Palm Sunday Morning (Pictures below)

We were just rookie missionaries in our third year. Things were going great for us in Cordoba in 1967. Already we had helped start several churches. With sadness and against our personal feelings, we had succumbed to the firm orders of the Superintendent of the Argentine Assemblies of God. We had uprooted our family from comfortable Cordoba, where my ministry seemed to be blossoming, and moved 300 miles further interior to San Juan, a virgin area with no Assemblies of God presence… and where the education for our three boys would have serious limitations.


Paul and Betty Hoff were also new missionaries in Argentina. They were working in the area of rheir expertise as educators in our River Platte Bible Institute. But our Argentine national superintendent ordered them with the same firmness…” You can't just be an educator. You have to pioneer a church. It is an absolute requisite to remain in Argentina as a missionary!”


One day when I came to Buenos Aires from the interior I found the Hoffs very distraught. They were practically ready to leave the field. I encouraged them to stay and accept the challenge. “But,” they insisted, “We are professors, not pastors or evangelists!” So I told them Frances and I would leave the church we were planting in San Juan for two weeks to hold their first evangelistic outreach. With that promise they took the challenge and rented a small hall in the suburb city of Remedios de Escalada.


We got permission to use an open lot a block from the rented hall. Frances and I gave it all we had! This was long before my little dummy friend, Felipe, existed. I played the Hawaiian guitar and painted a picture every night which illustrated my message, then I gave it away the following night as a reward for whoever brought the most new people to the event. Frances worked with the children together with Betty. Within two weeks or we had a nice group. And a few of them were firmly converted.


Paul and Betty Hoff often thanked us for helping them get started and admitted that this church-plant experience was one of the brightest spots in their ministry. They later turned the church into the hands of an Argentine pastor and moved to Chile to establish a Bible School.


After that initial crusade and until yesterday I had only ministered in this church 3 times; in 1977, 1982 and 1985. Yesterday morning, Sunday, April 1, 2012 (Palm Sunday) I visited this church at the invitation of the Argentine pastor, Jorge Stolarczuk. He welcomed me with joy. We had served together on the national youth team when we were a lot younger. We enjoyed a marvelous Palm Sunday service. At least two people came to Christ. All of us were profoundly touched by God. One of Pastor Jorge’s sons, who is very good at photography, took some pictures of the service. You'll see a string of them below.


Ralph

Pastor Jorge Stolarczuk and Ralph

Hawaiian Inspirational Melodies

Petting the Skunk, Perfume

More Petting

Felipe obviously overjoyed to be back in Argentina

Intrigued with Felipe

Even their teachers are intrigued. Check out the expression on the face of that little blond kid, one of pastor's grandsons. (You can click on the photo to enlarge is you wish.)

Teaching a new chorus to go with the message.

What a thrill to preach in Argentina again!

Altar time. Dedication prayer.

A final blessing from Pastor Jorge and his congregation. "Go with God!"