We've had quite a time this past month. Thank you for praying us through. We're still waiting on adoption paperwork. We're still encouraging our national partners who've walked alongside us and taken on the leadership roles for small groups and churches-in-formation God had opened over the last years. we're still packing the house and setting our hearts toward a much needed time with family, friends and YOU back in the States. We've had ups and downs and we're working on keeping our focus on the Lord and staying true to the task He's given us here in Northern Argentina. We're learning more about what our task will be when we return as Catalytic Connectors between U.S. churches and Argentine churches allied in the purpose of pushing back the darkness and opening new works in places where there right now this is little or no evangelical presence.

     We ask you to continue praying for us specifically in the area of the adoption paperwork. We've been told that our file is complete and only lacks the judge's final review before she finalizes our permanent guardianship of Nico. Just before the judicial winter vacation began, the judge told us that it would take her 10-15 days to finalize our situation and today is day 15. Our attorney will be at the judge's office early - hopefully before anyone else with the hope of speaking with her personally to understand what she is planning in our case. Marcela, our attorney, will also assess the possibility of a meeting between us and the judge personally in order to present our urgency face-to-face.

      Please pray specifically:

* Pray for Marcela to be able to meet with the judge and then have clear insight and the right words to say as she speaks with her.

* Pray for the judge, Beatriz, to be willing to listen and moved with compassion to FINISH our paperwork. (we have two open petitions in the file permission to travel to the States and permanent guardianship. If granted the guardianship, we won't need the permission)

* Pray for us - if we have the chance to speak #1 that we will have EXCELLENT Spanish communication skills #2 that we will present ourselves in such a way that God is glorified.

* Pray for Juan and Ramona working in Colonia Derqui - there have been some setbacks there as Louisa has been pressured into no longer hosting the Bible study at her home. Pray for a new meeting place to open and for Juan and Ramona as they continue to reach out in Jesus' name to this very dark settlement.

* Pray for Pastor Hector in Esquina and the team of hunters who will be working together in September. Pray that that David will be able to help them organize their time together for God's glory

     Thank you. Truly, your partnership with us through prayer is essential to our ministry.

 

Thank you so much for praying with us, we are seeing God's response!



Colonia Derqui



As you know, we've been partnering with Juan and Ramona to lead evangelical Bible studies in the small settlement of Colonia Derqui for several months now. But, our connection to Derqui goes back years. Dave helped out with a medical outreach there and as there was no evangelical church presence, the contact names were given to us to follow up. We made several trips to begin establishing relationships, but it was slow going. This is a very small settlement of fishermen with their families and they are extremely suspicious of strangers. Then, last year, we were approached by a couple we trained several years ago, Jaun and Ramona who had a burden to begin a work in Colonia Derqui, where Ramona

Eli with Juan & a surubi

grew up. This was the exciting open door we'd ALL been praying about! Last November, we hosted a communitiy wide outdoor movie night and there we met Luisa and her son Rana. While many of the people at the movie said they'd like to meet for Bible study, only Luisa opened her home to us. Weekly meetings have given many opportunities to learn more about this family as well as well as the community. The practice of witchcraft is very prevelant as is homosexuality and a flourishing drug trade.

The past couple of weeks have been discouraging because Luisa has been sick and it looked as if they were going to discontinue the meetings. Last Thursday, the team went out to visit and found Luisa home but very ill. The Criollo culture is an OUTDOOR culture, meaning that guests are entertained in the front yard rather than indoors. This cultural fact has been important for our team's witness as Rana is deeply involved in many of the seedier aspects of life. However, this week, Ramona went inside to pray with Luisa and had the chance to talk about many things: Rana's lifestyle, Luisa's visits to the local witchdoctor, the apparitions they see in the house at night, the infection in her body.... to name just a few.

After awhile, Juan went inside to look for Ramona while Dave stayed outside listening to Rana talk about how he plans to seek revenge - even murder on people who've offended or mistreated him. When Juan came out, he walked right up to Rana and said - "There's a spirit of vengance in your house. If you ever want peace, you are GOING TO HAVE TO FORGIVE." (there was no way Juan could have overheard the things Rana had been saying to David) So far, Rana's not buying it.

However, Ramona shared with David that Luisa prayed to receive Christ!

(For those of you counting, that's 20 months from first contact to first conversion - it's all on God's time table, not ours!)

Please keep praying for the people of Derqui - Luisa and Rana specifically and most definitely for David, Juan and Ramona as they seek to be light and salt in Colonia Derqui.

Pastor Hector & wife, Betty

This weekend Dave is down in Esquina teaching leaders from the Jesus, Light to the Nations Evangelical Church how to lead small group Bible studies. Friday night they had their first meeting with about 15 in attendance. Saturday morning, he was interviewed on a local radio station! Saturday, the Bible studies continue with Dave's leadership. It's very exciting to see these opportunities and be a part of God's work of reconciliation.



Nico - accidentally on purpose!



In adoption news, the social worker agrees with the psychologist's findings and is in favor of moving forward! However, she made her recommendation of the next step without reading the entire file (which is sort of understandable because the file is HUGE) and what she wants us to do has already been done! The attorney's suggestion was to make a list of all the "usual" paperwork for adoption and give it's location in our file (b/c all of the "usual" stuff has been completed since before Christmas), turn that in to the judge along with a request that she move forward with the sentencing - which will be the official signing of the guardianship papers. We submitted those requests this past Monday and hope to have the judge's response this Monday (May 23).

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9

As you pray for us this week:

* Pray that the judge finds all of the paperwork in order and is willing to set a date to officially sign Nico's guardianship paperwork.

* Pray for Luisa as she begins her new life in Christ. Pray that she seeks and recognizes God's peace and comfort.

* Pray for Pastor Hector and the leadership at Jesus, Light to the Nations Evangelical Church as they determine where God is leading them to open new outreach groups.

* Pray for David as he works hard to finish this term well, it is important to help our national partners recognize their abilities and "equippedness" to carry on in our absence.

*Pray for Pastor Hector and the leaders of Jesus, Light to the Nations Evangelical church as they process the information David is teaching them and begin their new small groups.

* Pray for Eli as he prepares for this transition to the States, he has a lot of expectations. We want to help him make this as successful as possible.

* Pray that we will be sensitive to God's leadership as we follow Him.

Thank you so very much for walking with us on this journey!

Because He Calls,

Alisha,David, Eli & Nico





Prayer Update

This week we did have some new developments in Nico's adoption paperwork, but not as definitive as we'd hoped.  There are two social workers who have to give their opinions to the judge and only one has responded.  Her response was favorable.  The file has gone back to the second social worker and when our attorney visited her this week to see how long she'll need to get her report back to the judge, she replied it would take at least a day or two.  We thank God for Marcela, our attorney.  She continues to be such an amazing blessing in our lives and without her, our dream of being a four person family would never come true. 

We've had some encouraging news from Esquina, Pastor Hector has some new plans and hopes for the work of reaching the Criollo in Corrientes.  Dave will be traveling down there today to talk with him about evangelism, new outreach groups and summer plans.  On this trip he'll also be in Goya and meeting with the new outreach groups there. 

Colonia Derqui is a very small settlement where the people are closely knit and fairly closed off to newcomers.  Jaun and Ramona are partnering with us there trying to reach out and literally bring the light of Christ into this very spiritually dark area.  Ramona grew up there, so that gives us an entrance and helps to find people willing to listen to the Good News.  Criollo people live very much "in the moment" and making solid plans or creating routines is not a part of everyday life.  So, while someone may be truly interested in Bible study, it isn't uncommon for them not to remember to come to a meeting simply because something else came up.  As you can imagine, this can become very frustrating for small group leaders!

We've officially begun the purging process that comes with moving out of a house you've lived in for 5 years...where does all this junk come from?  We're still hoping to leave Argentina on June 29, even though the adoption paperwork process doesn't seem promising at the moment.  We believe God will be faithful to complete this good work as He is in all other things, so on with cleaning, sorting, packing and selling!

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. -  1 Peter 2:9  

As you pray for us this week, please keep in mind:

* Ibrid Benitez, the social worker in charge of ensuring Nico's best interests are met.  Pray that she finds herself working well and making progress in all of her cases.  Pray that she has discernment as she makes important decisions about the lives of so many children.  Pray that she sees  how completely Nico has become part of our family and all of her concerns for him are satisfied.  Pray that she is able to get her favorable opinion sooner rather than later.

* Thank God with us for Marcela Navarro, our friend and adoption attorney.  Please pray for her continued health.  She's expecting their third child and first son in just a few months.  Pray for her as she represents her clients in so many important family aspects.  Pray she can continue to be a faithful witness of Christ's love to all of her clients.

*  Pray for Eli as he senses our excitement as well as the tension involved in preparing for our transition back to the States.

* Pray for Dave's travel safety as he goes to Goya and Esquina this weekend.  Pray for him to communicate well God's great love for all of us as he leads evangelical Bible studies with his national partners.  Pray that he will have the appropriate words of encouragement and discipleship as he visits with the young men he is discipling.

*  Pray for Juan & Ramona, Antonio, Federico, Pastor Hector and Alicia who are our national partners.  Pray that God blesses them in their finances, families and time management as together we seek to " to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for us—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted." Among the Criollo people here in Corrientes, Argentina.

Because He Calls,

Alisha, David, Eli & Nico

Ahh, national friends are such a blessing! Last week we had a visit with our dear friend Mercy and her family. Mercy has been a friend of missionaries for a long time and we are blessed to be a part of her circle. A couple of years ago, Mercy met and married Aldo, a Chilean and so now we only get to see her occasionally. I can't tell you what a blessing and encouragement it was to visit with her and not only encourage but be encouraged!

We're still waiting to hear adoption news for Nico. Almost three weeks ago, the judge in charge published that she has all of the information she needs in order to sign the permanent guardianship papers. Our attorney tells us it'll take about three weeks before we get an official date to meet with the judge and sign the papers. Please pray with us for a date that come sooner rather than later. We are praying to have the adoption finalized before our next Stateside Assignment in July, 2011. This will definitely take a work of God as the wheels of Argentine bureaucracy turn very slowly.

Last week we enjoyed watching Eli's elementary school present a celebration of Argentina's Bicentennial. Eli played the part of one of San Martin's liberation soldiers. He had a great time and looked adorable! Eli's having a tough time adjusting to the changes in our lives. Up until this year, we've been a team of missionary units. In March, Lisa moved to the province of Santiago Del Estero (about 8 hours away) and this weekend, the Peterson's are moving to Miami, Florida to pursue and exciting opportunity to plant a bilingual church targeting the Latin professionals there. Eli and Isaiah Peterson have been the best of friends since the Peterson family moved here in 2007. Please pray with us for new Argentine friends for all of us - especially Eli to fill this void.

We're facing some changes in our ministry focus. We'd appreciate your prayers as we seek God's face concerning the new directions He is leading us to take. We are excited about reaching out to people in more cities throughout the province of Corrientes. We are deep in planning the details for our 2nd "Shotguns & Fishin Poles" volunteer team in July. This one will be in the far southern city of Esquina, Corrientes and there is only one church in the whole town which focuses on the professionals of the city. We'll be reaching out to the people who live on the outskirts of the city and especially the hunting and fishing guides in this tourist town. Pray for us as we seek some sort of partnership with the believers of Esquina. Pray for good contacts and divine appointments as we work to bring the Good News.

Please pray also for my (Alisha) health. I've been dealing with two injuries - to my foot and sciatic nerve. I'm undergoing treatment and seeing progress, but it is slow and frustrating.

Thank you for continuing to pray with and for us as we serve to push back the darkness here in northern Argentina.

There's a first time for everything, and tonight I enter the world of blogs. I guess it isn't too different from things I've done in other media. Here's hoping this will bring news of our work and our lives to folk who are interested in praying for the Criollo of Northern Argentina.

For anyone who doesn't know, we are the Holt family: Alisha, David, Elijah (7) and Nicholas (1). We live in Corrientes, Argentina and serve through the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board as church planters. We've been here since 2002 and while living cross-culturally is challenging, we really enjoy it and especially doing what God has called us to in teaching people of God's great love for them.

Right now, we are working with several families in a neighborhood here in Corrientes Capital where we live starting a Baptist church there. We've been meeting in the Cardosa family's front yard for about a year and a half. The work is slow as we have to spend a lot of time earning trust and building friendships. Lately, we have seen interest from others in the neighborhood and that is encouraging.

We are also putting together the details for a volunteer trip in July. We'll be going to the southern tip of the province to a town called Esquina and will be focusing on creating contacts among the hunting and fishing guides who make their living in the eco-turism industry that fuels much of the Corrientes province.

In the meantime, we are also building relationships with local pastors in an effort to find like-minded congregations interested in reaching out to the non believers all around us. We're working to begin partnerships which will take us to the nearby towns of Lorreto, Bella Vista, Derqui and deepen our presence in Paso de la Patria. We appreciate your prayer support in each of these opportunities.

On the personal front, we are waiting on adoption paperwork to go through for our second son, Nicholas. Please pray with us for favor from the family court judge and a quick resolution to the process. This is a pretty big request as all legal paperwork moves very slowly here.