I arrived here in Argentina almost one year ago. I spent a lot of time in taxis at that time (not having a car made me a regular with the taxis). I wanted to practice Spanish and learn for the drivers. I would ask them about La Plata (where we are) and about other cities in the country. Different men had different opinions, but there were a few consistencies from taxi driver to taxi driver. Here are some…

• Cordobá is beautiful.
• Mendoza (at least the surrounding areas of Mendoza) is beautiful.
• The waterfalls (Iguazú) in the north are amazing.
• Bariloche is worth the 24 hour drive to get there.
• Lanús (where the church is being started), Avellaneda, and Lomas de Zamora are “complicated” and “ugly”.

“Complicated” seems to be a common way to say it is dangerous, somewhere you don’t want to be. “Ugly” in this context, seemed to be speaking more about the bad things that go on in those areas. It seems to be that most people don’t want to be in these cities unless they have to be. But as I travel through Lomas de Zamora, I see something altogether different.

Over 111,800 people live in Lomas de Zamora (according to a 2001 census). A friend of mine once told me, “You can know an area is safe if you never hear about that city in the news.” With that in mind, you hear about Lomas de Zamora a fair amount. It seems there is consistently something bad that has happened there. The city is large and also has nice areas with expensive housing as well, most notably in the “Las Lomitas” district. There is even a Starbucks there (they usually don’t put a Starbucks in the “slums”, especially in foreign countries). Obviously there are more dangerous areas as well. Another friend of mine told me that there are a lot of villas in Lomas De Zamora. Villas are “shanty towns” or “slums”. The houses are usually made of tin, wood, or other scrap material. Many of the villas in Argentina are well known for being very dangerous, especially for those who don’t live there. I have been advised by many, don’t go into a villa without someone with you who lives in that villa. This makes planting a church in a villa difficult, seeing that generally only those of that villa are welcome in that villa. These areas are throughout Lomas de Zamora, or so I am told.

The need in Lomas de Zamora is just like everywhere else I have detailed. The central area of Lomas is about 20-25 minutes in a car from Faith Baptist Church. I am told that while there are no Baptist churches, there are two churches that do preach salvation by grace through faith. I am encouraged by that, but I don’t know anything about these churches. I do know however that the need is great. Pray with me for the many people in and around Lomas de Zamora.

This is a continuation of a small series on the different cities and towns around Lanús, Argentina, where we are starting Faith Baptist Church. Lanús is located right on the southern border of Buenos Aires.  This post is all about Banfield. Banfield is a city in the district of Lomas De Zamora. Banfield is the home to over 223,900 people (this is according to a 2001 census). The city is known for the Banfield fútbol (soccer) club and for the Julián Aguirre Conservatory of Music that was founded in 1951. The city started out from the train that passed through (and still passes through) the area. In fact, Banfield was named after a British man (Edward Banfield) who was in charge of the southern train station. The development of the city began in the late 1800’s.

I have driven through Banfield a few times now. At times you don’t really know when Lanús ends and Banfield begins, nor do you know fully when you have passed through Banfield and entered into Lomas De Zamora. There are parts of Banfield that are nicer than anything I have seen in Lanús. A friend of mine who has lived his whole life in Lanús told me that a lot of the people in Banfield have more money than people in Lanús. This becomes obvious as you drive down the city streets. It seems to me that the further away one goes from Yrigoyen (the main avenue that passes through Avellaneda, Gerli, Lanús, Banfield, Lomas De Zamora and many other cities) the more humble the housing become. In other words the people with “money” (as my friend told me) live close to the big avenue.

I don’t know of a Gospel preaching church in Banfield. In fact, the closest one to banfield will be Faith Baptist Church, which is too far for people to be a part of the church family on a regular basis. Banfield doesn’t just need one church, the city needs at least 4 churches to affectively reach all its inhabitants!

Banfield, just like the other cities we have highlighted, is ripe for starting churches. It is wide open, just waiting on someone to give their lives to help others know Jesus. Pray with me for laborers.

We have rented a building to start Faith Baptist Church. We are very excited about this. We have included a video of the building below. It has been a mechanic shop for decades. The building needs a lot of work. This video is what the building looked like when we finally received the keys. More updates are coming, check back for more.

 

Later This Month…

On February 20 we finally received the keys to the building in which we will start Faith Baptist Church! We are grateful for this opportunity! This month is all about preparing the building for the services (at this time), the floor is covered in oil and grease) and inviting anyone and everyone to the church. We will also be starting free English classes this month. This is an attempt to draw people into the church. Some might not ever come to the church but will come to learn English, especially if it is free. They will also have an opportunity to learn about the church and about the Gospel! As of now, we plan to hold the first service on March 26, 2017.

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, and Ivy Henry

• The inaugural service is set to be on March 26, 2017 (date may change).

• Building renovations are being made in preparation for church services.

• Free English classes start this month.

• In March, 10,000 invitations will be handed out each week for the first service.