Return to Blogging in 2013

Return to blogging….
My apologies for not keeping up with our reports. First things first here in 2013, I want to post this list of ways that God has answered prayer and the accomplishments that he has granted in the ministry during 2012.

2012 Highlights in Ministry:

* Began working with a new church on Route 3 called “Parque Leloir”

* James returned to his concentrated Spanish studies

* In May, James preached his first full message completely in Spanish.  Since then, James has begun preaching and teaching regularly in the church as needed.

* The church grew by 30% this year in regular attendance seeing over 20 people accept Christ as their Savior and be baptized.

* The town of Monte inaugurated their very own Skate Park. The grand prize was a skateboard from Christian Skaters Organization Argentina.  Our opportunity for ministry is now tripled.

* A three month furlough to the States visiting all our supporting churches and most of our individual supporters. Raised level of support by  25% bringing us to a total of 55% support.

2012 Personal Highlights:

* Provision of a new mattress, bookshelf, cell phones, computer and home repairs along with safe travel and provisions during our furlough.

     Now, on to the news so far in 2013. The year began wonderfully with the opportunity to take a weeklong family vacation. It was a much-needed time of rest and relaxation at the end of a busy season of ministry. Then the year began with a bang when camp started just the second week of January. For 3 straight weeks in January we accompanied the groups of three different churches. We spent lots of time talking and sharing, drinking “mate” (Argentina tea) and giving godly advice one to another. Camp is a wonderful time, as you grow closer to people of God and the Lord. The camp speakers blessed us with insights from Gods Word and the game times helped us to make memories and share some excitement.

The final week in January was camp week for our church, Parque Leloir, where we had a group of over 40 youth and another 10 leaders and their families. Our highlights of the week were winning the basketball championship for guys, the soccer 5 on 5 trophies for the teens and the girls 5 on 5 runner-up trophy in soccer. Several youth gave their lives to Christ and many others made some type of rededication or commitment. A successful week on the field and in the chapel.

     February was a little lighter for camp duties but more activities in the church (We will return to that shortly). Our kids were able to participate in a summer long VBS program. Each morning they went for 3 hours for a time of singing, games and Bible study. They really enjoyed it and learned many Bible verses along the way. Then the final week of camp in Mid February they had their 5-day sleepover camp. It was another fruitful time for our kids to hear about Christ and how he needs to be the center of their lives. The girls were able to sing in a kid’s ensemble all week, which provided all the special music for the week. They loved it!!

     Then, minutes after the girls returned from camp, James was off to the Christian Skaters Argentina Missions trip. You may have already seen the highlight video on Facebook. The trip was a real success. The group was able to form 2 strategic partnerships, one with the National Director of Christian Surfers Argentina and another with the Pastor of a local church stationed very close to one of the two major skate parks there in the city. They also spent time surfing (just for fun to kick off the weekend), sharing the Gospel through skateboard tournaments in the two principle skate parks in Mar Del Plata (largest coastal city in our state/ i.e.: our Miami), and were able to present the gospel and share testimonies at the youth group they visited on Saturday night. They returned from the trip exhausted but full of joy, rejoicing in the opportunities God had provided. The team shared Christ with over 80 skaters and another 30 bystanders and passed out over 300 skate-themed Gospel tracts.

     During the months of January and February our family also participated heavily in the programs of our local church. James was asked to help teach part of the leadership training for the small group leaders as well as other Sunday school days for the new believers class. He filled in to preach twice on Wednesday nights and once for the main Sunday evening service. As we said, the family participated fully in the week of church camp as well as another special Saturday meeting in February.

     Closing out February for us meant getting ready for the school year to begin again. As strange as it still sounds, our school year cycle begins end of February and goes through December. So February was a time for the school shopping, uniform buying, and haircutting, a whirlwind time for us. This year was particularly special. It signified the end of a chapter in our lives, as Lucas, our youngest child, entered the FIRST GRADE!!! We could hardly believe it was true and were sad to not have a youngster in the pre-K program. But, that’s life and we celebrated our milestone over ice cream during the first week of school.

Upcoming Events:  In March we will have three major activities at church before Easter. For the next three Saturdays we will have a Small Group Leaders Conference, The Men’s retreat, and the annual Missions Conference. We will also be organizing a Skateboard Tournament Outreach here in Monte just before or after Easter to take advantage of the prime time to preach Christ. Please pray for us, as it will continue to be a busy month of ministry. This month we will do our best to keep you better updated on how things turn out.

 Ministry:
   • Please pray that during the Small Group Leaders Conference we will be able to identify the key       leaders and assistants with which to launch our small group ministry come April.
   • Please pray for the Men’s Retreat that they will be Re-vived, Re-stored, and Re-impassioned to live for Christ, be godly in their home life and join the work of the ministry in the local church.
   • Please pray for the Missions Conference that eyes would be open to the needs of the entire country of Argentina and also to the world.
   • Please pray for the Skateboarding Outreach that there would be a sunny Friday night or Saturday on which to host the event and that there would be many new kids who hear about Christ.
   • Please pray for James’ continue quest to speak clearer and more precise in Spanish as he grows in his preaching and teaching capacities at the church and with the skaters.
   • Please pray for a Discipleship Conference that James has been invited to translate at in April. Pray for safe journey and for some new friendships to be established.

   Family:
  • Please pray for Breanna as we complete the second semester of her first homeschool year. It has been a little bumpy along the way and we are seeking some continuity this second half.
   • Please pray for Tanya as she still battles difficulty sleeping, migraines and fatigue.
   • Please pray for James as he has a lot of work ahead of him this month with many ministry events.

We praise God for an excellent beginning of the year 
and we look forward to what our Great Lord and 
King will continue to do in 2013.

The Nolette Family