MidnightCall Magazine
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News From Israel MagazineArgentina
“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein” (Luke 18:16-17).
The Gospel of salvation is still the most complex issue facing modern man. Churches, missionary agencies, television and radio ministries, and large publishing houses all work to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Doubtless, Jesus’ disciples were also seeking on a higher level when children— or as the KJV puts it, infants—were brought to Him. The disciples opposed the children, but Jesus opposed the disciples. The Bible actually says Jesus said, “Of such is the kingdom of God.” Who is
more trusting than a child? He relies on the security of his mother; that is the type of trust we are to demonstrate to the world.
It always seems like Jesus does just the opposite of what other people want or do. Doubtless, the disciples had great things in mind for the Lord. They probably just assumed He had no time for the children. How humiliated the disciples must have been when they heard Jesus was not pleased with their actions. The disciples were so earthly minded they were no good for heavenly things.
Next came a rich man who asked, “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (verse 19). How did Jesus respond to him? “Sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (verse 22). Again, our Lord acts so contrary to our perceptions, but by doing so He clearly shows us that heaven is a place for those who have faith in heavenly things.
It may seem that our Lord asked too much, because this rich man had presumably worked very hard for his riches, saved his money and accumulated much wealth. But it becomes obvious from reading this Scripture that this man wanted to have the best of both worlds: 1) his future on earth because of his riches, and 2) eternal life. After Jesus made the statement, we read: “And when he heard this, he was
very sorrowful: for he was very rich” (verse 23).
This simple Gospel is still effective around the world, and is being preached by His servants, through whom Jesus is building His Church. Here is a report from Midnight Call missionaries Erich and Jutta Schäfer, who are serving the Lord in Argentina:
Argentina
Missionary Erich and Jutta Schäfer
“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20).
These words may become an accusation against us if we fail to bring the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord to all people. The events are over toppling each other; there are assassinations the world over, earthquakes, floods, and powerful storms, surprising people who thought they were save. Many parts of the world experienced great disaster, which led many farmers to despair. Not only in Africa, but also here in Argentina. In Brazil, the giant Amazon River does not carry the water that it used to because of the lack of rain. One can almost perceive it in the air: Jesus Christ is coming.
How thankful we are to report that many Christians in Argentina are eagerly at work. They know that there is only a little time left, so they don’t sit at home, do nothing, or waste time on non-spiritual things. We see small groups on the way to villages proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ, especially in places where very few people live. That is the concern of many of the Christians here.
Our tour at the end of last year with the Maranatha-Latino-Mobil led us to La Rioja. This is one of Argentina’s 24 provinces. There were many places we have not visited to preach the simple Gospel of salvation. Former President of Argentina, Carlos Menem, of Syrian descent
and Muslim by faith, resides in this area. Needless to say, he has a strong impact among the people.
Our aim is to stop at the small villages where many others just pass by. Over and again we experience that especially in these insignificant places, God had prepared people to accept the Lord Jesus Christ. Later on our tour we met a believer who, without our knowledge, was saved at one of those house meetings, and now the Lord has called him into His service.
Missionaries Stephan Beitze, Erich Schäfer and Lukas Vazquez said they would participate. All others who had planned to go did not participate when the time came. Lukas Vazquez loves the Lord greatly, and is sacrificing his vacation time to help proclaim the Good News wherever we go.
God uses simple people for His service. Children of God who love Him, and are at His disposal, can be used for great things. For example, there is a 14-year old named Javier Flores, who has not been a believer for long, does not have much Bible knowledge, but he knows Jesus, and he passes that knowledge on to others. Each week he walks about six hours into the mountains where he leads a Bible study group in
a small village. When he comes, there is quickly a gathering of up to 50 children, and many more are added as time goes by because something new is happening in town. One of the missionaries who found out about Javier’s work permitted him to stay at his home for two months. This opportunity was used to study the Word of God and to learn more of the Bible so that he can better serve the children.
Recently, Jorge Fabio Diaz and his wife Maria Ortega, who are missionaries in the Puna, visited our home. During our Bible study on Sunday afternoon, these faithful missionaries shared their experiences about the work the Lord is doing in their area:
“Our mission field is located in the north of Argentina, usually above 3,000- meter elevation. People who live in the little village of Chalaba have testified that they have accepted Jesus as their Savior. We continued our travel to Tres Pozos, elevation 3,600 meters. Here we went from house to house and to a school. Five adults and several children accepted the Lord. Many teachers were very interested to hear more about God’s Word. After lunch, we went on to El Moreno, where we were permitted to preach the Word of God in a school. Many children accepted Jesus as their Lord. Then our paths led to Barrancas, where the proclamation of the Word convicted six adults and several children. That may not seem like such a large number, but please keep in mind that 50-70 families populate these villages—all of whom need the Word of God. According to Acts 8, the Holy Spirit sent Philip to preach to one man in the desert. If God was thinking about just one soul in the desert, doubtless His heart goes out to the people in these mountain villages. We returned home exhausted from this tour.
But we continued the next day, this time to La Quiaca and them to Cieneguillas. Again, the Word of God was proclaimed and the Lord provided a great harvest: 12 people accepted the Lord. Many have a great desire to grow in faith and to know more about the Word of God. Afterwards, we went on to Santa Catalina, a somewhat larger village. The place is steeped in Catholicism. It is a deeply religious place
where idolatry seems to be the order of the day. There we had the opportunity to preach the Gospel to children and members of the youth groups. Again, many of them accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. Although some did not respond because they were ashamed to be a part of the believers, nevertheless, the seed was sown and the Word of God will produce fruit.
Later we crossed a river and went to the little village of Sacari, a poverty-stricken place. There is one school building for 21 children and one teacher for 1st through 5th grade. The teacher was quite surprised when she saw us and said: ‘No one ever visited us here. Why are you coming?’ She apparently didn’t know that we visited this village four years ago. We simply told her the Lord sent us to preach the Word of God. How glad we are to report that she accepted Jesus Christ. Again, the opportunity was given to present the Gospel to the children, and again there were willing hearts to receive the Word of God.
My wife ministered to one widowed mother of five children. It was quite apparent that they were extremely poor both materially and spiritually. It hurt to see such poverty. We gave her a Bible so she could read the Word of God. We shared the food rations we had taken with us with the children who gladly and hungrily ate. We promised to return. And God permitting, we shall do so within the next few weeks.
So many young people, children, and families live in these mountain regions, lost in their sins and darkness and deeply involved in idol worship. They do not know anything about the love of God because no one preaches (Romans 10:14) to them.
Do continue to pray that the Lord will strengthen us to do this service. It takes work, and walking many miles, for the Good News to be proclaimed to these people. Even if it’s a neighborhood of people who live in primitive huts away from everywhere, they need the Word of
God preached to them (Isaiah 55:10- 11).”
After our meetings we spoke to Fernanda Coppola to inquire if she would be willing to serve. She already has experience in missionary work, and is familiar with high-mountain living as some people live on the elevation of 4,000 meters. God touched her heart and she agreed. As soon as she arrived home, she told her mother that she would serve as a missionary. You may add Sister Fernanda to your prayer list
for her very difficult work in presenting the Gospel to the unreached.