Not long after, August 26, we awoke at 2:30 a.m. when the upstairs renter knocked on our door to tell us the tree in the front of the house was falling down. Another storm had hit our area, perhaps a hurricane, some reported, and the worst since 1927 with very high winds causing much damage. I wrote the family, and Grandma quoted parts in her weekly circular:
We got up, lit some candles and looked around, but there was not much we could do, and besides the wind had died down a little so we, Lynn and I, prayed and went back to bed. . . . In the morning we discovered that the oak in front of the house had fallen in several parts but none on the house, the gutters only.
We felt God's presence and care in our new situation, living alone, keeping house, working several jobs, and preparing for college classes to begin. I was surprised to read in the same letter about my work schedule at the hotel restaurant, and my industriousness at home.
I worked 8 hrs. last Wed. and 1 hr. during the breakfast rush both Thurs. and Fri. and also Sunday noon after church 4 hrs. Saturday I cleaned the house thoroughly and baked some cookies. For dinner we had trout which was very good.
Smile--sixty years later, I do not feel as energetic. However, it appears that we were adjusting reasonably well to our new normal.
What new assignment was the rest of our family facing? Mother had written:
As we go back we will be entering another field, that of the Bible Institute. Although our ministry will be primarily a teaching ministry in the Institute, we are going back with a burden for an even greater ministry of personal evangelism. In our family worship we have been studying several plans of personal evangelism and we pray that the Lord will use us as never before in the winning of lost souls in Argentina.
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| Iglesia de los Hermanos (Brethren Church) |
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| Instituto Bíblico (Bible Institute) |
The church property also housed the Bible Institute. It continued to thrive at the time, in fact an addition was built that year.
How were my parents accepting and adapting to their new assignment? I found some answers in an article Dad wrote, published in The Brethren Missionary Herald.
Almafuerte, Argentina
We have enjoyed the work here in the Bible Institute from the very beginning. Contrary to my former thinking, we have plenty to do in the work of evangelism, and the fact that four ordained ministers live in this small town although it may look bad from the outside--does not mean that any one of us doesn't have his hands full in the Lord's work.
The four ordained ministers mentioned included two missionaries and two national pastors: Solon Hoyt, Nelson Fay, Luis Siccardi, and Eduardo Coria. The Siccardi family had been house parents until that year when they were joined by the Coria family. Eduardo also was one of the Bible professors.
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| Eduardo Coria (standing) Hugo Abeldaño, Tito Siccardi (back row) Gabriel Agostini, Mildret Funes, Mirtha Siccardi (middle row) Julio Reta, Liliana Yoder, Betty Pizarro (front row) |
Five days of the week the day begins with morning devotions at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday there are classes all morning. Every afternoon except Saturday and Sunday I'm in the shop with the boys, guiding them in the making of simple pieces of furniture and so forth.
The shop work up to now has been for the purpose of providing work for the boys and young ladies (in the picture-framing shop) in order that they might meet all their expenses.
There has been ample work and the orders are continually increasing.
On Fridays we are going out with the students to evangelize a town 51 kilometers away. On November 19, 20 and 21 the students will carry out a three-day tent campaign there as the end of the campaign in that town. We're trusting the Lord to open up some home or in some way known to Him make it possible to continue a testimony there in a permanent way.
Grandma refers to my parents' November 21 letter:
Kathryn says that Sam had gone with the Institute students for the last service in Despeñaderos, and Aldo was playing the horn for a Happy Hour [children's meeting].
Sam wrote later that the last meeting was the best. There were 48 in the children's meeting in which 20 made profession of faith and 2 or 3 adults, which came voluntarily and personally.
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| Julio Reta, Liliana Yoder, Gabriel Agostini, Beeatriz Pizarro, Mildret Funes |
Since August we have made four trips out to the churches with the students. These have been a great blessing in both directions to the students and to the churches. As a partial result of one of these trips, two young people from the congregation made their decision to come to Institute next year. Others have indicated their desire to come upon finishing their secondary schooling. (The Brethren Missionary Herald, 12.11.1965)
Dad's November 29 letter relates how the school year ended.
Our hearts are filled with rejoicing for all His benefits and guidance in these recent days. The school year ended quite successfully and with great rejoicing. Of course, we professors still have some grading to do and then we must begin preparations without losing any time, for the opening of school next year.
Going back to last Monday, my day began at 6 A.M. when I arose to make the 30 mile trip to Despeñaderos to help take the tent down and bring everything back. It was a very hot day and we did plenty of perspiring. But thank the Lord we finished by noon with the two trips. I spend the afternoon in the shop, as usual. The boys were there too but were so exhasuted from the tent campaign that it would have been better if they could have spent the afternoon in bed.
Monday night we had our first general practice for the choir number. I sang with gusto but shortly afterwards I began to notice that my throat was getting sore. By morning it was quite difficult to swallow. I took a couple of aspirin during the day to keep going and didn't go to the doctor. Several days went by and it was becoming gradually worse. I was busy and so kept postponing but when Thursday evening came, I couldn't take it any longer so went to see Dr. Bergese. He examined me well and didn't seem to know exactly what it was but thought it was something on the vocal chord. He ordered 4 shots and some suppositories. By Friday night, having had 3 of the shots, my throat was so bad I was afraid to go to bed for fear of spending the night just twisting and turning and groaning. Eunice Siccardi [nurse] came to see me at Kathryn's request. She thought it would be good for me to have certain antibiotic drops for gargling. We purchased these and gargled. In the process I spit up some brown looking liquid. I went to bed, went to sleep and by morning my throat was only slightly sore. Evidently there was an abcess somewhere in the throat and when it came to a head and broke I got relief. But in those days I had to quit singing and didn't feel like talking either. I had to be replaced in a men's chorus, a men's quartet and a choir number all for the graduation exercises. I was mighty fearful that someone would have to replace me in presenting the diplomas also but the Lord undertook so I could go through with that.
In the September issue of Convicción, publication of the Organismo Juvenil (Youth Organization), the current students stated their plans and longings.
Nov. 30
Sunday, Lynn went to open the church at 7 A.M. and I got up to study my S.S. lesson, I had to teach. Mrs. Hall [next-door neighbor] invited us to eat with them and we had a good time and a good meal. At 2 we went to listen to another tape for O.M.[Operation Mobilization] Then Lynn had brass ensemble practice. At 6:30 we went to the pre-service prayer meeting and were greatly blessed, they are praying much for our trip to Mexico.
Wednesday evening at 5 we went to Uncle Herman's for a Thanksgiving eve dinner. [Dr. Herman Hoyt, Dad's oldest brother, president of Grace College and Seminary.] All the cousins were there. [Hmmm, I wonder who all was in the area or studying at Grace?] Needless to say the meal was delicious and abundant. Aunt Harriet gave us a very pretty Christmas candle that she made.
Thanksgiving day Lynn worked all morning at the school and I here, at home. At 1:15 we went to Barnard's [head of the Foreign Missionary Society] for dinner. Covers [missionaries on furlough from Argentina], Davises and Martha [Hebe, married to Ray Davis, and Martha B. her sister, Argentine believers, Bible Institute graduates] were also there. Had turkey and all the other Thanksgiving specials.
We went to the special service in the evening. Church was crowded because of Homecoming, high school day etc. Also the basketball teams for the 8 team tournament were here. After we listened to another O.M. orientation tape Lynn went to the game. He plays in the pep band. I went home until after 10 P.M. when I took Lynn his work clothes. I took my piano books along and a book to read, so just stayed with Lynn until he finished his work which was 3 A.M.
Lynn added,
On Monday I went and ordered a new wash machine, then the upstairs neighbor's broke down the same day. He called the Sears service man. I asked him to tell the service man to fix ours if it could be done for very little. . . He fixed it for $1, so of course we will not be getting the new washing machine.
For some time now I have been getting the mail for the school. I always had a truck available to drive down at that time, but lately, because two of those trucks broke down beyond repair, I had been using our car. Well the other day I went to the business manager to try to get another truck or something, and the next morning he gave me the keys to the school's courtesy car - a red '62 Ford station wagon, and told me to use it.
An article titled "Operation Mobilization," explains O.M. and our involvement with the organization.
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| Sue Horney, Lynn Hoyt (back) Eleanor Mares, Rita Hoyt (front) |
During the Christmas holiday vacation, four Grace College students participated in the distribution of 3,000 New Testaments and other Christian literature in Monterrey, Mexico.
Sue Horney, Rita Hoyt, Lynn Hoyt, and Eleanor Mares forfeited their ten-day vacation, working under the direction of Operation Mobilization, an international student movement.
"Operation Send the Light," as the trip to Mexico was called, involved 250 students from colleges and universities all over the country. The purpose of the visit was to sell various kinds of Christian literature translated into Spanish--New Testaments, tracts, books by Billy Graham and other evangelical writers. Rather than giving away the literature, the students sold it at cost or below, thus helping the Mexicans to realize its intrinsic worth.
Each of the Grace students held an advantage over many of the other young people because of their ability to speak Spanish.
Sue Horney, a senior, comes from our Brethren home missions work in Taos, New Mexico, where she has been bilingual for 16 years. Sue initiated the interest on Grace campus for O.M., and encouraged the others to accompany her this past Christmas.
Rita Hoyt, a senior, and her brother, Lynn, a freshman, grew up as missionary children in Buenos Aires, Argentina; they have been bilingual since learning to talk. Rita said the most humorous incident occurred when a non-Spanish-speaking student told a Mexican that a New Testament costs three "besos," which means "kisses." The student meant to say "pesos."
Eleanor Mares, a Grace College junior from Taos, New Mexico, was also reared speaking English and Spanish. Eleanor considers missionaries as "special people" since it was through such influence that she became a Christian. The most exciting part of "Operation Send the Light" for Eleanor is yet to come by way of correspondence with Bertha Martinas, a Mexican teen-ager. Each of the 250 students was asked to find one person in Monterrey for a personal follow-up ministry, thus striving to show these people that this American interest is more than superficial.
These four Grace students said they would like to travel to another country next year to distribute God's Word. Several of them are preparing to carry on the same work in a foreign country this summer. (The Brethren Missionary Herald, 2.19.1966)
So many surprises, questions, mysteries surfaced as I researched this era of long-ago memories. Where did the Bible Institute students end up? Did our family back in Argentina celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday? What were all the part-time jobs Lynn managed as a college student?
However, I do have one vivid memory--Christmas Day in Mexico. That day we did not go out in the city offering books and literature. It was a day set aside for worship and prayer. OM leaders stood and shared exciting reports about what God was doing in other countries. It proved to be a most memorable Christmas without all the trimmings and traditions. Our hearts were full of gratitude and praise. What else could we need?
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15 ESV)
