Argentina Ministry Trip : 8 5 to 8 26 09

My hosts and ministry trip coordinators:  Basilio and Esther Neznajko and  their daughter, Liliana and son in law , Ariel. The children are Benjamin and Victoria. All four of  the adults are pastors and wonderful friends to me. Their home is truly home to me.  After the time in Resistencia, Basilio had other work he had to do; but, the other three stuck with me until I left Saenz Pena with Sophia.

First of all I want to tell you that I did not even think of taking pictures until  I had already preached 6 services!  I am so sorry. However, those services took place at the  Tabernacle in Resistencia and in Puerto Vilelas (Chaco) so if you are curious, I probably have  those congregations  here on Xanga   or on  Facebook dated in  6 08 .

I left on Wednesday, 8 5 to go to Buenos Aires. On Thursday 8 6 I took the Flecha bus out of Retiro to Resistencia. On 8 7 I arrived and we first of all went shopping. We have an annual shopping ritual with Liliana and Ariel Euring and sometimes Esther Neznajko too. 

On 8 8 I rested and prepared for 8 9. On 8 9 I ministered in the AM at Puerto Vilelas and at night at the Tabernacle.  On 8 10 I again spent the better part of the day in prayer and study -- but I did take a walk to downtown Resistencia.

On 8 11 & 8 12 The Prophetic conference was held first at the Tabernacle and then in Puerto Vilelas -- 2 services  back to back at both places. At that time we had a good time doing some prophetic exercises together -- the Lord showed up beautifully in a prayerful, musical, time that including singing in the Spirit and the people coming forth prophetically.  Actually, I would love to do a prophetic conference at River of Life because I now  have a lot prepared that would be good to pass on!

On 8 13 Liliana interviewed me on her Woman of Faith Radio Program and I prepared for the Women of Faith first ever conference for the rest of the day. Another walk downtown too.

On 8 14 & 15 I taught at the Women of Faith Conference concerning faith that can endure hardship and knowing we grow into Him as we pass through these things. The praise band -- part of it -- you see below was a joy to work with. I had fantasies of our renting a big bus and going all over Argentina to bless folks....

On 8 16 we traveled quite a few hours to another city in Chaco called Charata. I spoke in an evening service there  and prophesied to quite a few people too.

I should say too that in every church , in every service when there was a praise time, I also played my trumpet with all the bands.  Someday I will try to capture in words the extreme joy I find in doing this. I find it to be a way of being immersed even more in the River of the Spirit if I can play the music before I minister. My respect for musicians has grown notably since the conference in Belgium. Something special happened to me there that resulted in a higher respect for musicians and gratitude that I am one .  There was a time that Barbara Yoder prophesied to me that my trumpet playing would become extremely significant in my ministry. Because I am so focused on my teaching and prophetic flow, I  was taken aback by her word to me because I saw it as somehow benching the centrality of the Word ministry I have.  But  today  I receive that Word fully because I have also prophesied on the trumpet and I can FEEL it when the music elevates my spirit way up into the Heavenlies in a special way.   And some have told me they also were affected in that same way by the trumpet.

On 8 16 we slept overnight in Charata and then had lunch with the pastor and his wife who have only been pastoring for a year so that gave opportunity for Esther, Arial, Liliana , and I to hear about their congregation and give encouraging input as well.

That afternoon we started the very long journey to Mira Flores.  At Mira Flores Esther and I shared a room in the pastor's home -- it was the only time I did not have the joy of solitude in a room  that I so love. But, I was happily surprised to find that I was perfectly happy with Esther in the room with me -- it felt like my old Calvin College roommate days -- very cozy . So, now Esther belongs to that very, very short list of folks I am comfortable sharing a room with...well, people who come to mind are Robert, Karen Vander Vliet , EG, and Jonathan (our sons). So far, that is about it...but, now I see that the list could possibly grow.

On both 8 18 & 8 19 at night I preached in Mira Flores, Chaco. On 8 19 I also preached in an afternoon women's meeting.  Once more the Lord blessed me with prophetic words for the people there in the evening services . The second night -- as the pastor had requested -- the leaders of the church lined up and that gave me opportunity to give each one a prophetic word (which was a leap of faith for me as usually I pick out people that I sense the Lord has a word for rather than have the leader pick them out for me). Imagine how thrilled I was when later the pastor (at dinner after church) told me all the words were "right on".  

 On 8 19 in the afternoon a pastor who had ridden an hour on his bicycle to be with me for ministry really touched my heart with his extreme humility and also the way Christ radiated from his face. He had heard me on the radio on 8 18 and could not be at the 8 19 service so he asked if I would meet with him to minister to him.  I knew he was coming and had prayed about him while waiting for him and the Lord clearly showed me how pleased he was with this pastor.  One of the main questions the man asked when he sat with me was whether or not the Lord had shown me if He was pleased with Him.  The pastor had no formal education and was concerned about his adequacy. But, the fact was that I could so feel the presence through him and his love for the flock that I was positive the Lord was teaching that pastor as the pastor walked daily with Him!

Speaking of the radio program, Pastor Margarito, the Mira Flores pastor, has the only radio program available for miles and miles around. Both evening services were on the radio so if folks wanted to listen to the radio, they had me for their listening pleasure.

Pastor Margarito is an apostle over at least 20 churches. Some of these are churches that meet in the woods. 

He came to Mira Flores when there were only dirt roads and his property had nothing. Now he has the home, the church, and several missionary apartments on his grounds. He adds to his own income by having a water delivery business. His wife is a school teacher.

The people in Mira Flores are very economically challenged! They depend a lot on rain water and it has not rained (as of 8 19 anyway) since January! 

On 8 20 we went to Saenz Pena and had lunch with Ericka and Andres Neznajko. Andres wears many hats at his church -- one of them is youth pastor. He also is over a lot of the educational programs.  Andres and Erika  had just returned the night before and Andres  had lots of pictures to show us (on his laptop) from their ministry trip. He had taken a group of young people to a  remote, extremely impoverished  place about 9 hours from Saenz Pena (all dirt roads).  It was a city whose government paid health clinic was in ruins.  So the team painted walls, brought bedding, clothing, toys, and lots of love and music to this place.  The kids slept in sleeping bags in the local school and went outside to the hole in the ground (surrounded by a little brick wall) to relieve themselves.  I was totally impressed by their loving service to the Lord!

On 8 21 Sophia, a sister from Andres' church whose home I had dinner in last year, and I got on a bus at midnight to ride overnight to San Salvador, Huhuy. She served as translator and friend all the time there. She worked for many years with Youth With a Mission spending seven years in India where she learned English.  She too is a Bible teacher and also served as a trainer with YWAM. She has been married for around a year now and I was grateful her husband was all right with her coming with me!

On 8 21 at night as well as on 8 22 and 8 23 at night I preached at the Maranatha Bible Temple in San Salvador (pastored by Juvenal Garcia who is an apostle overseeing scores of churches all over the place).  I also preached there Sunday morning on 8 23. 

On Sunday afternoon the couple who had been "assigned" to "take care of" (especially drive us around) Sophia and I, Miguel and Merta, took us to see the mountains.

Just before Miguel and Merta picked us up to go to the evening service, I heard a band playing outside my hotel room. By the time I got outside to wait for them, the band had past by but many, many families on horses were "parading" down the street . It was the annual celebration of a battle they had won against the Spanish conquistadors a couple hundred years ago or so. Every year they reenact their exodus from town . When the actual event occurred they burned down the town so the Spanish would not gain their things. So another event which we actually got to see before service is that they burn huts . They did this in a rather dry river bed as hundred of us watched from a bridge and from the surrounding river banks.  This is apparently their biggest annual celebration and I had never even heard of that event in history! I am amazed at the probability that I am woefully ignorant of so much world history that has such meaning to so many nations to this day.

I always pray about getting some prophetic words but did not get any until Sunday night at San Salvador!  I  believe it had to do with the importance for them of the teaching I was doing which was a progression from the Ephesians 4 message (of the purpose of having church), to discussing the goal of perfection (many passages shared on that) and then ending with Christ coming with rewards and setting up His kingdom on earth when the “bride made herself ready”.  I needed all the time I was given to concentrate on the teaching. It was a joy to be in a place where the pastor actually seemed to really appreciate simply quiet, systematic Bible teaching (which is one of my very favorite things to do but it feels like I need to fight that prejudice I have that everyone prefers just a couple of Bible references and then have a whole lot of up to date illustrations, fun stories, etc.). It was a gift to me to be able to go passage to passage and have the people remain attentive and seem deeply appreciate as well.

The pastor has asked me to return  in either March or May in 2010 to do more teaching. I told him we have to talk to Basilio to see if he would want to coordinate a visit as well.

We will try to work it out….

I enjoyed a lot of table fellowship in Huhuy!  Here are some of the pictures. The older couple you see especially delighted me because they -- on their own-- go through the Bible together in their home and they had some questions about the book of Jeremiah. I dream of moments of fellowship with the saints in which we open the Word at the table and go through passages together. What fun!

Also, in the picture below of the 2 couples and the baby, the young man in the very front, Javier, took Sophia and I out the night before at a restaurant near our hotel. We too had a wonderful, very in depth , conversation about the Word of God concerning suffering and sickness.  He was having some questions because he had prayed for healing for an unsaved uncle who was dying and the uncle was healed and saved. Then he prayed for his saved mom to be healed from a malignant brain tumor and she died. He seemed to be comforted by the content of our conversation and I was happy Sophia and I could be used to listen and share! 

The couple with the baby had a miracle story to tell us about their having this child.

The group of women below gave us a beautiful meal complete with the daughter shown there doing a couple of folk songs for us on her guitar.  The other daughter took the picture. It was fun to be just "us ladies" that night at the table. The mom (shown with the poodle)  owns a clothing and shoe shop just below the town house they live in.

On Monday 8 24 after having had lunch with the pastor, some of his family and Sophia. Then I was taken to the bus so I could go on the 20 + hour journey to Buenos Aires.

The Lord beautifully helped me during times I was alone making the connections in Buenos Aires both at the beginning and end of the trip. 

I so appreciated the daily prayers and church time prayers too…I could feel the supernatural undergirding of the Spirit!

I missed Robert a lot as this was the longest time I have ever been away from him. He at first was saying he did not ever want me gone that long again; however, as we talked it over when I got home, his problem was more that I was only home a short time between Europe and Argentina so now he is saying that perhaps it would be all right for me to go away for a few weeks again if it was a much longer time in between trips.  We will see....  All I know is that if I can give from what I have learned  in the Word over the years to churches who may now have heard it the way the Lord has shown it to me, I am grateful for every open door of utterance! 

I had especially prayed for the physical energy I needed for this trip and the Lord gave it to me!

I once more thank all of you who prayed for me!

I did make it clear to all that their having me was a result of the giving and prayers of everyone at River of Life. I praise our precious church family wherever I go and thank the Lord for you all!!

I am realizing that I am turning into one of those folks that now likes "quick touches" on blog sites (i.e., personal blogs -- not the sites I do sermons on....).

I am getting so used to driving while  listening to  books on tape from the library now that it occurred to me that perhaps there ought to be a place to record lengthy thoughts so our friends can record them and then hear them on tape while driving rather than being bound to a chair reading.

Multi tasking along with many of our senses being engaged as well. Drive. See sunset. Eat Mc Donald's ice cream cone. Explore. And hear friends on tape.

'just a mood I am in for a minute...it will pass....

So...........I took this for personality from Dr. Phil. Don't do it. He will insult you.  I am not the person he described. And, no, I am not telling you what he said. So there.

No more than I am 1/2  black as the "How black are you" quiz said. And I am not Swedish as the "True nationality " quiz said.

Where do people come up with these lists of 10 easy questions whose answers pidgeon hole you for life????

Minister greets motorists every Monday through Friday, through rain, shine or snow

by Tom Rademacher | The Grand Rapids Press

Wednesday January 28, 2009, 10:49 AM

Press Photo/Lori Niedenfuer CoolMorning greeting: The Rev. Robert Barnes, pastor of River of Life Ministries on Leonard Street NW, stands at the end of the church driveway for an hour each day showing an inspirational sign to drivers.

Most ministers plant a Bible verse on the sign in front of their church and call it good.

Not the Rev. Robert Barnes.

He prefers to hold a sign of encouragement in his own two hands and hawk it streetside for all to see, no matter the weather.

"Because I literally wanted to reach people one-on-one," he said.

With the mercury registering a 5 degrees Monday, he stood in long underwear, boots, earmuffs, mittens, cap and multiple layers of warmth with a sign telling passing motorists to "BE FULL OF JOY."

He has been out there virtually every weekday since October, alternating that sign with others that read "I'M PRAYING FOR YOU" and "BE PROSPEROUS" and "GOD HAS YOU ON HIS MIND."

More than a few wave. Occasionally, he will hear a honk. And often during the week, someone will stop to treat him with a hot drink.

If he affects only one person, Barnes figures it has been a fruitful morning.

"One morning, a lady stopped, crying. She wanted to pray. And I'm happy to do that."

Barnes, a native of Detroit, grew up in Dowagiac before moving to Grand Rapids in 1978. With his wife, Rosemary, the 67-year-old minister co-pastors River of Life Ministries at 3412 Leonard St. NW.

At the entrance of that church, drivers will spot Barnes between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, rain, shine or otherwise.

"I've experienced it all -- except warmth," he said with a laugh. "Although I figure I'll welcome a day like this come next summer, when it's a 90-degree day in August."

You won't find him complaining about the elements.

"I saw the movie 'The Passion,'" he said, "and what I'm doing out here doesn't even compare to what Christ went through for us.

Sign of appreciation: Bob Stacey, right, of Grand Rapids, brings a cup of hot chocolate to Robert Barnes, l

"I feel like in my own way, I'm reaching out to the community. And I have to say that in being involved in the ministry for 47 years, this has been the most successful way I've ever found to connect with people."

Barnes said he began reaching out in unconventional ways when he was suffering eight years ago from an illness, and found himself feeling better the more he blessed motorists driving by his home when he lived on the city's South Side.

"The Lord says that if you want to receive, you have to reach out."

When his church, which he founded in 1980, moved into the Leonard Street location about 1 1/2 years ago, he eventually decided to take it outside.

Barnes is resolved to deliver his homespun messages as long as he's physically able.

"I figure I made a commitment," he said, although he will leave his post when he takes vacations from his flock.

"Someone suggested I make a sign that says 'I'll Be Back,' when I am off," he said.

Lisa Mercier passes Barnes every day on her way to work. In talking about him with others she knows who drive by, she said, they "all agreed that seeing him and his message for the day ... got their mornings off to a great start no matter how rushed we were leaving the house."

Bob Stacey is another motorist glad for Barnes' presence, so much so that he will sometimes stop and grab a cocoa for the minister when bound to and from his West Side home.

"He gives people confidence," said Stacey, 51. "And it's nice to know that somebody is actually thinking of me during the day. Let's be serious; most people don't do that."

E-mail Tom Rademacher: trademacher@grpress.com

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COMMENTS (2)Post a comment

Posted by jan2009 on 01/28/09 at 11:58AM

I used to see this man every morning, before work.. He really makes your day, things that seemed so stressful in the moment, left you my mind, when ever i saw him, and i waved every morning. I have been Laid off, still think of his kindness every day, he is very generous to share like that.

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Posted by brizabeth on 01/29/09 at 9:05AM

That's my pastor!!!!! He has such a heart for the Lord, and he sincerely loves to bless people. Feel free to come visit River of Life...we'd LOVE to worship the Lord with you!