On with the Show!

Tuesday, June 17

Wow, what a time it’s been! As I sit here pondering over everything that has happened, I am in awe at what the Lord has done. Our time has been full of divine opportunities and appointments that could only have been arranged by an omniscient God. Though we are weak, He is strong, and He is showing Himself in a mighty way to the people here and to the team as well.

Tuesday morning we woke early and went to visit a nearby Christian school where we did a large assembly for the older kids. It went so well! The kids were very responsive to the message on truthfulness, and we got a lot of interaction during the time there. At one point Elizabeth asked the group how many had ever cheated on a test, and I think every single hand went up. She got serious with them, and was able to explain how the Lord views dishonesty and lying by using some personal examples from her own life. Josue also shared a testimony, which although it was absolutely hilarious to listen to, had great practical application. After a few more short testimonies from other teammates, we finished with our old standby, the Hockenstock skit, much to the delight of both the older kids in the assembly, and the little ones peeking through the windows.

Lunch, as usual, took awhile. The poor restaurants here do their best to feed a mob of hungry American youth, but it’s not an easy job! We’re quite the sight to see, especially as we flip flop between being dog-tired half the time, to being wound up from Quatro and Coca Cola. Then you add in enormous amounts of coughing, laughing, and more coughing, and yep, you’re starting to get the picture. Oh, and did I mention that getting us all moving in the same direction, make that the right direction, at the same time is like herding turtles? Maybe we really didn’t need to visit the zoo last week after all!

Some people were able to squeeze in a quick cat nap before heading out to continue the family conferences at the two churches. We had a good time of prayer before leaving, and it was a blessing all gathering together to pray for the churches, the work being done, and for the Lord to fill us with His spirit. We so desperately need Him, and Him alone, to work through us and to make us vessels of His truth and love. It’s not us doing the ministry here, but Him working through us and giving us grace for each moment.

What a blessing it was for me personally to be on the team that worked at the tent church. The people there are so humble, hungry, and responsive to the Lord. It touched my heart to see how wholeheartedly they embraced the messages and teaching from God’s Word, and opened themselves up to receive us each night. Tim and I had the opportunity of doing a chalk drawing on surrender for the opening family session, and the response was unbelievable. Although the drawing was rather precariously set up, and it took quite awhile to get my lighting equipment to work with their electricity, God was at work in a mighty way. Tim gave an excellent message about our heart being Christ’s home, and about total surrender of every area of our lives. When the blacklight picture of someone holding up their heart as an offering to the Lord came up, the entire audience broke out in cheering and clapping for a full two minutes. It was such a precious time watching the people respond to the message and be so obviously touched and convicted. Afterward a man named Walter came up to me and gave me a pen and paper drawing which was an exact duplicate of the one I had drawn. It was such a special gift, and a demonstration of the humbleness of spirit that pervades the atmosphere.

The breakout sessions went great too, and the children were opening up even more to the lessons, games, and crafts. They are so precious, and each one so desperately needy for love, security, and friendship. Many of the children are bussed in from the surrounding neighborhood, so hopefully the church can continue to reach out to them long after we’ve left. One girl, Camilia, clung to me the entire night, so obviously starving for loving arms wrapped tightly around her. I can only imagine her home situation, and the situations of the other children. Jamie and Nathaniel did an excellent job heading up the evening.

Meanwhile at the Baptist church, the Lord was at work just as mightily. The teens poured out their hearts to Daniel and Elizabeth, and asked many deep, thoughtful questions. The Lord was faithful to provide answers for every single one, and much encouragement and admonition was passed along to the youth. The kids, ladies, and men’s sessions all saw the blessing of the Lord poured out on the evening as well.

We ended the night exhausted, but with spirits rejoicing in what had happened. What an amazing thing it is that we have the opportunity to travel from America to Argentina to touch and invest in lives on an individual basis! I am reminded of the words of the song “Show Thyself strong, and the gates of hell shall never more prevail. For not one word of Thy dear promises can fail...” God is indeed strong, and is with us even on the other side of the equator, where some of us really do walk around on our heads sometimes.

Amy, for the team