in the Yungas Jungle of Jujuy/Salta.  We are not sure exactly where... but if you watch this show, you will see the jungle area of where we live - the show just lists the area as Argentina.  The jungle is a small part of our province in the east; the rest is a high desert.

We also found this article that advertises 6 places to Celebrate Carnival (other than Rio de Janeiro).  Want to guess where one of those places is located??  In Jujuy!  Click HERE to read the article.

Carnaval Season 2015

Worship Areas

 Here in Jujuy, there are MANY areas available for worship.  Every time someone had a "miracle" from the virgin Mary (Jesus' mother), they place a shrine to worship her.  They they simply call her the virgin from that area or place - sometimes a town, a neighborhood, or a larger area - like a mountain.

Below is another worship area for Gauchito Gil.  You can read about him HERE (in wikipedia).  He has his "own" website, but it's in Spanish (You can see it HERE).  There's a song for him as well on the website if you want to learn it.  People give offerings or sacrifice to him for a miracle.  People also place a red ribbon on their car for luck or protection.

There are other places of worship as well.  For example, San la Muerte - Saint Death.  There is a specific prayer that is offered.  It says (more or less), "Powerful Saint Death, skeletal spirit that accompanies man in his misfortunes. you have power to protect me in times of danger. I name you my protector and I am sure you hear me. Lord of Death, chosen by God for your gift of justice,
I ask you to free me from all harm and evil, so that neither sorcery nor disease, or misfortune, or loneliness, neither poverty nor treason
can be with me. May your protection cover and protect me from
my visible and hidden enemies.  Don't allow yourself to be used against me.  And let your scythe
return evil to whom has done evil against me."  There are other prayers, but this is the idea.

Some other gods or saints that are worshiped here include:  Pachamama (sort like mother nature-more infor HERE and the less religious website HERE), Difunta Correa (people place water bottles for her), etc.  Many idols, along with the witchcraft.