Last week I was on my way to Lanús to invite people to the first church service (which will be this Sunday). It didn’t take long to see that something was wrong. I had less than 1/4 of a tank of gas but as I tried to stop at a few local service stations I them closed. As I entered the highway, I saw that I was 1 of only 3-4 cars on the highway! This is impossible! Cars are everywhere normally, but that day was strange. I arrived at the tollbooth and it was completely empty and the poles were up to allow everyone (all 4 of us) through. As I continued, I exited the highway and continued on, I noticed that there was not one bus. There are busses everywhere, going all over the place, stopping and going all along the way, but that day there was not even one bus. There were no taxis. Taxis are common here, so common that you don’t even notice them as you pass them, but no taxis on that day either. There was not one gas station open between my house and the church. I could not understand what in the world was going on. After talking to several people, I learned that the day was a “paro nacional”, or a “national stop”. The gas stations, busses, trains, subways, taxis, and government buildings all went on strike. Because of this many people could not get to work. My daughter had a dentist appointment, Leslie took her only to find out there were no doctors that were able to make it to the office. This was all to express disdain toward the Argentine President. To put it clearly, it was a very frustrating day. Almost 100% of my time has been focused on starting Faith Baptist Church. Although most everyone knew about the “national stop”, I haven’t been watching the news, nor have I been talking about much of anything other than inviting people to church. What I was going through is something called “culture shock”.

Culture shock is what a person experiences when he is in a culture different than his own, and is disoriented by the customs, way of life, or attitudes of others in that culture. I was certainly feeling it! I cannot imagine the whole country just “stopping”, but it is something people are somewhat “acclimated to” here in Argentina. I was going door to door inviting people to church later that day. After hearing my accent one family asked me how I liked it in Argentina. I told them I love it here (I do love it here), but I am still learning and somethings are confusing to me, like “today”. The family came back with “We don’t understand it either, we are just used to it.” The daughter could not go to work, but she just shrugged her shoulders as if to say “What can we do about it.” Culture shock is real and it is a part of life as a missionary. I am thankful for the time I have had with my mentor who has taught me about culture shock and how to deal with it. The “national stop” was still frustrating, but I knew what was going on. Other Argentines were frustrated too, but they knew it was just how things work. I am not here to fix “national stops”, I am here to start churches and train men.

Sometimes it is easy to get sidetracked. Distractions get in the way. Even so, we should have a laser-like focus on what God has called us to do. Other things will happen, frustrations will come and go, but our eyes should remain on progressing the Gospel. Culture shock is real, but I cannot allow it to take me off course. Is there something that is distracting you from God’s desire (advancing the Gospel)? We must keep our focus on God’s work!

Tonight was a first for me. It will make this day special, but this day is special to me for another reason. 20 years ago tonight I sat in a room with a group of people I did not know. My sister tricked me into going on a “Christian retreat”. I had no desire to be there, didn’t know anyone, and wanted to go home. That being said, on April 04, 1997, I was sitting there waiting for the night to be over when a young man spoke about Luke 15, the prodigal son. I did not know it was Luke 15, nor did I know what the “prodigal son” was. I didn’t know what was going on. The young man (perhaps 3-4 years older than I was) gave his testimony on how he was saved. I don’t remember much about it. I remember he was a Muslim from a Muslim family who heard the Gospel and believed on Jesus some time later. His family believed on Jesus as well at a later date. I was bothered over my sins. I believed on Jesus that night. That was 20 years ago tonight.

20 years later I stood up in a former car repair shop turned Baptist Church (or soon to be new Baptist Church), teaching a group of 21 people English. This is an attempt to invite them to the church. We all enjoyed our time together. The group was diverse, with the youngest being 11 (he was there with his mother) and the oldest being over 60. Both men and women were present. We talked through the lesson, laughing all throughout. Everybody seem to enjoy the time and seemed to be open with the idea of coming to our first service.

20 years ago, I did not understand what a Baptist was (I was not saved in a Baptist Church nor was I raised Baptist), nor did I know what a missionary was. If someone would have told me that 20 years from the night I was saved that I would spend the evening teaching English to Argentines in a church building in which we will be starting a church in less than two weeks, I would have ran the other way! I would have been totally against this. 20 years later, there is literally nothing else I would rather do with my life. My salvation is complete in Christ and I have the privilege of serving Him each day. Sanctification is a process in which I am still growing. I am grateful to Jesus for how He has molded me through these 20 years. I guess the best way to conclude this post is to sum up these past 20 years with this thought, “It is all about Jesus!”

The word “Boca” means mouth. It is the name of a well-known neighborhood inside Buenos Aires and is just over 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from Faith Baptist Church. La Boca is known for it’s colorful buildings and is a popular destination for people visiting Buenos Aires. “El Caminito” (a road at the river) is the central area for tourists with shop after shop lining the infamous road full of every trinket one could imagine. The neighborhood is right at the “mouth” of the river (hence the name “la boca”). The city is also home to one of the largest soccer teams in all of Argentina (named “Boca Juniors”). The city is home to over 46,000 people and many thousands more in surrounding neighborhoods.

Outside of the tourist area, the neighborhood totally changes. I recently read an article about the neighborhood…

“Today La Boca remains a rough, working class and downbeat neighborhood, despites the hordes of tourists who descend upon its attractions every weekend and most weekdays too…La Boca is a bit of an odd fish. It’s fiercely and unreservedly working class and down-at-heel, yet it has a couple of very, very popular tourist attractions. It’s not a place where expats are going to want to live (the chances of being robbed after dark are just too great), but it still has some tempting restaurants, a great art museum, and an interesting history to boot.” (source). 

This neighborhood sparks my interest and not for the touristy spots. I met a family that lives in La Boca. They are just normal, working class people. They were very kind. We spent a few hours together. We talked about their neighborhood. They were very proud to live there. It may not be the desired neighborhood of Buenos Aires, but the people are just normal people in need of salvation through Jesus! I dropped this family off at their house. As I left their home, I could not help but think about the need of a Gospel preaching church in this neighborhood. Pray with me for “La Boca”.