We are learning Castellano in La Plata, Argentina. I think one of the most common questions I am asked is “Where do you go from here?” We love La Plata! It is a great city with great need! The churches here are advancing the Gospel. There is still a great need, and they are training men to help start other churches! There are many other large cities in Argentina. So, where are we going next? The truth is we don’t know exactly. We have areas we are looking at, but we are not yet fully persuaded. With that in mind, the following are a few options we are looking into (in no particular order).

• Rosario: My family was in Rosario recently. It is the third largest city in Argentina. Rosario is located about 300 kilometers northwest from Buenos Aires. The population is over 1,193,00. There are a few churches (Baptist) that we know about and a Bible College. The need is certainly great with such a concentration of people.
• Córdoba: Córdoba is the second largest city in Argentina. I talk to a lot of people here in La Plata. I like to ask what people think of different cities in Argentina. Anyone I ever talk to about Córdoba tells me how amazing it is. Córdoba is about 700 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires. It is located in the foothills of the sierras. The population is over 1,428,000. I am told there are a few churches (Baptist) in that city. I have not been there. I know one missionary here in Argentina who told me that Córdoba would be an excellent city to start churches in. The missionary is in one of the northern provinces. We talked about different cities in Argentina and Córdoba was the city he seemed most interested for a new work to start.
• Mendoza: Mendoza is located on the western border of Argentina (approximately 113 kilometers from the Argentina/Chile border), with the backdrop of the Andes Mountains. The population is 1,011,600. The city is 1050 kilometers from Buenos Aires. I have heard that there are a few churches in Mendoza. The need is also great there.
• Greater Buenos Aires: I don’t know how anyone could consider church planting in Argentina and not consider Buenos Aires. The city is the 20th largest city in the world. Almost 1/3 of the population of Argentina lives in Greater Buenos Aires! The issue here is that Buenos Aires is so big, that “planting churches in Buenos Aires” is not very clear. There are large portions of the city where there are no churches (Baptist) that I know of. There are quite a few churches in some parts of this monster city, but the need is far, far greater than the laborers!

These are the largest cities in Argentina and the areas that we are praying about. So where do we go from here? I am fairly sure we will be in one of the above mentioned cities before long.

Sunday was a special day for me. Before we get to the details of Sunday, let me give you a little background.

We landed in Argentina on March 25, 2016. We started language school in June. We practice the language every day. We are growing in the language. I have given the offering devotion some 25 or more times (a 2-3 minute reading and explanation of a Bible verse that pertains to giving). I’ve wanted to teach and preach the Bible in Spanish for some time, but I didn’t know if I was ready.  I asked Pastor Jorge if  I could try some time. He told me to tell him when I think I am ready. I finally told him I was ready (although I had serious doubts I was). He told me that I would preach/teach for 10 minutes minimum. He gave me a date. I was very apprehensive. I just didn’t think I was ready.

The day finally came. It was Sunday. Pastor Jorge reiterated that he wanted me to preach for 10 minutes minimum, and to go longer if I could. I was just hoping to go 10 minutes. I really didn’t think I was ready. Even so, Sunday night I preached in Spanish for the first time. The message was 27 minutes, which was pretty surprising to everyone!

This was a huge goal for me! I am very thankful to the Lord for this! Here are a few observations from my first message in Spanish…

• I have a long way to go! The message was full of grammatical errors, I caught a few of them but most of them I did not.
• Learning grammatical rules and applying said rules are two completely different things. I have learned this in my daily practice of the language. I have learned how to say something, and know it as a fact in my mind, but my mouth does not say it the way I have learned it. I understand this to be very common and that practice and time will correct these sorts of things.
• This is not the finish line in my language studies, but it is a great “mile marker”. Even though it was very far from adequate, it still is a “victory”. I could not have done this 5 months ago! I am growing in the language and as I continue to practice in the language, the errors will decrease, and I will become more comfortable in speaking.

All in all, it was a great day. The people at Iglesia Bautista El Faro (Lighthouse Baptist Church) were very kind and supportive of me. I think many of them looked beyond some of the grammatical errors, because they saw a foreigner really trying. The great news is this was my first attempt and certainly not my last. As the Lord allows, I am scheduled to preach again on September 25, 2016 for the morning service. Now it is time to get nervous again!

Experiencing a 6th Year Celebration!

One of the churches here in La Plata celebrated their 6th year anniversary! Iglesia Bautista Berea (Berea Baptist Church) was started by a missionary friend along with Hernan, a man he trained. Pastor Hernan has been the Pastor of the church from the beginning. I was able to attend the anniversary service in August. I heard the testimonies of brothers and sisters in Christ who experienced God’s love in their lives. I saw a short video of how things all started in that neighborhood. I saw how things have grown considerably in the past 6 years. It was a blessing to see and an encouragement to know that we will be training men like Hernan and planting churches just like Berea. We are honored to be here in Argentina to carry out God’s great work!

What is Dia de los Niños?

I remember asking my parents why there is a Mother’s Day and Father’s Day but there is no “Kid’s Day” when I was a child. My parents would respond, “Everyday is kid’s day.” Well, in Argentina, there is a “Kid’s Day”, and we experienced it in August. Our children had a great day, but more than that I saw how the church we are going to while in language school (Iglesia Bautista El Faro) used this as an opportunity to invite friends to a “kermesse” (carnival) in celebration of Dia de los Niños (Kid’s Day). It was a great day for the church!

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, and Ivy Henry

Iglesia Bautista El Faro (Lighthouse Baptist Church) is the church we attend while in language school. We love the people here. Pastor Jorge and the church have been very kind to us these past 5 months. We had a “kermesse” on Sunday in honor of Dia de los Niños (Kid’s Day). I am learning Spanish and quite often I come across words I have never known before. “Kermesse” is one of those words. A “kermesse” is a festival (or a carnival). Think of a “Fall Festival” (many churches have them in the States). We had inflatables, hot dogs and snacks, musical chairs, cup stacking game, matching game, futbol (soccer) game, and more. Our kids loved it and so did all the other kids that came. I also saw a lot of people from the community that I did not recognize. To conclude the kermesse, a presentation of the Gospel was given. It was a great day.

We will be planting the first church when we are fluent in the language. Because we are in a thriving church, we are learning so much more than just language. We are learning culture and customs. I will give you one example in the form of the kermesse. Dia de los Niños was actually a week ago, but we didn’t have the kermesse on Dia de los Niños. I didn’t quite understand why we waited a week for the kermesse. I didn’t know if it just worked out that way this year. Pastor Jorge taught me that this is done on purpose. Dia de los Niñ0s (Kid’s Day) is a national holiday. Places all over the city will have fairs, carnivals and festivals on that day. It is a great day for the family. It is a big day in the city, but the next week there isn’t much going on. Because of this, we have many more families visit. I can learn these kinds of things by experience, but it is much better to learn them by participating in a great church like El Faro!

The truth is our family is already looking forward to next year’s kermisse. It made for another great day here in Argentina!