Jesus and living faith...

A week ago Megan and I went to the National Cathedral in Plaza de Mayo. We toured the church building, which is built to a grand scale. The paintings are by Flemish master Ruebens, each capilla is dedicated to various saints, and in the middle capilla on the right side is the tomb of San Martin, the liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

In the entrance of the catedral, to the left, is this statue of Jesus. He is hanging on a cross, recently deceased, and lit by an unnatural light. His legs are a rusted patina, where people have grabbed hold of him while praying.

Yet I often wonder if people only see Christ this way, as a figure who died and has little impact on the rest of their lives. Most Argentines claim to be Catholic, but it is nominal. Although almost everyone claims to be Christian, few people understand that this means their lives should be different. The have head knowledge (and sometimes not even that), but the heart knowledge is absent. There is very little in the way of discipleship among the general population.

One of the comments that the Caballito iglesia hears most often is, "You people are different. You actually CARE about people and want to know us, and you want us to know about God." There is something attractive about their love and grace towards people that is infectious.

La Iglesia de Cristo de Caballito believes that Jesus didn't (and still doesn't) just hang on a tree, but that he is alive and well, at the right hand of the Father in heaven. That causes us to try to live differently in our world. How amazing would it be if we would ALL live with the realization that God died for us but didn't stay dead! So, our Christian lives should also be alive and active!

First update on the field...

This week has been rather interesting, and INCREDIBLY busy. We arrived on Tuesday morning, and it has been non-stop ever since. We came to Jonathan's apartment to drop off our stuff, and then we began looking around Caballito a little bit. That evening he had a welcome to Argentina party for us with some of the young adults of the church (about fifteen people were there.) On Wednesday we went downtown to the Universidad de Buenos Aires, and we registered for language school. We had to take a written test first, then have a ten minute "interview" in spanish with one of the language teachers. Megan and I were both placed in Beginner Level B, kind of like a second semester class. (Both of us wrote well, but had a hard time with verbal comprehension.) We then went exploring for a little while, walking around Avenidas Florida and Sante F
e, visiting a bookstore, shopping for a couple of necessities, and then visiting the national cathedral and the Tomb of San Martin (the Liberator of Argentina and Chile.) Megan wasn't feeling well that evening, so she stayed home while I went to the youth meeting. The singing was amazing, and I was even able to make a statement in the Bible study. I felt pretty amazed at how quickly I was "taken in" by the group. They are very sweet people. That evening I traveled on the subway here by myself for the first time.

On Thursday we had an end meeting with the current LST team and discussed handing over some of their students. Then Megan and I found a bank on our own, withdrew money from the ATM, and went exploring around Caballito. We walked back to Jonathan's apartment, took a quick nap, then went out for cafes y medias lunas (coffee time with coffee and croissants.) Then we went to the Bible study at the Valdez's. However, after spending time with one of my future students, Gabriel, we didn't get home until after 1:30, and we didn't get in bed until almost 3. But that is ok. We are sleeping in right now!

We begin reading with LST readers on Monday. We are going to read for five hours a day while in language school, reading from 3 in the afternoon until 8. That was the Valdez's suggestion. We are also beginning to explore the city, and we are having a blast. We are loving the people we have met at church, and are excited to be a part of the work here.

We can't wait to start language school and begin having a deeper understanding of the people that we are working with.

God bless you guys. I am attaching some pictures so you can see what all we've been up to. We love you! Talk to you all soon!

Updates and Prayer Requests

¡Buenas noches! Esperamos que están bien, y estamos agradecido para ustedes y la Iglesia de Cristo de Northside. Es difícil a creer que salimos en tres días. ¡El vez va rápido! Amamos Northside, y estamos agradecido para su amor y su apoyo. No podemos esperar llegar allá, y estamos emocionados estar en Buenos Aires. Sabemos que el Señor está haciendo muchas cosas buenas en Argentina. ¡El SEÑOR es grande, y hay no otro!

This was a message I spoke to the Missions Oversight Team at Northside. It might be a little rough (I wrote it without any aids except my dictionary), but I hope it conveyed our love and support for them.

We leave the country in two days; that is hard to believe! In the last week we've had three great meals with friends, participated in guys/girls night before a wedding, been to our friends' wedding in Wichita, and spent a great dessert meeting with Northside's MOT. We are excited, and apprehensive, and everything in between. Hard to believe this time is already upon us.

I will post a few pictures from the last few days later tonight. However, I wanted to drop you a few prayer requests:

1. Pray for us as we finish packing. We've packed all of our clothes and supplies into four suitcases and two carry-on bags. Pray for us as we finalize all of those decisions!
2. Pray for safe travel. Enough said. =)
3. Pray that God will continue to open hearts and lives in Buenos Aires. A current LST reader is being baptized on Sunday morning (praise God). Pray that more hearts and lives will be touched.
4. Pray for our transition: We are going to hit the ground running, and have to register for language school, find an apartment, get a cell phone, find the market, and figure out life, as well as transition well with the current short term LST team that is there. Pray that all of those things go smoothly. (We are going to be seriously swamped!)
5. Pray for our first time with the Caballito church. We are excited to finally meet these fellow brothers and sisters; pray for great friendships and relationships to be built over these next few months.
6. Pray a prayer of thanksgiving! We have finished our fundraising; God is good! If you want to continue giving, please contact Megan or Daniel for more information.

We thank God for each one of you, for your prayers and support. We love you! We'll post more soon!

In Christ,
Daniel and Megan

10 Days to go...

Hey everyone, sorry it has been so long since our last posting. A lot has been happening. We currently are in Manhattan, KS, where Megan is the matron of honor in a wedding. I was a groomsman in a wedding two weeks ago in Lawrence, as well. (Congrats to Daniel and Lindsey and Austin and Amy!) We also have one more wedding to go before we leave for Argentina.

We recently returned from 8 days in Memphis, spent visiting my family. We stopped on the way to Memphis to celebrate our two-year anniversary! It's hard to believe it has been two years! Time flies...

A lot has been going on these past few weeks:

• Daniel closed out his ministry with Hawks for Christ in Lawrence, and has transitioned to working for Northside before we leave
• Megan has finished her work in Lawrence as well, and is spending time with her family before we go
• We closed out our apartment, and packed up everything
• We've had two weddings, with one more on the way
• We've traveled to Memphis, Birmingham, Manhattan, Lawrence, etc.
• We have continued fundraising (only $600-700 or so to go!)
• We've continued our language training and learning
• Daniel has been working with Northside, teaching Bible classes, preaching, and leading singing
• Etc.

Hard to believe that we leave for Argentina in 10 days! We are excited, and incredibly nervous. It has been hard saying goodbye to our family and friends. We are having to say bye to people who mean a lot to us, and that has been hard. It has also been difficult to pack up all of our things for storage. We are also realizing that this is real, and we will be in Buenos Aires soon...

Things to pray about:

• We had an apartment fall through, so we are back to square one. Pray that God will lead us to the right place to live.
  
• Language learning: Although we enjoy Spanish, it is also difficult. Pray for our retention
• Pray for the Caballito congregation
• Pray for the LST readers we will be meeting in a few days. Pray that God will continue opening hearts to his word.
• Pray for the rest of our fundraising efforts

Thanks for your love and support! More on Monday!

Getting Ready for Argentina

This is Daniel's second paragraph in Spanish. It might not be correct grammatically, but he wanted to share with you his language skills to this point:

Buenos días, mis amigos! Espero que están bien. Salimos en cuarenta días! Vamos a salir los Estados Unidos en 8 de augosto, y vamos a llegar en 9 de augosto. Estamos emocionado estar en Buenos Aires y conocer la iglesia en Caballito. Ellas son nuestros hermanos y hermanas en Cristo, y estamos agredecidos para ellos. Amamos ustedes, y estamos agredecidos para ustedes. El Señor bendiga ustedes.

English translation: Good morning, my friends! I hope that you are well. We are leaving in forty days! We are going to leave the United States on August 8th, and we are going to arrive on August 9th. We are excited to be in Buenos Aires and to meet/get to know the Caballito church. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are grateful for them. We love you, and we are grateful for you. The LORD bless you all.

Also, I just wanted to share a few pictures with you from Workcamp and a few other places. We have been with Northside in a number of capacities (Family Camp, Workcamp, and now as missionaries in residence.) Here are a few pics from our time with them.

Daniel and Megan Update

Dear friends, hermanos y hermanas en Cristo...

It is hard to believe, but we are 41 days until we leave. Time has truly flown by. I have stopped working for Southside, and we are currently working for Northside in Wichita, our sponsoring congregation. We will be with them until we leave.

My first Sunday was full of "work." I led singing for Northside, which was a blast. I also had lunch with some of the church members, and it was great to build those relationships.

This week I am working on a number of things:

• I am doing Spanish for two hours a day
• I am teaching each adult Bible class at Northside once, so I am working on lessons
• I am also preaching next Sunday night, and I am working on that sermon
• I am working on a number of things for Argentina: health insurance, three month goals, and communicating with people in BA
• I am working on our first mission report, and I am hoping to send it next week

Keep you eyes out for this report. We can't wait to share with you! I will post some pictures tomorrow. Have a blessed day!

Daniel's First Paragraph in Spanish

Hey guys, I hope you are doing well! I am attaching my first paragraph in Spanish to this blog. I was asked by Jonathan Hanegan to write a paragraph so he could check my Spanish. I also sent it to my friend Jonathan Teel, who grew up in Buenos Aires. Here is the paragraph I wrote, and then there will be an edited paragraph below it.

Hola, mi amigo! Como esta usted? (Sorry, I only know the formal side of Spanish to this point.) Estamos bien; cansado, pero bien. Estamos entusiasmados llegar en Buenos Aires. Vamos a salir en el ocho de augosto, y vamos a llegar en el nueve. Llegamos en sesenta y seis dias! Esperamos que ustedes estan bien, y que Dios esta bendiciendo ustedes en muchas cosas. (Cuando llegamos queremos a ir a un asado!)

Sorry there are no accents, but this computer isn't set up with a Spanish language option. (Using the work computer.) Here is the edited version:

Hola, mi amigo! Como esta usted? Estamos bien; cansados, pero bien. Estamos entusiasmados para llegar a Buenos Aires. Vamos a salir en el ocho de augosto, y vamos a llegar en el nueve. Llegamos en sesenta y seis dias! Esperamos que ustedes estan bien, y que Dios esta bendiciendo ustedes en muchas cosas. (Cuando llegamos queremos ir a un asado!)

I feel this is a huge milestone for me. Granted, I've been able to do this in two other languages previously (Latin and Greek), but for me this seems like a huge step. I love learning Spanish, and I am excited to be able to use it and be surrounded with it when we arrive in Argentina.

Keep our language learning in your prayers. We want to be able to communicate in the "heart language" of the people of Argentina, and we believe that God will reward our efforts. Pray that we won't grow too frustrated and that we can make the right linguistic connections.

God bless you guys! Thanks for your prayers!