We prayed for an hour with the team, and then I got to spend some time relaxing and getting to know the Highs. They are both very outroing, friendly, and welcoming. They will be involved with a budding church plant opportunity in the city of Corrientes, several hours north of here. Apparently, it is a city with over 400,000 people, and no real presence by an evangelical Christian church. Here are the Highs (Kevin, Amelia, Hannah, Tatiana (friend), and Holly - with their son Levi in absentia - at school).
When you smile for a picture here, you do not say "cheese," you say "WEE-skee." But I forget what that word means.
After some great conversation and fellowship with the Highs, Kevin drove me over to the home of Steve and Wilma Bailey. Wilma made some great chicken and rice dish, and we talked a lot about the future vision and opportunities for missions in Argentina. GBIM (Grace Brethren International Missions) really wants to focus on the "least reached" people groups around the world, and focus on areas without a strong church presence. They also want to help locals become leaders in their own churches, and not be dependent on sent missionaries for their leadership. The churches here in Buenos Aires are developing young leaders, sending out short-term and long-term missionaries, and starting to network with other churches and ministries in the region.
Steve is the regional director for Grace Brethren International Missions in South America, and works with believers in ministries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and several other countries. It was great to get to know Steve and Wilma better, and also to hear their passion and strategy for developing leaders and planting churches. I got to hear more about what some of our Grace College friends (Nate & Deb Dunlevy, Brian & Tara Gornik, and Rich & Jill Elledge) are going to be doing with a brand new work in LaPlata (less than an hour from where the Martins live).
No comments:
Post a Comment