Back in Argentina!

We are back in Argentina and have officially begun our second term! It is great to be back and see how God has worked in the church as a whole as well as how God has worked in the lives of individuals. It was also exciting to meet new brothers and sisters in Christ that have become part of the family of faith while we were on furlough. The attendance has grown and the church is excited to move forward. We have goals and dreams for this term, and although we do not know the future, we are confident in Jesus that He will be glorified!

We start this month off with our first camp (February is a part of the summer in Argentina)! We have had a great number of people sign up for it, more than we anticipated! Please pray that God is glorified, that lost are saved, and that saved our encouraged to do more for Jesus! We will end the month with our annual VBS. We have been doing this for years now, and it is always a blessing! Pray for us as we seek to invite children in the community to come be a part of these special services.

It is great to be back in Argentina. We thank you for your faithful prayers and support as we all serve together to reach the lost, encourage the saved, and plant churches!

Serving Together,
Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, Ivy, and Isla Henry

Prayer Requests

• Pray for our first camp.

• Pray for our annual VBS.

• Pray for Faith Baptist Church.

• Pray for God to guide us as we begin our second term.

We have been back in Argentina for almost two weeks. It is great to be back and we have many goals for our second term. In this specific post, I want to share a few thoughts on our return. This is not an organized post of eloquent thoughts, nor is it an all encompassing explanation of the return to the mission field for a missionary. It is just my first thoughts after being back for less than two weeks!

• There are quite a few things to repair. This has more to do with our vehicles and the house we rent. After being gone for just over a year, we came back to a few things that are not in the same conditions as they were. Some things are little (the air conditioning in my car was not working), other things are more complicated, but a large part of what we have done since we have been back is repair (or attempt to repair) things that are not working properly.
• The church is doing great! It is great to meet new Christians and it is great to see the growth of the church! The Lord is at work in Faith Baptist Church and it is such a blessing to see what He has done and is doing!
• My ability to speak Spanish is not what it was when we left! This will take time to improve, but it will. We are still able to converse, preach, teach, and counsel, but there are words that are not as easily “accessed” in conversation. It will improve with time.
• The inflation in Argentina is outrageous! Paying for things is a gut-punch! The cost of things is outrageous in comparison to what it used to be. This is due to the inflation, the which I am told has reached 100%!!! We go to buy something, even groceries, and we walk away having spent so much more than before. To make things more complicated, at the writing of this post, the largest bill in Argentina is the $1000 peso bill. It’s worth is roughly $2.63!!! So to pay for something, you have to have a sack full of bills! This is something we are going to have to get used to. I am told that a $5000 and $10000 bill will be soon printed. The inflation is very high and it has been a “culture shock” for us!
• I love serving with my family. It is great to see the girls jump right in to love on and serve others! They are a blessing to the church! Leslie is too, she is a blessing to the ladies of the church!
• It is hot and we are loving it! The day we left the States, that morning there was ice on the windshield of the van! We arrived in the middle of summer with 90º+ temperatures! I love the summer, I love the long days, the sounds and smells of this time of year!
• There is much to do! We are just arriving and putting everything in it’s place, and we start our first camp next week! There is so much to do and we have “hit the ground running”. It is going to take time to get settled, but I do believe this is the best way to return, at least for us!

There is much more I could share, but this is a good start. Perhaps in the future I will write a more profound blog detailing my thoughts on our return. Until then, we continue on, living the dream, serving Jesus in Argentina!

Every year we hold a Vision Sunday. It is something our home church has done for years, and we have taken it and made it a tradition here. It is a time when we look back on the prior year, a time to share goals for this current year, and a time to share the theme for this year. For 2023, our theme is biblical stewardship. This is something our home church has taught us for years and we are excited about teaching it to Faith Baptist Church! Please pray for our Vision Sunday.

Missionary Stephen Underwood has invited me to preach at the church they planted in Ezeiza. Stephen is doing a great job and is gracious to allow me an opportunity to be with them. Pray that I will be a blessing to Stephen, his family, and this new church!

We landed in Argentina on Monday morning. It is great to be back. We have been busy ever sense, unpacking and making repairs on things that have broken in our absence. We had our midweek service and were able to meet new families that have come to the church while we were on furlough! It was exciting to meet these new Christians, we are praying for them and look forward to getting to know them more. The church had a “welcome back” fellowship for us after the service. We are encouraged seeing how the Lord is working in the church! We are looking forward to seeing more people from Faith Baptist Church tomorrow! Thank you for praying for us.