Hello hello! Believe it or not, we are already at debrief after our (short) month in Argentina. We are still in Mendoza but we had to say bye to all our friends at the YWAM base. It was one of the hardest goodbyes yet.
As I’m processing our month I wanted to fill you in on what the month has looked like and some of the things we got to be involved in.
As always, we did a little bit of everything. We basically helped with whatever they needed on base which was a wide variety of things. I always enjoy the opportunity to dabble, so the variety was nice.
So, for your edification and entertainment, here is a not-quite-comprehensive list of what we did this month:
-helped cook and serve for a soup kitchen
– door to door evangelism/ community ministry
-set up and clean up for a 1 year old’s birthday party (It’s an Argentine tradition to have a massive party when a child turns one year old)
-Mural ministry! We painted a mural in 2 days. (Because it needed to be finished for kids day). I have now officially painted murals on every continent I’ve been on. I’m pretty excited about that.
– As mentioned above, Kids day. I’m addition to the mural, I also helped paint clown faces on some of my teammates and then guarded the slide to the bouncy house so that kids wouldn’t run up or fall off.
– We did a lot of preaching and sharing of words and testimonies
– We went to a high school and just hung out with the kids and answered their questions.
-Prison ministry. Sharing words, songs and snacks with the women.
– Helped prep and serve food for events on the YWAM base.
– Helped clean and make beds for a large camp that came right before we left.
As I said, this list is not all-encompassing, but it’s a good picture of what the month looked like.
We had an amazing month in Argentina. The people at the YWAM base were incredible. We shared all our meals with the DTS students and it was a blast getting to know them and hang out with them. We also got to know and work with the long term missionaries who have been on base for over a decade.
I got to learn a little more Spanish than I knew before (which was previously limited to “hello, how are you?” and “very good, thank you.”), and many of the people there got to learn a little more English by talking to us. I’m always amazed and delighted by how well you can get to know someone and communicate with them without sharing a language. As a team, we collectively feel that it was one of our favorite months. There was a wonderful sense of home and community and we felt so welcome and included in the YWAM family.
Please be in prayer for my team as we head into our next month in Santiago, Chile. We will be staying in a church and working with the pastor and their community. Also be in prayer for YWAM and for Argentina.
You may or may not know this, but Argentina is currently in a financial crisis. When we arrived the conversion was about 40 pesos to the dollar. In a single day (about a week ago) it went up to about 55 pesos to a dollar. Because of the political climate the currency is unstable and changes frequently (which has been interesting navigating in my role as treasurer). Pray for Argentina as you feel led and for all the people whose assets are in a currency that is failing. Also be in prayer for YWAM: for their ministry, for there long term missionaries, several of whom are about to launch to places around the world as the Lord has called them.
Thank you all so much as always for your prayers and support. I’m also happy to announce that the squad as a whole is now 92% funded! Please be in prayer for my squad-mates who are still fundraising. If you feel called to support them financially you can find a list on this blog. You can see how far each person is in funding by the greenish-blue bar at the top of their page.
Enjoy the warm weather in the states for me while I’m enjoying the lovely fall/ winter weather here for you. I’ve acquired several sweaters and often wear at least 2 at a time.
Shout out to the boots Katie Hammond convinced me to buy in South Korea during our 20 hour layover.
Much love and God Bless,
Hattie
I now understand why we don’t hear from you much. Hope you put pictures of your murals on Instagram. We are praying for stamina, rest and your continued joy in the Lord.
My dear Hattie.What a fine thing to hear from you after a long silence. You and your team have surely Not been silent. I’m always so astonished at all you accomplish. YMAM is a great organization to work with. Many prayers have assended for you and our minister has enquired about you.much love and prayers. Nana