We praise the Lord For the work that is being accomplished at camp!

Getting ready for the youth dinner

We have had a problem with our road leading in to the camp for many years. Whenever it rains, the road becomes very muddy and difficult to drive on. There have been many times that we have had to park at a nearby restaurant and walk in. We had asked the city to fix it in the past and have never been able to get them to do anything. Recently, another organization has moved in next door and set up a dog pound to round up stray dogs in town. The short of it is they have finally fixed the road! We had to pay for half of the cost, but we were happy to do that in order to have a constant access to camp. We can now have events without the uncertainty of having to cancel because of rain!

Our kitchen is now functional with the recent installation of the countertops! What a blessing it is to be able to cook and clean at camp! The countertops for the dish pit area will be coming soon. We were able to use the camp for the first time to hold our annual youth fundraiser for the teens to go to winter camp. 

Youth fundraiser to go to winter camp

Trinity Baptist in Moscow, Maine had a VBS program that we were able to minister in via video. It is a blessing to know that the Lord is working in the young hearts that participated. We are also thankful that they were able to raise enough money to buy 40 chairs for the dining and chapel area.

The groundwork for the cabin was finally completed after waiting for more than a year for someone willing to work on it. Our Steel contractor has also put up the steel columns and roof structure.

South Waterboro Team

We had a team from South Waterboro, Maine working on the first of two cabins that we have planned to complete in the next year. The team worked hard at digging trenches, installing plumbing, and pouring the concrete floor for the cabin. We are thankful for all the team members that were able to come, but we are especially thankful that God sent a plumber to do all of the in ground plumbing for the cabin as well as hooking up all of our kitchen faucets. They also gave us a “kitchen shower” by bringing much needed supplies  such as utensils, cooking sheets, muffin tins, pots and pans and the like to get the kitchen in working order. Our hearts were greatly encouraged to have another one of our partnering churches ministering with us on this end of the equator!

Lift team from Northern Ireland

The same day that the South Waterboro team left, we received a team from Northern Ireland that stayed for another two weeks. The first day we finished the concrete slab and installed the majority of the walls. It is exciting to see so much progress in such little time! We thank the Lord for His provision through His people.

Please continue to pray for continued progress in the physical work and that God would put together work teams to complete the cabins so we will be able to open the camp!

Please contact us if you would like to be a part of a work team.

Making wire ties for the walls.
The ladies cut up nearly 20 rolls of wire!

Cabin walls and roof structure from water tower

Martin Gorosito

Several Argentine believers came out to help

Making concrete picnic tables

Team dish washing!

Matthias shadowing a father/daughter team

July Advancements

 In June we were making some final preparations for 2 work teams that we were expecting to come in July.  We had to get their accomodations ready.  The whole family came out to camp to help clean, and prepare for their arrival.  One of the jobs we had was to move the matresses from the kitchen quarters to the storage area.

All the kids pitched in!  Many hands make light work.  :)

 The kitchen counters and island arrived just in time!
Many thanks to those who showered us with gifts of kitchen supplies.  The Lord knew just what we needed.

Everyone is hard at work preparing the area for plumbing prior to pouring the concrete floors.

 The walls to the cabin have arrived!

The walls are going up! 

We are so thankful for all the hard work that went into planning, preparing and laboring for the Lord!  Many people have been praying for this and many people have sacrificed time and energy to come and give of their talents to the Lord's work.  Thank you!  Someday, Lord willing, this cabin will be filled with excited campers. 

God is so good! We are thankful for the work that God is doing here in Argentina. After evangelistic meetings in April, we had a couple of people receive Christ as their savior. It is a blessing to watch God work in the hearts of believers to invite their friends to church meetings and then see them get saved and discipled.  Please pray for continued growth in these new believers and that other family members would trust Christ also.

We recently received our first work team from Clinton, ME. Three men came down to assist in pouring the concrete slab for the cabins. Unfortunately, the ground work was not yet completed, so they were not able to do this work when they arrived. We were however, able to complete other much needed work. We completed the sidewalks around the caretaker’s house and a couple of places that were waiting to be finished around the main building. We were also able to pour the retaining walls for the outdoor picnic area off the main building. We praise God for the partnership in ministry and for all that we were able to get accomplished.  

On the heels of the guys from Clinton, we received a work team from the Argentine churches to plant more trees around the property. We were able to plant a couple of hundred trees in a matter of just a few hours. As is customary, we also enjoyed an asado (grilled meat) and had plenty of mate (an herbal tea) to share. We praise God for the many churches that come together to help advance the camp and conference ministry.

We have much work left to do before we can open camp. If you would like to be a part of a work team, please let us know! 

Kids Corner

One of the greatest challenges for us has been adjusting to the language and playing with friends that we really don’t understand. It is a blessing to be able to understand so much more now, but we still use a lot of hand signals. We are participating in some community activities such as gymnastics, volleyball and soccer, which also helps to make new friends.

Hannah and Jaimie are continuing to have piano lessons as well as guitar. They are now able to play during the church services. They were taking turns because we just had one guitar, but someone in the church  gave us another guitar so they can play at the same time.

We recently had Grandma Morrell, Aunt Sherrie and our cousin Daniel for a visit. It was so nice to be able to visit with some family after several months of being away from home. They brought a lot of supplies that their churches and Christian school provided for us. It was like having Christmas all over again! We are thankful for all that God provided through them!

God's Provision through difficulty

right after he broke his arm

Thank you all for your prayers as M was going through his surgery.

Everything went well.  The surgery lasted for about an hour. They were able to use a method involving an x-ray machine that provides real time viewing allowing the doctor to make two incisions about 2mm long to insert the nails or pins. After about four weeks these pins will be removed. It is not expected that his growth plate will be affected by the break to any large extent if any at all. We are back home now and our next step will be to visit the doctor on Friday to make sure the bones are starting to fuse together.

Please continue to pray for him as he goes through the healing process and deals with not being able to run around like he wants to.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28

Our first visit to the hospital we were told that they would not be able to fix his arm and we would have to go to Buenos Aires for the surgery, but God provided an alternative. We met a doctor at church on Sunday night that that does not usually come. He advised us of this pediatric trauma surgeon in a private practice that would be able to assist us. His office is just two blocks away from our house and the surgery took place at another medical clinic just four blocks from our house. So instead of having to drive two hours or more, God provided a place that we could literally walk to. We do serve an awesome God.

Surgery is complete...two nails added

Through the process, we were able to give testimony of why God has brought us here and the work that He has for us. We never know how God is going to work through these conversations that we have with people, but He knows and He directs our steps. We are thankful for the opportunity to witness to others and pray that God would continue to bring people into their lives to lead them to Him or that He would continue to use us.

February update

Standing on an old lava flow in Chile

At the end of January we had the opportunity to go to Lican Ray, Chile for our annual missionary conference. It was a pleasure for us to meet many of our fellow missionaries in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay as well as fellow ministers of the gospel in the U.S. and Ireland.  We were challenged each day with messages from Pastor Bob Philbrick.  We encouraged one another as we shared in common struggles and victories.  The kids really enjoyed the opportunity to meet all of the other missionary kids in GMSA. It was a joy and welcomed reprieve from Spanish as they (and we) were able to communicate with everyone in English. We praise the Lord for the strength that He gives us as “iron sharpeneth iron.”

Actually getting to the conference was a challenge in and of itself. It was a two day drive that turned into four! Our first hurdle was to cross the border into Chile. We were disappointed to not be allowed to cross because of a complicated paperwork issue with our van. Basically, we do not have our Argentine residency paperwork started yet because we have been waiting for paperwork from the U.S. Because of this, we had to put our van in The Gibbon’s name so we could actually purchase it. We have other paperwork that gives us permission to use it so that it is not normally a problem and we have been able to cross into Uruguay, but the road to Chile was closed for us. Upon receiving this bitter news, we got back in our van to begin plan ”B” only to discover that our van wouldn’t start! Because it is a standard, we decided to jump start it using the clutch. We just had one opportunity as we were already close to the gate to Chile. I am proud of Donelle for successfully navigating her first jump start even with the pressure of only fifteen feet left before hitting the gate!

Our first volcano sighting!

We drove to the nearest city which was about an hour and a half away. Upon finding a mechanic, we discovered that not only was the alternator not working, but the battery had to be replaced also. If we were in the U.S. we would have likely been back on the road in a few hours, but there is difficulty getting parts here so had to spend two nights in a hotel and were finally able to get moving again. The Gibbons met us at the border crossing and we were able to cross with them there with us. On the way back from Chile, I noticed a problem with the clutch on the van. After first noticing the problem, there were no other symptoms until we got home. The day after we arrived, the clutch went out completely and this time we would wait a full week before being able to get the parts and get it fixed. We thank the Lord for His provision for these extra expenses and for working out His timing for this to take place. We know that He is in control, but it is through times like this that we see Him working clearly.

Praises: 

Praise the Lord for His continued provision especially through the trials.

Praise the Lord for a softening in the hearts of one of the couples that we asked prayer for previously. He has started coming back to church again occasionally. Please pray for continued growth and full restoration.

Praise the Lord for growth in language acquisition especially in the kids.

Praise the Lord for two new churches supporting the ministry.

Praise the Lord for three potential mission teams this year.

Handing out VBS invitations with Aunt Debbie

Prayer requests:

Wisdom to make wise choices.

That God would keep us faithful to Him.

Continued language and cultural development.

That God would strengthen us through the challenges that we are facing.

VBS that is running Feb. 17-21. Pray for the hearts of the young people to be turned toward the Lord and that parents would respond to God’s call as well.

Continue to pray for the two couples that are struggling with their relationships and faithfulness to the Lord.

Thank you again for standing or kneeling with us as we serve the Lord together.

New Beginnings

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.” Psalm 150:1,2  We are thankful for the Lord’s power and greatness for He has brought to Argentina in His timing. Although we are not fully supported, the timing was right for our arrival. Just two weeks later we received our first mission team.

Our 3 bedroom house

            The day after we were picked up from the airport we were able to look at our house and meet the owners. They were in the process of doing some much needed renovation so we had to delay our entrance into the house. Thankfully, we were able to stay with our co-workers Tom and Debbie Gibbons until it was ready. Two weeks later when it was finally ready, we were moving out of the Gibbons at the same time that the first members of the team were arriving. We praise the Lord for His timing in providing us a place to live.

Our 2004 Hyundai H-1 

            One of the major tasks to accomplish before the team arrived was to purchase a vehicle suitable for our family. Our options here are limited, so we were searching for a Hyundai H-1. We travelled to Buenos Aires several times even requesting to purchase two different vans only to be rejected by the owners before coming across the one that the Lord had for us. We were able to purchase the van a few days before the team arrived and then use it to transport the teams from the airport as well as to and from camp. We praise the Lord for providing us with a vehicle in His perfect timing.

Completing the ceiling in the main building

Dave West 

James' temporary desk

            We are thankful for the two teams that were here during the months of October and November. We were able to accomplish much work on the main building which is just about completed. We praise the Lord for His continued faithfulness in moving the camp forward as we have a goal to hold our first camps in January 2016!

·         Please pray for our continued adjustment here.

·         Please pray for good relationships with neighbors and people that we meet within the community.

               

                                                     Kids Corner

First Birthday in the Summer!

We are making new friends down here although we miss our friends from back home. We understand more of the language with each new day. Sheldon and Josie have a girl form the church that is tutoring them three times a week.

We (Hannah and Jaimie) walk one of the stores to buy meat, bread, or fruits and vegetables.  There is a different store for each one! They know us by name and some of the workers even know where we live. We had a couple of girls return something that was left behind earlier this week. I guess we kind of stand out because we don’t know the language well, but we are getting there.

We are in the Christmas cantata at the church. Please pray that someone would come to Christ as a result.

Thanksgiving dinner with fellow missionaries

Nursing a stray...she is ours now! 

Fun with Goossens, missionaries serving in Gualeyguaychu, AR

First Christmas tree in the summer