Inauguration of New Church Building

After three weeks of demolition, construction, and preparation, the Lord gave us a great first Sunday in the new building! The Lord sent the help we needed on Saturday in order to get everything in order. (There are still projects left to complete, but those can be done in time.) It was exciting to be in a larger facility a little more permanent (we'll at least be there for the next three years). The kids were excited to finally have their own classrom - and we didn't have to walk two blocks to get there!

One of the most exciting blessings of the morning, though, were the two new families who came. Both of the families had called the BBN radio station looking for a good church, and they "just so happened" to show up on this inauguration day! However, God knows best - if they had shown up prior to this day, they would have felt crowded. (Church planters say that when a building reaches 80% occupacy, people begin to feel uncomfortable and lose their desire to return to that church.)

You can see pictures by clicking here.

We had planned on spending Sunday evening doing evangelism and holding a special service. However, because of concerns regarding the H1N1 virus, the church voted to postpone those activities for now. Since the government is recommending not to meet in large groups and to limit contact outside of one's home, it would damage our testimony to do something against those recommendations. So, James was able to get "back to being a pastor" and had time to continue his marriage counseling with a couple in the church and Amy was able to go visit the parents of her English student who was recently saved. What a great day! What a great God we serve!

U.S. Embassy Message: H1N1 Influenza A

H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) Update from the U.S. Embassy

July 2, 2009

“Argentina’s health ministry reported more than 1,500 confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza, including 26 deaths, as of June 26, its last release of statistics.  Media reports place the number of deaths at 44 as of July 1, 2009, with higher numbers of confirmed cases as well.  [However, most are suspicious that the government has not been forthcoming in its statistics, especially after these drastic measures have been taken.]  Most school districts have extended school vacations, some to as long as a month.  Two of Argentina’s largest districts, the Province of Buenos Aires and the city of Buenos Aires, have declared administrative health emergencies and are recommending avoiding large congregations of people. Other measures instituted to control the spread of H1N1 include a requirement that travelers entering Argentina complete health cards with local contact information, don provided surgical masks when disembarking their flights, and pass in front of sensors that track body temperature in transportation terminals.  Some flights also may be disinfected with spray prior to landing.”

So, what does this mean for us?  Since they cancelled school for the rest of July and are recommending that the children stay at home, we decided to cancel our Winter Vacation Bible School.  It would be better to follow the government’s suggestions and not put our people or other people’s children at risk.  Two sister churches have decided to cancel all church activities for the rest of the month except for one Sunday service per week.  There are two big youth conferences scheduled the last week of July, and we have not yet heard if they will proceed with those or not.  If the number of cases do not decrease substantially, the schools will remain closed into the month of August.  This may put the MBBC mission team’s activities/concerts at risk.  We already have three concerts scheduled here in Pilar – one at a secular music school, one at our church, and one at a local private school.  Please pray for God’s will to be done.  Please pray for physical and spiritual healing in this land.

- James & Amy

Prayer Letter - July 1, 2009

Praise the Lord for answered prayer! We were finally able to rent the building we have been looking at for the past six months! It is in an ideal location in the heart of Pilar. It is a larger facility than what we had before with classroom space. We have been busy knocking down walls, cleaning, painting, and getting moved in. Click here to see pictures of the renovation progress.

Our first service is July 1, and then we’ll hold special services on Sunday, July 5. Please pray for the evangelistic outreach July 5, as we go out to the plaza to share the Gospel, pass out tracts, and invite people to church.

The Lord has given Amy amazing opportunities to share the Gospel through English classes in our home. The little boy pictured below, Patricio, is a beginner student this year. The Lord gave an open door, and Amy talked with him about his need for a Savior. Patricio put his faith in Christ that day! Please pray for his spiritual growth.

Another amazing witnessing opportunity was with Amy’s student Carola, a neonatal doctor. This week Amy talked with her for over an hour about Christ. She is one of the 80% of the disillusioned Catholics in this country. She said she would like to study about the Bible in our English class!

Andrea Love, our eight-week summer intern, arrived June 24 and has been a huge help already. She is helping with homeschool, teaching piano as well as English, playing piano for the church, leading a Bible study in English, and helping at the church building. We are privileged to have her with us! We would love to have a young lady here full time doing exactly what she is doing. Click here to see some highlights of her ministry here.

Prayer Requests

• Salvation of Carola
• Evangelistic outreaches this month
• Current support – 95%
• Permanent pastor for the work in the city center
• Wisdom and God’s power as we reach our neighborhood for Christ

Praises

• A larger meeting place with classroom space
• Salvation of Patricio
• Growing number of faithful men in the church
• Discipleship classes with Pablo, Fabio Alejandro, Virginia, Veronica, and Andrea
• God’s continual, miraculous provision