Friday, September 21, 2012

Argentina Mission Trip Report

Argentina Mission Trip - July 16-26, 2012

Airlines going out of business….bad weather on the east coast keeping planes away from Cincinnati…Our team started to wonder if the Lord really wanted us to go to Argentina this year! Our team members were:
  • Leah Busick
  • Brooklyn Busdiecker
  • Cameron Busdiecker
  • Willie Figary
  • Hannah Hundley
  • Kelly Kemp
  The delay threw our original schedule out the window, but thankfully we were there for the glory of God rather than to keep a schedule!
 
 
  We finally made it out of Cincinnati on Monday afternoon (two days late) and safely to Portena, Argentina, on Tuesday where we met Will & Alejandra Herndon, our host missionaries.
 
 
    We came alongside a church that already had a heart to reach their city for Christ and worked with them during their “Happy Hours” which are like weekly Backyard Bible Clubs. They do them every week in town parks and invite many kids from the neighborhoods. We sang songs, did crafts, and played many, many games. Of course we also had lesson times and presented the Gospel to these kids. 
 
 
   We were able to go into the schools of this small town, as well as the tiny rural schools in the surrounding areas. We put on 45 minutes of music workshops where we played songs and taught basic music lessons. We then were able to share why we sing and play instruments, and we translated the words of our songs. From there sometimes we could publically proclaim the Gospel…sometimes we could not. When we could not publically speak, we would end early to talk to the students in smaller groups or casually outside the school building. It was during one of these casual conversations that three teenagers gave their lives to the Lord!
 
  The “Happy Hours” and in-school music workshops went hand-in-hand, because the weekend after we were in the school, the church was planning to hold a “Happy Hour” in the nearest park and invite all the kids!
  
 
  The most memorable moment came the last day we were in Argentina. It was the day we were NOT originally supposed to be in the country, but because we arrived two days late we stayed one extra day. That evening we went to our translator, Raquel’s classroom. She teaches English and invited us to come to her class of adult learners. These are 19-25 year old students who dropped out of school, but are now coming back to graduate. We had been praying for this group all week. That evening, 10 people raised their hands to accept Christ. In addition, two were talking to Raquel and asking her to pray with them or for them. It was an open door that we would not have experienced if we had left on our original departure date (and therefore not extended our trip an extra day). Our disappointments truly can be God’s divine appointments!
~ Leah Busick, Team Leader

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