On Sunday 10th January our own Angherad and Dave from YWAM York made a presentation about their recent mission trip to Argentina. Here is a summary of what they said.The 6.30 neighbourhood in Puerto Madryn (Southern Argentina) is an area marked by gang violence and drugs. Known to be the roughest part of the city this council estate is ignored by most of the cities inhabitants yet to many it is simply home. The YWAM (Youth With a Mission) community we were a part of has decided to buck the trend and pour themselves out in service of this neighbourhood to see it transformed.
Every Saturday the entire YWAM community leave the comfort of their base and pile into a bus getting off in the heart of the 6.30 neighbourhood. Having been doing this for a few months our friends had managed to befriend many of the locals and begun to catch vision of where they would like to see change. Their work there is simple yet profound and seemingly effective. We had the opportunity to throw ourselves into this work a couple of times.
At the centre of the community is a dusty gravel football pitch. This pitch provides the opportunity for some of the guys to coach some of the local kids and teenagers in football – somewhat of a national obsession. Many of these kids come from troubled homes with some of the older ones already being recruited into local gangs.
Football coaching became at times more like crowd control with fights breaking out between kids of rival gangs, punches and rocks being thrown. However the YWAM guys I was helping seemed to be experienced at diffusing violence and it became very obvious that the soccer school is something of a life line to many of these kids, providing a context for mentoring and imparting important life values.
In addition to football we would go around the local neighbourhood meeting individuals in their houses, listening to their concerns and hearing stories from their lives, this ongoing focus on local families is beginning to lift isolation and loneliness in hidden pockets of the estate. It is a long term work that our YWAM friends are deeply committed to, which will in time allow the neighbourhood to tell a rich story of social transformation.The streets of Buenos Aires are filled with thousands of people who call the cold concrete their home; two of these people became our friends Hugo and Malvina. Through broken Spanish and English a friendship was born and with the help of our friend Andreina translating, Angharad and myself spent a few hours enjoying the company and perspective of our newfound street friends.
Void of awkwardness, our conversations flowed freely and were filled with laughter and teasing. I began to develop a real affection for this incredible couple. Wanting to bless them both I decided to make a huge portrait of Hugo and give it to him as a gift. A couple of days later and after a lot of tiring work, I had a piece. Having been given some money as a gift from another YWAM team we asked God what to do with the money. Reminded of the passage in Luke 14 where it talks of inviting the broken, lonely and hurting to a banquet we decided to do just this. So armed with pizzas, empinada’s (like mini Cornish pasties), fruit, fizzy drinks and cake we went to the park where Hugo and Malvina hang out.
Making our way round the park we invited those who appeared homeless to join us for a feast. It was awesome. It felt like a family picnic. It was in this context that I gave Hugo his portrait. He was speechless and seemed close to tears. It obviously was a profound gift for him and touched him and his wife Malvina deeply. We hung the work up and let it speak to passers by of beauty beyond the surface. A loud shout to an apathetic world that Hugo, a man so often ignored, existed and did so beautifully, his life, like anyone’s is one we should embrace.
On returning from Argentina, Angharad and myself have been given a gift. Our eyes have been opened to generous expressions of hospitality and service; people we have met have etched our lives with challenges and inspired us to change. If you’re interested in exploring missions both in the UK and abroad YWAM York run a 9 month Discipleship Training School (DTS). The school provides loads of amazing teaching from international speakers, hands on work in the local community, with among other things: work with the homeless, youth and those in the pubs and nightclubs in York. We will also be going on mission trips in Europe and South Africa as a part of the school. So if you’re interested we still have space and would love to hear from you! More on our website: www.ywamyork.com