New FALL Bi-mester Underway

New Supervisors

Meet new general supervisors, newlyweds, Fabian and Ana.  What a joy to welcome this young couple to our staff.  Both are former IBP graduates and both have the most kind and humble personalties.  You would love them.  These two are over the four student supervisors.  Together this group helps keep everything running smoothly.  It is a task that keeps them all very busy during these intense days when classes are in session.

Supervision Team Six

The Sunday before classes began was Easter Sunday.  I was honored to share an Easter morning devotional with the student body.

April second was the first day of classes.  On April first, my mom had a heart attack.  She spent time at the hospital and then was sent home with a slew of meds.  In the next week and a half, she was hospitalized two more times, so, unsure of how much time my mom, who will turn 90 soon, actually had, I flew home to see her and to help with her care.

Although she still looks great, and is not in pain most of the time, her heart is now functioning at 20 percent, she is very weak, and her health is quite delicate.

I am glad that I am home during this difficult time when my mom's future is uncertain.  I am especially grateful to be able to spend this special Mother's Day with my mom and my family.

Eddie and More IBP News...

Eddie has been very busy at IBP.  Helping to oversee the functioning of an institution is no easy task.  In addition to the ongoing business at IBP, Eddie has had the privilege of taking groups of students on weekend ministry trips.  

Due to various reasons, Eddie is the one and only official driver of IBP's van, a 19 passenger vehicle.  Thankfully, he loves these road trips because they provide excellent opportunities for him to get to know our students more personally. 

Finished Project

The move to the new, albeit temporary, childcare room took place in mid April.  I believe the children and the childcare workers are pleased with their new, more spacious hang-out! 

GETTING READY

PREPARING

These intensive bimesters seem to come quickly and then fly by.  Here are some highlights of the activities in preparation for the 2018 Fall Semester (April and May).

In this picture are all the members of IBP’s staff.  This was taken at our annual staff planning retreat weekend.

  In the area between our library and academic center, cement was poured.  This is part one of what will be a nice walkway/patio area.

Below. . .


Eddie and I painted the new temporary

childcare facility.  

Heating and windows were installed in the back of the room and also in the front door.

And then the final touch. . .

The flooring was laid.

It will be so nice for the children to have this more spacious room!

Along the side of the kitchen, 
a cement driveway was poured for unloading the large order of groceries IBP purchases each week. 




Thanks Daniel and Pepe for all your hard
work getting our campus ready for another school year.  We are so very thankful that the Lord has provided us with these precious men of God who love helping in this work for His Kingdom!

Summer Months

December - ...

After last bimester, things slowed a little for the holidays.  Jeremy came to visit for Christmas and stayed until just after New Years.  He had been gone for two years and was glad to be back in Argentina, the place where he grew up, and reunited with friends once again. The time passed quickly and before we knew it we were saying goodbye.

IBP - Urgent Repairs

In 2017 high Patagonia winds had blown off some roof panels of our newest structure, our future multi-purpose building.  With the help of friends and churches, panels were purchased and the repairs were made.  

In addition, we have been making improvements and repairs all around the campus preparing for the beginning of a new school year.  Classes will commence on April 2 and there is much to be done.

Trees Falling

More recently, our very strong winds were also responsible for felling one of our Poplar trees.  During our breaks from classes, we rent out our facilities to camp groups.  There happened to be a group present at that very spot where the tree fell.  One member heard a cracking sound and rushed everyone inside.  Then... Boom!!!  It fell!  Breaking through the pergola and landing just outside the door they had just gone into. 

Thank God no one was hurt and that all entered in the nick of time.  The incident led to a close examination of the trees and it was discovered that many of the trees near the one that fell were not strong at the base and will need to come down for safety sake.

30 Years 

Before getting too wrapped up in all of the to do's, we were able to get away for a bit to celebrate our 30 year wedding anniversary.  God has been good and we thank him for his faithfulness to us through the years.



We have taken this missionary journey one step at a time as we have felt God leading us.  Looking back to when we first came to Argentina, we did not realize it was in his plans to have us here for over 21 years!!!

Temporary Childcare

We had to do something about a place for childcare while we wait for our new married student housing facility (that will include a childcare center) to become a reality.  That project is still in the designing/dreaming stage.  It is a very real need that we are praying and believing for.  So for now we're converting a portion of a storage building into a temporary childcare area.  Here we are working on this project.  

The flooring and decorating are next.  Stay tuned for more pics.

WE ARE GROWING!!!

Beyond Our Limits!
Our student body is growing!  We have seen and felt the need to expand.  Not only are we having to defer to a waiting list for married students, but we have no adequate childcare facility.  With more married students come more children.  They're adorable, and they need a spacious and fun place to be while Papi and Mami are in class.
This is one of two projects that we're praying can become a reality soon!  A large family center which will include six to eight married student apartments and an adequate childcare facility.

Growth is a Good Thing
This "growth problem" is a new, exciting, and also disappointing experience for us.  It is disappointing to have to tell young couples and families that there is no room at this time.  The good news is that we have the property!  The land is ours and paid in full.  All we lack are the funds to begin building.  Please pray that we can raise the funds quickly for this very important project.  Plans are underway!

If you saw the picture in our last post which showed the large crowd at our graduation, then you may also have read about the need for a large hall where we can have our graduations and other important events.  This building has already been started.  Our home church, Destiny Christian Church, in Rocklin, CA, came in 2016 and put up the roof.  The next phase will be to pour the cement floor.  

This building is to be a gym/chapel or event hall that will be great for hosting large crowds of up to 400.  It will be so good to be able to have this, not only for IBP's own events, like graduations, but for other events as well.  During the breaks from classes, we rent the campus out for kid's camps, men's and women's camps, and family camps, etc.  This is one of the ways IBP raises funds to provide for the ongoing operation of the school.  

Thanks so much for your prayers and giving!  Our Patagonian Bible Institute, one of only 3 resident schools in South America, would not exist without the help of friends like you!  This is missions... being a part of what God is doing around the world. 

The Second Half

CELEBRATING THE GRADS!!!

The second bimester is always the busiest time of the school year.  In the weeks following our Spiritual Emphasis week, the students, in addition to focusing on their studies, get ready to put on the annual end-of-year party honoring the ones who will be finishing their time here. Student Body Pics

Clad in black are our first year students.  In red and white are second year, and dressed like movie characters, are the honored third year students. We had 21 graduates this year!  Praise the Lord!

Below is their picture on graduation night.

This year for the first time we had our graduation ceremony at a nearby school.  Looks like we will be needing to build in the near future as we have no facility large enough at this time for a large crowd.


There were close to 300 guests in attendance so there was no way we could do the ceremony on campus. In this picture you can get an idea of the crowd we welcomed that night. Congratulations Grads!!!  

An Awesome Bimester

It was great to be on campus again, seeing the called ones so hungry for more of God.  IBP continues to grow as God continues to answer the prayers of believers for him to send out workers into his harvest field.  

The school term started out great and then at the half-way point, we had our Spiritual Emphasis week with special guest, author, singer, song writer, Bob Kilpatrick.  What a fun and inspiring week as Bob, not only ministered in song, but also with daily messages which called on all of us to know our God better by learning to spend time in silence and to listen to his voice.
Bob even produced a recording of our students and student musicians singing one of his songs they learned as a surprise... 
And was our featured guest speaker for our annual open air youth event, IBP Joven. This is a special event which draws young people from cities near and far and offers a day of workshops, fun and fellowship, and then culminates with our invited speaker and a concert. 
To the left our students are praying for the young people who came to the event.

Thanks, Bob, for coming and pouring into our students! 
     

Getting Settled

This took a while!

With the spring (October/November) school term having been on the verge of beginning, there was little time to unpack our bags and relax.  We housesat from mid September to the end of October for the directors who had to travel unexpectedly.  Actually, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  We wanted to be close by during classes and the director’s house is right on campus, so we couldn’t be closer.  I enjoyed walking to the house on campus.  Everything is so green right now.

  

 

We had found a house to rent earlier than any other term, but that first month was a month of getting it painted and moving little by little…  Devoting most of our time to the work at IBP and then painting and working on our move as we were able.  

We also enjoyed visiting the church we led before we left.  It was so awesome to see first hand how it is growing and flourishing in the capable hands of a devoted IBP alum and his wife.  Eddie preached and we received such a warm welcome and lots of hugs and Argentine kisses.  

Getting to Know a Great Bunch of Students

Then they came.  First we received the student supervisors, the new students and a few others.  Then all weekend the rest of the student body began to arrive.  

We enjoyed welcoming each one back and spending a few moments getting acquainted with the students we had not met and reacquainted with others during registration.  This spring we noticed that there was much joy and anticipation in the air for what God was going to do here in each of their lives.