It was a crisp autumn morning when I arrived at 7:30 AM last Saturday, May 30, 2015. The “Bethel de los Alcanfores”, one of our five
church bus boats, (stern seen in photo) was waiting for me to board. I
loaded my accordion aboard and, of course, Felipe’s suitcase. This would
be a day to remember. (Did you notice the missing step? This is one
of the better docks.) 
These sweet little shivering bundles were already aboard with their
grandmother. Our destination: Bethel AG Island church… 3 hours boat trip
from the mainland and from nearest road.
As we proceeded down the seemingly endless labyrinth of canals and
rivers we stopped again and again to pick up another family… won to Jesus
through this effective ministry of love. Three of our other boats were in
other distant areas picking up others. One, as usual, was in dry-dock
being serviced. Required maintenance for safe transportation requires an
investment of thousands of dollars every year. The tithes and offerings
of the local people cover the diesel fuel for the engines. Most of the
maintenance money, insurance etc. is raised from our generous Argentine
churches.
Once at our 40 acre island we await each of our fleet of boats to arrive
with their human cargo. One just arrived and I run to hug the necks of
each one... men, women, youth and children. It’s a love affair.
The Nelly (named after Pastor Cocholo’s mother) is arriving loaded to
the hilt with precious souls. She has just been completely restored and
repainted.
A mother is showing off her tiny baby… exactly one week old.
Traveling hours to get to church so soon after giving birth!
We flagged down this “grocery store boat” to buy hamburger paddies and
wieners for our church Snack Shop. Cocholo had forgotten to bring them
from the mainland.
A third one of our boats, the "Don Esteban", ties up alongside the "Nelly" and a joyful group climb up on the dock. All the boats are cared for and
driven by qualified licensed men… all of whom were saved as teenagers and
prepared by Pastor Cocholo. Some of them are good preachers, too, he
tells me.
Exactly 50 years ago, May 26, 1965 Frances and I and our three boys
arrived by ship in Argentina. Now after I had preached and we had all spent
time in prayer… the celebration started. They had a couple dressed as
tango dancers, a gaucho and a little darling “paisana” (country girl), and a
boy dressed as a soccer player… to represent aspects of Argentina life… and
they presented me with gifts. (The girls and gaucho caught me for this photo
just before boarding to return home.)
Then suddenly during the celebration this huge banner appeared out of
nowhere. It reads “Argentina Thanks You”.
As they circled me with the banner and prayed for me I was moved to
tears.
Everybody out front for a picture before it gets dark!
As usual I sat by Cocholo as he sat on a high stool guiding the ship…
with his beautiful wife, Lilia on his other side as we headed back toward the
mainland. I sneaked this picture of his hand at the helm.
Although
this work is over 40 years old now, I am still amazed at this pastor’s
expertise in pulling up to dock after dock with currents pushing and pulling his
craft… often backing in against the current to allow his passengers to debark…
and all this in total darkness. Yet he and his team of drivers do this
hundreds of times over as though it were nothing.
Island reflections: I deserve no accolades for the preservation
and broad expansion of this marvelous work among these hundreds of river
islands. Cocholo and his precious wife Lilia, seen here reflected in the
mirror above the helm, have weathered the storms and faced terrifying dangers
with calm control. They have loved the people and taught them to love
each other. Their weekly classes for married couples have helped keep
physical and verbal abuse down in a culture where it was formerly rampant.
Here I present you with the true heroes of this story. Both are
precious servants of the Lord: Pastor Justo Jose Urquiza (known as Cocholo) and his
beautiful wife, Lilia.
Ralph
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