November 2009 was fun and busy!

December 4th, 2009

I am composing this letter from the sandy beach of the Atlantic coast, on a sunny Friday morning in Mar del Plata. I am praising the Lord for this quiet morning as it provides the time I need to recharge my batteries for the busy week ahead.

I can hardly belive it is already December; this past month has literally flown by! During three weekends in November, I attended a help and rescue course which taught skills for the relief worker in situations of high elevations. We learned to use ropes in order to ascend and descend victims on steep inclines, including vertical walls. It was very interesting and also a lot of fun! Soon, when I am able, I will upload pictures from my camera to share with you.

Mid-November, we gave our first week-long intensive First Aid and CPR course for the School of Missions, on the YWAM base in the north-eastern province of Argentina, Corrientes. It was my job to gather all of our materials and prepare a guide for the students in the class. As I love to study all things doing with medicine, that was a challenge I truly enjoyed! The week was a wonderful success, and many agreed that it would be a valuable course to provide for every YWAM base!

The last weekend in November, we spent 4 days working as volunteer first aid responders at the world cup Tae-Kwondo championships which took place here in Mar del Plata. It was a great opportunity to practice our skills and also to just be present as witnesses for Christ. The Tae-Kwondo competitions are an annual event where YWAM has been volunteering for the past couple years as a part of the medical team, and each year we pray that the spirit of God will be present in that place, and prevent any serious injuries from occuring. This year we did the same, and the doctor who is the instructor of the help and rescue organization with which we partner, made a comment to the fact that our prayers are a little TOO effective, and so we are not getting enough practice with really bad trauma! It is an answer to prayer that this man, Dr. Covelli, is recognizing the power of prayer, and that He is opening up more to the gospel. All the missionaries on the base here have been praying for him ever since they met him, three years ago.

Another wonderful thing that arose during the world cup, was an opportunity to witness to the competitors we met at the nurse station. One in particular was very hopeless as he had injured in his knee and "lost everything." On top of it all, when he went to the public hospital for an xray, no one gave him proper care since he did not speak spanish and no one spoke english to help him. He returned to the event feeling that life was so worthless, and that nothing on Earth has eternal value. Since English was not his primary language, I found myself sharing Christ with him in a very direct, simple way. It was so wonderful that the exact scripture I was carrying in my pocket that day was the one he needed to hear! He said that when he returns home to his country, there are many things he wants to leave behind, and turn his life over to God! I think to myself now, how bazaar is it that God would bring me from the United States and him from Romania, to extend the gospel of Jesus!

Lastly, just a week ago now, in my honor, being the only American in the group, we celebrated Thanksgiving here in Mar del Plata! In my mind, it was a miracle that everything turned out cooked just right, considering that at noon Thursday, the two turkeys we´d just bought were rock-hard frozen! I was even able to put together three "pumpkin" pies using preserved sweet potato! The Lord has blessed my with a wonderful, loving Argentine family!