Finished all too soon!

Hi again  -
     It is hard to believe that we are heading home today. These 2 weeks have passed so quickly, and we have felt so comfortable with the people here in Argentina. The staff and kids in the Hogar have seemed even more open to relationship with us than the last time we were here, perhaps as they say, it is because we came back, which shows them that we and Good Shepherd really do care about them.
     Bill was able to speak in churches 4 times, each team member delivered their testimony in well-understood spanish, we sang worship songs in spanish prior to everyone getting colds bad enough to prevent it, and we performed a wordless skit(which works without a voice!). On the weekend we traveled with the youth ministry team to 3 churches in the town of Santa Fe, which is further away. We also supported the ministry team at several more local churches, encouraged the pastors in all of those places, and were able to have many outings and interactions with the kids of the Hogar since we are here during winter vacation from school.
     We had yesterday and part of today to rest up and explore Buenos Aires, a VERY large city, prior to heading to the airport later today. We have felt your prayers, when we were very tired from our very long days, and also when having important contacts with kids and many other people here. Thank you so much!
     We hope to add photos after we return home. We hope many of you can attend our team debrief Sunday, August 5, at church following the 2nd service.

Kristi for the team :)

Hello! Our time here is going well! The relationships and memories we are making will be with us the rest of our lives. The Argentine Christians have such energy for God! Thank you for your prayers. God has blessed us so much! :)

Hello everyone!

Here is a picture of the photo of myself (Kaelynne) and Elsa and Nieve (Two girls from the Hogar) at the radio station that Bill talked about in the before post.
Above that is a picture of another adventure of ours! We went to a local fire station to present the Flag of Heroes to them as a gift and in return they signed an Argentine flag and presented it to us. There were a few radio stations there as well as a film crew which was great because it gave a lot of attention to the Hogar. Tom Feeney really wanted us to present it so formally with the stations there so that the Hogar could get more publicity and in turn we were able to talk about what we're doing there.
It has been really fun to get to know the kids. Spending the afternoon with them is getting to be so much fun now that we have established some good relationships with them. We are going to be doing a Bible Study with the older kids in a few hours and we will hopefully be able to get a little deeper with them than we have in the past.
Prayers for energy (These kids like to wear us out) and overcoming the language barrier as much as possible would be much appreciated.
Thank you for all of your support! It's so great to know that there are people halfway across the world supporting us in doing God's work down here. It's humbling to have God use us because I'm reminded every day that we don't have anything to give on our own. God is so good!
Thanks so much!
God bless,

Kaelynne for the team

Safe and Sound in San Nicolas, Argentina

Dear friends and family,

We arrived safe and sound, to a temperature of 33 degrees- quite a change from Portland's 88 degrees the day we left.   We suspected that we might face an import duty for the 300 books that we brought down, two suitcases of clothes, and for the 200 tubes of toothpaste and 150 toothbrushes that we brought, but we sailed right in.  As expected, the Hogar will use the brushes and toothpaste as an outreach to the community if they have enough for their own kids, which I think they do.  That's the way they are - it's not about us, it's about Christ, and reaching out to those in need. 

Yesterday we visited a retirement home, where the Hogar kids did their puppet show along with live music, Jorge presented the gospel, and our team made balloon animals for the senior citizens.  The home has not been visited since we were here three years ago. 

Jorge spirited Kaelynne Bergh, Bill Leslie, and two girls from the Hogar, Elsa and Nieves, to a small radio station in the town, which is called Coronel Bogado.  Kaelynne gave her personal testimony, and the two girls took turns translating for her.  Bill then shared a bit about his walk with Christ. The station reaches more than 100,000, and Pastor Jorge thinks that perhaps 5,000 to 10,000 may have been listening. 

We were also a part of the evening church service in this town. After the puppets, Pastor Jorge spoke and our team sang a song, Sarah gave her testimony, and Bill spoke-all 3 in spanish-and all were well received! Then we had another hour to mingle with the congregation.

We love the kids, and we see in their faces the work that the Hogar does.  They know that they are loved.

The Hogar - or children's home - is openly evangelistic, and has been since its inception.  It is well known here in San Nicolas for the good things that it does.

Dear friends and family,
Well, we made it safe and sound to San Nicolas.  Both flights, from Portland to Dallas, and from Dallas to Buenos Aires, were uneventful.  We had a quick lunch with Tom and Colleen (who send their regards) and then they dropped us off at our hotel for a quick nap.  We did take a quick stop at the Hogar to say hello.  Most of the kids that we knew well are gone, but a few remembered us.  It was exciting to feel back in the country.

On the plane I decided to reach out to the man sitting next to me  He turned out to be a muslim Imam, who was trying to plant seeds in Texas, going home to Argentina.  A nice gentleman, who will not see eye to eye with me, but he was impressed by our efforts to care "for the least of these," and gave me a cash donation for the Hogar. 

More to follow, but please spread the word that all of us are safe and sound, and ready for a nap before the church service tonight.

Bill

We leave next week! Wow! It seems like yesterday that it was still just "in July". All of us are already needing to look at packing this week to figure out how much space we have to bring extra stuff to Argentina for the Feeney's. It definitely makes it more real with the suitcases loaded.

God has already used this trip to draw me closer to Him. Through writing my testimony and preparing devotionals He's showed me how much I need Him and is already teaching me to rely on Him. I am very excited (and a bit nervous) to rely on Him completely and let Him work through me. Our team has connected through prayer and team devotionals already and I'm grateful for the support we'll have with each other.

I'm sure I speak for the whole team when I say we could use your prayer! Here are just a few specifics that we'd greatly appreciate prayer for before we leave:

-Last minute details would fall into place

-We would all remember that this is God's team and that we would be humble enough to step out of the way and let Him work

-Rest (I know a few of us are working extra hours at work this next week and half)

-We would find peace in God that will takeover any anxieties we may be feeling.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support!

We will keep you updated. :)

Kaelynne for the team

3 Weeks to Go!

Hi again - We leave 3 weeks from today! We are getting very excited, and yet there are many small things to do yet in this short amount of time. Whenever I feel my stress level rising, God is quick to remind me that this is His trip and that He has it under control. What a relief!!

Unfortunately one person who has been training with us all these months, Norma, will not be able to travel with us. Several of us from Good Shepherd Church know Norma through her work with Rockwood Mom-to-Mom, and know her quality of character and commitment to the Lord. Norma is an invaluable member of our team, especially in helping with music and translations. We will miss her presence while in Argentina.

Our team is looking forward to visiting Norma's church tomorrow evening. Her congregation, a mix of Hispanic and non-Hispanic, has been supportive of her and of our team. We hope to introduce the team to her church, share about our trip to Argentina, connect with the people, and to express our appreciation for their support.

Please be praying at this time for our hearts to be filled with God's love for the people of Argentina, for each of us to be walking faithfully and closely with the Lord, and for our final preparations and details in these last few weeks.

In Him,

Kristi

Here are some pictures from our outreach weekend at Good Shepherd Community Church. The whole church joined in prayer for all the summer mission teams. A very sweet time!
Hannah

Hello, Friends!

Our departure approaches, one day at a time, and as it does, our anticipation mounts.  Little by little, the details are completed.  We are practicing the songs that we will sing, our personal testimonies have all been translated.  We had the great pleasure of seeing Sarah Feeney two weeks ago, and that made our trip all the more real. 

Fund raising is progressing nicely, although much of the team is still short.  We thank you all for your prayers and for your support.  We appreciate it all, and as departure approaches, we feel the need for your prayers even more.  Pray that we will remember that this is not our team, and it is not about us.  Our effectiveness will directly correlate with our dependence on Him. 

Yours in Christ,

Bill = Guillermo Leslie

10 Weeks and Counting...

Hello Everyone! The last few weeks have flown by as our team has prepared crafts, songs, and written our personal testimonies. This week we will even begin to learn our testimonies in Spanish! Our team has bonded well and the team meetings are a joy to attend. We are getting very excited to see everyone in San Nicolas and we continue to pray that our time there will be a blessing to them. Thank you very much for your support and prayers. :)
Sarah

Off and running!

Dear Friends, 
We have now had two team meetings, and a retreat this past weekend at the beach. We are getting to know each other better every week, which will make it easier for us to work together effectively. We have begun working on raising our support, writing our personal testimonies, and team building. We regularly discuss plans & expectations for our time in Argentina, while working to remain flexible and open to whatever God has in store for this Team. Our excitement is growing as we begin to plan the various activities, songs, etc that we will prepare, to be shared in the Children's Home, churches and local communities.

The following are some current things that we would appreciate prayer for:

Team unity & bonding
Time management, as there is much to do in addition to jobs/school/life
Support raising - prayer & financial
Keeping our focus on the Lord & His purposes
Preparing opportunities & open hearts in Argentina

Thanks for your involvement in this adventure!
Kristi

Kaelynne Bergh, Hannah Hunt, Sarah Hunt, Kristi Leslie, Bill Leslie