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Argentine Mission

Feeds Bodies and Souls

Iguazú Falls in Argentina

In the northeast corner of Argentina, where her borders meet Paraguay and Brazil, the waters of the Rio Iguazú meet a canyon to form the beautiful and mighty falls of Iguazú. Two hundred and forty kilometers southwest of Iguazú Falls lie the majestic, historic ruins of the Jesuit mission, San Ignacio. Between the mighty falls and majestic mission, Jesuits established thirty villages among the Guaranian people. Beginning their mission in 1610, approximately one hundred Jesuits worked to preach the gospel, educate, vocationally train and organize the 120,000 aboriginal people of the region. In 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from the region. Their work interfered with the business of Portuguese and Spanish slavers who captured, shipped and sold the Guaranes to the highest bidder. This region and its history became the site and subject of a 1986 Oscar winning film, The Mission. Today, just 50 kilometers northeast of the ruins of San Ignacio, a very similar mission is being carried out in the small city of Jardin (Garden) America, Argentina.

A doorway of the San Igancio ruins.

Rev. Teodoro Stricker and his wife, Teresa, have served the Congregational Church of Jardin America, Argentina, for more than 30 years. Concerned with the plight of the thousands living in abject poverty on the outskirts of their city, Rev. Stricker and his congregation began to bring the gospel, education, health care and a self-enabling food source to the people of the ghetto. For the past 12 years this labor of love has persevered and even flourished.

Seeking Work Where There Is None

People of various backgrounds have migrated from Paraguay, Brazil and the unsettled areas of Argentina, seeking work in a city where there is none. Having exhausted their meager resources, they squat on unclaimed, polluted industrial wasteland. Families build shelters, huts and homes out of whatever material can be savaged. Families are broken as the men disappear in search of work, seldom returning. Young women, and even girls, resort to prostitution along the highway as a source of sustenance income. Abandoned babies are common. Food cannot be grown on the infertile soil of the ghetto. The stream that runs through it carries sewage and commercial waste. Potable water sources are few and far between.

Teodoro and Teresa Stricker

Teodoro led his congregation of two hundred into these circumstances, determined to bring good news to the poor. Many of his congregation were reluctant at first, but praying that they could make a difference, Teodoro and his congregation have remained faithful to the task for twelve years. Now, a church building stands on mission-owned property at the edge of the ghetto. Capable of seating more than four hundred on simple benches, the building fills for most of its three services each week. Now, a well at the front of the church provides clean water for those who can carry it. Now, an elementary school stands next to the church, teaching the basics to more than two hundred children each year. Now, a mission clinic offers medical assistance through a part time nurse. Now, more than ninety children receive clothing, food and educational assistance through a mission support program called God’s Child. Now, people are able to grow their own food on a one hundred and eighty-acre, mission-owned farm called God’s Garden. A difference is being made.

The school “bell.”

An old brake drum was fashioned into a bell and hangs at the school to call students for class. "Ring the bell at anytime," says Teodoro, "and the children will come running." We did, and they did—with enthusiasm. The elementary school consists of six classrooms. Basic skills in math, reading, writing and science are taught along with daily Bible lessons. A lunch of bread and soup is served daily. Teaching materials are limited and the class rooms crowded. Still, students learn their lessons well from the dedicated volunteer staff.

Teodoro, Teresa, and the Sunday School teachers rehearse with the mission church children for their Christmas Program.

The mission clinic consists of one exam room with minimal equipment.  Many illnesses can be treated, but more serious cases are referred to the hospital in town. Most cannot afford hospital treatment so they go without care. The clinic treats approximately forty people each day. Efforts are being made to raise funds to hire a doctor, who would then be the mission’s first and only paid employee.

Forty Dollars a Month

The "God Child" program has been very successful. Child sponsorship starts at forty dollars a month. From these funds, clothing, food, shelter and educational needs are supplemented or met. To become eligible for support, a family and child are visited and interviewed by members of a screening committee. The most needy are recommended for sponsorship. I met one such girl who had been a "God Child" for many years. Now in her late teens, having completed a word processing course, she was prepared for employment and able to become self-supporting.

Entrance to “God’s Garden.”

The latest addition to the Congregational Mission is a farm called "God’s Garden." About one and a half kilometers from the ghetto, this one hundred and eighty-acre farm was purchased and divided into gardening plots. People from the ghetto may now cultivate their own food and sell what they do not consume. The land is fertile and produces a variety of crops year round. An undivided portion of God’s Garden is planted with a bush yielding leaves for Argentina’s national drink, Mata Tea. The leaves are harvested by a cooperative so they may command a higher market price. Cows, pigs and chickens are also raised on the farm. Twenty bee hives provide honey. Milk, eggs and honey are given to women who care for the abandoned babies of the ghetto. All income from the tea and livestock is used to reduce the financial overhead of running the farm.

Maria and her son in “God’s Garden.”

A group of gardeners met with me at God’s Garden. We sat under the shed roof of the barn and talked. I asked them of their needs. "What can I ask people at home to pray about? What can I ask our churches to do, so we may help you help yourselves? What is your greatest need?" Listening to Teodoro translate, I watched the group grow still. Most smiled and looked toward the ground. A woman named Maria was the first to stand and speak. Many others also spoke. All echoed some form of Marina’s words, "We have a place to sleep. The children can go to school. We have a church to worship God, and now, I have a place to grow food for my son and me. Sometimes we even have a little to sell. Please tell the people of your home that God has blessed us. Say to your churches, thank you, for us, because we cannot see them and do it."

The people served by the Congregational Mission in Jardin America, Argentina, are humble, hardworking individuals who have come to know Christ through the labors of Teodoro Stricker and the gifts of Congregational churches. Life has improved for some. Still, there is much work to be done. God’s Garden needs a truck to haul produce to market and supplies to the farm. It also needs a deep well so the livestock, resident caretaker and those who work the land can drink clean, safe water. The clinic needs a full-time doctor. A fully trained and licensed Argentinean doctor could be hired for only eight hundred dollars a month. Hundreds of people would receive medical treatment and care each month from a resident physician.

People of Jardin America Mission hope to become self-sustaining.

Between the mighty falls of Iguazú and the ruins of San Ignacio lies the Congregational Mission in Jardin America. Here, migrant and indigenous people are learning of Christ’s love; they are being set free from the bonds of poverty through education and economic opportunity. From the mission’s inception, each worship service offers food for the mind, heart and soul through song and sermon plus food for the body through the distribution of a small loaf of bread to each individual. The church has blossomed. Hope is rising as these new Christians are given the opportunity to become self-sustaining. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of these people. Thank you, in advance, for your continuing gifts.

The Rev. Dr. Donald P. Olsen serves as NACCC Associate Secretary for Missions.

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