Dad wrote a note to the Foreign Mission Office in mid 1949:
I suppose you folks know that we are responsible for the evangelization of four towns as well as teaching in the Bible Institute. This has been a burden and a heartache for us ever since starting, for we have found it absolutely impossible for one couple to truly evangelize and care for four towns. To think of the hundreds of people whom we have not reached with the Gospel makes me shudder, and especially since we know not when we'll be able to reach them. . . La Carlota is the largest of the four towns in which we serve. It is the only one which has paved streets and running water. Since this is our home, most of our work is done here. We have four meetings here a week . . . [The believers] are very faithful in their attendance at the meetings and are learning to give of their meager incomes for the Lord's work. When we first came, they were not paying any of the rent for the meeting hall. Soon after we came, and just before the Dowdys left, they began to pay a part of the rent. Now they are paying all of the rent and some is left over. All this is over and above what they have been giving to the building fund. It is so interesting to note that those who have the least are the ones who give the most . . . Three years ago the Sunday school offering averaged about two to four pesos; now it averages 10. Besides this, they give special offerings. We now have 1,550 pesos in the building fund . . . The Lord is blessing His work. May we be humble and submitted to Him. . . (Brethren Missionary Herald, 7.02.49)
Then in 1950, Dad wrote more of the history of the congregation's meeting places that led up to the following announcement:
La Carlota Will Have a Church Building, Too!
The matter of a meeting place has been a problem ever since the opening of the work in La Carlota some eight years ago. At first the meetings were held in the pastor's home. This was very inconvenient for several reasons: the space was too small; it was on the main street where there is entirely too much noise; and, furthermore, it is always inconvenient to have the meetings in a private home.
Next a small room was rented several blocks from the pastor's home. This was an improvement, but the room proved to be very small for such use. A couple of years later, another room adjacent to that already rented was secured, and the dividing wall was taken out to make it into one large room. This arrangement has proved quite convenient until this last year. The greatest difficulty has been that the owners have constantly been on our heels asking us to find another place. Although the law protects the renter, it is an unpleasant arrangement to be sure. Furthermore, it is not at all satisfactory for special occasions such as youth rallies and communion services.
April 26, 1947, is a memorable day in the history of this small congregation. On that day the first offerings were given for the building fund. Beginning with 120 pesos, the fund kept growing steadily until April, 1949, when we felt that we should be looking for a lot on which to build. By this time the prices of lots had doubled and tripled, which fact almost disheartened us completely. However, we kept praying that the Lord would guide us and show us what ought to be done.
One day in June, 1949, we saw a sign announcing the sale of certain lots near our home. Upon studying the situation, it seemed that the Lord was leading us to make our bid at the sale. Much prayer ascended to God in those days, and even during the sale, and God gave us a small portion on the corner. I say that God "gave" us a small portion, for when I was bidding I reached the maximum of what we had decided to bid. Thinking that someone else had made a higher bid, I even ceased to pay attention to the auctioneer's pleas. Just at that moment the auctioneer looked at me and said, "It's yours!" Although the auctioneer did his best to secure a higher bid, there seemed to be no interest. He even stopped for a moment and questioned, "What? isn't there anyone who'll bid more for this beautiful corner lot?" No, God had reserved it for us!At this point I must insert an anecdote about how things went at the auction. Mother had also told me this story, so I believe it to be true, but do not know exactly how it fits into the above paragraph. Brother Ivan tells it like this: "I remember Dad telling me about how the lot for the Church building in La Carlota came about. He said there was an auction on a cold windy day and he attended as a spectator with no intention of bidding. A gust of wind threatened to blow off his hat so he raised his hand to secure it. Much to his surprise and concern since he didn't know how he was going to pay for it. The Lord provided somehow."
We had secured the lot so cheaply that we had some money left over for a building. To be sure, it was very little, but was a start. We continued in prayer before the Lord from week to week. All during this time they were asking us to vacate our meeting hall, for they wanted to transform it into a dwelling. The demand for dwellings is so great that any kind of room or hovel can be rented. When we came to La Carlota, we rented this eight-room house for 70 pesos. Today, four years later, two bare rooms, without bath and kitchen rent for 70 pesos. This pressing situation made us do some more thinking, and God revealed to us a way so solve our problem, for the present. We decided to build a good-sized garage with two small toilets, and finish it attractively in order to use it for the meeting hall until we could build the church proper.
Then began days of planning, inquiring prices, exchanging ideas, discussing problems. We drew a sketch of what our final desire was for the lot--the church on the corner, the parsonage at the other end of the lot, and the garage to one side in the middle. Building the garage first, we needn't pay an architect to make plans . . .With a small project such as this, the believers could see it as possible, and needn't look at it as a mountain too steep to scale.
What was to be done first? One believer who owns some brick ovens, offered 10,000 bricks. These were taken to the lot. The sand was ordered and unloaded on the lot. Next we needed mortar. In order to have mortar, we must have water. The water line was 67 yards away. that meant digging a ditch and laying a pipe line. The town officials would not take the line to our property, but gave us permission to do it. The pastor with four other men, put on their working clothes and began to dig ditch. Nobody complained of the work--it was such a joy to begin work for the Lord's house. The ditch dug, we bought the pipe, and under the direction of one of the believers who is a plumber, we laid the pipe.
Nothing had been said about further work, but there was such enthusiasm that the men wanted to continue digging for the foundation of the garage. We soon finished that task and were ready for the bricklayers. In five days (hot, dusty, and windy ones at that), the walls were up, and we were ready for the roof. The cheapest, strongest and coolest roof here is made of bricks 3/8-inch iron, rods, cement, and stone. This must be done by men who have specialized in this to prevent the construction of a roof which might prove dangerous. . . we are still waiting for that roof to be put on.
How will it look when it is done? The inside will be plastered and then painted. The floor will be of cement, and all necessary connections will be prepared so that the rinse tubs may be put in the corner when the parsonage and church are built. At one end of the building there will be room for the work bench which too is so necessary once the parsonage and church are done. Outside, black cement will be put between the bricks, then several coats of varnish will be applied to the whole surface. The doors will be white and there will be a border of white around the top of the building. We are hoping to go into this building by the middle of April.
In comparison to the other groups of believers, these are some of the poorer. Nevertheless, they are giving of their time and means and doing it hilariously that they may have their own church. God is honoring their faith, and they'll soon be stating work on the larger job--the church . . .
The last sentences, which I intentionally left off, elicited an editorial note by Dr. Bauman titled Hallelujah!
Bother Hoyt's article, together with the drawing of the proposed building arrived from the foreign missionary office at Winona Lake last night at about 11:30. Your F.M.S editor [Dr. Louis S. Bauman] was in bed, sound asleep, when the door chimes rang. Mrs. Bauman answered the bell, and brought up a "special delivery" letter. Stirring out of sleep enough to get it open, we read, the caption, and yawned: "Don't these missionaries know that we have just sent out 13 new missionaries, and that last year we lacked $15,000.00 in getting enough money to meet our expenses: We just can't promise any more money for church buildings at this time . . .I read on, expecting the very next line to ask for money to help build a church on that lot.
And lo! Toward the close of the article I read--or thought I did--"We do not ask for your money to help out in this task, because we want it to be an Argentine church . . . However, we do plead with you that you pray for us that it shall be only the beginning of such undertakings here in the Argentine." (Brethren Missionary Herald, 4.22.50)
Two months later, this same Dr. Bauman, still enthused about the building project in La Carlota, included a letter Dad wrote to him in the June 24 magazine.
THAT BUILDING PROGRAM at La Carlota (Argentina) to which we gave special mention recently, is going forward. Bro. Solon Hoyt did not expect us to give it a "write-up." But it is greatly encouraging to us here at home to see these people determined to help themselves . . .even though they may have but little of this world's goods. Again, we quote from a letter written by Brother Hoyt on May 19. He says:
Naturally I was quite encouraged with your letter and your editorial. Not that we are doing such a wonderful piece of work here, but a person certainly does a lot better work when he knows that others are for him. I've thoroughly enjoyed the project up to now. I like to put on my work clothes and get out with the men. Furthermore, I like to see progress . . . We worked several hot days this past summer and, brother, it was almost unbearable, but we all did it with joy. Some days I went home with my face just black, since the wind blew the dirt on my face which was soaked with sweat.
Dr. Bauman, . . . I certainly did not try to paint anything big in my article. The fact is, it is a small thing which we are trying to do. The building which will later be used for the garage will be ready in about two weeks. I am just finishing doors now . . . We have another man who is doing the electrical work and the plumbing. All of us work together on the digging, and we're going to put up a wall in the near future. Little by little we are going ahead. The temple will take longer, but we will be doing it with a little experience behind us . . . Our building fund has passed the 6.000 peso mark . . . Just the other week one of the members here said that he is going to donate 1,000 bricks, which represent 100 pesos. This man has three children and they are expecting another . . . Just in this moment two boys of the Sunday School came by to paint the doors for the garage . . . Thank you so much for your offer to buy something for the temple. Well, there is time to think over that offer. We have a very nice pulpit and do not think of changing the seats which we have either. However, there are many things which will be necessary when it comes time to get everything in readiness for the dedication. (Brethren Missionary Herald, 6.24.50)
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| Children bring their offerings for the temple |
Meanwhile, offerings were coming in and the walls were going up. In a short update about the work a few months later, Dad wrote:
In making the doors and window ourselves we are able to save about 3,000 pesos. In addition to this, we are saving about 10,000 pesos by not giving the work to a contractor but by directing it ourselves. The blessings we have seen in this undertaking have been marvelous. People are talking of it all over town. I have prayed all along that it might not be an end in itself, but the means to an end in the salvation of souls, and we believe we are going to see this. (Brethren Missionary Herald, 12.20.50)
Before this last note was published or even reached the US office, something happened.
Cyclone Destroys La Carlota Church
By Rev. and Mrs. Solon W. Hoyt, Argentina
At 6 o'clock in the evening of the 8th of December, we slipped out on the porch to look at the sky. For several days, we had been longing for rain, and at last we saw a ray of hope in the sky, and a few drops of rain on the ground. Rita and Lynn were "having a picnic" running in and out of the rain. Scarcely had we spoken to the Marshalls when our attention was called to the windmill, which was revolving at lightning speed and gave the impression that it would either grind off the very axle or fly off, doing great damage. We all of one accord rushed into the house, realizing that we were seeing something which was extraordinary and dangerous. Having closed the door, we tried to turn on the light, but there was no current. Then we began to pray--that the Lord would protect His own; that He would keep us safe; and that He would get great glory to His name. Later we found out that other believers had prayed just the same way. We had never seen a cyclone before, nor can we estimate the velocity of the wind, but this one thing we saw: in 10 minutes the Lord can bring all man's possessions and strongholds to naught.
Believer Brings Bad News
The wind and rain had subsided a little when one of the believers came saying that he had some bad news for us. We immediately thought that someone had been killed. But no, that couldn't be, for we had prayed. It was our little church--flattened to the ground. It was just ready for the roof, the walls having been finished just two days before. So many people had been admiring it--in fact, the whole town had its eyes on our little project. People were desirous that we have a nice little church, for the Gospel has a very fine testimony here in Carlota. There are many friends, although they are not believers.
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| The tornado destruction |
Numerous Comments
Hurriedly we jumped into the car with the Marshalls to go see what the damage was. When we arrived, there were many folks already there, looking with bulging eyes, commenting with explanatory gestures. Little groups had formed in many parts around the building each with a different comment--weak walls, too many windows and doors; poor workmanship; too much sand and too little lime in the mortar; walls were out of line--and many other idle comments. It was a sad sight to our eyes--bricks and mortar in all four directions; the door and window frames twisted, broken, and buried; a mason's plank broken in two; the constructor's sign twisted, bent, and broken beneath the bricks; the iron which had been set in cement above the doors and windows all twisted; parts of walls standing, but cracked. We estimated the damage to be about 1,000 pesos.
Destruction Inevitable
Great damage was done throughout the whole town. Many walls, barns, sheds, windmills, huge trees, etc., were brought to the ground or twisted completely out of shape. Our neighbor's barn all blew over into the next field. A good part of the roof blew off the theater. The electric lines and telephone lines were left in miserable condition. Truly there was every reason that the cyclone should lower the church to the ground. It was composed of four long walls with no support whatsoever. Many houses under construction were not damaged in the least because the dividing walls which form the different rooms gave support to the outer walls. Besides this, it was without roof which would have given great support. When the cyclone struck these long walls, in an open lot, recently set in fresh mortar, its destruction was inevitable.
It Happened Before
As we stood there looking at the ruins, I believe we must have sensed a little of Job's feeling when God permitted him to suffer the loss of everything except his life. Then we remembered the Jews' experience when they looked upon their city and temple in ruins. Not for one moment did we doubt God's wisdom in it all, but the question kept forcing itself upon us, "Why did this happen?"
Believer Weeps
Little can one realize what this whole thing means to God's little flock here. They were so happy anticipating the nice building in which they would worship and take the unsaved to hear the message of salvation within perhaps two more months. All they had had up to the present was the pastor's front room, a rented room, and then a garage. However, being right here in their midst did not make us realize how deeply they would feel this great loss. A lady who accepted the Lord about a month ago told how her eyes filled with tears when she heard it and later saw it. Others told how hard a trial it was for them since they have brothers and sisters who are Catholics and continually look for something in which to condemn them.
What Shall We Do?
After seeing what it means to these believers, and realizing that perhaps God is putting us to the test just to see how far our faith reaches we have unanimously decided to rebuild. One of the believers hired a man to work in his place cleaning off the bricks and piling them up again. The mason has promised to come back as soon as the ruins are in order. Others of the men and boys will be cleaning bricks a couple hours after supper. I'm sure God will honor our faith and will supply all that lacks, and more too. (Brethren Missionary Herald, 2.03.51)
My father's undaunted faith shines through in the accompanying note to Dr. Bauman: "What a shock this article must be after reading my last letter. Well, just wait, we're going to see something wonderful in La Carlota."
Did God answer their prayers of faith? Seven decades later el Templo Evangélico still stands.
