January journey

Hola!!!!!

So, about 4 years ago in my church in Sheffield the Speaker invited anyone who was feeling tired to go to the front for prayer. As a recently qualified, stressed out teacher I was one of the first at the front ready to receive a bit of oomph!!! Pastor Lou Davies prayed for me and finished by saying 'God says you have a country on your heart and you have to keep going for it, and he has shown me an image of you working in red dust'. I had never spoken to her about my experiences in South America and thoughts of one day returning and actually at this point in my life I was beginning to think maybe I should just settle down as I had a great job, somewhere to live, a car and a nice wage but this was definitely one of the spurs that kept me on the path of chasing the dream and seeking God's exciting plans for my life. However 'red dust' meant absolutely nothing to me..........until 3 weeks ago.


3 weeks ago I set out on a journey with a group of 12 young people and 2 leaders to the andean valleys to visit places where there is no church, to encourage people who have hard lives and often feel isolated, to pray with and for them, to lead kids clubs and bring them gifts and build them a bigger meeting room!!! Here is a picture taken on the journey in the mountains: 

NOW I know what the red dust is....!! Amazing that 4 years ago God already knew and had plans!

The whole trip in the valleys was absolutely brilliant. We started as a team of 12 and then divided into 2 teams of 6 visiting 4 different villages in total. My team was brilliant and I definitely have a lot of new friends now! In each place we visited homes to invite people to our kids clubs and events and generally spend time with them and learn about what life is like. Some of the houses were a 30 min walk apart and without electricity or clean water. To reach one community we had to wade across a river holding onto each other!! People in the valleys are generally really shy-it was hard to get used to kids hiding behind their Mums when you talk to them and teenagers not able to look you in the eye. The church is committed to visiting the communities every month, working to improve their health, economic situations, education and future. I'm hoping to continue to be involved in the ongoing work now as they are such beautiful places with great people and huge opportunities to make a big difference.


I'll let the pictures tell the rest...

Our motto; To love is to serve... John 13:35

Our first village Angastaco nestled in the mountains. The church has a buliding, nursery house and vineyard!!

 

Grapes-almost ready to eat!

Children in EL Carmen.
Their homes had been washed away by
a landslide the week before and
they are now living with their families
in a primary school.

Acting out a sketch-I played the part
of the on/off switch!

Our first night in Churcal-thunderstorm-
it took a long wait to get this photo.
The boys decided not to sleep in the tent!!

Sunrise after the storm-a beautiful
place; mountains, river, green fields.

12 men from church came to build a new,
bigger room for the kids work.

 

Within 24 hours it was done!!

Some time to relax too.

Our last morning sunrise in Churcal         

Our neighbours  

  

The whole team-celebrating a good job done!

  

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”  Isaiah 52:7 !!!

  

As you can see an amazing time in the mountains-there are about 400 other photos that didn't make the cut!!


Still to come... (Prayer appreciated!!)
 In the next few days I will be moving into a flat with 4 other girls who are coming to Salta to study.
 On Monday I go on camp until Thursday with the teens from my church. I get to be a leader of one of the groups and participate in all the crazy games and late nights!!
 On the 6th Feb the nursery opens again for the new year!


Thanks for reading, all the brilliant letters, parcels and messages. Keep in touch!!


Lots of love,
Jo xxx

Nursery Nativity

As an extra Christmas gift here are some pics from the amazing nursery nativity yesterday-Jesus is visited by lots of animals-including a rabbit and a duck, 2 kings who seem to have forgotten their gifts and a host of angels!!!  The kids leaving to start school also passed through the castle door for their graduation. A beautiful evening!


Feliz Navidad!!

Parading the flag

December Drama!!!

First an update;

- ‘Copa de leche’ we have been getting 80 children everyday bringing their cups for milk and a piece of bread. The authorities have now upped our quota to 90 so we can help even more children!

Highlights;

November was great with loads happening. Some of the highlights were the Baptisms, our kids day away and of course my Birthday!

For the Baptisms we went to a country house near a lake that has amazingly been donated to the church! 3 people from our church were amongst the 50 from the big church that got baptised. Then we shared a huge picnic with everyone offering around their food-a great atmosphere in beautiful surroundings. Photos!!

On 28^th November we took the kids from Sunday school to the country for the day armed with games, songs, plenty of food and lessons on how they are amazing and filled with potential-something a lot of them don’t hear very often. It really was a special day for the kids to escape their difficult lives and enjoy fun in the sun, make new friends, laugh and even swim in the pool!! (Risk assessments don’t exist here-Phew!) Some photos and a video of them singing their hearts out!

 
 

I had a great Birthday!! Lots of people came over to celebrate with tea and cake-we even ran out of mugs. It made me feel really special and accepted. I have also LOVED the number of cards and parcels I have been receiving from my brilliant friends and family back home. I think the postman is tired out and they still keep coming. Thank you!!!

Coming up this month;

December marks the beginning of Summer so it will be a hot Christmas! It is also the end of the school year so a lot of the activities in church are winding down but we will continue with the ‘Copa de Leche’ every day.

On Wednesday the nursery kids will present their Nativity followed by the Sunday School at the end of the week. I’ll make sure the camera is fully charged!!

I’ll be spending Christmas with my Argentinian family and on the 27^th we have a conference/retreat for all the members of Latin Link in Argentina until the New Year.

On January 3^rd I will be heading to the mountains with a group of young people from church and we will spend 3 weeks visiting isolated communities, running clubs for the children and distributing clothes and other necessities to the communities. I think it’s where we’ll see real lack of opportunities and education but the surroundings look absolutely beautiful and I’m sure it will be an amazing experience!! (Although everyone keeps asking me if I like feeling hungry and going without a shower for a long time…hmmm!) Pray!

Due to popular demand, here are some more videos of the nursery kids. They LOVE round and round the garden……I now get at least 20 requests everyday to sing it to them!! Enjoy!

Thanks for reading, keep in touch and have a fantastic Christmas! 

Feliz Navidad!!! Lots of love, Jo xxx

P.S. Prayer requests;

1. We have to move out of our current house by the 20^th and it’s proving quite a challenge to find a new house to rent. It’s no problem for me as I have other options but please pray for the family.

2. Remember the lovely Sebastian? He came to me in tears yesterday as he is being sent away to live with his uncle and says he is going to miss us all lots. Please pray he will have a better life with his uncle and be cared for and settle in quickly.

3. All the Christmas Activities that everyone will have a great time and know the true meaning of Christmas!

I’ll leave you with the great verse the kids on the retreat went home with… (it’s true for you too!)

For you created my inmost being;

   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

   your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  Psalm 139:13,14

November News!!

                     First a few updates;

- Erica and Sebastián are doing really well and still smiling constantly. Erica said Saturday that life has improved a lot in her house though she sometimes still fights with her brothers! See the photo………

- The Alpha course is going well with a lot of people who live nearby interested.

- Granny had a good birthday!

Last month was brilliant with lots of great activities but the highlight was definitely the Mother’s Day service. Each Sunday school class performed a song, dance or sketch (I was Mum in the sketch for my class and also performed a hastily made-up dance with them!!), and then the Mums were given presents and we shared cake and juice. It is always a big event for the church so they hold it outside to fit everyone in-there were over 50 local Mums and over 150 people in total!!! There was a competition to find out which Mum had the most children. The Mum with 10 kids was narrowly beaten by one with 11!! She received a big food parcel from the church! Everyone had a great time and in an area where a good time usually means getting drunk to forget about the difficult lives and stresses it was really good to see families laughing and enjoying themselves together in church.

Some pics (unfortunately camera battery ran out so none of my dazzling performance! : )……

  The church regularly asks the people in the community what it can do to support them and improve their lives and the lives of their children and they asked for a programme called ‘Copa de leche’ or glass of milk where kids can come every day and receive a drink of milk or yoghurt or tea to improve their nutrition. The food is provided by the government but must be prepared and distributed by the centre. Last week, after months of waiting the church were given the go-ahead to start the programme so from Monday, 80 children are coming to the church Monday-Friday to receive some food aid. They are children like Erica who some days are lucky if they get one meal.

  Wednesdays and Fridays I spend the day in the nursery with children from 0-4. It’s definitely been the most challenging of my tasks adapting to communicating and getting the attention of such little ones but it has also been great-the place where I get the most hugs and smiles! My Mum’s been a big help in giving me lots of ideas of what to do with them-here’s a video of them printing with apples-will she eat it???

  There are 20 kids in total who attend Monday-Friday. It is free but the Mums have to prove that they are working and need childcare. The kids get breakfast, a snack and lunch and for some of them it is all they will eat all day-7 out of the 20 kids are under weight for their age and the nursery is working to try to improve their nutrition. Here are some photos so you can see just how cute they are……

   More photos in the next installment and I’ll let you know a bit more about some of the other great work I’m involved in. It’s getting really hot here, 37 degrees today…

Thanks for reading, keep in touch! Lots of love, Jo xxx

P.S. Pray-ers;

1. People who came to the Mother’s Day service.

2. ‘Copa de leche’: the people of the church already work so hard, pray for strength and more volunteers for this great new service.

3. The nursery workers, Carina and Andrea, and all the kids.

October already!!!!

 I had planned to write about my weekly activities this month but then last Saturday happened and it’s a good insight into life here!

 At 5pm we have the children’s meeting at church. Around 50 kids come every week. They start all sat together singing and praying before they split into age groups. For the last 2 weeks I’ve been with the 7-8 year olds. A lot of the kids spend most of their lives out on the streets playing in the dust, their t-shirts have holes in and their shoes are falling apart but they have the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen! Last week I made friends with Sebastián and Erica. They are cousins and had loads of questions about Britain and how you say different things in English. This week we started by praying and Alejandra who leads the 7-8s asked each child what they wanted prayer for. One girl asked to pray that her teenage brother would stop getting drunk, others have asked for their Dads to return home or parents to get jobs. This week Erica asked that God would provide food for her family as they hadn’t eaten anything all day and her Mum had no more money. We prayed for them and at the end of the meeting shared our usual snack of bread and juice making sure Erica got an extra big helping.

 After the kids meeting we clean up and prepare for the main church service that starts at 8pm. Just after 8pm Sebastián and Erica turned up and came and sat with me-I’m sure they were singing the loudest in the service! Half way through the service Alejandra got Sebastián and Erica out to the front. She shared that during singing worship she had felt really challenged that she had to do something for these kids so she had gone to the corner shop and bought as much as she could and presented two cardboard boxes of food for them to take home. There was not a dry eye in the church-including Erica and Sebastián! I think it’s a great example of what God has called church to do and how in the hardest of situations there’s always room for hope. 

 It reminds me of 2 things, first a missionary in Brazil who was debating the question; Should our aim be to feed the body or the spirit? Her answer; If we just feed the spirit we gain a spirit without a body and if we just feed the body we gain a body without a spirit. One is a ghost, the other is a corpse. 

Secondly James’ words; What good is it, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2.15

 I’m loving being part of a church that is doing both, feeding the body and spirit. It’s hard work sometimes on the front line but there are a lot of great co-workers and a lot of laughter too!

 Thanks again for all your support making it possible for me to be here and the brilliant, encouraging messages. I’m hoping to include some photos in the next instalment!!!

 Keep in touch! Lots of love, Jo xxx

 P.S. Pray-ers;

1. Sebastián, Erica and their families.

2. The Alpha course that started in church last week (they played the Nicky Gumbel Dvd dubbed in Spanish then said all the people look like me!)

3. My Granny who turns 90 on Saturday! Pray for a great day and good health for her and Grandad.

Hola from Argentina !!

 Well after a lot of travelling I am finally in Salta! I moved in with my lovely family yesterday. They are Noemí – the Mum and her 3 children Belén (21), Andrés (19) and Ezekiel (15). We live on the edge of the barrio about 10mins walk from the project.

 Every morning the church runs a guadería (nursery) and feeding programme for local children (about 20) in the tough barrio and on Monday afternoons they also run a programme educating children about looking after themselves and abuse. Today they spoke about the importance of communicating through games and stories and what to do if you are abused. The kids and teachers had lots of examples of abuse that they had experienced themselves or heard about from others. Apparently it is a big problem here   :( There were about 10 kids and you could tell some of them had just walked in from playing on the streets but they were great fun and laughed a lot :) The kids in the guadería were also brilliant-I think it only took 30 seconds before I had one sat on my lap! We ended the day with hopscotch after a good lunch of mashed squash and meatballs!

 It’s a funny week in Salta as the next 3 days there’s a big religious Festival. It means that the kids will be off school and they got a day off today because it is teacher’s day so a lot of them took presents in on Friday and today they all had a day off-great idea!!

 I could go on but I don’t want to bore you with the first Argentine post!

 Just a little note for the pray-ers;

  -Please pray I soon feel settled and get my bearings-it’s crazy not knowing where anything is and having to learn from scratch how to use a washing machine, shower, make a cup of coffee and even wash-up!

  -Pray for the church ‘Casa de Dios’ and the brilliant workers.

  -Pray for Noemí and her children.

Thanks and ¡hasta pronto!

Jo xxxx

20 days to go!!!!

Yes, it is only 20 days until the journey begins!!! I am now back home in the valleys of Wales after spending an incredible week tucked away in Hertfordshire with the other 12 Striders going out to Latin America over the next few months being trained up and prepared for all we are about to encounter-including how to survive car-jacking which we role-played with a real car!! (It's never actually happened in the 20 years of sending people out and as we heard news of the rioting I think the training may be more useful in Britain-crazy times!)

We also went on a trip into London to visit a Latin American church there. The people were really friendly and had prepared loads of food for us to try which was much needed after the marathon 31/2 hour service-it's going to take some time getting used to those!!!

There are 5 of us going to Argentina and 2 lovely ladies, Susie and Martina, will be in the same city as me so hopefully we'll be able to meet up every few weeks. A lot of people ask how I'll manage on my own but I know I'm going to be looked after by a great mentor, placed with a brilliant family, working alongside some amazing volunteers and attending a fantastic church so I just can't wait to meet them all-although I am going to miss the wonderful friends and family I have here-KEEP IN TOUCH!!!


On 28th August Blaenau Gwent Baptist Church will be holding my leaving service followed by a delicious tea and I would love you to come and be part of it. It starts at 6pm in the church and you'll get to hear some more about what I'm going to do, why and how it's all come about. Let me know if you want any more info.

I wish I could end this by saying enjoy the sun. Hmmmm. Have a great day!!

Jo. xxx