Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our greetings and best wishes for this time of Christmas and New Year. We pray that the Lord will give you peace and fill your hearts with joy as we all remember and celebrate his incredible gift to us, his son Jesus Christ.

Life in Argentina

Life in Argentina presents more challenges as people are frustrated and unhappy by the measures their government is taking: freezing their bank accounts, cutting benefits not only to the underprivileged but now to the small and medium businesses, touching mainly the middle class. On December11 all the business owners and staff of a large area of Buenos Aires were out in the streets to show their anger. Due to a general strike on December 14, there were no public services (bus, trains, garbage collection, etc.). Buenos Aires, a city of 12 million people, was a ghost city. Nobody knows what the next day will bring: devaluation, dollarization, changing cash in personal accounts to national bonds? In the last weeks people have started to sack supermarkets in order to get food supplies. One of the biggest problem of Argentina is that it cannot pay the interest on its external debt.

Christmas in Argentina

There are few, if any, Christmas decorations in the streets or in front of the houses. There are few visible signs of the busyness, songs, and celebration of the season or the purchases of Christmas gifts. Most things are at a halt. Nevertheless, in the midst of this situation, the church and those who love Christ feel that there is still hope for peace and happiness, knowing that this is not the final word but rather part of a path that we do not travel alone. This is a time where the Christian church needs to be awake, alive, and ready to share not only material gifts but especially the life-giving gift of Jesus Christ. Celebrations are held these days in each Christian church, opportunities to invite friends, and those who need to find room at our tables and at the worship services. A renewed sense of solidarity appears midst the pain. More than ever it is necessary that the Church claims its prophetic message of peace and justice, but not the "peace" and "justice" proclaimed by the rulers of this world.

Our family

Our girls are done with school for this year. Their school year starts the end of February and finishes the first week of December. The weather is definitely much too hot to have children concentrate on math or grammar. Laura and Camila are at summer school where they do some light work and recreational activities.

Both Juan and I are planning workshops on training and community development for local churches. We hope to start some stronger work with our local community of faith, which is now giving bags of food to 40 women and their large families every month. We hope to work with these women and see if together we can come up with ideas on how to be more involved in their spiritual and material needs and how they can be more involved in the life of our congregation. Please pray with us for the Lord’s guidance is this ministry.

We also want to thank you for your support, your prayers, your e-mails, your cards, your letters, even your packages for our little ones (some have arrived at destination!). We know that without you and your encouragement our mission would be much more difficult. But with you, as the body of Christ, and with God himself, whom shall we fear? We can continue to trust and share the message of hope since we are living it daily.

Together we can make a difference for "He has shown us what is good. And what does the Lord require of all of us? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God" (Micah 6:8).

Yours in Christ,

Juan, Manuela, Laura and Camila Kauer

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.257