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Cachi!
Laying adobe  | Cachi is a town of about
8,000 inhabitants
high in the Andes in the North of Argentina. About a year and a half ago Marcelo Brondo, a pastor at Centro Crecer went with his wife Nancy and little girl Pricila as missionaries out of our church to minister to the people of Cachi. They have been renting a house since their arrival, but the ministry was already growing to the point that they needed a place of their own. A church in the Kansas City area, Millcreek Community Church, partnered with Centro Crecer in helping to send the Brondo family, and in helping to buy the land and materials necessary to get started on the pastoral house. The Brondos were able to purchase enough land so that they will be able to build a ministry center next door when the funds come available. In late March Mill Creek sent a team to help with the first phase of construction; pouring the structural concrete and laying the adobe walls. Maria Silvia and I slogged north with another member of Centro Crecer, Marcelo Vera, to help out with the work and the translating. At 7,480 feet, the work seemed harder than usual for our oxygen starved cells, but the team worked a solid 8 to 9 hours a day with great enthusiasm and no complaining. The 40 lb adobe brick construction, not common in Boise, KC, nor in Cordoba, presented an initial challenge, but one which was quickly overcome by the indominable work ethic of the group. In five short days we had completed the majority of the houses“ exterior and interior walls, and as usually happens, relationships were constructed and the kingdom of God advanced through their testimony in the town, which will go well beyond the years that the Adobe holds up.
(click on photo to see album)
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Cordoba Cup 2010
Man's Gravest Problem
Cordoba Cup  | In mid July we threw our yearly city wide soccer and volleyball tournament called the "Cordoba Cup". We had 750 kids from all over Cordoba, and other towns nearby, take part in a day long tournament. At lunch we gathered them all together to listen to a talk from Fernando Soriano, an ex drug addict with HIV who has been changed and rescued by God's love. His message was simple and clear. "I have AIDs" he proclaimed "but you have a problem much worse, your sin". He spoke of how he had recieved forgivness for his sin, and because of Jesus Christ could hope for a day where is broken body would be healed and in the presence of God in heaven. He spoke to them a message of hope, change, and love through Jesus Christ. The kids were extremely receptive to his message, all 750 sitting somberly listening to his powerful story. Around 40 kids raised their hands indicating that they had prayed to receive Christ, and many others spoke with Fernando afterward indicating that they had decided to change with Jesus' help.
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Stay Tuned
Future Website
Well aware of the difficulties we have in communicating on a continuous basis, we have decided to kick up our communication a notch and start a web-site/blog. We have the domain name already reserved and are in the creative process of creating the web-site. We hope to launch by mid October. We will send an e-mail to all of you as soon as we have things set up and ready!
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| Greetings!
Hello again! We are happy to be able to report to you that there is much to report. Maybe even perhaps more than usual given the time frame we are reporting on, and the packed schedule we“ve had in the meantime. We are so grateful that God keeps us busy and not just for busy“s sake, but in being a part of His kingdom building here in Cordoba. Enjoy! |
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The Cordoba Youth Project
Launch! Ready Set....Portable Youth Center  |
Four months ago the Cordoba Youth Project was really just a dream, and a burning conviction about what God wanted to do in our neighborhood to stem and reverse the slow destruction of the youth through the regeneration found in the gospel. Towards the end of April we received word that we been given the funds necessary to begin. All of the sudden our dreams met the freedom to act on them, the tipping point of a flood of activity to build, prepare, launch, and establish the Cordoba Youth Project.
Two teams from the U.S., one from Missouri and another from Idaho, came and helped us build and launch the youth center. We purchased materials to make volleyball nets and skate ramps, we ordered professional grade basketball hoops to be made, we ordered a sound system to be brought down by a team from the U.S., we bought skate equipment, a Foosball table, and a trailer to haul it all.
We launched on May 22nd after a long week of preparation. Our hopes had been to start out a more low profile being that it was our first time, a kind of trial run. To our surprise we had between 100-150 kids come from all over the neighborhood. We spent four hours with kids we would never have had contact with otherwise. It was a complete success!
Our second event took place on Saturday June 19th. We handed out around 5,000 invitations and anticipated more kids from other parts of Cordoba as well. Our own kids got much more involved in the second activity many inviting their friends for the first time. Over the course of the night we estimate that between 200-250 kids passed through the park and took a part in our activities many of them return visitors from our previous event. The capstone was an evangelistic drama presented by the team from Bridgepoint Church to an audience of 200 un-churched kids.
This last Saturday, Sept. 18th, was our third 5th event, and our third in the same park. Many of the kids came back and we are already developing a relationship with them. We are blown away to already see fruit in such a short time. The kids LOVE the activity, and complain when we have to wrap it up. The adults in the neighborhood thank us for providing a safe place for the kids. We are making a name for ourselves in the neighborhood, and we hope that through that influence we can lift the Name of names, Jesus Christ our Lord.
We have had a very successful start, but we know we have only just begun. In the next few months we have various goals which will help us to completely establish the Cordoba Youth Project. We want to: Finish building the youth center (lighting system, trailer containing walls, maintenance), do one youth center activity per month before school gets out in December, and partner with other ministries in bring the youth center to their neighborhood, save to buy a vehicle to haul the youth center to different parts of the country to assist the church plants which are out of Centro Crecer.
(Click on photo to see video)
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Volunteer Worker Spotlight
Douglas Barros Groh
Douglas at our Youth Celebration BBQ Fundraiser | Douglas Barros Groh
"I'm in a Bible Study at my school" said Dan Masters, the missionaries kid with whom I lived during my year internship at Centro Crecer. "What!" I exclaimed in surprise. While student Bible studies in the public schools in the United States are a challenge, they are ten fold the difficulty in Argentina where being an evangelical is tantamount at times to being in some bizarre sect. "Yeah, I know!" Dan returned his eyes wide as if he were the first to present to me the newest i-product from Apple. "My friend Douglas started it, and we already have six guys" said Dan filling in my obvious silent questions. "And what do you guys do?", I eagerly prodded, engaged by such a bold step of faith. Dan proceeded to lay out their structure: open chat (usually consciously spiritually themed by Douglas), small devotion led by Douglas or one of the other guys, prayer requests, then prayer. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, but the leadership that it exhibited, in such a hostile environment to the gospel surprised me. I was intrigued to meet this Douglas and find out what made him tick.
When I returned to Argentina three years later to begin working full time as a youth missionary at Centro Crecer, to my pleasant surprise Douglas had begun to attend our church and our youth group. The year I entered as youth pastor I began to observe Him and his interactions with our kids. He had a potent mix of characteristics which made me understand why he was able to lead such a bold Bible study in a public school in Argentina. He had a down-to-earth understanding of where our kids were coming from, what made them tick, and what their basic emotional needs were. He also had a firm understanding and commitment to God's will, and a life of integrity that exemplified his commitment. He was a natural leader. Shortly after I arrived he asked me if he could be a volunteer leader, and I didn't hesitate to say yes.
Douglas, in the last couple of years as a leader, has been an invaluable part of our team. He is responsible, creative, and sacrificial. He is very careful with how he lives his life, seeking to please God, and to be an example to the kids in our group. Douglas has a deep passion for Cordoba's youth. Although he is a partner in his family's tool and construction supply business, and is studying for his business management degree, he has rarely ever missed an activity or leadership meeting, and always comes with energy and new ideas.
Douglas feels that God will use him in a bi-vocational way to minister to the adolescents of Argentina. He feels called to some day lead a youth ministry as a youth pastor. We are thankful for how God has used Douglas in our team. Please pray for Douglas as he finishes his thesis for his business management degree, and as he seeks God's will for the future.
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Smaller, Closer
Instituting Small Groups
"Grupo Crecer" Small Group  | In May we followed our church“s lead and instituted small groups in our youth ministry. Instead of holding them during the week, we found a way to make them a part of our classic weekend program. At least two weeks a month we do our regular schedule with a couple of games, worship, and then instead of a talk we divide into the groups. We have noticed that the kids who were not as connected before, espcially the new visitors and un-churched kids, started to feel like the group was theirs. The kids also seem to be interacting and internalizing the teaching more. We seek to generate discussion and develop skills in interpreting and understanding the Biblical text and that seems to be hitting home in a different way than the sermon format. We havn't totally done away with the talk or sermon format, we have just added an element which seems to meet needs we were previously unable to meet. |
Missions Trips
Article Subtitle
Evangelistic drama  | Mizzou: Dan Masters, through his campus ministry at the University of Missouri organized a group of 8 including himself a campus missionary, and 6 of his friends. They came mid May and were key in preparing and launching the first Portable Youth Center event. They also helped raise funds for our youth camp by making locro, and decorating for our 25 de Mayo (Argentina Independence Day). Bridgepoint Church: In mid June I had the privilege of my home and sending church, Bridgepoint from Boise Idaho, come with a large group of 27. Led by my mentor and friend Keith Harrington (long time youth pastor at Bridgepoint) they came to see and work along side our ministry in Cordoba. The group consisted of about half high school students, and half adults and youth volunteer leaders. They interacted with our kids taking a part in a number of activities: English conversational activity, World Cup evangelistic event, building skate ramps, cleaning and painting the church, handing out fliers, and putting on another portable youth center event. One would think that 27 people would be a logistical nightmare, but it went smoother than I could have possibly imagined due to their positive attitude and servants heart. Life Connection Church: Paul and Sarah Jeffries (Sam Master“s son-in-law and daughter) headed up a trip from their church in Independence Missouri with a group of 8, including a mother and her 8 year-old child. They bought shoes and took a trip to La Rinconada, y poor rural area in the northern part of the province of Cordoba, to hand them out to the children in the many small country schools. This is another area where our church is sending missionaries out of our church to start a new work. The kids were very happy to receive the gift, and the team was able to help with some of the construction project on the pastoral house which is halfway done. They also took part in planning and preparing a discipleship day for our youth group. Our kids LOVED the activity and we noticed more unity and spiritual growth as a result. Gary and Heather Pauley: As I write this Gary, the teaching pastor from Mill Creek Community Church, and his daughter Heather are packing their bags to go back to the States after a full week of ministry here in Cordoba. Gary was our keynote speaker for our missions conference at Centro Crecer this year. Gary is not a stranger to Centro Crecer. He has kept up a busy lunch schedule meeting with the many friends he has made down here, and encouraging them in their faith. Heather has had an impact on our group as well. She helped create and plan the girls tea activity for the girls in your youth group called "The weight of a heart". Along with Maria Silvia“s teaching she gave a testimony and challenged the girls to find their worth in Christ. She also took part in a Conversational English activity and helped organize and label all of our Portable youth Center equipment. |
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This last season in ministry has been an immense blessing. We are spectators to the greatest work in the universe, the redeeming hand of God in the lives of teenagers. We hope this latest update has helped you be in on the work you are such an essential part of. My dream would be able to take each of you on a personal tour of the spiritual landscape God has been sculpting here in Cordoba in the last 3 years, and you are all certainly invited to come down and take me up on that! Until then we wend you our gratitude for your faithful support of us as missionaries to Argentina's youth!
Blessings,
Sasha and Maria Silvia Rasmussen
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