Dear Friends,

We wanted to share with you some of our thoughts, prayer requests, and testimonies from this beautiful country, Argentina, which is now in economic turmoil.

It’s during our worship time that the need to communicate with you comes back to us full force. Through the song that we were singing, declaiming our commitment to Jesus Christ and his kingdom, we found ourselves with you in spirit knowing that you were worshiping that same Lord miles away. This is a part of this powerful song:

Porque El venció en la muerte la conjura
De la malignas fuerzas de la historia
Seguimos no a un heroe ni a un martir
Seguimos al Señor de la Victoria.
Porque El al pobre levanto del lodo
Y rechazó el halago del dinero,
Sabemos dónde están nuestras lealtades
y a quién habremos de servir primero.
Porque El hablo de cruz y la cargaba,
e senda estrecha y la siguio sin pausa,
Seguir sus huellas es nuestro camino,
Con El sembrarmos: esa es nuestra causa.

Because in his death he was victorious against
The conspiracy of evil forces in history.
We do not follow a hero or a martyr
But the Lord of Victory.
Because he raised up the poor from the mud
And rejected the glamour of money,
We know where our loyalty is
And whom we should serve first.
Because he spoke of a cross and carried it
On a narrow path and he followed it,
Our commitment is to walk in his steps,
With him we sow: this is our cause.

Life in Argentina

The country is in an incredible turmoil, with high rates of unemployment and a crisis in public education. Teachers in the state of Buenos Aires were on strike for more than three weeks, leaving millions of children without instruction. Many of the teachers were either not receiving their salaries or getting only a small part of what was due to them. They were promised the remainder of their salaries in "patacones," a new currency printed by the state of Buenos Aires that would supposedly have the same value as the peso, the Argentinian national currency.

Hundreds of people also show their discontent by organizing roadblocks, that is, not letting traffic pass through the main roads. This was to demonstrate to the government in a peaceful way the pain and daily stress that people are going through. It is also a reaction to a national government that responds to external pressure and the payment of the huge external debt while ignoring its obligations to human beings, whose basic needs are unmet on a large scale.

Need and faith

It is an incredible sight to see how people find the best way to have God listen to their needs. During the month of August, a day is set aside to celebrate Saint Cayetano, the saint of work and bread. It is the popular belief here that God can be reached more adequately by invocation of a saint or by making a petition to one of the images of the Virgin Mary, who certainly has more "power of persuasion" with God than they have. Thousands of people gathered before the Roman Catholic church with the main statue of Saint Cayetano (Some people camped near the church for weeks to be first to touch the saint on his day!) and entered the church in three columns. One move very slowly, but allowed people to make their requests, offer their prayers, and touch the glass that protected the statue of the saint. The second column moved a bit faster. In this one pilgrims could see the saint and offer their prayer of request. The third one was the "fast track," allowing the participants to enter the church and have a chance to offer their prayer during a quick look at the saint from afar.

This shows that people know that God cares for them. They make their petition to God and promise God something in return, should their request be granted. It also shows the misunderstanding that they (the common people) are not worthy of presenting their need, request, or claim directly to God.

Please keep Argentina and its people in your prayers. Pray that God will hear their cries and supplications and that people’s eyes will be opened to the direct connection that they have to God and to God’s saving power through their lives and beyond.

As the song said, the Lord himself raised up the poor from "the mud," and we need to use our hands, our lives, and our prayers to lift up those who need assistance. And we need to allow ourselves to be lifted up when we are struggling with our own "mud."

Please be also in prayer for a gathering of most of the evangelical (that is, Protestant) churches and their members during the month of September at the "obelisco," the monument in the heart of Buenos Aires. This call is to show the unity of the Protestant church, offer sincere prayer for this government, ask God for His blessings, and for the Holy Spirit to pour out its power in this time of suffering. In addition, the evangelicals are demanding that all churches be given equal status under the law, since Argentina still recognizes the Roman Catholic church as its national church.

Please continue to pray for us and keep us in your thoughts as we take daily the commitment to walk in the steps of our Lord.

We love you dearly,

Your sisters and brother in Christ,

Manuela, Juan, Laura (Laurence) and Camila Kauer

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 256