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| Flooding in Buenos Aires (BBC News: 4/3/2012) |
In the last few hours we were contacted by three friends here in Buenos Aires each with difficult news:
- A youth pastor and his wife who work in a tough drug riddled neighborhood had their car trashed, their church building smashed up and the church warden's house burned down by some drug dealing neighbors who hours earlier had put guns to the pastors head and verbally threatened them to stop meeting. It seems that many of the 30 or so youth in the church are getting clean and therefore buying less drugs from these thugs. The police say the won't do anything because the perpetrators are "narcos" and too powerful to touch.
- A close friend and youth leader who is also Annette's teachers aid at the Institute, texted us to say that their house was seriously flooded yesterday on her father's birthday (he is a pastor). They had nearly 2 ft. of water in their home. This was on top of their car getting totaled last year when a horse jumped thru their windshield, 3 violent robberies, and other misfortunes in the last few years.
- Another youth worker and lawyer, who invests her life helping kids from destitute barrios of Buenos Aires told us that yesterday's torrential flooding (www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22023196) destroyed most everything these people had. She wrote asking if we had blankets, bedding or even mattresses to give to these kids who she works with.
Please pray for these friends who are struggling to love those around them in Jesus' name... but who are paying a heavy price.
1 comment:
Thank you everyone for your prayers.
I just spoke with the lawyer/youth leader who works with the kids in the flooded slum and she said that not only did their belonging get wet, but in most cases the putrid water of the polluted river carried away most of their clothes, wooden furniture that floated and what was left is a mess. She wrote, "Last night I was very sad. I can't see how these previously poverty ridden families will come back from this... but I know we (Christians) have to be agents of restoration." And then she told me how she was organizing students from the youth leadership institute, lawyer friends and the boys scouts to respond.
We also heard a bit more from the pastor/youth worker and his wife who we threatened and had their car trashed. The house wasn't burned to the ground, they were able to put it out, but they have pulled down the church sign and are moving out (at this point). At this moment it seems the bad side won this battle. We can only hope that this isn't the end of the story.
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