Everyone has heard of Lao Tzu famous quote:
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
And you reach your destination by continuing to take another step.
Pilar and I took a step on Thursday as we left the USA for our new home Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our destination is Heaven and we want to tell others about this amazing promise along the way. My journey has taken me through many places and this part of the journey will be with the people in Argentina.
I need to thank all who prayed for my travel- and there were many! All my bags were just underweight (one was 49.5 lbs of 50lbs max.). No flights were delayed or cancelled. We arrived on Friday and the line for immigration was the longest I had seen, but part way through a kind man moved us to the line for Argentines where we got through in less than 10 minutes. We made it through customs easily, and all in all, it was probably the fastest through immigration and customs I’ve ever had.
The small car that picked us up did fit us and all our trunks, even with the driver’s doubt and my own.
The Air BNB we rented for this year has tons of natural light, huge closets, is next door to a market, three blocks from the Redentor Church were we will be attending this year, three blocks from a huge park and overall in a great area. The kitchen was gross, but, as all my close friends know, I want to clean and organize when I feel overwhelmed. (My brother and sister-in-law experienced the benefits of that tendency this time while in the States.) Although I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed when I arrived in BA, I think God was allowing me to focus on something so I wouldn’t.
I spent the rest of the first day and the next morning cleaning and unpacking. Our teammate, Vanessa, has basically kept Pilar and I from going hungry, as I haven’t had time to really think about food and dealing with that process here yet.
Yesterday afternoon we went to the park with Vanessa and her daughter to meet up with some of the ladies from the church and afterwards went to a class at Redentor Church of Christ. It’s the beginning of a new class with the title: “Learning Missions” which will be a monthly class over the next few months. (Another of God’s perfect timing.)
Jairo, one of the missionaries in Redentor, gave the class and spoke about God’s mission in the Old Testament and how Christ was the mission of God incarnate; bringing justice by reaching out to those who were marginalized, the poor, the outcast, the invisible, the undeserving and giving them abundant life through God. God’s desire for the church is that we continue this outreach so that He can continue transforming, redeeming and freeing lives.
May we all take a step and keep taking steps to being Christ to the people around us and seeing those outside our circle.
Keep us in your prayers! Half of the El Camino team is now in Argentina with the rest coming mid- April. I will start the visa process this week after Carnaval ends (thankfully Carnaval here is nothing like what it was in Bolivia). We also still lack a lot of funds for the team. We don’t doubt God will provide and that this is good for our trust and dependence on Him. Also, keep Pilar and Brittany in your prayers as they start school soon. For Pilar, and myself, but especially Pilar as she goes through this transition and all the changes and unknowns.
“Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.” James Hudson Taylor
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