Ministry Miracle

The other day I had my first go at getting to know more of the university here in La Plata. Like our universities back home, the Universidad Nacional de La Plata is broken up all around the city into about a dozen different "colleges" (or "facultades"). This past year, the STINT team had a table in the Facultad de las Humanidades (humanities) where they advertised English Club, which is currently held three times a week. The hope this year is to expand our ministry to as many other facultades as possible, especially considering we have 13 on our team now instead of 6, including our director, Mauricio, and his wife, Analia. With my interest in art history, I set out to get to know the Facultad de las Bellas Artes (Fine Arts)--the make up of the students, their interests, attitudes and openness to talk as well as the facultad's atmosphere and physical environment.

So I went to one of the three buildings which houses the Facultad de Bellas Artes, praying all the way there that God would use me, that the Holy Spirit would guide and move in me, and that I may meet a number of contacts. Once I got to the building, I investigated the area around it through people-watching and observing where the students hang out outside class. As I was walking around, I noticed four girls sitting together on a bench outside the kiosko directly across from the building talking. So I decided to approach them. I introduced myself and told them that I was just trying to get a feel for the campus of Bellas Artes as I work with an organization called Vida Estudiantil which works with university students. It turned out that they were high school students at the Colegio de Bellas Artes whose names are Micaela, Magali, Florencia and Daniela. They were so very sweet and so excited to have a new friend from the United States! We talked for quite some time and then they invited me to their sculpture class. It was great! I met the entire class and it was quite a sight as all the students gathered around me like show-and-tell!

After learning a few techniques in sculpture class, I found a cafe nearby to "tomar un cafe" and have my quiet time. Little did I know at this moment that I would meet an amazing contact! As I entered, I noticed that there was only one person in the cafe and she was studying a few art books. I couldn't help but ask her what she was studying, and from then we started a thirty minute conversation! She was a professor of Art History at the Facultad de Bellas Artes and after hearing about my degree in Art History, my internship at Christie's, Vida Estudiantil and my interest in getting to know the students of Bellas Artes, she invited me to come talk to her class! So of course I went, thanking God for this incredible opportunity!

When I entered the classroom, filled with all sorts of graffiti yet lacking enough seats for the class of 25, the teacher, Monica, introduced me to the other teacher and to her students. For the next 30 minutes, I talked in front of the class about my background, my experience as an Art History major, my impression of Argentina, and, most importantly, about Vida Estudiantil and about what I was doing in La Plata. I said that I am here with an organization that works with the university students of La Plata and focuses on three aspects of a student's life: the academic, the social and the spiritual. To explain the academic aspect, I explained that we offer English Club three times every week to anyone who wants to come as a service to help the students improve their English skills. With regards to the social aspect, I said that Vida Estudiantil holds events such as dinners, soccer games and even opportunities of community service where one can get to know other students in La Plata. To explain the spiritual aspect, I mentioned that we have meetings every Thursday night where our Argentine director, Mauricio, gives talks on topics relevant to a student's life and where students who want to know more about having a relationship with Christ can come to learn more and share in fellowship with other believers.

As a result, some students asked some questions about "the spiritual aspect" and in response, I practically shared the gospel with the entire class! I got over 15 contacts from the class and am in the process of getting back to each one.

This is simply a JOY to share with you all! I attribute it all to the Lord as He guided my steps and my words the whole day! I have many more stories and I look forward to sharing them with you!