News from Argentina

June 2005

Dear co-laborers in the harvest:

I wanted to send a few words of greeting this morning. We had a great day in the house of the Lord Sunday. Pastor Diego preached in the morning, and I preached in the evening. Since it was my birthday, they sang to me in the morning service, and for the first time ever, I was presented with a beautiful floral group.

We rejoiced with a full church morning and evening. I preached in the evening on "Written With Purpose," based on things written before for our learning and consolation. It was a special blessing to me as it highlighted so much of the Old Testament and its value in interpreting the New Testament. The extra blessing was that a Jewish man, for whom we have been praying for some time, came to the service. His wife and son have been saved, and we often invite him to attend, but the Lord brought him just at the right time for a message that tied the Old and New Testaments together. The presentation of the Gospel was clear, but he did not respond in the invitation. I did visit with him during a fellowship time they had for my
80th birthday after the service, and he said he was glad he came. Pray with me for Daniel.

On Saturday I was invited to the home of a man for whom I have been praying for some time, but have not until now been able to do more than just hello and goodbye. He is in deep depression, and needed help. Again, the Lord made it possible for me to show him that God loved him and that there were no solutions that do not include recognition of what God requires of his creation. It was well received, and he thanked me much for coming to his home. I trusted to see him in church Sunday, but he didn't come.  Pray for Alejandro!

I was honored with the privilege of being the speaker at an informal Pastor's Retreat organized by Missionary Steven Thornton and held at our Youth Camp site. It was the first exclusively for pastors, and they came from Uruguay, and all over Argentina. I taught on Spiritual Leadership, using Microsoft PowerPoint projections. The brethren felt it was a blessing. Most important, I believe, were the hours spent in fellowship and sharing the blessings and burdens with one another. Everyone was convinced that we must do this again.     [Click on the photo to enlarge it.]

Thanks much for your prayers.

Jim Strickland