This is our first Christmas in Argentina. We are excited to be here and are learning more about the Christmas season from an Argentine perspective. Over the past month, I have been asked several questions about the Christmas season here in Argentina. This post will answer a few of those questions…

What is the weather like?  This post is being released on the first day of Summer. It is hot and humid here. Yesterday, the temperature was around 85º F. It is hot, the sun doesn’t set until well after 8:00 PM and I am loving it!

Do people decorate their houses? While we really don’t see houses decorated on the outside (with very few exceptions), people do have Christmas Tree’s in there homes. They are all artificial trees and are decorated on December 08 in celebration of the immaculate conception of Mary (a subject for another post. Click Here).

How is Christmas celebrated? I am told that Christmas Eve is celebrated more than Christmas Day. There will be music, fireworks, presents, more fireworks, and of course food. The climax of the night is at 12 midnight. At that point the fireworks start and continue for a long time. People will stay up as late as 3:00 AM in celebrating Christmas! Christmas Day is a time to sleep in and maybe have a lunch with the family. It is basically all over after that lunch.

What are some traditional foods during the Christmas season? I love Gingerbread, but you won’t really find that here. Think of a summer activity. Fruit salad is popular. An asado (grilled steaks and other meats) is popular but that is popular throughout the year. They have a sweet bread called “panettone” that we see in the super markets. We will be trying it out in a few days.

What does the church do for Christmas? I can really only speak for the church we have been attending. Lighthouse Baptist Church had a Christmas Program on Sunday night. It went very well with a number of people visiting. The church looks pretty with a few decorations up.

So there you have it. Christmas in Argentina is very different from what we have experienced in our lives. We have enjoyed it thus far and we are looking forward to Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas!

Last week we had a holiday in Argentina (actually we had two). I was talking to a man who warned me about the upcoming day. We are new here and without any knowledge we will go out to the grocery store, bakery, butcher shop (where I practice my Spanish), and some or all of them will be closed for the day. We have learned that Argentina has it’s own holidays. This can be frustrating when you are trying to accomplish certain tasks (like learning a language) but it does happen. Some holidays are like the holidays we have in the States. We have Mother’s Day here in October, Labor Day here in May, and of course Christmas and Easter. But Argentina also has unique holidays. The holiday last week was to recognize the “immaculate conception”. The immaculate conception that was “celebrated” was the “immaculate conception of Mary”. Many believe that Mary was somehow conceived naturally but kept “immaculate” by God, thereby not ever having sin in her life. Where in the Bible does it say that Mary was conceived of a virgen? The answer is nowhere. This is not a Biblical belief. I don’t understand this. In fact, I first thought the day of the immaculate conception was to celebrate Jesus’ virgen birth (a common mistake according to an article I read on the subject). Mary was a wonderful woman, but not God and not equal to Jesus. As I have had the opportunity to witness to others, this is something I have heard, that Jesus and Mary are equal. Again, there is no Bible principle to back this up. To the contrary, there is Luke 11:27-28, which seems to take the focus off of Mary and on to keeping Jesus’ commandments.

In closing to this very short blog, I would like to encourage you to search the Scriptures. I can think back on many things I use to believe because “someone told me” but upon reading the Bible, I found out I was wrong. Read the Bible. Spend time in studying God’s Word. You don’t have to be a Bible College graduate, a Pastor, or a Theologian to study God’s Word. I was told some time ago, “Have Bible to back up the things that you believe.” I think that is good advice. Don’t just believe what you believe, but know why you believe it and where God teaches us it in His Word!

I am here in La Plata, Argentina. We have been attending the Lighthouse Baptist Church here in La Plata since we arrived. We were able to be a part of the church’s 12th anniversary on Sunday. There are 5 churches here in La Plata and Quilmes (another city) that were started by the same missionary a decade ago. It was exciting to see the four other churches join in with Lighthouse on Sunday night to celebrate the anniversary. Lighthouse was the “mother” church from which three of the other four churches started. The church building was full for the celebration. There was special music from the other churches, a special testimony from a missionary from the states that is going to Africa, and a Peruvian missionary in Ecuador who has been preaching the mission conference brought the message. After the service we all stayed around to have cake and fellowship. It was a very special night for the members of El Faro.

There are a few things I took away from Sunday night. The singing was some of the best I have heard, the message was stirring, and the cake was really good too! But there is more to be learned…

The missionary who started this church was not here. In fact he has not been here for some time. God is using him greatly in the States. The church celebrated 12 years going strong without the man who started the church. Some may find this sad, but it is actually very beautiful. The missionary worked hard to help this church “stand on it’s own two feet”. The church would have loved to have him here, but they are continuing the work of the Gospel as a church. God is blessing here.

This is my dream! I pray that churches we will one day plant will continue advancing the Gospel long after I have left them to start other churches. This is really the goal of missions, to share the Gospel, plant churches, and train men that the work of God will long outlive the missionary! We will be starting the first church in Argentina very soon. There is much work to be done. I know there will be obstacles, but I also know that God will be glorified in it all.

Finishing The Year Strong

2016 has been an incredible year for us full of changes and progress. Those are two words I could use to describe this year for our family. Change in the way that we are in another country, another continent and even in the other hemisphere! Change in that life and culture are very different. Change in that we are in a new language. Through this change God has proved Himself in us as we have seen much progress. When we arrived in Argentina, Pastor Jorge drove us to our temporary apartment. He says that the 2+ hour drive was spent with us trying to communicate in hand signs with each other. Since that day, I have preached multiple times, I am teaching a 2 1/2 hour long class for 4 Tuesday nights, and we converse for hours daily in Spanish. Progress in that we have completed language school and are still learning. Progress, meaning we are still on the road to fluency. With changes we are adapting and seeing great progress.

Plans For 2017

We are very excited to see how God continues to bless as we enter 2017. We still have much to learn, but are at the place where we can move further into ministry in Argentina. We are so excited for the future! The days ahead are filled with the hopes and dreams of years past that will soon begin to be realized.

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, and Ivy Henry