Sofia and Dad
Originally uploaded by Vapor.

Enjoying an afternoon with Sofia.

Contreras Family

Even in our travels we find a moment to stop and enjoy some of California’s beauty. Here we are at the site of our wedding - Elings Park, Santa Barbara, CA. What memories, what beauty and what a delight to share it with Sofia.

We started our Itineration travels the last Sunday of July which means we have been on the road for almost 9 months, almost like having a baby - lots of hard labor to get an incredible blessing at the end. We still have a few more months to go and a bit more in our budget to raise so we are pressing on. Our travels have brought us many blessings, we have connected with friends and have made new ones.

Do continue to pray for us in these remaining months. Pray specifically for Sofia who is getting “homesick,” rather she has been homesick for some time but is asking with greater frequency when we will return to Argentina. The lack of stability is always hardest on children, pray for peace for her heart.

The “success” of a missionary endeavor is to see the nationals equipped and empowered to do the work of the ministry. Here is another generation of disciples, trained by our facilitators at Pastor Scataglini’s church. Both Daniel Bachetto (a lawyer) and Ezequiel Yedenak (an engineer) were university students five years ago when they started to be disciple by Gilbert. Now they are facilitators of the ministry toward university students who are raising up another generation of disciples of Jesus.

Are we being intentional in passing on of the truth of God to the following generation? This is the question that consumes us and the passion that drives us. May God help us to make him known in 2008.

In the last five years Virginia and I have been training and empowering students within the national church to become leaders to do the work of the Lord on Argentine campuses (Eph 4:11-12)

We are not building a ministry based on our personalities neither are we campus pastors in Argentina but our work is to empower, equip and release healthy national workers to live their lives for Christ where they are found. Some of the students in whom we have investing our lives have completed their studies and graduated. They are not just facilitators of campus ministry in their local churches but they are also using their professional degrees to proclaim the Gospel in the marketplace. Like Daniel Bacheto, who as a lawyer and with Virginia’s help (who is a lawyer herself) has put together a seminar on abortion. He has been offering this seminar in schools, university gatherings and churches and it is amazing to hear the testimonies of the great things that God is doing through this.

Two brothers, Diego and Juan Daletto came to the Lord through our ministry and are about to graduate as journalists at the end of the school year. Earlier this year they started a radio program in the city of La Plata and combining their studies and the resources that we gave them through our discipleship program they are spreading the Gospel over the radio waves. Along with two others from their small group, Jessica and Erika, they have created a seminar on “Vocation and University Life” and have recently sent us a report saying that they have offered this seminar for the first time in a secondary school in La Plata and it has been a huge success.

We believe that the master plan of evangelism, that of discipleship, is the one that Jesus Christ taught and used and it is the key for real growing of the church. We are following it in our work in Argentina and we are grateful for your partnership with us as together we reach tomorrow’s leaders today.