A change of location, change of season, changes, changes, changes..
Vision 2022-post-pandemic Virginia Contreras
I was admiring this beautiful flower
I want to keep it that way forever
Not to change anything in it
But to remain the same
I liked it that way
But a new season was coming
I was confused, sad, even angry
The flower was in my opinion
Being torn apart.
Why? What happened?
It was not the same that in the previous season
I didn’t like the new way it looked
But suddenly I saw all the seeds
that the flower had in it
And the wind started to scatter the seeds
New flowers were born all over the world
This is happening
In this new season
for the Church around the world
Seeds has been spread and are still
Being spread by
The Wind of God.
Prayer: In this season of change, help us Holy Spirit not to be putting all our trust in strategies and programs, but to be dependent on You like never before.
A new season
Our daughter Sofia graduated this year and was named Valedictorian. The Missionary Kid’s (MK) have the chameleon as a mascot, since MK’s have to blend into different cultures. In her speech Sofia did an amazing job referencing her identity as grounded and rooted in Christ. Here is an excerpt:
“When people ask me “where are you from?”, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, because, as all TCK’s know, here’s no clear-cut answer to that question. Are they asking where I was born, raised, currently living? I stumble over my words, feeling the need to explain myself every time I get asked the question. Sometimes I leave out parts of my story to make it easier for others to handle, more palatable. This can be tiring, make me wish there was one steady answer I could give, letting me be more relatable to other people. I wrote this poem Analogous (named for colors that are next to each other on the color wheel) which captures this dilemma:
“Blue or yellow, which to be?
Born blue, are blue, or so they tell me.
Yellow friends, yellow speech, yellow school, yellow me.
Blue family, blue speech, blue school, blue me?
In blue land wish I were blue,
In yellow land wish for the same.
But I’m not blue or yellow,
Green is my real name.”
Follow this link to read her entire speech: https://tinyurl.com/48tk8vn2
Itineration Ministry Highlights
We are looking forward to visiting many more churches and developing new friends and partners. Together we will see the lives of many transformed.
Missions Budget Update
We need your help in reaching the Lost
As you know, Assemblies of God Missionaries return to the U.S. for a year to reconnect with supporting churches and individuals and, if need be, to increase the financial support base (budget). We recently returned and have begun working on increasing our financial support base by an additional $2500/month. It may seem incredible and, to some, impossible, but it is neither incredible nor impossible. Our budget is set with the essentials needed to enable us to minister in Argentina and Latin America adequately.
We are blessed to have many churches, friends, and family who already help us dedicate our complete service to reaching the lost by training the found. Still, with this increased budget, we need additional ministry partners.
What does it look like:
You can help
Would you make this need a point of prayer today — Pray with us that as we share our vision for reaching, equipping, training, and empowering tomorrow’s leaders to obey the Great Commission, with both individuals and church congregations, that they would partner with us financially.
Would you consider partnering with us financially today — If you have been meaning to join us, we welcome you to our team. Visit our website to set up your giving: http://gilbertandvirginia.com/Give/Give.html
Already Partnering: Would you consider increasing your support by $5 - 10? You can let us know of your increase by email or text, and we can let the AG know of your additional support.
Would you share our need with others — Who do you know that might be interested in reaching the lost in Argentina? Invite your friends to partner with us by sharing our website or news updates. This way, others can have an opportunity to join us and be a part of seeing lives transformed.
