What
follows is a report on how God is moving in the midst of
the worst of times in the South American country of
Argentina, reported by Missionary Rocky Grams (Director
of the Assemblies of God Bible College. It is amazing
how God is using the situation to draw people to Him! In
the middle of hardships God is using the very hardships
as instruments to make Jesus know and to bring people to
salvation.
In Awe in Argentina - June 3, 2002
Succinct and up-to-date testimonies of God's powerful
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In the midst of despair, the Church shines forth
What pain we have felt in our hearts during the last few
months. Watching a great and noble people pretty much
come apart at the seams is so difficult. The news
magazine Noticias states it this way: "Argentina is a
devastated country, without self-esteem and having lost
its way...a nation that does not believe in itself is a
self-destructive nation ."
Feeling defrauded, angry, with their dreams trampled by
corruption, many are looking for a way out—emigration.
Others, feeling swallowed up by the crisis are even
thinking about suicide.
In the midst of this volatile situation, Christians are
showing that the Light of Jesus makes an enormous
difference in life.
Company executives are walking desperately into our
churches with suicide on their minds—seeking help. And
they’re finding it in Christ’s power and in the people’s
love and understanding.
Record enrollment despite the crisis (Bible School)
God calls young people to His purposes in the midst of
crisis. With so much of people’s money frozen up in the
banks and an unemployment rate of over 30% in some
provinces, we were ready for the worst—a major drop in
student enrollment. But God is the Source! 207 resident
students are in the Classic Program, we had 86 resident
students in the Intensive Program and have 254 students
on the weekends. The total? 547!
"Couldn’t hand in my homework —we were robbed"
That’s the note that was handed in by a couple of
students recently. Sounds like a very far-out excuse on
the order of "my pet crocodile ate it." But at this time
it is a good reason with all of the red tape involved in
compensating for being victimized in this way. In the
last four weeks, various students have been robbed.
Today, Monday, was testimony day at River Plate Bible
Institute. Eduardo and Ana González were coming home
from church when a man with a steel pipe accosted them.
Since they only had 5 pesos—just over a dollar—the man
took Eduardo’s watch and sports coat. He told Ana to
open her purse and could not believe there was no money
in it. Out of spite, he told her to hand over her Bible.
She refused and he took off. Later she wondered if she
had done right refusing to give up her Bible—but it was
her first reaction to that demand.
Last Monday Karina and Debora gave testimony to having
been accosted at gunpoint early in the morning, after
they got off the bus. However, they were so sleepy when
it happened, they just said "No, we have nothing to give
you" and ran across the street in front of the oncoming
traffic and got away.
Matías, a graduate, has been helping us film a video of
God’s work here three days last week. While he was hard
at work, a thief was also "hard at work" holding up the
employee at his photo shop—three days in a row.
One Christian couple continued to live in a ghetto-like
area despite God’s abundant blessing on their lives.
They had neighbors who had trained their children up to
steal and had given two of their sons exactly the same
name to confuse the judicial process. This family broke
into their house to steal so many times that they
finally decided to move to an apartment and transform
their former house into a feeding-program base. Today
some of those very children of the neighbors are being
fed and kept alive by their former robbery victims. That
certainly is turning the other cheek!
A lady gave testimony at our church Avance Cristiano,
recently, that she had been able to quickly recuperate
from the bullet wound she had received in a robbery.
Wow!
There are two favorite topics when we Christians get
together—the latest testimonies of God’s power and the
latest robberies. Everyone we know has been robbed at
some time or other. The interesting part of all of this
is that we do not live in fear—extreme caution, yes, but
not fear. Also, we are at ease and joyous, despite the
"spoiling of our goods."
Children kidnapping children for $150 ransom. It’s
happening. "The kidnap express"—pets being kidnapped and
held for ransom. Creativity adjusts to the times.
Though our hearts are heavy and we wish we could report
on a widespread repentance movement among crooks and
corrupt officials, we do see God at work and that His
church is shining forth. One very interesting aside is
that many of the thieves accept Christ when they finally
end up behind bars. We have a congregation "behind bars"
that has 1,200 members. And the leaders pray that their
fellow-believers will not be let out of jail too soon—so
they can be properly discipled.
A teenager trying to steal a bicycle was shot so many
times in the legs by the father of the child riding it
that he had both legs amputated. Who visited him in the
hospital? Christians who are showing him love despite
his guilty-as-charged situation. And he is responding to
their love.
God is giving us laughter in this time
Another student shared that she had always been wary of
people’s accounts of the demonstrations of God’s power.
But she stated "I laughed so hard at church until 3:30
A.M. this weekend. I have never laughed so heartily in
all my life—for an entire hour." When she mentioned it
with some embarrassment to one of the church leaders—he
answered that he had no problem believing it because the
pastor’s daughter had laughed for three hours that same
week!
The student’s comment: "It’s a manifestation of the Holy
Spirit."
When so many people are full of venom and anger,
laughter sure stands out as a sign from God!
"He gave me back the desire to live"
This was the expression of one of the people touched by
God’s grace through the students’ lives.
Consternation in the Constitution Train Station
On Saturday in my Freshman Evangelism class, one of the
92 students shared this testimony. The Classic Program
students had gone down to one of the main train stations
to share their faith in Christ. Due to the very
desperate situation the nation is facing economically,
there are many homeless people living in the station. As
these young people opened their hearts concerning God’s
love, one of them noticed an unkempt man standing there
in an extremely dirty shirt—tattered and worn and full
of the stench of urine. The student, Damián Gonzalez,
had recently been given a new shirt and was wearing it
that day. "Give him your shirt," he sensed God say.
Immediately, he took his shirt off and handed it to the
wanderer. The man took it and began to weep. As e held
it he began to take off his own shirt—then and handed it
to Damián, who had been standing there bare-chested.
Then the student proceeded to put on the stench-filled
shirt and hugged the man. Passers-by were so moved they
wept at such a demonstration of love. They knelt right
there and with tears accepted Christ as Savior!
Let me tell you about your harvest
The first Saturday of the month is Missions day for the
weekend students. Walter, graduate and Argentine
missionary with his wife in Mozambique shared how the
students’ offerings had produced fruit. The Saturday
students had been the only ones to respond with a
generous offering to his plea for help to purchase land
for a church.
The owner of the land, a Moslem, had refused to sell the
land for use as an evangelical church. The
congregation’s pastor suggested Walter go and speak with
him since he is white. The missionary walked up in his
normal African get-up, including a little hat. The man,
enthusiastically took him down to the notary public to
the seal the deal. When they were drawing up the papers,
he found out it was for an Assembly of God church and
became very angry. But the transaction had been signed
and he could not back out.
The fledgling church needed water, so they dug a
well—and found a spring! People all over town started
digging wells, but none of them found water. The irate
religious man went over to demand they return his
property. "Would you like us to deliver the water to
you?" was the missionary’s question. They began
delivering water to the church’s neighbors. Today in the
church that in 1998 had five people, 180 new believers
worship—and the deacon is the former land owner!
So many testimonies, don’t know how to choose. We can
barely keep up with all that is going on. Are we bored?
Not at all. Challenged! Surely.
Rocky Grams, Missionary to Argentina
Director
- Instituto Biblico del Rio de La Plata |
