Argentina on Lockdown (God is not in quarantine)

We made it through that first online semester and we thank God that it was successful.  During the break, the lockdown continued and we began preparations to go online again for the second semester.  During the first semester we felt pretty safe as there were very few cases of COVID in our region, however, during the break, it did make its way to Gaiman and although we were only eight staff members here on campus, it made it’s way to IBP.  Thankfully, only
two staff members contracted the virus.  Our supervisor couple was sick for about two weeks but the rest of us managed to escape Covid’s grip.

Mom

Unexpectedly, we had to travel home.  Mom had suffered at least two more heart attacks and a stroke. Her prognosis was looking very grim and after several conversations with hospital staff and family, it was decided that it was time to travel home.  In fact, we were not sure if we were going to make it to see her alive.  In addition to our regular flight time, we had to drive one thousand miles from our town in Patagonia to the city of Buenos Aires because all transportation including domestic flights were shut down.  When we finally arrived home, Mom had just arrived home from the hospital.  She was very weak and fragile and although her health had declined significantly, she was stable, feeding herself, and better than just a week before.  In the days and weeks that followed, Mom had speech and physical therapy and we were there to witness her surprising improvement.  Thank you, God!

Itineration

In our absence, the staff held the fort but since we were already used to this lockdown life of working remotely, Eddie was very present and available at IBP even from California.  

Following this emergency trip, we had to get ready for another trip that was actually planned.  We are truly grateful for the staff that God has blessed us with.  They are capable, hard working, and loyal and we know that they will take care of things when we are away.  We have new supervisors, former students Juan Jose and Damaris.  They joined us in January and are a great addition to our staff.  

2021 is the year for our itineration in the states but this year things are scheduled differently than usual.  Our time away has been divided into two shorter trips of three to four months each.  This ensures that we are not absent from the Bible Institute for a whole year.  In previous years, there was another missionary couple, the directors, who would be here when we were gone and when it was their turn to be gone, we would hold the fort.  Now we are the directors and they have retired.  This new arrangement is also allowing us to be home for the weddings of our children.  Felicia in February and Jeremy in November.  Two weddings in one year! 

Felicia & Caleb

We’re already back from the first part of our itineration.   

We were blessed to be in Texas for Felicia’s wedding on February 26, when we welcomed Caleb Aaron Brown into our family.  

It seems like only yesterday our children were small and here with us.  Now they are grown adults and making lifelong decisions.  We miss them but are glad they are not alone.

IBP’s Doors Open in 2021

We were so thrilled to be able to open our doors and receive our students “in person” this semester. 

2020 was a long year and although we still had classes "online", it just wasn’t the same.  

Although most of our students were able to be here this semester, we still had some online presence; and because many parts of Argentina are still having high Covid counts and travel restrictions in place, not all of our professors were able to be here.

It’s been a different year for sure, but God has helped us every step of the way and classes continue to go on, one way or another.   There was sure a spirit of joy this semester and I believe everyone felt something special in the air from just being together.  Something about Covid and shutdowns can sure make a person thankful for the freedom to gather.  

To all of you who have continued to support us either with
your prayers or financially, we say a huge THANK YOU!

We pray the Lord would keep you close to his side and safe

during these crazy days in which we are living.

We will be home again soon for part two of our itineration so, 

Lord willing, we hope to see you in the coming months!

May our God bless you for your faithfulness.  Love and Hugs!

Eddie and Diana Echevarria