Wow! All those years ago when God called me to follow His leading to go into full-time ministry, I would never have guessed how much paperwork I would be doing. And let's get real, I really should be doing more!
You have to keep track of EVERYTHING as a missionary - important personal documents for you and the entire family. You have to track every single penny of ministry money and account for it. (Which is cool by the way. Accountability leads to credibility.) You have all of your ministry things you have to keep track of, names, places, dates you have agreed to and times, how many people were there, how many responded, how are you following up on them, what are you using to teach them, what have learned and what do they still need to learn, what is God teaching to you & what do you still need to study, etc, etc, etc. - And don't even get me started on the IRS stuff.
Office work is not my strength. In fact, it is my weakness. Really, I hate it. I mean, I really loathe it! It sucks the life/ energy out of me. When I know I need to do a lot of office work, it is so demotivating. I avoid it as long as I can, until it reaches the point that I know I must get it done or dire things will happen. I can't help it. It is just how God put me together.
I am much better with people and would rather be with them. But, the office work HAS to happen or the people time won't be as effective and pretty soon it won't even be happening without it.
We have been on the move almost non-stop for the last 6 months: from Costa Rica, to the US, all over the NW, to Argentina, to different parts of it, and finally to settling down in San Salvador de Jujuy. Of course, "settling in" is a relative term. I still need to buy a file cabinet. I still have a ton of filing to do. I had receipts overflowing from envelopes and drawers. I have been pulling things from every different place and trying to go through them, sort them, compile them, file them, report on them, etc. Not my strength. Did I mention that?
But, as badly as I dread it, I MADE myself sit down and really crank out the paperwork this week. It has taken hours and hours, my back is killing me from sitting so much and being hunched over receipts, and I am more cranky than I should be for all of the strain, but it is getting done!
I e-mailed off a huge report this morning. Yea! I made great progress on a second one and should finish it at the start of the week. I made lots of progress on all my IRS stuff, both for last year and for this one. I still have a long ways to go, will need to make lots of phone calls to my financial experts to figure out how to properly account things, and I really want to move on with MINISTRY - but, I have made GREAT progress and it feels, well, GREAT!
I already can't wait to go out and buy a filing cabinet so that I can get more organized in my ministry side of things and better be on top of what we have done, what we are doing, and what still needs to be done. Yes, I did say it. I can't wait to buy a file cabinet and get to filing! Amazing how progress in a difficult area can invigorate you. : )
The first pastor I worked under when I came right out of bible college was one of the most organized men I have ever known. One time I had to go back to him and ask him for a form that he had given to me, but I had "misplaced" somehow. He looked right at me from behind his desk with a funny smile and said (and I have never forgotten this exact conversation)
"You want to know if I have another copy of a form that I gave to you?"
- Yes, I am sorry. I lost it somehow. Do you have another copy of it?
"Let me get this straight. You want to know if I have a copy of a form that I gave to you?"
- Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what I did with it. Do you have another copy?
(With a much bigger smile.) "YOU...want to know if I...have a COPY...of something that I...gave to...YOU?"
- Yes. I know. I know! I'm so sorry. I don't know what in the world happened to it. I can't find it anywhere.
(With a huge grin and a laugh) "OF COURSE I HAVE A COPY OF IT! I GAVE SOMETHING TO YOU. I KNEW YOU WOULD NEED ME TO HAVE A COPY OF IT. : "
> Thank you Pastor/ Mentor/ Figure/ Friend - Wendell Kruger : )
...It was a pivotal moment in my life. I was so embarrassed, but I knew he was right.
I have worked and worked and worked on being more organized over the years. I still hate it, but I still see how far I still have to go in this area. Sometimes I have friends who "think" I am soooooo organized. Rookies! I guess they are still even more unorganized than me.: )
Reality - I am WAY more organized than I used to be. I am so much better at it. Yet, it does not come naturally to me. I will always have to WORK at it, while other areas of life and ministry just flow so naturally. I hope that one day it will be natural. I just don't think I can count on it. Lol.
You always play to your strengths. It is what makes you successful.
But you must always build up the weak areas in your life. It is what will keep your success from tumbling down. "It's the little foxes that spoil the vine."
Go get organized people, or whatever "little fox" you have to deal with before it "spoils the vine."
God bless you all -
Have a great night. Love you-
Paz : )
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
It's Getting There Bit by Bit : )
Today was a great day. There was a pastor's meeting in Guemes. I both love and hate these events. I love seeing friends and reconnecting, spending time with them. But I tend to be timid when it comes to meeting new people. There are always more people that I don't know, than those that I do know, at an event like today.
But today was better than I expected. When I first meet people, almost always, I have a hard time understanding them. It takes me time to "dial in" to their voice and understand more and more of what they are saying. This can be unnerving since a typical conversation requires 2-way communication, and 2-way communication works best when you understand what the other person is saying and can ask questions or make comments that relate to what they are saying. When you don't know what they are saying...this is hard. ha!
I still experienced a great deal of this pattern today, but I realized that I was understanding much more than normal! Let me tell you - THAT ROCKS! : )
I still had to focus like crazy - not easy when you are ADD - any little thing you see or hear can make your mind jump on to a rabbit trail and before you become aware of it and refocus, usually you have missed a lot of conversation and have to try to "catch up" as best as you can from the context, peoples' reactions, etc. ADD is such a double-edged sword - lots of thinking, ideas, energy, etc - hard to stay on target. lol.
I was very happy to talk with several pastors I have been meeting, and to meet several new pastors. It is my 2nd time to be with this group of fine people and I noticed that I seemed to be much more accepted by many of them. I expect that this will grow over time with more contact & time together, both in meetings as well as in ministry settings.
There were still so many things that I did not fully follow, although I think I had the main idea (just lingering doubt that MAYBE I didn't follow it as well as I think I do : ), and a few things that I did not follow at all. That is life in a new language and culture, BUT, it was a marked improvement over what it has been! Yeah!
Every day it gets a little bit easier to understand people. There has been a ton of work to get it to this point, and it continues every day, but it is getting better. : )
I am psyched about that!
Good night and God bless you all -
Paz y Poder en el Espíritu de Dios
But today was better than I expected. When I first meet people, almost always, I have a hard time understanding them. It takes me time to "dial in" to their voice and understand more and more of what they are saying. This can be unnerving since a typical conversation requires 2-way communication, and 2-way communication works best when you understand what the other person is saying and can ask questions or make comments that relate to what they are saying. When you don't know what they are saying...this is hard. ha!
I still experienced a great deal of this pattern today, but I realized that I was understanding much more than normal! Let me tell you - THAT ROCKS! : )
I still had to focus like crazy - not easy when you are ADD - any little thing you see or hear can make your mind jump on to a rabbit trail and before you become aware of it and refocus, usually you have missed a lot of conversation and have to try to "catch up" as best as you can from the context, peoples' reactions, etc. ADD is such a double-edged sword - lots of thinking, ideas, energy, etc - hard to stay on target. lol.
I was very happy to talk with several pastors I have been meeting, and to meet several new pastors. It is my 2nd time to be with this group of fine people and I noticed that I seemed to be much more accepted by many of them. I expect that this will grow over time with more contact & time together, both in meetings as well as in ministry settings.
There were still so many things that I did not fully follow, although I think I had the main idea (just lingering doubt that MAYBE I didn't follow it as well as I think I do : ), and a few things that I did not follow at all. That is life in a new language and culture, BUT, it was a marked improvement over what it has been! Yeah!
Every day it gets a little bit easier to understand people. There has been a ton of work to get it to this point, and it continues every day, but it is getting better. : )
I am psyched about that!
Good night and God bless you all -
Paz y Poder en el Espíritu de Dios
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
International Shipping
Had a new experience in Argentina today - International Shipping. : )
I have mailed "Care Packages" to missionary friends in Africa, the Dominican Republic, Mexico & Russia before, but that was from the US. Two of the things we quickly learned were:
1. It is very expensive - even going snail mail verse faster shipping can run you well over $100 depending on the size, weight and contents of the packet. (And even more important, it can be very expensive for them to pick up. They have to get it out of customs and I have heard stores of where they had to pay more than the contents of the package were valued. - Not a good deal.)
2. It is very insecure - theft is very common. One of the things we started doing was shipping things in Rubbermaid totes that had a wide lip. I would drill holes through the lip (through the lid and siding and secure them with Zip-ties. If was very difficult to open them up and pilfer something quickly and discretely.
Well, doing that from your home culture, home language, etc is one thing. Doing it in a foreign land, foreign language is something entirely different.
We have great friends who are Argentine Missionaries to Ethiopia, Africa. The live in Addis Ababa and love ministry there, but it is a very foreign land. They stand out as much there among a black population as we do here among a Hispanic population. : ) There are so many things you miss from home when you are gone for months and years at a time and they cannot be found there.
We had them e-mail us a wish list of things they would love to be able to get ahold of from home - Argentina. They were mostly different candies, in part because they have 3 little girls. : ) We started shopping and put together a box to send to them.
This morning I went down to the main Post Office in Jujuy to mail it to them. (I have not seen any private Curriers here - Fex Ed, DHL, etc.) There is a Customs Office in the Post Office. I waited in line for a bit only to find out that I needed to got down the street and buy a specific type of brown paper to cover up the box with, and to another place to find get a copy of my passport.
I went to the store to get the paper, but they did not have it. They directed me another block down to an office supply store. Thankfully, after a little waiting there, they found some and I bought it. I headed out to find a store to make a photocopy of my passport. I was directed around the corner and down the block to a small store where they could do it. ...But, there was a huge line coming out the door and going down the block. Not sure what they were all there for, but I did not have the time to find out. The Customs Office is only open in the mornings. God blessed me though. I went into a photo printing shop to ask for directions to another place, and they let me know I could do it there.
I returned to the post office as fast as I could. Noon was approaching. When I got back though, there was another line. I had to wait about an hour to get back to where I had been earlier. Finally I got to the counter and started filling out paperwork, then more paperwork, then showing them the copy of my passport (they never took it, so I don't know why I had to make a copy of it) wrapping up the box, sealing the box, weighing the box, describing the contents and value of the contents, etc, etc. Finally I was done!...at least for the Customs Office. Now I had to go stand in line at the Post Office Counter. : )
Thankfully the line was not long. I filled out more papers, answered more questions and then came the doosy - it was going to cost me almost $80 to ship it! That was more than 2 x's the value of what was in it!
Well, at least I got it shipped and know the routine now. That is one more life experience down. Every day this place becomes a little more like home. I just hope that when the package gets to Ethiopia:
1. It does not get stuff stolen out of it.
2. It does not cost an arm and a let for our friends to pick up.
It is amazing how much we are willing to pay to taste a little bit of home. : )
It's been a long day & there is still a lot to do. I'll catch you all later.
God bless you all & keep on praying for what God is doing - all around the world.
Paz y gracia -
I have mailed "Care Packages" to missionary friends in Africa, the Dominican Republic, Mexico & Russia before, but that was from the US. Two of the things we quickly learned were:
1. It is very expensive - even going snail mail verse faster shipping can run you well over $100 depending on the size, weight and contents of the packet. (And even more important, it can be very expensive for them to pick up. They have to get it out of customs and I have heard stores of where they had to pay more than the contents of the package were valued. - Not a good deal.)
2. It is very insecure - theft is very common. One of the things we started doing was shipping things in Rubbermaid totes that had a wide lip. I would drill holes through the lip (through the lid and siding and secure them with Zip-ties. If was very difficult to open them up and pilfer something quickly and discretely.
Well, doing that from your home culture, home language, etc is one thing. Doing it in a foreign land, foreign language is something entirely different.
We have great friends who are Argentine Missionaries to Ethiopia, Africa. The live in Addis Ababa and love ministry there, but it is a very foreign land. They stand out as much there among a black population as we do here among a Hispanic population. : ) There are so many things you miss from home when you are gone for months and years at a time and they cannot be found there.
We had them e-mail us a wish list of things they would love to be able to get ahold of from home - Argentina. They were mostly different candies, in part because they have 3 little girls. : ) We started shopping and put together a box to send to them.
This morning I went down to the main Post Office in Jujuy to mail it to them. (I have not seen any private Curriers here - Fex Ed, DHL, etc.) There is a Customs Office in the Post Office. I waited in line for a bit only to find out that I needed to got down the street and buy a specific type of brown paper to cover up the box with, and to another place to find get a copy of my passport.
I went to the store to get the paper, but they did not have it. They directed me another block down to an office supply store. Thankfully, after a little waiting there, they found some and I bought it. I headed out to find a store to make a photocopy of my passport. I was directed around the corner and down the block to a small store where they could do it. ...But, there was a huge line coming out the door and going down the block. Not sure what they were all there for, but I did not have the time to find out. The Customs Office is only open in the mornings. God blessed me though. I went into a photo printing shop to ask for directions to another place, and they let me know I could do it there.
I returned to the post office as fast as I could. Noon was approaching. When I got back though, there was another line. I had to wait about an hour to get back to where I had been earlier. Finally I got to the counter and started filling out paperwork, then more paperwork, then showing them the copy of my passport (they never took it, so I don't know why I had to make a copy of it) wrapping up the box, sealing the box, weighing the box, describing the contents and value of the contents, etc, etc. Finally I was done!...at least for the Customs Office. Now I had to go stand in line at the Post Office Counter. : )
Thankfully the line was not long. I filled out more papers, answered more questions and then came the doosy - it was going to cost me almost $80 to ship it! That was more than 2 x's the value of what was in it!
Well, at least I got it shipped and know the routine now. That is one more life experience down. Every day this place becomes a little more like home. I just hope that when the package gets to Ethiopia:
1. It does not get stuff stolen out of it.
2. It does not cost an arm and a let for our friends to pick up.
It is amazing how much we are willing to pay to taste a little bit of home. : )
It's been a long day & there is still a lot to do. I'll catch you all later.
God bless you all & keep on praying for what God is doing - all around the world.
Paz y gracia -
Monday, July 11, 2011
Bus Scare
So, the other day I had to take the bus 3 hours away to Rosario de la Frontera to preach in a small church on the edge of town. There are only 3 time options available so you kind of have to go with what is available at the time that will work for you. This can make bus travel interesting...
I had to take the 7 am bus to RDLF because the late bus arrived an hour too late - 7 pm. But, this made for a much longer day. I spent all day in the terminal prepping, praying, working on line, anything I could do to fill the time and get lots done. Then I went to the church, spend a great but mentally taxing couple of hours with the pastor and his family (anytime you spend time totally immersed, alone, in a foreign culture it is taxing. You can not take a second off from concentrating on language, body language, non-verbal cues, cultural intricacies, etc, etc.. Trust me, it wipes you out. : ), then preached in Castellano (very taxing), did long prayer time and hung out with the people for a bit afterward before going back to the terminal to wait for a few more hours. Whew!
The bus was supposed to depart at 11:20 pm, but it was running behind. I was worried that I had missed it somehow and was going to have to spend the night in the terminal. Not what you want to explain to the family! Plus, I am sure that the security would not let me sleep there, so that would mean having to get a taxi, get a hotel, etc. Those are expenses that I was trying to avoid.
The bus arrived about 25 minutes late and hit the road as fast as possible. It was packed! (We're getting to the fun part.) Almost everyone on the bus (big double decker - I was upstairs and way to the back) was asleep. This made getting to my seat a difficult. The seat numbers were rubbed off. People were sprawled out in their seats and partially blocking the aisle. And then...I almost stepped on this precious young lady, passed out sleep in the middle of the aisle with her little one sleeping beside her! I had to use the seat backs to do a slow motion hurdle/ vault maneuver over them, all while not dropping my stuff or waking anyone up. When I found my seat, I was not entirely sure that it was mine (it had a jacket hanging over the back of it and a 2 liter half-drank Pepsi bottle in it). I would have asked the guy sitting in the other seat, but he was out cold and there were no other open seats were around. I moved everything over as politely and quietly as possible and took my seat. The lights went out, we backed out of the spot and hit the road.
I was doing well staying awake, but could feel myself fading fast. Normally I can't "sleep" sitting up, but I can drift off for periods of a time. I set an alarm on my phone to wake me up a little while before we would get to Jujuy. I tried and tried to stay awake, but somehow I drifted off.
Suddenly I shot awake! The bus had been stopped and we were just starting to go again. Where were we? I had no idea. They don't announce the stops. You just have to know where you are or ask someone. It was very dark and warm in the bus. I was still very out of it and groggy. I could barely see out the windows. They were all fogged over. What was that?! Are we in Jujuy? Are we pulling out of my stop and heading another 4 hours north to Bolivia?!
I grabbed my stuff, jumped up out of my seat, hurdled the mom and her baby (think I accidentally brushed her head with my shoe) and rushed down the stairs trying to get the driver's attention. Turns out we were in Guemes, Salta - still about an hour or so from Jujuy. As I sighed in relief, I relaxed enough and woke up enough to realize I should check the time on my phone. Yeah. Still far short of my alarm time. Great! I had done all that for nothing!
I turned to go back to my seat as the bus bobbed back and forth on the highway. I looked through the dark at the maze of body parts sticking out into the aisle. I saw that poor young mom with her little one sleeping on the floor. I would have to go through and over everyone...again...only to have to turn right back around and come back through again to get off. - I think I will just sit on the stairs. After all, it is only another hour to San Salvador de Jujuy. And besides, I did not want to fall asleep again and miss Jujuy for real this time. And besides, it is only a hour away. : )
Ever been driving when you were so tired you were drifting off? How long is an hour when you are at that point?! Yea, it is reeeeeeeeeeeally long. I sat in the aisle, in the stair well, anywhere I could be comfortable. I thought about how I was going to go flying if there was an accident. : ) It took forever, but we finally got to Jujuy. I managed to stay awake, not miss my stop, not go to the border with Bolivia, not have to tell my disappointed family, and not have to bus another bus fare back down to Jujuy. - Quite an accomplishment for that time of the night. ha!
The worst part - remember how I said they don't announce where they are? Well, I guess I caused too much of a commotion. After that, with each stop, they turned on all the lights, announced several times where they were, made sure no one was missing their stop, etc. - All because of the crazy gringo, I am sure. : )
Oh well, maybe it helped someone else to avoid my near mistake.
Wish you could have been there to experience it with me. I am sure you would be laughing in the future, telling around tables with friends..."Remember that time when you..." Yeah. Maybe I am glad you were not there. lol.
God bless & have a good one.
Live for Him. Anything else is just dumb -
I had to take the 7 am bus to RDLF because the late bus arrived an hour too late - 7 pm. But, this made for a much longer day. I spent all day in the terminal prepping, praying, working on line, anything I could do to fill the time and get lots done. Then I went to the church, spend a great but mentally taxing couple of hours with the pastor and his family (anytime you spend time totally immersed, alone, in a foreign culture it is taxing. You can not take a second off from concentrating on language, body language, non-verbal cues, cultural intricacies, etc, etc.. Trust me, it wipes you out. : ), then preached in Castellano (very taxing), did long prayer time and hung out with the people for a bit afterward before going back to the terminal to wait for a few more hours. Whew!
The bus was supposed to depart at 11:20 pm, but it was running behind. I was worried that I had missed it somehow and was going to have to spend the night in the terminal. Not what you want to explain to the family! Plus, I am sure that the security would not let me sleep there, so that would mean having to get a taxi, get a hotel, etc. Those are expenses that I was trying to avoid.
The bus arrived about 25 minutes late and hit the road as fast as possible. It was packed! (We're getting to the fun part.) Almost everyone on the bus (big double decker - I was upstairs and way to the back) was asleep. This made getting to my seat a difficult. The seat numbers were rubbed off. People were sprawled out in their seats and partially blocking the aisle. And then...I almost stepped on this precious young lady, passed out sleep in the middle of the aisle with her little one sleeping beside her! I had to use the seat backs to do a slow motion hurdle/ vault maneuver over them, all while not dropping my stuff or waking anyone up. When I found my seat, I was not entirely sure that it was mine (it had a jacket hanging over the back of it and a 2 liter half-drank Pepsi bottle in it). I would have asked the guy sitting in the other seat, but he was out cold and there were no other open seats were around. I moved everything over as politely and quietly as possible and took my seat. The lights went out, we backed out of the spot and hit the road.
I was doing well staying awake, but could feel myself fading fast. Normally I can't "sleep" sitting up, but I can drift off for periods of a time. I set an alarm on my phone to wake me up a little while before we would get to Jujuy. I tried and tried to stay awake, but somehow I drifted off.
Suddenly I shot awake! The bus had been stopped and we were just starting to go again. Where were we? I had no idea. They don't announce the stops. You just have to know where you are or ask someone. It was very dark and warm in the bus. I was still very out of it and groggy. I could barely see out the windows. They were all fogged over. What was that?! Are we in Jujuy? Are we pulling out of my stop and heading another 4 hours north to Bolivia?!
I grabbed my stuff, jumped up out of my seat, hurdled the mom and her baby (think I accidentally brushed her head with my shoe) and rushed down the stairs trying to get the driver's attention. Turns out we were in Guemes, Salta - still about an hour or so from Jujuy. As I sighed in relief, I relaxed enough and woke up enough to realize I should check the time on my phone. Yeah. Still far short of my alarm time. Great! I had done all that for nothing!
I turned to go back to my seat as the bus bobbed back and forth on the highway. I looked through the dark at the maze of body parts sticking out into the aisle. I saw that poor young mom with her little one sleeping on the floor. I would have to go through and over everyone...again...only to have to turn right back around and come back through again to get off. - I think I will just sit on the stairs. After all, it is only another hour to San Salvador de Jujuy. And besides, I did not want to fall asleep again and miss Jujuy for real this time. And besides, it is only a hour away. : )
Ever been driving when you were so tired you were drifting off? How long is an hour when you are at that point?! Yea, it is reeeeeeeeeeeally long. I sat in the aisle, in the stair well, anywhere I could be comfortable. I thought about how I was going to go flying if there was an accident. : ) It took forever, but we finally got to Jujuy. I managed to stay awake, not miss my stop, not go to the border with Bolivia, not have to tell my disappointed family, and not have to bus another bus fare back down to Jujuy. - Quite an accomplishment for that time of the night. ha!
The worst part - remember how I said they don't announce where they are? Well, I guess I caused too much of a commotion. After that, with each stop, they turned on all the lights, announced several times where they were, made sure no one was missing their stop, etc. - All because of the crazy gringo, I am sure. : )
Oh well, maybe it helped someone else to avoid my near mistake.
Wish you could have been there to experience it with me. I am sure you would be laughing in the future, telling around tables with friends..."Remember that time when you..." Yeah. Maybe I am glad you were not there. lol.
God bless & have a good one.
Live for Him. Anything else is just dumb -
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Truly Living By Faith
Wow! I had the incredible opportunity to minister tonight in the church of a true man of trust in God, Pastor Carlos Garcia in Rosario de la Frontera, Salta, Argentina. I had met him briefly last month at a pastor's meeting and he invited me to come and see the church, meet the people and preach the service. We set a date on the calendar. Today was that date.
The day started with me getting up at 5:30 am to wake up, shave, shower, and get out the door in time to get across town to the bus terminal and head out at 7:00 am. Thankfully, the temps have warmed up a bit and it was not so bitter cold today as it has been for the last couple of weeks! It was a cool walk to the terminal, but I could not see my breath and I could feel my face. ha.
I arrived in Rosario de la Frontera at 10:45 am...well ahead of the 6 pm service time. Why so early? Well, there are only 3 options per day on the bus: to arrive at 5:45 am - waaaaaay to early, to arrive at 10:45 am, or to arrive at 7 pm - too late. So, I had to go for the only 1 of the 3 options that worked. (Just one more reason I need to get the car fixed. lol.) It's all good. It gave me lots of alone time to finish praying and prepping for the service. - When you have 5 people living in a tiny 2 bedroom home, alone time can be hard to find. : )
I finished up my prayer and prep with about an hour to spare. I was exhausted, so I laid down in a quiet spot across a couple of seats. I had just passed out when an attendant woke me up and informed me that I needed to sleep sitting up. - Apparently I was looking too much like a vagrant. I don't think they wanted me to attract the wrong kind of people to the terminal. : )
I can not sleep sitting up (part of why I was so tired in the first place - no rest on the journey here) so I tried to keep working. I don't think I got a lot accomplished. Too wiped out.
The pastor came to pick me up in his little car and showed me around town a bit. Rosario de la Frontera is a city of about 35,000 people. He would love to plant a church downtown, but it is just too expensive for land. There are only a couple of small evangelical churches in town, all on the outskirts. He shared with me that between them all they have less than 100 people - less than 1 1/10th of 1 %!
This is one of those places that no one wants to plant a church - very poor community, lots of opposition, little hope for success. He has been working away hard here for over 10 years and right now the church only runs about 15 people. It has been higher, but people move, etc.
He and his family truly live by faith! He gave up a very lucrative job working as a public school teacher/ administrator. He made great money, had all he wanted, and no worries. BUT, God was calling him to leave it to follow His leading to plant churches in hard places. He said that many weeks the offering only amounts to a few dollars - less than what they need to pay one bill: I.E. gas, and then there is still food, etc to pay for. God HAS to provide. And He does! : )
The church is small, built of cinder block, and not yet complete. All of their progress has come from donations. Just when they really have to have something, someone shows up out of the blue and says, "God told me to give this to you." Again, it is ALL by faith.
They took up an offering tonight - oh, by the way, I preached and I think things went well. The small crowd was hard to read - not very expressive. They were very gracious afterward. - and Pastor told me in the car on the way to the bus terminal that it was for me. I politely refused and let him know that I came to be a blessing, not to be a drain on the churches finances. We politely danced around it a bit, he trying to be generous, and me trying to be a blessing to them. I assured him that our support was from the states so that we need not burden the churches here. He finally relented gracefully. I felt that I did the right thing, the necessary thing, and that I did not step on toes culturally. I sure do not want to offend, or upset them. I don't believe that happened. In fact, he would like for me to come back again, and this time with the entire family if possible.
I did not bring the fam this time, because - what would I do with those 3 poor little ones of mine: up at the crack of dawn, having to travel across town and across the country, 7 hours with nothing to do, a service, 3 2 more hours of nothing to do, a long trip home, and not getting to bed until 2:30 or 3 in the morning! No. I think I will wait until we can fix the STL SUV and take it. : )
Pastor's family is awesome too. He has 2 little ones - ages 7 & 8. The oldest is learning English for the 1st time so she was full of "How do you say___________, in English?" questions. I am used to it though. We are about the only gringos that most people get a chance to practice on in this part of the country. : ) They can't wait for me to come back and meet our kids. I am sure that our kids will love meeting them and my wife, his wife.
Well, I don't know how much longer my battery is going to survive so I will sign off for today.
Please pray for Pastor Garcia, his family and the church in Rosario de la Frontera.
God bless - Good Night!
The day started with me getting up at 5:30 am to wake up, shave, shower, and get out the door in time to get across town to the bus terminal and head out at 7:00 am. Thankfully, the temps have warmed up a bit and it was not so bitter cold today as it has been for the last couple of weeks! It was a cool walk to the terminal, but I could not see my breath and I could feel my face. ha.
I arrived in Rosario de la Frontera at 10:45 am...well ahead of the 6 pm service time. Why so early? Well, there are only 3 options per day on the bus: to arrive at 5:45 am - waaaaaay to early, to arrive at 10:45 am, or to arrive at 7 pm - too late. So, I had to go for the only 1 of the 3 options that worked. (Just one more reason I need to get the car fixed. lol.) It's all good. It gave me lots of alone time to finish praying and prepping for the service. - When you have 5 people living in a tiny 2 bedroom home, alone time can be hard to find. : )
I finished up my prayer and prep with about an hour to spare. I was exhausted, so I laid down in a quiet spot across a couple of seats. I had just passed out when an attendant woke me up and informed me that I needed to sleep sitting up. - Apparently I was looking too much like a vagrant. I don't think they wanted me to attract the wrong kind of people to the terminal. : )
I can not sleep sitting up (part of why I was so tired in the first place - no rest on the journey here) so I tried to keep working. I don't think I got a lot accomplished. Too wiped out.
The pastor came to pick me up in his little car and showed me around town a bit. Rosario de la Frontera is a city of about 35,000 people. He would love to plant a church downtown, but it is just too expensive for land. There are only a couple of small evangelical churches in town, all on the outskirts. He shared with me that between them all they have less than 100 people - less than 1 1/10th of 1 %!
This is one of those places that no one wants to plant a church - very poor community, lots of opposition, little hope for success. He has been working away hard here for over 10 years and right now the church only runs about 15 people. It has been higher, but people move, etc.
He and his family truly live by faith! He gave up a very lucrative job working as a public school teacher/ administrator. He made great money, had all he wanted, and no worries. BUT, God was calling him to leave it to follow His leading to plant churches in hard places. He said that many weeks the offering only amounts to a few dollars - less than what they need to pay one bill: I.E. gas, and then there is still food, etc to pay for. God HAS to provide. And He does! : )
The church is small, built of cinder block, and not yet complete. All of their progress has come from donations. Just when they really have to have something, someone shows up out of the blue and says, "God told me to give this to you." Again, it is ALL by faith.
They took up an offering tonight - oh, by the way, I preached and I think things went well. The small crowd was hard to read - not very expressive. They were very gracious afterward. - and Pastor told me in the car on the way to the bus terminal that it was for me. I politely refused and let him know that I came to be a blessing, not to be a drain on the churches finances. We politely danced around it a bit, he trying to be generous, and me trying to be a blessing to them. I assured him that our support was from the states so that we need not burden the churches here. He finally relented gracefully. I felt that I did the right thing, the necessary thing, and that I did not step on toes culturally. I sure do not want to offend, or upset them. I don't believe that happened. In fact, he would like for me to come back again, and this time with the entire family if possible.
I did not bring the fam this time, because - what would I do with those 3 poor little ones of mine: up at the crack of dawn, having to travel across town and across the country, 7 hours with nothing to do, a service, 3 2 more hours of nothing to do, a long trip home, and not getting to bed until 2:30 or 3 in the morning! No. I think I will wait until we can fix the STL SUV and take it. : )
Pastor's family is awesome too. He has 2 little ones - ages 7 & 8. The oldest is learning English for the 1st time so she was full of "How do you say___________, in English?" questions. I am used to it though. We are about the only gringos that most people get a chance to practice on in this part of the country. : ) They can't wait for me to come back and meet our kids. I am sure that our kids will love meeting them and my wife, his wife.
Well, I don't know how much longer my battery is going to survive so I will sign off for today.
Please pray for Pastor Garcia, his family and the church in Rosario de la Frontera.
God bless - Good Night!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Winter - Tis' The Season For Protesting
Hello all -
Sorry I have not posted any journal updates for the last several days. There were long and busy days without much free time and by the time bedtime rolled around I was too drained to write.
Anyways, one of the things we have discovered here in San Salvador de Jujuy, the capital of the province of Jujuy, Argentina is...Winter is the time for Protests! It came as a bit of a surprise to us. It is cold, because it is winter. It does not seem like a fun time to stand outside all day and vent your protest! Nevertheless, protests abound here in the winter. I think I know why.
In the winter, there are less jobs. Less work = less money in your pocket (reason to protest) & more spare time to protest (availability to protest). I don't mean that to be taken glibly, but it does seem to fit the scenario. In the winter there is less tourism, construction, etc. There are more people out of work and they join in force to express their dislike to the masses & hope to catch the ear of the government.
Argentina is a socialistic leaning country. The taxes are high and the government hands out lots of benefits to people. I suppose that this can create a culture of expectation and entitlement. For instance, I was talking with a taxi driver about a group that was in the middle of a protest and asking him if he knew what they were protesting. He was not totally certain, but he thought it was because they received a 24% wage increase (incrementally over several years I think) but they wanted a 34% increase. Wow! I thought people would have been thrilled with a 24% increase, but I don't know all their thinking.
The favorite form of protest appears to be cutting off traffic. This could mean getting a bunch of people together to form a blockade (often aided by parking cars in the way, moving burn barrels in the road, or worst case scenario - they line up tires across the street & light them on fire. Sometimes they cut off streets in the downtown. Other times they cut the bridges (San Salvador is a city with several different rivers flowing through it) and severely hamper traffic flow. We live on the north side of the city and are divided from the downtown and the rest of the city by the largest river - El Rio Grande (The Big River). There are 3 different bridges. I have heard that at times the protesters will cut all 3 bridges simultaneously and no one can get out of the north side without a very long drive to a neighboring city. In extreme cases, they have even cut those at the same time. I have no idea what happens if there is a medical emergency.
I asked if they register their protest and get permission. I think the smaller ones do, but that the larger ones just do it. The police can't stop there as they are incredibly outnumbered and don't want things to turn ugly.
There are ways around the protests at times. For instance, the bridge over the Rio Chijra is very close to our house. It divides the north side of the city. Right next to it is the headquarters for the highway department. They have employees who have been protesting a lot lately. They flow out into the main road, cut it and the bridge. It is quite the show.
They have a "cannon-like" item that they load with an explosive and fire off. It does sound like a cannon. I think they use it to symbolize their "war" against whom or what they are protesting. They also make big drums out of 50 gallon drums and beat them all day long. War drums I guess. They have megaphones and shout out their frustrations and what they want. They carry signs and huge banners that display their feelings and desires. Our guys seem to be fairly amiable. The traffic waits patiently as the lines build and build. After a certain amount of time (1/2 hour for instance) they pull off the road and let the traffic through. (I suppose you want people to hear your gripe, but you also want them to be on your side). Then you repeat the process. It seems like they protest during "work" hours and then go home only to return and do it all over again the next day.
There are ways around it all to. They let foot traffic come through so many people take taxis or buses to the stoppage, walk over the bridge, and then catch a different taxi or bus on the other side. And, for the more adventurous, you can always drive across the river - at least during the dry season, which is now. The river is down to just a trickle and the bed is extremely rocky. It is doable, but most people prefer to just wait for an opening to get through.
Well, that is your NW Argentina life update for the day. Hope you have a good one. May you be blessed with open roads and no protests. : )
God bless - Peace
Sorry I have not posted any journal updates for the last several days. There were long and busy days without much free time and by the time bedtime rolled around I was too drained to write.
Anyways, one of the things we have discovered here in San Salvador de Jujuy, the capital of the province of Jujuy, Argentina is...Winter is the time for Protests! It came as a bit of a surprise to us. It is cold, because it is winter. It does not seem like a fun time to stand outside all day and vent your protest! Nevertheless, protests abound here in the winter. I think I know why.
In the winter, there are less jobs. Less work = less money in your pocket (reason to protest) & more spare time to protest (availability to protest). I don't mean that to be taken glibly, but it does seem to fit the scenario. In the winter there is less tourism, construction, etc. There are more people out of work and they join in force to express their dislike to the masses & hope to catch the ear of the government.
Argentina is a socialistic leaning country. The taxes are high and the government hands out lots of benefits to people. I suppose that this can create a culture of expectation and entitlement. For instance, I was talking with a taxi driver about a group that was in the middle of a protest and asking him if he knew what they were protesting. He was not totally certain, but he thought it was because they received a 24% wage increase (incrementally over several years I think) but they wanted a 34% increase. Wow! I thought people would have been thrilled with a 24% increase, but I don't know all their thinking.
The favorite form of protest appears to be cutting off traffic. This could mean getting a bunch of people together to form a blockade (often aided by parking cars in the way, moving burn barrels in the road, or worst case scenario - they line up tires across the street & light them on fire. Sometimes they cut off streets in the downtown. Other times they cut the bridges (San Salvador is a city with several different rivers flowing through it) and severely hamper traffic flow. We live on the north side of the city and are divided from the downtown and the rest of the city by the largest river - El Rio Grande (The Big River). There are 3 different bridges. I have heard that at times the protesters will cut all 3 bridges simultaneously and no one can get out of the north side without a very long drive to a neighboring city. In extreme cases, they have even cut those at the same time. I have no idea what happens if there is a medical emergency.
I asked if they register their protest and get permission. I think the smaller ones do, but that the larger ones just do it. The police can't stop there as they are incredibly outnumbered and don't want things to turn ugly.
There are ways around the protests at times. For instance, the bridge over the Rio Chijra is very close to our house. It divides the north side of the city. Right next to it is the headquarters for the highway department. They have employees who have been protesting a lot lately. They flow out into the main road, cut it and the bridge. It is quite the show.
They have a "cannon-like" item that they load with an explosive and fire off. It does sound like a cannon. I think they use it to symbolize their "war" against whom or what they are protesting. They also make big drums out of 50 gallon drums and beat them all day long. War drums I guess. They have megaphones and shout out their frustrations and what they want. They carry signs and huge banners that display their feelings and desires. Our guys seem to be fairly amiable. The traffic waits patiently as the lines build and build. After a certain amount of time (1/2 hour for instance) they pull off the road and let the traffic through. (I suppose you want people to hear your gripe, but you also want them to be on your side). Then you repeat the process. It seems like they protest during "work" hours and then go home only to return and do it all over again the next day.
There are ways around it all to. They let foot traffic come through so many people take taxis or buses to the stoppage, walk over the bridge, and then catch a different taxi or bus on the other side. And, for the more adventurous, you can always drive across the river - at least during the dry season, which is now. The river is down to just a trickle and the bed is extremely rocky. It is doable, but most people prefer to just wait for an opening to get through.
Well, that is your NW Argentina life update for the day. Hope you have a good one. May you be blessed with open roads and no protests. : )
God bless - Peace
Friday, July 1, 2011
Lingering Effect -
Wow! Yesterday I was so busy that I never got time to post in this on line journal. Sorry about that. It was sort of a typical schedule, as far as typical goes recently.
This morning started differently and that is what I want to remember here.
It is cold here right now, July 1st & 2nd. While it is warm and sunny in the northern hemisphere, it is winter here in the southern one. So weird to get used to! Summer is my favorite season by far and it is so ingrained into me that June, July, August and September rock because they are warm, sunny, and full of time off from school. Not so here.
In the Southern end of the world, it means winter - cold air, colder winds, freezing nights, snow...lots of clothes and staying in doors. Well, it is tough for us to stay warm, even indoors. We don't have a gas line so we can't heat the house with gas. While our street is under construction (I pray this changes in the near future!) we have 8 houses all sharing a power line. This means that we can't truly heat the house with electricity either. (Too many heaters working simultaneously and we blow the circuit coming in from the street. The neighbors don't like that, for some reason. : )
So, we heat just the 2 bedrooms with as little electricity as possible. In the morning the rest of the house is very cold. Too help take the sting out of the cold, we try to cook something in our gas oven. This morning I decided to make a pizza.
The pizzas here are awesome, but lack all the extra ingredients that we use in the states. So, I like to add my own. I buy a type of pizza similar to pepperoni called Cantimpalo. It has a good, mild, sausage type flavor. I like to add green and red peppers, tomato slices, etc.
Argentines are not hot/ spicy food eaters for the most part. Here in the NW though we have a lot of Bolivians and they like it spicy. I bought some of their little chili peppers the other day and decided to dice one up and add it to my pizza. I was careful to wash my hands afterwards, but apparently, I did not realize how well the oils soak into the skin! Youch!
I blew my nose & washed my face...I ended up with both a burning nose and eyes! It felt like I had traced a ring around my eyes with scorpion venom! I tried to wash my face again, but this only pushed it into my eyes. Ahhhhhh! I was walking around the living room and quietly trying to deal with the burning pain in my eyes and the fire in my nostrils. (The kids were not up yet. I was trying to warm the house up for them a bit.)
Wow! Even after washing, touching many different things, etc, the hot oils from the chili peppers were still in my flesh. - I started praying for God to help stop the pain. After all, it was not like I had intentionally done this to myself. In fact, I had taken steps to avoid it. - Nevertheless, somethings linger. Their affects are felt painfully long after the fact, even if we did not intend for it to be so. -
There is a fantastic illustration in there that I will let you apply yourself.
As for me, I have to run. It is a long day still ahead:
skype an old friend, finish with lots of office work, prep for some more ministry, kids' classes tonight, etc,
God bless you all -
Peace - don't burn your eyes and nose today!
This morning started differently and that is what I want to remember here.
It is cold here right now, July 1st & 2nd. While it is warm and sunny in the northern hemisphere, it is winter here in the southern one. So weird to get used to! Summer is my favorite season by far and it is so ingrained into me that June, July, August and September rock because they are warm, sunny, and full of time off from school. Not so here.
In the Southern end of the world, it means winter - cold air, colder winds, freezing nights, snow...lots of clothes and staying in doors. Well, it is tough for us to stay warm, even indoors. We don't have a gas line so we can't heat the house with gas. While our street is under construction (I pray this changes in the near future!) we have 8 houses all sharing a power line. This means that we can't truly heat the house with electricity either. (Too many heaters working simultaneously and we blow the circuit coming in from the street. The neighbors don't like that, for some reason. : )
So, we heat just the 2 bedrooms with as little electricity as possible. In the morning the rest of the house is very cold. Too help take the sting out of the cold, we try to cook something in our gas oven. This morning I decided to make a pizza.
The pizzas here are awesome, but lack all the extra ingredients that we use in the states. So, I like to add my own. I buy a type of pizza similar to pepperoni called Cantimpalo. It has a good, mild, sausage type flavor. I like to add green and red peppers, tomato slices, etc.
Argentines are not hot/ spicy food eaters for the most part. Here in the NW though we have a lot of Bolivians and they like it spicy. I bought some of their little chili peppers the other day and decided to dice one up and add it to my pizza. I was careful to wash my hands afterwards, but apparently, I did not realize how well the oils soak into the skin! Youch!
I blew my nose & washed my face...I ended up with both a burning nose and eyes! It felt like I had traced a ring around my eyes with scorpion venom! I tried to wash my face again, but this only pushed it into my eyes. Ahhhhhh! I was walking around the living room and quietly trying to deal with the burning pain in my eyes and the fire in my nostrils. (The kids were not up yet. I was trying to warm the house up for them a bit.)
Wow! Even after washing, touching many different things, etc, the hot oils from the chili peppers were still in my flesh. - I started praying for God to help stop the pain. After all, it was not like I had intentionally done this to myself. In fact, I had taken steps to avoid it. - Nevertheless, somethings linger. Their affects are felt painfully long after the fact, even if we did not intend for it to be so. -
There is a fantastic illustration in there that I will let you apply yourself.
As for me, I have to run. It is a long day still ahead:
skype an old friend, finish with lots of office work, prep for some more ministry, kids' classes tonight, etc,
God bless you all -
Peace - don't burn your eyes and nose today!
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