Cold trip to Salta

Two months ago I went up north to the province of Salta. As usual, I stayed with Sulma and her delightful family in the small town of Apolinario Saravia. Because I was there during winter vacation, several of Sulma's family members were in town, including her adorable niece you see in the above picture.
Above you see Doña Lidia, Sulma's mom, making the dough for empanadas. The filling is in the pot in the foreground. They have a gas stovetop but their only oven is wood-fired.

Sulma is an elementary school teacher and has received extensive training in CHE -- she even completed the internship in Nicaragua last year. Sadly, a local group of CHE trainers has not been able to form yet. Her sister Lucrecia and brother-in-law Gabriel have also been trained, but they moved to a different province last year due to an illness in the family. Gabriel had been the pastor of the church plant in Burela, where the CHE program was started. He and his family were also in town for the winter vacation and we discussed their plans which don't currently involve moving back to Saravia. While a group from the province of Cordoba (the Jesucristo Rey church) is still interested in helping them, without a local team CHE can't continue.

CHE consists of three basic elements: a local team of trainers, community health evangelists (CHEs), who go house-to-house to teach their neighbors, and a committee made up of locally-recognized leaders that plans big projects for the community and also selects the CHEs . The team of trainers, as the name implies, train the committee and the CHEs.

I'm not much of a baker but this year I've been making lemon bars. The wood-fired oven was a little too hot and the egg in the lemon portion did not cook evenly. They tasted good, though!

On my last day there I took a walk with Sulma and her mom. Sulma's Dad, Don Alfredo, joined us on his motorbike.

Above you see Sulma as we wait for my bus a few blocks from her house. I don't know when I'll go back there. Neither Sulma, nor the group in Cordoba, nor I have given up hope that we might be able to establish a program in Burela, but for now things are on hold.

I had a few layovers on my trip back to Buenos Aires, and spent hours at a bus station in Metan. Above you see the room I waited in -- there are shrines to the Virgin Mary at most bus and train stations. The poster in orange is informing passengers about swine flu.

Salta is a northern province, which in the southern hemisphere means that it's warmer than the rest of the country. This week was unusually cold, and it had actually snowed in several parts of the province! The Metan station is not enclosed on all sides, and since I was waiting at night -- my bus arrived around midnight-- it was really chilly. After whining to my friends in text messages, I got out my IPod and listened to some great sermons from Rob Bell.

More Travel

I'll get to writing about the training we had in Salta soon. First, here are some more travel pics:

Lumbreras: The last bus stop on our way to Apolinario Saravia.

Things to do in Lumbreras while waiting for the bus: watch pigs cross the road.

Beautiful view of the countryside -- click on the photo to see more butterflies.

What to do when arriving at your destination? Hang out...here are Silvia and Marcelo doing just that. They are from the Iglesia Jesucristo Rey (IJR) in Cordoba. Marcelo volunteers as a Resource Facilitator with LifeWind -- as an accountant he's great at micro-enterprise teaching. He's also heading the IJR missions team in their work in Salta.

...and eat! Here are Gimena, Lita, and Chichi at supper. Gimena is Pastor Gabriel's daughter -- he's the missionary pastor in Apolinario Saravia. She's given up her room multiple times to visitors, including twice to me! Lita and Chichi are both trainers from the IJR in Cordoba. The next day was the first time they facilitated lessons, and they did a great job!

Here's Lucretia with her five-year-old son Josias. Lucretia's husband is Pastor Gabriel (whose arm you see), and they live at this house in Apolinario Saravia.

Fun fact: another beverage option in Argentina is a glass with 4/5 Coke and 1/5 beer. This one is actually really good if you only sort-of-maybe-a-little like beer, and it cuts down the sweetness of the Coke. It's also nice because there's no chance of getting tipsy!

Weekend

Noelia explaining to us her group's definition of "community" at the beginning of the TOT 1 in Burela, Salta last September

I arrived in Cordoba this morning after an all-night bus trip. I went with a "full bed" bus which somehow appeared identical to the "semi-bed" I'd taken last September. Apparently there is yet a third category, "full bed 180 degrees" that I will have to try next. Let's just say it was a long night!

Tonight there is a meeting with the six of us that will be going to Burela, Salta, this weekend. The five people besides me are all from the Iglesia Jesucristo Rey here in Cordoba. I just heard some great news about this church: in spite of their intense time of transition (one of the two pastors suddenly resigned two months ago) and their lack of history of involvement in missions (only in the past year have they begun missions outreaches outside of their local area), they have just agreed to regular monthly financial support for Pastor Gabriel, the missions pastor in Burela, Salta!

Tomorrow night I travel to Metan, Salta by overnight semi-bed bus. This was the only kind that was available, and believe me, I checked! Then I take two smaller buses to get to the town of Apolinario Saravia, which is the nearest large village to Burela. Hopefully, Friday afternoon includes some sleep -- I'm still not sure where I'm staying -- and then we're doing training on Saturday. We will be continuing our lessons on the TOT1 as well as holding a workshop on family violence (see previous post). I'm very excited to go to these villages again to hear what has been happening over the past few months. My contacts there do not have internet access and so updates have been limited.

I will return sometime on Monday to Buenos Aires, hopefully getting to experience "full bed 180 degrees" on that trip!

Family Violence

Next week I will accompany a group from the Jesucristo Rey church in Cordoba to the province of Salta, where we will facilitate a workshop on family violence. With Maria Elena Mamarian's permission, we will be designing some lessons from her book Breaking the Silence: Prevention and treatment of family violence into LifeWind's LePSAS format -- Learner-centered, problem-posing, self-discovery, action-oriented, Spirit-guided. If you remember, in the villages of Burela and Apolinario Saravia in Salta last year they started talking about the serious and pervasive problem of violence in the home.

I just purchased the book today and started reading it. She frequently cites the World Health Organization and its research on this issue. Below is my translation of the anonymously written passage that starts the first chapter. Warning -- I was crying both while I read and translated it. Please pray that this workshop in Salta on Saturday, March 1, will be well-attended and be the beginning of lasting change for all in that community.

Today isn't my birthday or any other special day; we had our first disagreement last night and he said lots of cruel things to me that really offended me. But I know that he's sorry and he didn't mean those things because he sent me flowers today.

It's not our anniversary or any other special day today; last night he threw me against a wall and began to choke me. It seemed like a nightmare, but you wake up from a nightmare and know it's not real; I woke up this morning in pain and with bruises all over, but I know he's sorry because he sent me flowers today.

And it's not Valentine's Day or any other special day; last night he beat me and threatened to kill me; not even makeup or long sleeves could hide the cuts and bruises that he caused this time.

I couldn't go to work today, because I didn't want anyone to figure it out. But I know that he's sorry, because he sent me flowers today. And it wasn't even Mother's Day or any other special day. Last night, he beat me again, but this time it was much worse.

If I manage to leave him, what will I do? How can I provide for our kids by myself? What will happen if we run out of money? I'm so scared of him! But I depend on him so much that I'm afraid to leave him. But I know that he's sorry, because he sent me flowers today.

Today is a very special day. It's the day of my funeral. Last night he finally managed to kill me. He beat me to death. If only I had had the will and the strength to leave him....If I would have accepted professional help...today I wouldn't have received flowers.

Kairos

Why am I going to Argentina right now? There are definitely poorer countries, and countries with more obvious spiritual issues. So why Argentina? My stepsister Karina described this time as a “kairotic moment” for Argentina, which in rhetoric (her area of study) means a passing instant when an opening appears. According to the New Testament Greek lexicon, kairos is the time when things are brought to crisis, the opportune or seasonable time. What is going on in Argentina that makes me characterize it this way?

Several key provinces are excited and active in working for change in their communities. We have been invited to work in four key provinces: Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Salta. The first three are key because they are home to Argentina’s three largest cities. Salta is key because it is a land rich in natural resources that also has a significant indigenous population (Wichi).

In Buenos Aires the denominational barriers have fallen and churches are working together. The Libertador Church has been doing relief work in Baradero, a nearby slum, for many years, and recently began incorporating development techniques in the area. This past month, a couple from that church (Horacio and Silvia, who have prayed for 20 years to be released full-time to missions) received the go-ahead to move to Baradero to work full-time. In Cordoba a large evangelical church recently woke up to the idea of missions and is being trained to train others in transformational development. In Salta the villagers have responded to recent trainings with action: building a new form of oven, planning a village-wide event to deal with alcoholism, and requests for more training from both Christian and secular groups.

Horacio and Silvia

Fun serendipitous fact: the location for the training we did near Buenos Aires was called Centro Kairos! Here we are at the urban TOT1:

Youth

Cultural fact: at Iglesia Jesucristo Rey, one is part of the ¨youth group¨ from the age of 18 until married! This means that, at 36 years-old, I went to a youth group meeting today as a participant. I wonder -- since I am considered a youth, does this means my gray hairs will go away? Tee-hee! Below is a photo of me at least looking tall, if not particularly youthful.

Develt spoke to the youth group today about the church´s call to work with the poor, beginning in our own communities. As seems to be usual, we started gathering at 9:00 pm, had mate and pastries, started the meeting, finished at 10:30, talked for an hour, etc. -- suffice it to say it´s 1:00 am and I´m going to bed!

The village people are ready

As we share the stories of what is happening in Burela, Salta (yesterday there was a meeting of the missions team at Iglesia Jesucristo Rey among other opportunities), I contine to be amazed at how God is bringing things about. The people of the village of Burela are ready and excited about the work ahead.

Marcelo and others spoke with the ¨agentes sanitarios¨ in Burela, who are (I think) nurses paid by the government to go house to house and perform some public health work. What they told Marcelo was, ¨We need to do more than vaccinate. The majority of pregnancies we now see are among 14 - 15 year-olds!¨ They are ready to learn how to work in a more holistic way, even within a government framework. They have invited Marcelo to be a part of their semi-annual training which next occurs in December. Please pray for this opportunity.

Cultural fact: most programs in schools and churches stop for the summer, which is December through March. The new trainers in Burela are planning a ¨seed project¨for December 8, to coincide with the end of Sunday School and other programs. They are thinking of incorporating some teaching on combatting teenage drinking and domestic violence. Please pray for these plans and for the resources to carry them out.

The village of Manantial sent two people to the training last week. They took a five-hour tractor ride to come from this remote area! They are planning a seed project with the Lorena oven, a way for the villagers to use less firewood and keep the fire contained so that it does not cause burns. Please pray that they will learn how to make the oven and that they will be well-received within their village.

Please pray that a path will open to enter the different Wichi communites. Gabriel has formed a lot of relationships, but there are many obstacles. The Wichi that live in the town of Burela no longer speak Wichi and there is animosity between them and those who live in the forest. The other villagers look down on the Wichi. The Wichi look down on themselves and have been pushed down so long by others.

Speaking engagement

Very cool -- yesterday I was asked to speak at the Lopez´church. They wanted me to give my ¨testimony,¨which to them meant how I was called to missions. This was an amazing opportunity -- this church, Iglesia Jesucristo Rey (http://www.jesucristorey.org/), is 25 years old and has not yet sent out a missionary (they have given some support to one missionary over the years).

Last year, something wonderful happened -- both pastors and the church itself awoke to the idea of missions and the needs around them. They met Gabriel, the pastor in Burela, and sought ways to support his work. Next weekend they have a missions conference with several speakers from LifeWind. Yesterday I was able to give a preview: I spoke at the morning service and the evening service and spoke about holistic ministry throughout, since that is really my call. With my varied background of medicine, youth ministry, volunteering in homeless shelters and healing prayer teams, I was instantly attracted to the way that LifeWind operates.

Iglesia Jesucristo Rey seems like a great church. Marcelo asked if I thought I would start going there, and I think I will -- I didn´t want to ¨church shop,¨ and what I was looking for was basically just a church with sound doctrine. I have now been there twice and have really enjoyed both the teaching and the fellowship.

Fun fact: Argentines, at least the evangelicals in Cordoba, go to church on Sunday night, not Sunday morning. Iglesia Jesucristo Rey´s service starts at 7:30 pm and ends around 9:30. I did also speak at the morning service (10:30), but there weren´t very many people there. This is good because at the morning service I had pictures and an outline to work with, and I discovered that I cannot speak extemporaneously in Spanish! When I get lost it takes me several sentences to recover. So, I wrote out the entire talk for the evening service.

Cultural fact: pastors are not paid by the congregation. They tend to have full-time jobs and are pastors on the side. Apparently there is some bad history in this country of pastors using the congregation´s donations to enrich themselves, so it seems they have seriously responded the other way. The two pastors of Iglesia Jesucristo Rey are both doctors! There are a lot of professionals in the church, and it is really exciting to see them being mobilized to help their community and those around them.