The road to Argentina - FAQ

Since most people who read this already know about our plans to go to Argentina I haven't done a post answering all those questions people may have in regards to our plans for the future. I was reading another blog today and thought it may be a good idea to post some of the most frequently asked questions with our answers.

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Why missions and why Argentina?

Brandon and I have both felt called to missions for a long time.

My family had the amazing opportunity to go to Rwanda, Africa in 1990. I was eleven years old. It was there I felt my heart being molded and shaped in a way I had never felt before and it was there that God very evidently and in a HUGE way placed His call to missions in my life. I know, I was very young, but God chooses to work in His own timing.

Brandon made a few trips to Mexico with his church as a teen. It was in high school that he fell in love with Latin America and its people. On one of his trips he was in a church service and it was at that time he felt God moving in his heart and calling him into missions.

We met at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was a sophomore and he was a freshman. It was evident within two weeks of getting to know each other that we both had the call to missions and we both knew it was highly likely we would get married. We had the opportunity to go to Mexico with Brandon's home church once while we were dating and once shortly after we were married. It was on our last trip to Mexico that we knew God was not calling us to Mexico and that he had other plans for us.

We felt strongly it would be important for Brandon to further his education and in the fall of 2003 Brandon became a full-time student at Denver Seminary. He graduated in May of 2007 with his Masters of Divinity.

It was during our time in Denver that Argentina came into the picture. Brandon had to fulfill an eight week internship overseas. We wanted to do this through WorldVenture - an organization we had come to love and one that had a fabulous reputation. We started out with three choices - Venezuela, Italy, or Argentina. After spending time in prayer we moved forward with plans to go to Argentina.

We spent the summer of 2006 in Argentina. It was a difficult and long. We struggled as a couple, we struggled with the language, and we struggled with God's call on our lives. But it was during this time we saw a HUGE need in northwest Argentina for theological education. Brandon felt God leading us to return there and work with the Argentine people.

I was a little more difficult and stubborn. I had begun to dig my heels in and argue with God about the right location for us. I bargained and pleaded with Him. I was even bold enough to tell Him that if he didn't call us overseas that I would be willing to move anywhere in the continental United States. But one afternoon while sitting in the backseat of a car driving through a rain forest setting in Argentina God very clearly let me know that we needed to pursue returning to Argentina as full-time missionaries. I continued fighting and used the last bit of ammo I felt I had against God - children. I was told when I was 19 that having children would be difficult if not impossible. Brandon and I never pursued options before leaving for Argentina and had planned on doing so when he was done with his schooling. So as I stepped out of the car on that afternoon, as my feet hit the sidewalk I told God, "No. And don't tell me again. You know the desire of my heart to be a mother, and being a missionary in a foreign country would limit if not make our options to have children impossible. No God! I won't do this. I will find another way to serve you!" Five days later we found out we were pregnant. On that day as we sat in our apartment in Argentina, stunned, shocked, and dumbfounded, we both felt as if God was saying, "Okay, will you listen and follow me now?"

So that is what we are doing. We are pursuing the call God has placed in our lives and we are pursuing Argentina because we see a need and we think God has equipped us specifically to fill that need.

Tell us about Argentina, where is it and what language do they speak?

Argentina is in South America. From the map above you can see the areas we will be living and working in. They will primarily be in the provinces of Tucuman, Salta, and JuJuy.

Spanish is the official language of Argentina.

Argentina has a strong European heritage. 92% of all people living in Argentina claim European ancestry. You see evident in both the people, the buildings, and the cities of Argentina their European history.

Do you speak Spanish?

Brandon speaks conversational Spanish. I do not speak Spanish. Before we get to Argentina we will spend a year in language school in Costa Rica.

What will you be doing there?

Our primary focus will be in the distance learning program in the northwest. There is a need to train pastors and church leaders, but these people have little or no access to formal education. They also do not have the money to attend a formal school. Because most pastors and church leaders are lay leaders they do not have the time to attend a formal school or residence seminary, like Brandon did. They have many responsibilities in working a full-time job, providing for the needs of their families and their churches. Education is inaccessible to them. The missionaries who are currently on the field take trips about once a month where they travel to individual churches and offer theological education to these church leaders. During the month when the teachers are not there the students have a curriculum with homework they are expected to complete before the next visit by the teacher.

This program has allowed many church leaders to get a formal education, it has helped the general health of the church, and it is affordable.

My (Wizzy's) main focus will be wife and mother. But I also hope to get involved in children's ministry. How that looks will depend on what province we will live in. We were involved with an after-school program for at-risk girls when we were there in 2006 and I would love to be able to return and help with that.

When are you leaving?

We can leave for language school when we are 100% supported. It typically takes about two years to be fully funded. We are currently at 17% committed.

Our goal is to leave in August of 2010, but we are patient and understand this is God's timing not our own.

How long will you be in Argentina?

We will be there as career missionaries. This means our plans are to stay there as long as God wills it for our lives. We will return to the states on home assignment about once every four years. Home assignment is typically about one year long.

How can I be involved?

We realize that God does not call all people into overseas ministry. We also know that he has given people the heart to give abundantly from His blessings to them. We need a really strong team around us that will commit to pray and pray and pray. We also need financial support.

If you are interested in becoming a part of our team we would encourage you to continue to check our blog from time to time and leave comments of thoughts and encouragements. We also would encourage you to let us know if you would like our newsletters and regular prayer request emails. And the last and final thing would be, PLEASE let us know HOW WE CAN BE PRAYING FOR YOU. Our desire as you come along side us is to help encourage and uplift you in prayer as well.

If I am going to give, how much should I give?

Anything. We have two accounts that need to be at 100% before we can leave for the field.

Many people feel like small donations of $5, $10, $15 monthly won't matter, but they do! Every amount matters and gets us closer to working side by side with Argentine nationals. NO GIFT IS TOO SMALL.

What are the two accounts?

We have both a monthly support account and a one-time expense account.

The one-time expense account take those special or one-time gifts people send in and will assist us when we arrive on the field. It will help us set up our home, buy a car, and do all the basic things that will need to be done when we arrive for the first time in Argentina to live.

The monthly support account takes what we call ongoing gifts. An ongoing gift is a gift that people commit to us monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. The money in this account goes towards our month to month living on the field. It also goes towards medical care, children's education, etc.

How can I give to your ongoing support?

We call this monthly support, but as I said above it can be given as many or as few times throughout the year as you would like. Ongoing implies that you continue to give. Those gifts can be given both through writing a check to WorldVenture or through Electronic Funds Transfer. If you are interested in doing EFT you can download the form here and mail it to WorldVenture with a voided check. If you are more interested in writing a check you can download this form and mail it in.

WorldVenture
Attn: Receipting Dept.
1501 W. Mineral Ave.
Littleton, CO 80120-5612

And if that isn't enough, all of this is available at WorldVenture.com by clicking on the keyword give.

If you are interested in donating to our monthly support please be sure to include our names and missionary ID numbers on all communication with WorldVenture.

Brandon and Elizabeth Heersink
Missionary ID # 063

How can I give to your one-time expenses?

The same way as above, just designate your gift as a one-time gift.

When should we start giving?

You can commit to give at any time. But it is really important that you start giving as soon as possible.

All the monthly support that comes in now goes towards our one-time expense account because we are not drawing a salary yet. Because, as I have stated above, we have to be at 100% supported in both accounts, it is very important to us that you start giving as soon as you can.

If I decide to give to your monthly support, how long do I have to commit to that?

There is no time frame for this. You can give as long as you feel led and as long as you are able.

Are all gifts tax deductible?

Yes, they are.

So what are you doing right now?

In many ways, life goes on as normal. I am a stay-at-home mom to Patrick and Brandon is currently working two jobs. He is a full-time bellman at a hotel in Salt Lake City and works afternoons in a local after school program. We are still involved in church ministry as well. Our lives are very full and very busy, but we take advantage of the time we have now with family and friends because we know that all too soon our lives will be dramatically different.

If you would like to pray for us, we have posted our monthly prayer requests in the sidebar of this blog.