Ministry in a Nutshell: Argentina

Our time in Mendoza, Argentina has come to a close. This month, we were with our entire squad of 50 at a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base. Youth With a Mission is a missions organization that exists in over 130 countries. They work with people of all ages, and with ministries ranging from church planting to school-based ministry. It was a little chaotic this month, because we didn’t have a consistent ministry or contact every day. Here is a quick rundown of what we did for ministry this month:

For two days, our team worked with the ropes course and sports ministry that YWAM does at their base. They host field trips, summer camps, church groups, etc. throughout the year. One day, we worked with 80 first graders, playing games with them like Tag and Four Corners. The next day, we had two different groups – one was a special needs class and one was a group of high school freshman. We helped them with the high ropes course and team building activities.

RJ playing with the kids.

The first weekend in Argentina, we were supposed to go to a soup kitchen, but last minute we traveled to the middle of the desert to el campo, to be with the Huarpe tribe. (I wrote more about this in another blog – Why Am I Here?)

 Vicenta and Eulogio, two native Huarpe people. Vicenta made that beautiful doily by hand.

For two days, our team went to local schools and worked with kindergarten classes. These were public schools, so we weren’t allowed to speak about God or Christianity, but we were able to talk to them about values and character traits. We did a skit on bullying, taught them words in English, and played games with them like Red Light, Green Light. The area where the schools were located is very poor, so the mission with working with the students is prevention and giving them a good start to their lives.

Sana (our translator) and myself talking to the kindergarteners

Every Friday, our team was assigned to kitchen duty in the YWAM kitchen. They provided all of our meals for us, which was awesome, and each day, one of the seven teams was assigned to help prepare and serve. The days were long with chopping and washing dishes, but it was a fun time listening to music and hanging out with our team. I also learned how to fry naan!

 The naan that I fried for our lunch one day 🙂

We also worked with several churches and youth groups. One Saturday, we went to an outdoor market and walked around holding signs that said Abrazos Gratis (Free Hugs). We talked to vendors and shoppers, gave out free hugs, and prayed for people. The next day, we went to a huge park in Mendoza and walked around praying for people. We had a good conversation with three ladies about the differences between Catholicism and Protestant Christianity. The next Saturday, we went to a youth group meeting. For the first hour, we did a skit on The Prodigal Son, and played Human Rock Paper Scissors with elementary aged kids. The next hour, we gave our testimonies to teenagers and young adults. Then, RJ and I sang worship songs in Spanish while the rest of our team prayed with the youth. It was incredible to see teenage boys crying and being prayed over. There were even a few young adults who accepted Christ for the first time. It was the best night we had in Argentina. Our last night of ministry, we traveled an hour and a half to a church, where a few of our team gave their testimonies, we sang three worship songs in Spanish, and I preached my first “sermon” on Esther. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I think it was well-received.

Team Ablaze with the youth group.

Me preaching my sermon on Esther with Vanessa (our translator)

We got a wide range of ministry experience this month, and I am grateful for all the YWAM staff who spent time translating for us, discipling us, and laughing with us this month. It was inspiring seeing them live out full-time ministry in Argentina.

 I’m not going to post a separate blog about Argentine culture, so here is a quick list of some things I noticed this month:

• they eat dinner at like 10:00pm

• they drink “mate”, an herbal tea – this is their way of relating to people – everyone takes their turn drinking out of the same cup

my teammate, Averi, drinking her mate

• between 2-5pm almost every business is closed for “siesta”

• you greet people by giving a kiss on each cheek

• there must not be laws about carseats and seat belts, because I saw many babies riding on laps in the front seat of cars