The Lord is doing wonderful things here in Argentina and we are glad to have a part in it. Since you have a part in us, there is fruit that is abounding to your account.
If we think of fulfilling the Great Commission in terms of war, there is much ground to be gained in many theaters across the globe. My family has been deployed to the theater of South America to the strategic battle ground of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The enemy tactics include confusing the gospel message with Catholic traditions and Charismatic health and wealth prosperity gospel. We recognize that to win our country and beyond, we need to establish strong forts (churches) for every 50,000 people. Specifically, that means we need about 15 more forts here in La Plata, 95 in Southern Greater Buenos Aires, 230 in all of Greater Buenos Aires and over 700 in all of Argentina. We understand that this is long term trench warfare that needs support and reinforcements from back home. The specific areas we are focusing on are: Recruitment, Communications, Training of Soldiers, and Building Forts. (Evangelism, Radio, Bible College, and Church Planting) Thanks to the grace of God, we have been moving forward on all fronts, with a special emphasis in the Bible College training soldiers for the Lord’s Army. I am happy to report that we have 33 students enrolled in the first semester of 2015! Please pray for these students, myself, and the other teachers as we train to fight the good fight. In a society where theft is so rampant that all the houses are walled off and windows barred, gaining access to people where they are can prove challenging. Nothing can replace witnessing “gate to gate” as we do here, but God has given us a wonderful opportunity to penetrate the barriers and reach into the homes, cars, and workplaces of thousands and even millions of Argentines in Southern Buenos Aires.
The opportunity is Radio Victoria. Before leaving Argentina to train missionaries in the US, missionary Jeff Bush began a partnership with Lighthouse Baptist Church in La Plata, Argentina, Christian Radio International out of Hammond, Indiana, and Rodolfo- a Christian business man with connections in Argentine radio. As the sole US missionary in Southern Buenos Aires, God has given me both a great privilege and great responsibility to help carry on the work. The project has gone through ups and downs but remains an exciting opportunity to help evangelize unbelievers and edify the young churches in this part of the city. The vast majority of Argentines listen to the radio every day. Those who tune in to the radio listen for an average of three hours per day. With the right equipment, we could broadcast to a 30 mile radius from the tower site. In that radius, there are currently over 5 million people and the numbers will only grow as this part of the city continues to expand. Thousands upon thousands of souls could be reached with Gospel. The handful of young, doctrinally sound churches in the area could be strengthened by driving people to the services of the churches. It could be used as a tremendous tool to bring God glory and help the church planting efforts in this city. When we attempt to do something for Christ, there are always challenges. It is better to face those challenges together as co-laborers in Christ. When we share the burdens we also get to share the blessings. Hear are some ways you could participate: 1. Make the Radio Ministry in Argentina a matter of regular prayer. ♦ for time sensitive paper work to change the radio licenses into the name of the church— due by March 6th ♦ for the spiritual strength and testimony of the workers and leaders in this project 2. Communicate with me or George Zarris (the director of CRI with the technical radio knowledge) about how you could help with equipment you may have that could be brought to Argentina to benefit the project. (computers, microphones, consoles, or specific radio equipment etc.) 3. Consider giving a financial gift to help the project. If you have any questions about the Radio Ministry in Argentina, I invite you to contact An amazing answer to prayer...
I am writing quick note from Atlanta International Airport before we board our flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. God has already blessed our trip. Though it started later than initially planned, we had prayer with our pastor, loaded up our things into a church van, and headed down the road. We are especially grateful for Pastor Gene Dame who drove us today. We had been praying that extra baggage fees would be waived or reduced. We had saved money for the expense, but we were hoping to use the money for other needful things. I am happy to report that 13 checked bags including an overweight, oversize digital piano are flying 100% free! These fees would have accumulated to $1325.00. Praise His holy name! Next steps... Next, we board our flight.I pray that my guitar will fly safely in the overhead bin with me. We hope to have an empty seat next to us. We pray that Jennifer and the kids will get rest during the 10 hour flight. We land. We pray for no problems or fees with immigration or customs then a safe trip to our temporary rental house where we will unpack some of our things and try to settle back in to our beloved Argentina. We eat a delicious Argentine steak as soon as possible! :) We arrived safely in Argentina! Everything went fairly well. More details to come! We had a great Training Week at All Points Baptist Mission.
I just want to mention a specific prayer request. We are flying back to Argentina on August 28. We are trying to get a temporary rental house or apartment lined up for our arrival to save money on daily hotel rates for the month that it normally takes to secure a permanent rental house. Please pray that we can find a solution even before we arrive either online or through our contacts in Argentina. You know you've been on the road a lot when your five year old spells out "Super 8 Bed" on the magnadoodle while your three year old chants, "Look Mama, Super 8!" The last hotel we stayed in was a Super 8. I guess they're trying to tell us they're tired of being in the van today. We've stayed in 5 different places over the last five nights. We are at the airport waiting to board our first flight back to the US. It has been a privilege to be in this conference in Arctic Canada! We miss our babies but we have had a great time of fellowship, preaching, singing, and eating. We ate caribou, musk ox, moose, and dried fish. We hope we have been a blessing to the other missionaries and the church people. The faith promise offering increased to an unbelievable amount. They have definitely blessed us. We have a new supporting church and memories that will last a lifetime. We've traveled an ice road, experienced ice fog, and learned that the easiest way to tell if it's below zero is if your nose hairs freeze! The Lord's work is not boring or dreadful, but exciting and adventurous! There's nothing we give up for his sake that he doesn't more than compensate for with his blessings. "And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred fold..." --Matthew 19:29 Whew! Another Sunday has come and gone and we are exhausted. This week we've been in OH, PA, and WV. Sometimes we wake up and we have to take a few moments to get our bearings straight to know what state or continent we're on. We've been in a great mix of supporting and new churches. The Lord has been blessing greatly. We've been saving love offerings for plane tickets and are really close to the total we need for purchasing them. On two recent occasions, I was given cash and checks by so many people that I literally had money falling out of my pockets! Once I had thought I counted all the money only to find there was more hidden in another pocket. God is so generous to us. It brought to mind the verse in Luke 6:38 "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Besides financial blessings, God gave us a good blessing to have a scenic drive in between meetings along a peninsula in Erie PA. Joel and Amelia enjoyed the scenery and the wild life while Logan enjoyed a good nap. Jennifer and I fly out Tuesday for a conference in Canada. Please continue to pray for the kids and Jennifer to handle the temporary separation well. We have a lot of packing and organizing to do so we will write more later. |
AuthorJoshua and Jennifer Smith are in Buenos Aires, Argentina to plant churches, train national leaders, continue teaching in the Bible College and expand the Radio Ministry. Archives
September 2016
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