Exalted among the nations: Christmas and Campamento

Hello everyone! First of all, I want to apologize that it's been almost 2 months since I've updated this blog! Our schedules have been crazy these past couple of months as summer has begun and we are all out of our normal campus routines. During the first part of December, the student activity on the Agronomy campus started winding down as students finished up classes and solely came to campus to take final exams. Ministry here is so tough during exam weeks since students do not live on campus like in the States--in fact, many live 1 or 2 hours away by train! We focused on deepening relationships with Christan and non-Christian contacts we already had, aiming to make a clear presentation of the Gospel to any contacts who had not heard it yet.

God gave me the opportunity to have a wonderful conversation with a girl I met on campus through one of our student leaders in Vida Estudiantil (Campus Crusade for Christ in Argentina). Her name is Aldana and I believe she is very close to accepting Christ. She has been influenced not only by Catholicism, as she grew up going to Catholic school, but also by many Eastern philosophies and religions. We talked about God being a personal God, instead of an ambiguous "energy", like many students here believe. As we sat in the middle of McDonald's, I told her to look around at all the people socializing around us and asked, "How evident it is that we are social creatures who thrive on relationship? Wouldn't it make since that our Creator be the same way?" The biggest hang-up for her and many other students here is that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to God. When I showed her what Christ said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me" she told me she had no idea that he ever claimed that. Please pray that God would allow me to have more conversations with Aldy and that she would surrender her life to Christ, her loving Savior and Creator.

Christmas in Argentina was wonderful but HOT. Though my roommates and I blasted American Christmas music 24/7 for the entire month of December in our apartment, it really didn't seem like Christmas, to be honest! I celebrated Christmas Eve Argentine-style with Maria Sol, one of the female student leaders in Vida Estudiantil. Not only do they count down Christmas Day and make a toast at midnight, but they set off fireworks all night long, like it's New Years or something! :) Christmas Day was spent with my STINT team as we exchanged secret santa gifts and opened gifts from home. I felt so loved as I opened so many packages sent from friends and family in the States!

And then came December 27th...when all the craziness began. That day, my STINT team and I all headed off to Cordoba, Argentina in an 11-hour overnight bus ride for a one-week national Vida Estudiantil staff conference, immediately followed by a one-week national student leadership conference, immediately followed by a 2-day trip to Cordoba to visit the family I lived with when I studied abroad there in 2009, immediately followed by a week of vacation in the south of Argentina. Whew!

The national Vida Estudiantil staff retreat was such a relaxing time and a great opportunity to get to know the campus directors and their families from all over Argentina. It was so exciting and eye-opening to learn about all God is doing on college campuses all over the country. Once the 250 students arrived for the leadership conference, called Campamento, all relaxation ended and craziness began! Between morning and evening sessions, praise and worship, volleyball and soccer tournaments, personal devotional times, a day-long evangelistic outreach, workshops, and breakout groups, we all definitely stayed busy! I had the privilege of helping lead worship, lead a breakout group, and direct one of the night sessions, so though I didn't get much sleep, I would have to say that the week of Campamento qualifies as my favorite week in Argentina so far. Though all three of my leadership responsibilities were challenging and intimidating at first, it was so exciting to see God stretch, grow, and use me mightily in all of them. I especially loved the conversations that I had with two girls that week, one who was in my breakout group and one who I roomed with at the hotel.

Marlen was one of my roommates during the conference and I had the incredible privilege of talking with her about Vida Estudiantil and how God called me to Argentina. She had been invited to the leadership conference by a friend who is involved in the Buenos Aires movement, so she knew very little about what we do on the college campuses. After attending workshops, listening to the messages in the morning and evening sessions, and speaking with students at the conference about Vida, she decided that God is calling her to help Vida on the Philosophy campus this coming semester. I, along with the other STINT and student leaders on the Agronomy campus, are starting a movement on the Philosophy campus this semester and we're so excited to have Marlen join us in leading this effort! I can't wait to see what God is going to do on the Philosophy campus, one of the darkest campuses in the city.

Jessica was a girl in my breakout group and I had the opportunity to sit down with her one afternoon and talk about her relationship with God. She told me that though she had accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior years ago, she still doesn't think she would go to heaven because of all of the bad things she has done. How exciting it was to show her verses of Scripture that assured her that Christ's sacrifice is enough! I explain to her that if she had to trust in the lack of bad things she's done to get her into heaven, then Jesus didn't need to come and die in the first place! I said that when God looks at her, He does not see the sin she has committed, but instead He sees the perfect life of Christ because Christ's death has paid the price for all of her past, present, and future sin. When she sins as a believer, it cuts off communication between her and God temporarily, but it can never change the status of her relationship with Him. She will always be His daughter. Please pray that Satan will fail in his attempts to make Jessica doubt the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice in the future.

After the conference, I went straight to Cordoba Capital and spent a couple days with the family I lived with for 5 months in 2009 when I studied abroad. From the moment I saw them, it seemed like no time had passed and we all enjoyed catching up and remembering good times and funny stories from years ago.

The day I returned to Buenos Aires from Cordoba, I changed out all of the clothes in my bags from summer to winter and hopped on a plane with my roommates to head south to Patagonia, Argentina for a week of vacation. We had a wonderful and relaxing time reveling in the beauty of God's creation there. I had many refreshing times in the Word as I read passages like Psalms 19 and 98 and had to merely look up to see a breathtaking example of the creation these verses talked about.

Now, my STINT team and I are back in Buenos Aires constructing our vision, strategic plans, and action plans for each campus we're on for the coming semester that starts in March. Please pray that these preparations would be guided and directed by the Lord and that many of our student leaders would also be able to help us plan at our upcoming leadership retreat here in Buenos Aires.

Thank you for your prayers! Enjoy the pictures below!