A group of teens from First Baptist of Oak Grove, Missouri were with us last week. They had a very busy schedule. Among other things they poured the floor for the first phase of construction in La Rinconada. There are pictures and videos up at the Crecer Foundation blog. Check them out.
Cooking Class
Carita recently finished teaching a cooking class at church. She shared basic cooking techniques with about forty students. A surprising number of teenage boys turned out for the class. They were good students and enthusiastic participants in the taste testing that followed each class. Carita was ably assisted by JoAnn and Elida. Elida cooks for the whole church once a month on the third Thursday when we have a missions supper.
Manuel and Sirley
We celebrated our third annual mission conference recently. There were reports on the projects in La Rinconada and in Salta that our people are heading up here in Argentina. One of the most exiting moments was the evening we took up an offering for a couple in our church who are doing a short term mission to Angola.
Manuel and Sirley will be married in September. Then they will spend three months in Luanda, the capital of Angola. They will be working with an Argentine medical missionary who operates a clinic and works with local churches.
Sirley has been there once already. She is the daughter of a pastor from another city. She came to Córdoba to study physical therapy. Her specialty is helping people with respiratory ailments. Right now she is finishing a Masters degree specifically designed for her by the University of Córdoba to enable her to teach Angolan therapists.
Manuel is from our church. He finished medical school about three years ago with the second highest scores in his class. He is well along in his surgical residency now.
Both Manuel and Sirley have felt a strong burden for missions. They are excited about this opportunity because the hospital in Luanda wrote asking for Manuel to come. As a result the hospital here in Córdoba has agreed to continue paying his salary for the three months they are gone.
Our church, with the help of others, including my parents’ works, is helping raise the funds for their airline tickets.
Tractor Ride
Fabián and Marcel along with Rosario and Sebastián took trip to La Rinconada this weekend. The old Falcon ran fine but it had rained a lot so they left it and Marcela’s uncle came out the 80 kilometers to the pavement to pick them up with a tractor and trailer. Click to enlarge.
BSU Envoys
Our two daughters are students at the University of Central Missouri and have been very involved in the Baptist Student Union. The BSU sent a group a couple of years ago to that was a great blessing to our church. This year they sent two envoys to help us with a project in La Rinconada. One of them was our daughter, Becky. She and Natalie raised funds to take school supplies to the students and teachers of the rural schools around La Rinconada. Doors were opened for us to work in the schools on a regular basis. From left to right: Natalie, Becky and Marcela. Click to enlarge.
Tenth Anniversary
This month marks the tenth anniversary of the church here in Córdoba. We celebrated with a cake and a group picture. My Dad and Mom were able to be with us. There were a few people missing but we got most of the family into this picture. I have left it in a fairly large format so that you can click on it and see the faces. Carita counted 209 in the picture. If you can find Wally you get a prize.
Get Thee to a Nunnery
Here is another great picture form the Salta trip. The team was invited to visit a group of nuns. They sang for them and the nuns gave then snacks. Marcelo asked if he could share something from the Bible. They were very open and Marcelo shared the gospel with them. The nuns asked them to return the next time they are in the area. I am going with Marcelo in April. Maybe it will work out to visit them again.
Falcon Report
Our new old Ford Falcon made the trip to Salta but not without difficulty. It had trouble with the distributor among other things. Thankfully, Daniel Pastor (in the red t-shirt in the third photo) was on the trip. He can fix anything. We are going to need to get a pickup for Marcelo and Nancy to keep making these trips. The reddish car in the first photo is another Falcon driven by Manuel Carbonell. Click to enlarge
