Back to School! . . .

It is April 11 and classes are underway here at the Patagonian Bible Institute.
The Lord blessed us with an abundance of new students (29 in 1st year) for which we are praising the Lord! Our total student population is 61 this term. This may not sound like a whole lot to you but to us, it is a record number and the school is buzzing with life!

Our student dorm building which we began using a few years ago has a capacity for 96 people comfortably, and reaching that number now appears to be possible in the not too distant future. We would, however, like to complete it, before beginning another dorm building.  Wow, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves, but with God continuing to call His own to labor in the harvest, we must look ahead and be prepared.

Here is an update as to what is lacking in order to complete the dorm building: the 2 bedroom Resident Director's (Supervisor's) apartment next to the student lounge sits waiting to be finished (plumbing, electrical, heating, and flooring), and the outside of the building also is still lacking it's final brick work.  We thank The Lord that there is no debt owing on the entire construction project.  Rather, it continues to be built on a cash basis as funds are available. 

The other building which has been started is the new library.  As the student population has grown, so has our need for a bigger library - a place where students can study, do research, read, and get connected to the Internet.  We are thankful for all of the help we've received getting these projects to where they are today.

At this point I must interject the importance and the significant impact that teams have had on our Bible School.  If it were not for teams, this center for preparing Christian leaders would not be what it is today.  When we arrived, there were fifteen students living in a little farm house and using makeshift classrooms with no heating.  In the house's small kitchen, a wood burning stove was used to prepare the meals.  Now, 16 years and 50 teams later, the Bible School has an Academic Center which includes classrooms, offices, and a small library, a new Dining Room and Kitchen, a Water Tower, and the Dorm Building.  In the back of the property, old rooms were converted to married students and professor housing.    Thank you teams for responding to the the Master's call!

Yes, there still remains much to be done.  But one thing we have learned, is that we are not in this alone.  He has brought workers and givers together in a united spirit and mind.  Together we reach the lost, together we build His kingdom and together we train up laborers for the harvest.  If you have an inkling that God might be calling you, stop and listen.  He might be bringing you on the next team to the Patagonia! If you have been a part in the past, thank you, and we would welcome you back if The Lord so leads.

Until next time, blessings upon you and yours!

Eddie, Diana, Felicia, and Jeremy

Ministry & Family . . . coming and going

We trust you have had a wonderful start to a great year ahead!

First of all, Diana and I want to say thank you to those of you who have been faithfully supporting us in your prayers and also financially.  You have  invested in us as we have invested in the lives of many young (and sometimes older) men and women that have come through the gates of our Patagonian Bible Institute (aka, IBP) to prepare themselves to better serve the Lord and spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  To this date, 27 graduates and spouses are pastoring churches in at least 6 different provinces, and others are serving as missionaries on this continent, Europe, and Africa.

In December we said goodbye to another group of nearly 50 students who are in the middle of (or graduated from) our 3-year Bible and theology training program.  After classes ended, I (Eddie) was able to lead most of the 15 recent graduates on an IBP promo and ministry tour to a province at the foot of the majestic Andes mountain range, about a two day trip north of us.

We were able to minister 15 times in 11 days, in new and in established churches.  We came alongside these churches to do children's evangelistic outreaches, and to minister to and train youth and adults in a variety of services and unique settings.

Each of our graduates had the opportunity to preach and be involved in a variety of ministry opportunities. Even our 63 year-old graduate, Maria Ester, who has a missionary call was able to keep up with the rest of the younger group in the non-stop pace we kept.  Although it was very tiring for everyone, we praise the Lord for a productive, blessed, and safe trip.

During the holidays, our family was blessed to receive a visit from Chris and Rebecca (Martinez) Sanford and children.  It was great to have our family (Diana's sister) here.  We had an unforgettable and wonderful time showing them around Buenos Aires and our home town, Gaiman, in the south.  From an unexpected (due to a cancelled flight because of volcanic ash in the south) hot and humid Christmas in Buenos Aires to a cold "summer" rainy New Year's Eve by the south coast in the Patagonia.

Now we are well into preparing for the next term of classes that begins at the end of March.  We thank the Lord for a solid new crop of students that are contacting us desiring to begin their studies and deepen their ministry preparation.

Pray for the Lord to send us a group of "capable" (2 Tim. 2:2) men and women who will allow the Lord of the Harvest to mold and prepare them for the ministry he has called them into, and that we will  be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to speak into their lives at the right time in the right way.

Pray for wisdom for our family during this time of transition and decision making.  Last December, our daughter Felicia reached her 18th birthday.  She senses a call to ministry and is praying about college.  She is planning to leave in August or January to begin either a church internship program there in Rocklin, or attend Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Texas.

Again, thanks for doing your part at home, in praying and giving, so we can continue to fulfill the call of God on our lives, for now here in Argentina.

God bless you,

Eddie, Diana, Felicia, and Jeremy