1958: Return to Argentina

 

Introducing Ivan Wayne Hoyt

When we arrived back in August, it was time to introduce our eight-month-old new family member and become reacquainted with the Argentina of 1958, what was happening politically, and religiously, in the Brethren mission and in Don Bosco.

Only days after our first arrival in Argentina in 1946, national elections took place with the popular vote going to Juan Domingo Perón. Again in 1952, after our first furlough, he was voted in with an even higher majority. Interestingly, it was the first-time women were allowed to vote. Another note of interest, Perón's second-term inauguration was the first to be televised. However, a complicated series of events forced him out of office. He resigned and sought asylum in Paraguay in September of 1955 and was exiled for nearly two decades.

Now in 1958, as we prepared to return a third time, following a very complicated and polarized season, the interim president called for national elections. The newly elected president led Argentina's twenty million people into a period of opposition and reprisals against the peronist regime.

I have spent days reading about that period of Argentine history, fascinated by the complexities that I would never have understood or even been interested in as an adolescent. Even now, it is too much for me to fully grasp, and I wonder how that political climate affected the work of the Gospel.

Regarding the religious scene in Argentina at the time, Dad wrote an article,"The Battle on Many Fronts in Argentina," listing the various groups. (Brethren Missionary Herald, 1.04.1958) A question he was asked, whether there were false cults in Argentina, probably sparked this response: "Undoubtedly this person almost unconsciously formed the idea that Catholicism reigns in Argentina . . ." He quoted from a Catholic magazine, The Sign, in "How Catholic is Latin America:"

(1) Eighty percent of the entire population profess Catholicism, but by the most generous figuring we may say that only ten percent practice it.

(2) The Catholic Church is strong and has vitality in Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Columbia; whereas it is dying in Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Haiti.

In his article, Dad went on to elaborate about his experience with false cults. 

I have seen and talked with a good many of their followers and witnesses. In greater Buenos Aires they are all present and active.

Time after time the Jehovah's Witnesses invaded our neighborhood. Six or eight well-dressed, cultured young people would canvass block after block selling and giving away their literature. . . 

The Christian Science movement is not so large nor so active, but they make people know that they are present. . . 

Spritism is very popular in Argentina. Their mass meetings in Luna Park (a place which would correspond to Madison Square Garden) are quite frequent. Several of our neighbors were faithful followers. . .

The Mormons are active throughout the country. In the suburb of Buenos Aires where we last served they were constantly working. . . young "Americanos" well-dressed and wear hats unlike North Americans. . . they seek entrance into the houses. . . like to pray with the people . . . leave a pamphlet making arrangements to pick it up when they've finished it . . . offer free English courses to anyone interested. . . 

Modernism has made its inroads also. . . and becomes an increasing problem for us who are near Buenos Aires.

The cult which is one of the most peculiar and one of the better known in our area is called "La Nueva Iglesia Apostólica (The New Apostolic Church). . .  Their chief apostle is somewhat like the Pope. He seems to have full authority and has contact with the archangel Gabriel, receiving one message each week. . . then given to the under-apostles who then proclaim it to their individual churches. . . they have little to do with the Bible. . . 

What had happened among the Grace Brethren in Argentina during our absence? 

The newly purchased camp site was inaugurated! The children's session ran from January 7 to the 14th, followed by young people's camp, January 16-24. The video prepared in 2018 to celebrate 60 years highlights the blessings as well as the buildings and improvements throughout the years.

A new member was added to the missionary families, Marilyn Ruth Churchill was born April 21. Sadly she was not well and lived only a year. In hopes of finding help the family returned to the US, but the baby died soon after.

The Schrock family moved to Córdoba soon after their furlough, to plant a church and establish a radio broadcasting center in the big city of half-million people.

Hugo Félix Di Nardo & Francesca Ana Diedrich de Di Nardo

Hugo Di Nardo, a young graduate of the Bible Institute, was ordained and moved to General Cabrera with his wife to take charge of the work in that town.

Our family of six now, were privileged to move back to Don Bosco as Dad explained, "It had been the practice of our Foreign Mission Society to replace a missionary for another when it was time for furlough, and thus he would remain only five years in one place. We returned to the mission field grateful to the Lord for the privilege of continuing the work begun in 1952." 

Dad wrote an article titled: "It's Work to Build a Church" (Brethren Missionary Herald, 5.03.58) where he described the work in Don Bosco before we left and what we would find on our return.

Buenos Aires, Argentina has a very humid climate with dark, dismal days. Due to its phenomenal growth in population, it is very difficult to locate a house except in new housing projects with no pavement nor even such a hope within sight. In such circumstances the little church was begun in Don Bosco a suburb about eight miles from the big city. 

Since all the meetings were held in our home, scraping the mud and dirt from the house came to be a very common experience . . . Nevertheless, those things were as nothing compared with our desire to have the people come to listen to the glorious Gospel. . . Some had several blocks of mud to encounter in order to arrive for the meeting. The sidewalks were only as occasional encouragements along the way, and for the most of our four years in that place there were no streetlights. We learned to thank God for those who had sufficient desire to come. . . 

The need for a meeting place was evident, but the obstacles were many. Dad explains: 

We had no lot on which to build--a matter of 65,000 pesos at least. We were only a few believers . . . Any small building would cost at least 50,000 pesos just for the materials without all the finishing touches. Humanly speaking, the task looked impossible.

Little by little we were encouraged to make a beginning. The Foreign Missionary Society agreed to buy the lot if we would put the building on it. . . but where could we borrow the money for the building?. . . The banks won't do it. No loan company will do it. We had no personal connection to make it possible. . . So, we decided to start and go as far as we could as the offerings came in.

The lot was purchased, the plans drawn up, the foundations dug and filled, and the little church began to take shape. It was the joy of my heart to see this place of worship take shape on a prominent corner in Don Bosco. From sunup to sundown almost every day for one year I labored with bricks, cement, lime, sand, angle iron and dirt. Some days the exhaustion was intense, but the joy was likewise immense. . .

December 23, 1956 is a date long to be remembered as we used the church for the first time. The floor was just old mother earth, the walls were ugly, rough bricks, the platform was lumber used in the cement work quickly and temporarily nailed together. It was a joyous experience although much work remained (and remains) . . . 

My father's farewell address later, after ten years, added a few more interesting memories to the months that followed after the memorable inauguration. 

January 1957 through August 1957

    . . . we tried to do only the basic essentials on the temple in order to dedicate time to the spiritual aspects which had been neglected. We were able to make a basic cement floor with the help of believers from Wilde. The tower was finished and the over roof. Our attempt to waterproof it failed. For some time we preached to the accompaniment of drips from a leaky roof. 

Some may remember the special meetings with Brother Schrock during Holy Week in 1957. On Good Friday Mrs. Allessandria, Mrs. Devesa and Roberto Spina were to be baptized, but the baptistry was not ready nor the rest of the platform. At last, we were able to have the baptistry in working order and made a provisional cover. However, there was a gap behind the platform of half a meter to the floor. Brother Schrock was very confident when he got up to preach because he said, "I don't move much when I preach." But in a moment of excitement, he took a step back and stepped in air. He would have fallen had he not been able to lean against the wall.  

August 1957 - August 1958  

Eunice Siccardi y Nélida Zannetti

I cannot say much about the work during the year we were absent. God raised up two young ladies, graduates of our Bible Institute, to minister under the supervision of Mr. Maconaghy. They were well loved and made an impact for the glory of the Lord. Several made professions of faith, Mabel Devesa was baptized and there was growth in the lives of the believers. 

About the months following our return, Dad wrote: "No sooner had we greeted everyone, we began work to finish the temple. . ." sidewalks, plaster, floor and so much more.

However, he was careful to add the distinction between the material building and the true church,  believers, like "living stones" who make up the body of Christ. 

Yes, it's work to build a church. But the material building isn't the church and will not build the church. . . The Lord Jesus Christ has committed himself to the building of His church but has chosen to use His people as instruments in this task. 

My father's message to the Bible Institute graduates years before, was mentioned in the article "Serving My Master on the Mission Field."  

It was graduation time in 1952 in Argentina. The exercises were to take place in Río Cuarto. Brother Hoyt was asked to give the address. The text was Mark 10: 45, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." The point which is applicable to each of us is that the Lord Jesus didn't come to earth to be waited upon--to be ministered to--but to minister. He came to serve. (Lois Schrock in the Brethren Missionary Herald, 9.13.58)

Here we were once again in our beloved Don Bosco prepared to serve. What opportunities, challenges, changes, blessings and difficulties awaited us the next five years?

1958: Ivan & Perú

This opening photo could explain why Dad was the only one of our family who attended Grandma Hoyt's funeral in early December. Mother was eight months pregnant at the time. A month earlier, Uncle Phil had taken my parents and Grandma Hirschy for a ride to Elwood to show them the way to Mary Evans Hospital. It was important to know the best roads and be prepared for any eventuality. The area is very hilly, there are so many curves, and the weather is unpredictable in the middle of winter. Ivan Wayne Hoyt arrived safely January 5, 1958. 

   

Aldo, Lynn, Rita

We three siblings waited eagerly to hear the news. Each time Mother gave birth I hoped for a sister. But, again this time, it was not to be. We loved watching our new baby brother grow and change.

We enjoyed those months shared with grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. A few of the other relatives came and went from the other missionary fields. 
 

 

                                                                       

Winter turned into spring, then summer. The adventure of a school year in the US ended. I look back at my first impressions in the classroom. "Everyone speaks English," I thought. It was all so strange and quite an adjustment. I was socially awkward and didn't fit in. My courses, on the other hand, were not difficult. I was surprised to find that school could even be fun.  

Piano lessons continued throughout that year with an elderly teacher. I remember she wanted me to master a composition by Claude Debussy.

My parents kept busy with mission-related responsibilities--visiting churches, writing articles for the Brethren Missionary Herald, in addition to the building project for my grandparents and speaking in their church on occasion. 

We enjoyed family outings, like this picnic roasting hot dogs by a lovely pond.

Then it was time to return to Argentina. According to a note in the denominational magazine (8.02.58), our fellow missionaries the Schrocks were already on the high seas in July. However, the Hoyts´ promised passage had been cancelled and were awaiting their time to travel.

The following issue (8.09.58) mentioned our departure August 7 and that we traveled via Latin American Airlines. 

Another news item appeared in the August 30th publication:

I knew about our stop in Peru to visit the de Rossets but did not remember my father's back difficulty. More than once in his lifetime he was laid up with back trouble.

The de Rosset family

Obviously my missionary aunt and uncle, who were our neighbors that whole year in Evans City, had returned earlier to their place of service in Trujillo, Peru. Their two oldest, Eddie and Karin, stayed behind to continue their education in the US. 

 It was such a privilege to visit them and learn about their work and surroundings. The eight-hour taxi ride north from Lima, the capital, to Trujillo, was the scariest I can recall. The winding narrow highway hugged the coast between a serious drop to the ocean on the left and a steep sandy mountainside on the right. The experienced drivers were not afraid to speed.

Although I was too young to appreciate the lengths to which these dear relatives went to entertain us, I do remember Aunt Joyce's pies, and Uncle Ed's generosity. 

The following photos tell of the sight-seeing outings. All these sites were in their area. The Huacas (shrines or temples) of the Moche peoples from nearly two thousand years ago, are enormous adobe brick structures. They have since become sophisticated tourist destinations, highly commercialized.

Huaca del sol

Huaca de la luna

Joyce & Kathryn in forefront

Rosie and Rita in back

Ed at Huanchaco

Huanchaco has become a popular beach city. 

Salaverry, the gateway to Trujillo, is the great multipurpose port of Northern Peru. In addition to all the historic and archeological sites in the area, the natural attractions are a big draw--great beaches and opportunities to surf, fish, sandboard, and more.

Uncle Ed and Aunt Joyce tried to start a church there. Mostly they worked in Trujillo, Peru's second largest city. The following photo is of the church front and on the left you can see the Christian bookstore.

La librería y la iglesia en la Avda. La Unión

Trujillo is now a very modern city. These are glimpses into life sixty or seventy years ago.

Callejón típico

Cousin Karin says this may be the narrow corridor near the church where her best friend Natalia lived at the end in a two-room adobe hut. She also recalls the burros that carried fresh milk they bought.

This was market street. Uncle Ed did all the shopping because he was a better bargainer. 

En el mercado: Freddy, Lynn y el tío Ed

This photo brings back the memory of Uncle Ed's generosity. He heard me hint that I wanted to take back souvenirs for my friends, and he immediatly bought an assortment for me.

I asked cousin Rosie to write a summary of her parents' ministry in Peru. She sent me a piece she wrote a few years ago after her parents moved out of the Evans City family homestead, where they resided after retirement. The painful task of dealing with the accumulations of several generations, had fallen to her. Here is an excerpt.

I found letters from my father back to the 30’s, chronicling his meeting my mother and their missionary career.  In 1944, during WWII they went out by boat from Texas to Peru on $60 a month support without the language which they learned by walking around and listening to people talk.  They arrived in the port city of Callao with almost nothing and went by bus to the coastal city of Trujillo, Peru.  It was a hard and lonely beginning.

I read about how my mother at first felt forsaken of God as they lived in two rooms in a rat-infested primitive hotel with unsavory toilet facilities down the hall.

I read about her longing for trees and home then about her first Peruvian friends and her love for them and the beginnings of a church in a ramshackle fishing village, about my father’s discouragement over theft (he used to have the windshield wipers stolen off his Model T Ford, a car that had to be cranked and had no back doors so he just told us to sit in the middle).

And so many times I read about his clinging to I Peter 5:7  “casting all your care upon him for he careth for you.”  

And I read about how they began to plant churches and finally in the 80’s founded a seminary which flourishes today.

My mother, who never took no for an answer, taught hundreds of people to read and women how to care for their children. She used every resource she had and even taught many people to play the piano on a cardboard keyboard, and they could play when they hit the real thing. 

They lasted through sorrow, loss and joy for 42 years. It is a story of ordinary people to whom God was faithful; they clung to Him, and He was with them, performing His good work.

I conclude with Rosie's opening paragraph to her reflections and the scripture which expresses my thoughts also as I look back on my parents' ministry:

As I sat in the middle of both the documents of my teaching life at Moody Bible Institute and the records of my history at home, I came back to Paul’s familiar words in Philippians 1:6: 

“I am persuaded of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you

will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." 

1957: In the USA

 

Our time to return to the US had come. Why are we looking so glum in the photo? Sad to leave Argentina for a year? Or still into the old-fashioned serious-look for photos?

I was surprised to learn from "Aunt" Margaret's letters that we flew out of Río Cuarto, in the center of the country, rather than from Buenos Aires, the capital. I remember nothing about that time in the interior. However, the details she wrote are interesting.

July 30

We are expecting the Hoyts tomorrow evening, so this is going to be a busy week. Hoyts will go to Río Tercero to visit the Churchills on Thursday and come back here on Friday. Then they leave Río Cuarto by plane Sat. morning, so we'll have the fun of seeing them off. I'm looking forward to having them for we've seen so little of them since we've been back. [The Marshalls were our first missionary neighbors and dear friends in La Carlota.]

August 11

The Hoyts have come and gone. They came Wednesday evening just about supper time. I had fixed supper before the Women's meeting so that it would be ready--had noodle-pea-and-tuna-fish casserole, cole slaw and lemon pie. (made 4 pies that morning).

They left for Río Tercero Thursday morning and got back here for dinner on Friday. They were busy washing out clothes, buying a few last minute things, bathing, etc., the rest of that day. Then we all drove out to the airport Sat. morning to see them off. They were flying over to Chile and then up to the States.  They will be landing in Pittsburgh Wednesday night. 

The more I read Margaret's weekly letters, the greater my admiration for her. I don't know how she managed to show hospitality to the constant visitors who stopped by the headquarters while keeping up with three little active boys, as well as all the missionary work. And to make life even more difficult, all that year, 1957, they were dealing with the additional turmoil of renovations: a new roof, some remodeling, and the entire building painted room by room. As the family's living quarters were worked on, they relocated from one area to another continually, including setting up a kitchen elsewhere and using outdoor bathrooms for awhile.

Aconcagua from the south (Wikipedia)

About the flight, I do remember the noticeable change in scenery as we flew west and over the Andes mountain range. The central plains turned into rolling hills, then mountains, some snow on the peaks and finally all you could see was a white landscape, without even a speck of color or a black dot. It was winter and we were flying over the area where the highest peak in the Americas is located, Aconcagua with an elevation of  22,840 feet. Perhaps this was the flight when we had to wear oxygen masks while flying at such high altitudes. 

A week after leaving Don Bosco, we arrived in Pittsburgh, in Western Pennsylvania, not too far from  the Hirschy homestead in the town of Evans City where Grandpa pastored the Baptist church. 

The first photo is of the parsonage where Mother grew up and the church where my parents were married.

Baptist church and parsonage next door, on right

Sometime later, a new church was built a couple blocks down the road. And the old church building was made into a home for missionaries on furlough, as seen on this 1955 Christmas card.
 

I have no recollection of our arrival, so can only imagine that either my grandparents and/or uncle Phil met us at the airport. Nor am I aware of why my parents chose to be based in Evans City for the year. The previous furlough was spent in Winona Lake, where our mission's headquarters was located. Dad built a house there during that time. Again this year, Dad was involved in a building project, an addition to the parsonage, a small apartment for Grandpa and Grandma, while we occupied the main house. 

The annex

Both apartments in the missionary home next door were occupied. One of the families was that of Joyce (Mother's oldest sister), her husband, Ed de Rosset, and their four children, on leave from Peru. It was during this year that a friendship grew with my cousins Karin, Eddie, Rosie, and Freddy.

 
Karin, two years older, passed on some of her clothes to me. Grandma noted in her October 18 weekly letter to the family scattered abroad. "Rita has grown quite a bit since here. We can tell by her clothes. She is wearing several of Karin's skirts and blouses that are too small for Karin."  

Eddie and I were in the eighth grade. I remember how handsome he was with his thick shock of red hair.

Rosie and I often walked to school together. She was in the fourth grade, I was in eighth.

[We were sad to hear that the school is closed now after eighty four years.]

In the same letter, Grandma mentioned my parents' travels and some of what Lynn and I were up to. "Letters from Kathryn say that they had a safe trip down to Tennessee. Solon has been quite busy speaking five times. They were staying with Mother Hoyt up at Grandview."

Lynn and I stayed with Grandma Hirschy so as not to miss school. Aldo went with my parents and took his school books so Mother could help him not fall behind.

Saturday, Oct. 19:"We expect Solons home Monday. They are to be at Dayton, OH, on Sunday. . . Rita went up to clean upstairs and Lynn has been tooting his trumpet which he got yesterday. Now he went out to rake leaves."

The next weekly letter, Oct. 25, adds that they drove through the night so that Aldo could attend school in the afternoon. 

They were tired and went to bed for an hour or two. Then in the afternoon worked at the building again. Now tomorrow he [Solon] has to go to Canton, Ohio. This is the church that supports them, and they want the whole family to come. He has another appointment in Ohio next week. They sure don’t give him much rest. And I guess we don’t either. However, he enjoys working at this more even if it does make the muscles sore. 

Throughout that year, Grandma's letters included details of the building progress. The two brothers-in-law (Solon and Ed) worked steadily and sacrificially. In November she wrote: "The annex is progressing. The bathroom is about ready to paint and put the blocks on the floor. The plumbing is almost finished."

Where was Grandpa Hirschy all this time? After thirty years pastoring the Evans City Baptist Church, they granted him a ministry leave. He spent October and November on the island of Barbados. He wrote that the warm climate helped his catarrh (buildup of mucus in the back of the nose, throat, or sinuses). It was very restful there. His stomach was feeling better even without medication. Early every morning he walked to the ocean, half a mile away. By mid November he had spoken more than fifty times, was feeling miserable with a cold and so very lonely he could cry.

Grandma was struggling to keep up with everything during his absence. "I have all the correspondence that Pop did to look after beside writing to him and you all."

My grandparents had prayed for a missionary family. Of their six children, four went out as missionaries, in two continents, Africa and South America. Long before the internet or even good and affordable long distance phone service, communication was a challenge. For decades, Grandpa and Grandma kept the family informed and united by typing extracts or summaries of the letters that came in each week and mailing out carbon-copied versions. (No copy-machines back then either.) We looked forward to these lengthy single-spaced epistles, and treasure them to this day!

Now, about my other grandmother, the one I never got to know very well. She looked after me and must have been very helpful to us when she lived close in Winona Lake. However, I was only an infant.

Grandma Hoyt holding Rita

I have a vague memory of playing with buttons or trinkets she kept in a lower drawer. The photo tells me she enjoyed caring for me, her very first granddaughter, after several grandsons.

I admired her from afar, for all that I learned about her. She lost her three-month-old firstborn son, then gave birth to ten more children (including a pair of twins) over a period of fifteen years. Life was hard. They were very poor. There was much dysfunction. Grandpa Hoyt abandoned the family when Dad (# 8) was still a youth of about 16 years of age. And yet, all ten living children achieved high levels of education and most, if not all, were involved in Christian ministry.

Dad never spoke much about his parents. He was a man of action and lived very much in the present. The past was pain-filled.

More recently, I came upon a couple documents and four handwritten letters that told me so much more about this amazing little woman that many have said I resemble.

Grandma's little white house in Grandview, TN

The first document was titled: ANNA  LEOLA  DORSEY  HOYT'S ITINERARY  FROM  BIRTH (A copy of notes found among Grandma Hoyt's papers).

She had kept a record of her many moves from age 9 to 72--family relocations and visits with each offspring as she traveled from one to another in her latter years. I counted at least eighty five moves. 

The only four letters in my possession were written to my family in 1957. She commented on every detail of what was going on in our lives in Argentina and then shared her news and whatever she had heard from the other Hoyts. She always expressed a longing to hear from us, and that the time would pass quickly until our return to the US.

  

January 14: "Your Jan. 3 letter was so welcome for I had waited for it since first of Nov. I do hope you are well situated in your new house. Moving is a real task which I've learned thru many long years. Surely hope you were able to get the temple in perfect shape for the Christmas program. . . 86 was a goodly number at your Christmas program, wasn't it?"

She enjoyed her little house and the church nearby. She helped start an adult Sunday School class. They were studying prophecy in the book of Daniel. 

It was a very cold winter. She had to heat with wood, "It is getting near chore time for me. Must bring in small sticks that burn up quickly then some large dry ones that hold fire longer then a lot of big green chunks to keep fire all night." 

When it rained, however, there was an extra step. "My pile of wood is completely saturated with water. I have to bring in a few small pieces in evening to dry in oven ready to start morning fire."

Racial troubles were uppermost there at the time. There was KKK activity. A negro camp near Grandview had their kitchen and dining room set on fire. "The feeling against the negro is a fast growing menace," she wrote April 30.

In February, Grandma received the Bryan Newsette in the mail (a publication of Bryan University, my parents' alma mater), and wrote, "Lo and behold! What met my eyes? A letter from Solon and Kathryn, and what I liked most was your intention to visit Grandview." 
Later she said, "I'm praying you may spend some time here and then I'd like to be where I can see you many times during your furlough."

As already mentioned, my parents and Aldo did visit Grandma Hoyt in Grandview. They stayed six days, probably their last time together. Lynn and I never got to see her again. In early December, she became ill and died. She was 73.

I remember my father's sadness when she passed away. He was the only one of our family who traveled to Winona Lake for the funeral.

Hoyt family reunion for Grandma's funeral

The second document in my possession was MOTHER'S 1957 DIARY (Excerpts from Anna Leola Dorsey Hoyt's diary for 1957, the year of her death).

Perhaps whoever compiled this did so in an effort to understand what led up to her demise. Her very brief daily entries reminded me of Grandma Hirschy's diaries. There were notes about: the weather; visitors, comings and goings; letters received; the garden, flowers and harvest; household tasks or problems. At regular intervals, two entries which I found interesting: "Defrosted refrigerator." (almost monthly) and "Shampooed my hair."  There was only one hint of a health issue: "September 8 - I had a slight heart attack at about 1 or 2 AM. Also had (almost) a dizzy spell at 8 AM." She immediately moved on to the water problems she was having, "The well went dry or something wrong with the pump." Nothing more was said about her health.

The earthly cause of death will remain a mystery. However, we know that God has an appointed time for each of us to be born and to die. His ways are perfect. And we also know that to be in His presence is unfathomably more desirable and He longs to welcome His own. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15)." 

1957: Changes

Painting by Juan Colle: Las sierras

January summer camps were held for the last time in El Quebracho (Valle de Calamuchita). For lack of a photo of the exact campsite, here is a representative oil painting by a good friend. I purchased it as a birthday gift to myself years ago and it hangs in our living room to remind me of the many happy memories of camp in the sierras. 

For several years, the missionaries had been searching to purchase a permanent campground. They rented sites that had no structures or buildings, which meant that tents and all the necessary equipment had to be set up each time. Margaret Marshall explained the ordeal in her January 13, 1957 letter to family:

Our camps have very little in the way of commodities, but the 75 young people, age 15 on up, who were there seemed to have a wonderful time. It's an awful lot of work getting ready for the camp, for we just rent a piece of ground and then everything has to be taken there and set up. there were 2 boys' tents, a girls' tent, kitchen tent, dining room & classroom tent and several individual family tents.

In November of that year, the mission finally purchased the perfect campground, which is now well equipped with permanent facilities—Campamento Cerro San Lorenzo.  

Margaret Marshall and boys: David, Peter, Michael

The Marshall family lived at the mission headquarters in Río Cuarto. Most hospitality responsibilities fell on them. Before each camp session people began to arrive at different times from various towns to await departure by truck to the campsite. Early arrivals required overnight accommodation and meals. And when they returned from their week in the sierras, they lingered there till time for their return trip home. As I read Margaret's letters I realized how very much work she did, willingly yet sacrificially.

I was surprised to learn from her weekly correspondence that my mother had accompanied five campers to the children's camp session, January 19-24.

About 8:30 [Thursday the 18th] the train came in from Buenos Aires, bringing Kathryn Hoyt and five children with her, and Don Bishop with four youngsters from Corrales, so I served them and got them placed for the night while Jim had prayer meeting. They were planning to leave at 8:00 Friday morning, but arrangements hadn't been made for getting a big enough truck to take them, so it was about 10:00 before they all got away.

I wrote to my best friend Mirtha soon after camp to tell her all about our travels. Our car load, with Mr. Schrock driving, had left camp right after the last evening meeting around the camp fire, el fogón, always a special time of sharing. On the road to Río Cuarto we got lost once, and stopped to help another car in our group that had carburetor trouble. We finally arrived at headquarters at 2 a.m., some of us feeling sick. We got up at 7:30 a.m. to catch the 9 o'clock train. Daddy and Devesas were waiting for us at the central train station in Buenos Aires. That tells me that my friend Mabel Devesa went to camp with us.

Next I told Mirtha about the big change about to affect our family: "After a series of problems, we finally have the house and can move in whenever we want."

Some months earlier the owners of Maconaghys' and Hoyts' rentals said they needed their houses. The mission began the process of purchasing a residence for each of these missionary units. Our family moved to Chiclana 1074, a few blocks away from the first home and closer to the newly built Templo, the church building. Google Maps' latest photo, taken a year ago, reveals architectural changes, damages and much deterioration to the home we lovingly remember. 

Chiclana 1074, July 2021

Across the street lived the Clausens, a lovely Danish family who became our good friends. They belonged to another congregation in a neighboring town and hosted a Good News Club in their garage every Thursday afternoon. My friends and I attended regularly. I mentioned this in my early correspondence with Mirtha. 

Every Thursday afternoon at six o'clock, there is a Good News Club. . . The teacher's name is Carlos and I don't know how to spell his last name. Well, last Thursday we divided into two groups. One of girls, and another of boys. We voted and I became captain of the girls' team and had two secretaries. We voted again and the boys' captain was a boy called Eduardo Clausen. Carlos, our teacher, gave us some homework for this Thursday, to write an essay about Naaman's servant girl. He gave us three questions we had to answer: Who was the girl? What did she do? What does she teach us? I finished the assignment and will take it today. 

It is an interesting experience to look back at one's own reflections as a child. I was only ten-years-old at the time of that writing. Other surprises came as I continued to read those old letters. At age twelve I first heard a rumored version of  "Where do babies come from?"

Dora is a girl my age, after you she is one of my best friends . . . she also passed into first year of secondary school like me . . .  

About those secrets: she was told them when she was in fourth grade, but she didn't take it as a laughing matter or something dirty but rather asked her mother who told her that children are asked of God. Dora still doubted . . . then one day she shared these doubts with me. I didn't know anything about anything and at first was horrified but then I said her mother was right . . . because I remembered how my mother and father prayed before Aldo and Lynn were born . . . But I couldn't get the thought out of my head so I asked Mother, "Isn't it right, Mom, that the only thing you have to do to have a baby is to pray?" She said, "No, dear." After that day, I experienced the same unrest that Dorita had, but only for a day because I said to myself: "If it were something bad my mom and dad would not do it and God would not have arranged it that way." 

We decided to consult the matter with Mirtha, two years older than us. Grateful for her eagerly-awaited response, we then composed a thank you letter together. Here it is in Dorita's handwriting.

Don Bosco, December 30, 1956

Dear Mirtha:

With great happiness we answer the lines you wrote us (or, better said, the pages you wrote us). We are so grateful because you have satisfied our need "to know." We no longer think of it as something bad, although we realized before that our parents would not do something bad, and we thank you for the advice you gave us when you told us we ought not drink from "impure sources" which we will do no longer.

We trust that when these lines reach you they find you and your family doing very well. I, Dora, hope my desire to meet you comes to pass, and may it be soon.

With no more, we say goodbye with much love, your friends, . . .  

How times have changed! With no television or internet, the age of innocence lasted longer. 

Radio was everywhere, however, so it was increasingly used to spread the message of the Gospel.

The Gospel is entering hundreds of homes several times a week—homes which otherwise would likely never be reached. Many thousands of radios are now located in homes, cars, hotels, restaurants and buses throughout Argentina. In the cities, towns, and rural areas people listen to the radio. Television has not yet taken over in Argentina. We are still in the day of radio here. And now is the time to use this method of evangelism. (The Brethren Missionary Herald, 12.07.57)

Another article by Lynn Schrock, the one in charge of the radio ministry:

Lynn Schrock in recording studio

"How many here tonight were converted through the radio ministry?" This was the question I asked the folks who attended the Sunday evening service in our General Conference held in Río Cuarto in March of 1957. About half a dozen folks there that night raised their hands. The Gospel had reached these folks in their homes because we're on the air in Argentina. . .

 It was on Saturday, June 11, 1955, that The Brethren Church had its first radio program in Argentina. At 3:45 p.m. the broadcast of the "Open Bible" went on the air. This name was chosen because the Bible is a closed book for the "religiosos" of Argentina. For that reason they are so far from the truth and from salvation. (The Brethren Missionary Herald, 2.01.58)

That first program was broadcast from a three and a half kilowatt station in Río Cuarto. Not long after, another broadcast was added for the general public, and one for children, "La Tía Sara" (Aunt Sarah) with stories and music by children from our Mission.

This reminded me of another excerpt from my correspondence with Mirtha where I mentioned the radio gang. Referring to the above mentioned friend Dora, I wrote, "She also belongs to the radio gang and whenever we ride on the bus or the train, she sits with me and we talk about so many things."  

Memories surfaced of those trips with Carlos Maccio, our teacher, to downtown Buenos Aires to a radio station where we recorded skits and music. One time I sang Psalm 103. I could still sing remember many years, but now the melody is gone. Neither can I recall who all participated in the radio gang, probably the faithful members of the children's Bible club. I do know that we got back home quite late from those outings. What radio station aired these programs is also a long-forgotten mystery, but probably had something to do with LAPEN, the Argentine branch of Child Evangelism.

The biggest change for us that year was about to come. After five years, it was time for our year-long furlough in the US.

Nélida Zannetti

In April, Nélida Zannetti, a Bible Institute graduate, was assigned to come to Don Bosco to look after the work there. She was my roommate for a couple months. Later on, she was joined by another young lady, Mirtha's sister, Eunice Siccardi.

A few years ago, I wrote the story of a memorable birthday that year.

Thirteenth Birthday Party—May, 1957

"Why don't you go put on your new clothes?" Mother said.

"What for?" I thought, but I dutifully went upstairs to my room and got out the pleated skirt and matching sweater set.

We had made several trips to Quilmes, by bus or train; walked the length of the long shopping district; searched in numerous fabric shops for my whimsical color choice--pink and gray. Mother would not give up until she had found the perfect plaid combination. How I loved that wool skirt! It was light and soft and the colors pleased me. I wore it for many years, carefully applying imperceptible patches to areas that had become threadbare.

But why now, nothing special going on, why should I wear my best clothes?

Then the doorbell rang and my friends began to arrive. "¡Feliz cumpleaños!" they sang.

Mother knew how much I had missed my friends from elementary school years. They had all started back to school in March, each following a different track. Delia had decided to go the secretarial route and was attending the Escuela Comercial. Others preparing for university chose the Escuela Nacional. I had not made up my mind yet because in a couple months we were returning to the US for a year, in time for fall classes in America.

Mother was getting out the food she had prepared. I could smell the bologna salad sandwiches. My friends loved these. She also knew how to make homemade marshmallows because at the time they were not yet available in Argentina. And my favorite birthday cake--the Never Fail Chocolate Cake with Seven Minute white frosting.

We played games, but mostly talked. I wanted to hear about their secondary school experience so far. They used public transportation to travel to their schools in Quilmes, the city twelve or fifteen minutes away by bus or train. Some went in the morning, others in the afternoon, and there was a night session also. Thus the same school building could accommodate three different programs with totally different administration and teachers. Obviously the structures were simpler and the systems less complex than in the US. I was soon to find that out for myself. 

The event served also as a going-away party. A year is a long time to be away from close friends. Already I missed them and knew I would never be able to catch up with them in school.

But for now, this was such a thoughtful surprise my Mother had prepared. We did not usually have birthday parties with our friends. Though the details have faded, Mother's loving efforts to make that day special remain a sweet memory.

In July we flew to the US. Come back next time for that story.