I first want to thank you for your support of my mission trip: the trip would not have been a success without your support both financially and spiritually. I would briefly like to tell you about all we did, so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labors.
The beginning of our trip started off a bit rough, but God was still very good to us. Our flight out of Chicago was delayed, but because there were 21 of us on the team our flight out of Toronto waited patiently for us to arrive. We flew from Toronto to Santiago, Chile, and then to Buenos Aires. After over 24 hours of flying, we finally made it to the province of Buenos Aires. We were all tired, but we had work to do. We got on the bus and drove about an hour to Iglesia Bautista Misionero (Missionary Baptist Church) in the city of Don Torcuato, our “home base church” for the three weeks. Pastor Ron Self is the missionary pastor there. Because of all the delays in our flights, we actually arrived late for the service, but the people were understanding while we quickly changed into our concert attire and prepared for ministry. After the service, we had refreshments and a rather large dinner. We then changed clothes again, jumped on a different bus and drove 10 hours to the province of Mendoza.
We got to the church in San Rafael about noon on Monday, July 18th. We were greeted by many people and very unfamiliar faces, but after 48 hours, we were finally somewhere semi-permanent. We all showered quickly, practiced our music, then headed off to lunch at a Chinese buffet, of all places! The food was good, but the fellowship was very nice too. We ended up sitting next to a group of young adults who were going to be attending the conference where we were to be ministering. These young people quickly became some of my very close friends. I was amazed at how quickly friendships with people from a whole new culture can be formed. After dinner, we headed back to the church and performed for the church there and some of the conference attendees. The service went well and dinner was spectacular.
The conference started Tuesday morning. There were 2 services in the morning, games and activities in the afternoons, and then another service in the evening. Services consisted of singing, the Maranatha group performing, and then an Argentine pastor (or our team leader, Mr. Trainer) preaching. Although I could only truly understand Mr. Trainer’s messages, I could tell that the Argentine teens were learning so much and soaking it all in. Overall, it was a very relaxing atmosphere and gave lots of time for us to get to know the Argentine teens and young adults. Friendships continued to grow and soon we were sharpening each other. Something that surprised me about the teens at the conference was their obvious love for God and their strong desire to live for Him. You couldn’t have a conversation with the teens for more than 20 minutes before they were asking about your testimony, your favorite verse, what you were learning in your devotions, etc. It was so encouraging and so very refreshing! These teens were on fire for God and that was such a joy to see. There were a couple teens at the conference that made professions of faith. That was very exciting and we praised God for those new brothers and sister in Christ! :)
Alas, all good things had to come to an end. After three days on such intimate terms with the teens, we had to say goodbye…but not before having a snow day in the Andes mountains! We got up early Friday morning and drove a few hours up to Las Lenas ski resort. We didn’t actually do any skiing, but instead rode sleds down a small hill in the mountains. We were there until about 2:30pm, then headed back to San Rafael to prepare for our return to Buenos Aires. What a tearful goodbye we had. It was so hard to leave the friends we had made. Some of them, we may never see again on this side of Heaven, but it made me even more thankful for the hope of Eternal Life. One day, I will see my Argentine friends again. One day, I will be singing with them the praises of our Lord. One day, we will see each other face to face and not have to talk through an interpreter! What a day that will be! It made me desire the rapture above anything else this world can offer. I cannot wait for that day when we as one people can worship God together with a singleness of voice and purpose.
We left for Buenos Aires Friday evening and made it to the Kairos Center early Saturday morning. Kairos is a Christian conference center in the city of Pacheco. The center is about 5 blocks away from the Self’s house. We all found our rooms and slept until lunch. After lunch we left for Tigre. Tigre is a city in Buenos Aires named after the river running through it. Tigre has a nice open-air shopping market there (as well as having the best deals on souvenirs). After shopping around for a couple hours and collecting various trinkets for ourselves and family members, we headed to our first concert in the city of Moron: Faith Baptist Church, pastored by Scott Brackett.
The next two weeks consisted of many concerts, one pretty much every day and occasionally having two on each day. We did concerts at a couple of Pastor Self’s daughter churches: Missionary Baptist Church of San Miguel and Missionary Baptist Church of Villa de Mayo. We also did concerts in the cities of William Morris, Parque Avellaneda, Don Torcuato, Martinez, Isidro Cassanova, Escobar, and Pilar. We also did some non-church concerts and those were very enjoyable as well. We did a concert in the park at Martinez where many lost souls stood around and listened as we song gospel songs, and some team members gave testimonies of their salvation. We did two concerts in a public elementary school in Isidro Casanova, and one at a music school in Hurlingham. In addition to doing the concerts, we had one day for “manual labor,” in which we helped to sand the Self’s shutters and window frames, and then applied the first coat of finish to them to help them prepare to put their house on the market. It was hard work, but it was very enjoyable. J
We did some touring as well as doing the concerts. We toured downtown Buenos Aires (the capital of Argentina), ate at a three story Burger King, and shopped on Florida street. We went to a philharmonic orchestra concert in the Teatro Colon (Colon Theater)—a world famous opera house. We went to Cementerio Recoleta, a “New Orleans” cemetery there in downtown Buenos Aires. Some of the team members chose to visit an art museum after visiting the cemetery, while others of us stuck around the block and drank coffee in fancy cafés and took pictures of the city at night. Two times we ate at a restaurant called Siga la Vaca (follow the cow). It is an all-you-can-eat beef buffet. It was delicious!
One of the best things we did (in my opinion) was help with the Children’s Festival at Don Torcuato. In Argentina, Children’s Day is huge—it’s even bigger than Christmas! Every year, Pastor Self’s church puts together a large festival for all the children in the community. Families from the church (and the Maranatha team) help to set up game booths and decorate for the event. They set it up like a big fair with games, prizes, and a snack bar. They also set up three areas where the children could hear a clear presentation of the gospel. Many children (several hundred) came out and some made professions of faith.
The last thing we did in Argentina was have one final service at Don Torcuato (we ended up doing about three there). It was sad to leave the friends we had made over the three weeks. Three of the young adults from Don Torcuato came to most of our concerts. They became very close friends with our entire group. Their names are Magali Alonzo, Martin Jalam, and Lio Bascone. I made other friends from Don Torcuato and it was so sad to leave them all behind. I had such mixed feelings about leaving. On the one hand, I missed my family, my fiancé, and my American friends; but on the other hand, I had no desire to leave my Argentine friends for who-knows-how-long. The thought of never seeing them again this side of Heaven is very sad, but it makes Heaven seem all that much more glorious. One day, I will see those friends again—and that is a day worth looking forward to. Lord Jesus, come quickly!
Now, I would just like to share some highlights from my trip. As I look back over the three weeks I spent in Argentina, many lessons learned and memories come to my mind and I would like to share them with you:
1. Memorizing II Corinthians 4:1-7, 15-18. It was wonderful to reflect on these verses while we were ministering, growing weary, and were tempted to lose our focus.
2. The largest lesson I learned was about Christian love. Love does not look to receive, but rather looks to see what and where it can give out. Love serves others and does not look to be served. Love is active, not passive.
3. Pastor and Mrs. Self’s heart for ministry and for God was absolutely heart-warming. Their life in Argentina has not been easy. They have been robbed, shot at, beaten, persecuted; yet they remain firmly planted in the ministry there. They have such a positive spirit and they have said over and over: “Sometimes we can’t understand why. We just have to trust that God is in control and that He is doing what is best for us.”
4. Heaven is going to be wonderful. I am looking forward to the day when I can see my brothers- and sisters-in-Christ in Heaven and praise God together with one voice. What a joyous reunion that will be!
5. The Great Commission is for us. Even in our own home towns, we have a mission to give out the Gospel to every creature. I may be the only Christian a person knows. I need to embrace the boldness of Christ and share the good news with those who have not heard.
6. Every person has a story, a background. God has used each person’s background to uniquely form them into who they are. When Believers are bold enough to share their life stories, and to share lessons God has taught them through the hardships of life - that is when “iron sharpens iron.” I came to realize that I truly am not alone in this battle for righteousness. I am not the only one to face heart-ache, fatigue, loneliness, depression, etc. We have all been there, and we can use the lessons we have learned to build each other up “to love and to good works.”
I want to thank you again for your financial support, but more importantly for your prayer support. This trip would not have been possible without your prayers.
In Christ,
Nadine Flack
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