We all have goals. There are all kinds of goals. Whether it is to lose weight, save money, graduate college, read through the Bible, get our driver’s license, learn to swim, get out of debt, or a host of other things, we all have goals. It is exciting when we reach our goals. I remember the first time I read through the entire Bible! What an accomplishment! I have seen people who have gone on diets and lost a lot of weight. They are so happy they stuck with it and are seeing the reward of all that hard work. They are excited to be reaching their goal.

So what happens when you miss you goal? It stinks! You work hard, you push yourself, you give it what you can and you don’t make it. Maybe you don’t work so hard, and you don’t really push yourself, even so, missing a goal is hard. I have missed many goals. That is actually what spurred this post. We are in Argentina. We have lived here for 6 months now. We are learning the language. I spend hours upon hours in the language. I read a book called, “Fluent in Three Months”. It inspired me to set a goal of being fluent by October 02 (this Sunday). I put it on my calendar. I have worked so hard. I have practiced and practiced and practiced. I have improved greatly. The truth is that I didn’t make it. I am not even close to fluent. I missed the goal by a long shot! Some will say it was unrealistic, that I set myself up for failure. Maybe so, but regardless it didn’t happen.

This series of posts are about the different customs and traditions that we are finding here in Argentina. If you ever come to Argentina, I can assure you that you will see people with these little wooden cup-like items in their hands. It will have a metal “stem” protruding out of the top. This is a mate (pronounced ma-tay). We use these to drink…mate! Yes, a “mate” is the cup you drink “mate” out of. Mate is an herbal tea. It is prepared by pouring the dry mate herb into the mate cup and pouring hot (sometimes too hot) water into the mate cup.

The metal “stem” is actually a straw called a “bombilla” (pronounced “bombeesha”) and contains a filter in the lower end to separate the mate infusion from leaves and stems. Sometimes there is sugar, sometimes mint, orange, lemon, other herbs, and sometimes it is just plain or “amargo” (this is the way I prefer it).

It is a social drink, so once you drink it, more hot water is poured in and it is passed to the next person. You drink out of the same straw and use the same mate herb until it has lost it’s savor (then the mate cup is dumped out and filled back up with fresh mate herb to pass around more. I love it! I drink it almost daily as I am out with people practicing Spanish. It is intertwined with Argentine culture.

More posts are coming out soon. Check back for more posts about life here in Argentina.

This is the first post of a series on living in Argentina. We have lived in Argentina for almost six months. We have learned so much in the six months we have been here and we have only touched the “tip of the iceberg”. We noticed differences in Argentina from the United States as soon as we landed in March. Some things are obviously different. Other things have taken more time to notice due to the subtle differences. I am very blessed to have made friends in the church we attend while in language school and around the community that have been very kind and patient and teach me things about Argentina. Here are two quick observations in starting this new series of posts.

• This country is huge! What is custom in one part of the country may be totally different in other parts of the country. I have two friends (a husband and wife) who have travelled a great portion of Argentina. They have shared with me the differences from province to province. They are from La Plata (where we are for language school), so there perspective has been very interesting. The greatest difference would be from greater Buenos Aires in comparison to the other provinces. Almost 33% of the country lives in greater Buenos Aires. Even so, there are differences between provinces and areas of the country, there are also customs they all share in common. This paragraph could easily be applied to the United States and a big city. New York City is a part of the United States, but people from upstate New York will quickly tell you that they are not like people from the big city.
• The need is the same! I don’t get this from my the six months I have under my belt. I get this from the Bible. Romans 5:12 is very clear, ” Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” With all of our differences, we are all in the same state until we believe on Jesus for our salvation. The whole world needs the Gospel of Jesus!

I don’t claim to be an “expert” on the customs and traditions of Argentina. I don’t even claim to be an “expert” on the customs of the United States and I have lived almost all of my life there. I do think this blog series will give you an interesting insight as to what life is like in Argentina.

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.