ARGENTINA MISSIONS

Photos of the Recent Flood


The Pilcomayo River flooded is banks in late February displacing around 20,000 people from their homes and land.



The river spans the length of the Argentine broder with Paraguay, and gives life to hundreds of villages in both countries.



Our team will help rebuild one Anglican church in one of the hardest hit areas.



Please pray for strength for our team, and if possible, consider financially supporting our efforts to help rebuild this Anglican church and encourage the leaders to continue "in all good works as [God] hast prepared for [them] to walk in."

Photos of the Indigenous Area and People


Leaders from the Diocese of Northern Argentina bring bags of clothes on a recent trip to the afflicted villages.



We will be travelling to this village, and hope to bring much needed supplies as well.



A typical house in the village where we will be working.



The Diocesan leaders have already begun clearing areas, and preparing materials (e.g. adobe bricks and wood beams), so that we can begin building as soon as we arrive.



Ceferino Torres, who is part of the local clergy, will be part of the effort to help rebuild these communities.



This lecturn and bell were the only parts of the old church that were saved when the flood hit this village. We are told that the people take very good care of these remaining two memories of their old church.



Local clergy and village leaders, and Diocesan representatives, meet to discuss the rebuliding of their church and community.

Information and How You Can Help
Summer 2006
June 30th-July 17th, 2006
Buenos Aires and Northern Argentina
Our Itinerary: www.argentinamissions.org/25.html

This summer, six college-age people traveled to Argentina. We assisted the diocese of Northern Argentina in their efforts to build and grow into a self-supporting diocese. Most of our work, and contact, was through John Bothwell, who is currently the diocesan representative for the Anglican Diocese of Northern Argentina, and is now acting as the diocesan site coordinator for SAMS (South American Missionary Society), which is a branch of the Anglican Church.

The Problem. Over the past hundred years, Anglican missionaries, from England, have consistently trained and supported over one hundred and fifty parishes in the diocese of Northern Argentina (roughly the size of California). However, in the fallout from the Falklands War (1982), many of the missionaries have left, and their support dried up. As it stands now, these parishes are dying: their priests are aging and they do not have adequately trained replacements; in the more indigenous areas, many drink standing water from a nearby pond; and often many convert to Mormonism or Islam, as those missionaries continue to grow in number in this area.

The Need. However, there is a great movement currently underway to preserve historic Anglicanism in this region. Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone of the Americas, and diocesan Bishop of Northern Argentina, has been regarded as one of the most powerful voices defending Biblical Christianity. John’s work with Archbishop Venables, and other Anglican leaders in South America, has led him to ardently seek laborers back in North America to serve the broader Anglican Church. Already, John has watched the near-completion of a conference center, which will be used both for local Synods and as a temporary Seminary, and the beginning of a water-drilling project that will efficiently provide a dependable water source for rural parishes. Yet, although growth is evident, it is also slow – the biggest need in this diocese is people.

The Solution. In this way, I am asking the members of the St. Matthew's Community to consider supporting this on-going mission. There are many needs and ways to get involved. For example, John estimates that there are only five Prayer Books for the entire diocese (only a few more have Bibles), and the annual budget for the diocese is a meager $30,000 (US), which includes the priest’s salaries. (Please visit John’s website for more information about the growing needs: www.argentinamissions.org.) Lastly, I encourage you to pray for this region, for the workers, leaders, and people who are striving to live for Christ not only with their lips, but also in their lives.

If you are interested in participating in any way, please contact either Gavin Fort (gavin.fort@gmail.com) or John Bothwell (john.d.bothwell@biola.edu).