March was a very busy month, both for my family and also in the life of the our church. Thanks to the Lord, my family was able to move to a new house that is very close to the place where our church meets. Before, we lived in a neighboring district to Rosario some 35 minutes outside of the city by car, which made it difficult to maintain close contact with the brothers and sisters of the church (especially for my wife Maqui), since the majority do not have cars and to travel on public transportation is expensive and lengthly. But the Lord provided a house for us in Rosario, some 10 minutes away from the church and close to many of the members. We truly are joyful to be closer to the church and we are enjoying the benefits of having greater fellowship with the brothers and sisters.

With regard to the ministry, this month was one of great learning for me. Thanks to the provision of the Lord through HeartCry, we were able to participate in the “Weekender” [from March 12-21] organized by Capitol Hill Baptist Church and the ministry of 9Marks. To summarize in this report what we lived and learned in those days would really be impossible! Reading the material of 9Marks has always been edifying, instructive and challenging, but to see a church that zealously seeks to live day in and day out the 9 Marks of a healthy church is an invaluable experience. The time that we spent at the Weekender was very intense, going from one class to another, question and answer sessions, sessions of discussion, and time devoted to reading assignments. All of this began each day at 9am and finished after 9pm.

Among the most enriching aspects, I’ll mention the following:

  1. Seeing a church of more than 1000 members that shines like a great family
  2. Seeing up close the functioning of a plurality of elders in a church that has more than 20 pastors
  3. Seeing the deep dedication of this pastoral team to the care of the church, caring for each member in particular!
  4. Seeing a continual and obvious effort in the church to do all things in a biblical manner
  5. Seeing a culture of discipleship that is the air the church membership breathes

These are only a few of the lessons that the Lord taught us during our time in Capitol Hill. In addition to these, another great blessing was meeting pastors from different places around the world and listening to the stories about what the Lord is doing for His great Name among the nations. I give thanks to the Lord for this experience, and I also thank HeartCry and those that give of their time, money, and efforts so that we could have this time of training. I also thank God for the ministry of Capitol Hill, for the abundance of love and generosity that they showed toward us while we were among them. May the Lord sustain the ministry of that precious church for many years to come in order that many other churches would be enlightened with the light of God’s Word that CHBC has upheld so highly in their own church.

After the time at the Weekender, the Lord also gave us the opportunity to spend a few days at the HeartCry offices with Paul Washer and the other brothers from the mission. It was a very edifying time and was truly a great compliment to the time we spent at the Weekender. We spent many hours each day talking about different themes in the Scriptures, renewing our understanding of the will of God. It was really a blessing for me to have this time with Paul, and I know it was for the others as well. It was also a time of friendship and fellowship with the rest of the missionaries that were there, enjoying much friendship in the Lord.

The time both at Capitol and with Paul has caused deep impressions in our souls, and still Nico and I continue meditating on the lessons we learned, as little by little we seek to apply everything that our God has taught us. All that I can do is worship the Lord for His kindness because that is, when all is said and done, the reason for all of these blessings. Time after time His faithful and loving hand has taught us the way in which we should walk, both personally as pastors and also as a church. Blessed be the Lord for His mercy toward such weak men!