Classic Stride

John & Julia Panteli did Stride at a children's home in La Plata, Argentina.

On our ten-month Stride placement we helped other workers care for 40 children and run a children's home situated in La Plata, near Buenos Aires.

The work included anything from caring for two-year-olds, keeping six-year-olds occupied and dealing with teenage problems, to cooking, cleaning, teaching, building, gardening, you name it!

The children were from a variety of difficult backgrounds, orphaned, abandoned, neglected and/or abused, but were an inspiration; seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter was one of the biggest blessings we have known.

During our time there we experienced God and saw Him working, in many different ways. He showed us his faithfulness, love and grace constantly during our time preparing to go, whilst there, and upon our return to the UK. We experienced the reality of His provision and faithfulness, especially in times when we couldn't carry on under our own strength, we felt and saw the power of people's prayers and learnt about strength that comes from praising Christ in all situations.

We also greatly enjoyed living in Argentina and getting to know the people and embracing their culture and way of life.

While searching for an organisation to go away with, Latin Link was recommended to us, and as we found out about their support structure, preparation and de-briefing programmes we felt reassured about working with them. Before we went away and throughout our time in Argentina, this preparation and support was invaluable to us, and the Latin Link team in Argentina was a huge blessing to us in countless ways.

Lynne Sue Moon taught in a school in a Brazilian favela.

Why did you decide to go on Stride?

I wanted to follow what I believed was Gods calling on my life.

What type of Stride placement was it?

Classic two years Stride.

What impacted you about your time on your Stride?

LOTS OF THINGS!!
Realising that even in my frailty God can use me. Arriving in a place and feeling, 'this is what I was made for' and knowing the 'satisfaction' that comes from following God's call.

Learning more about God's faithfulness, provision, equipping, promises, and learning to trust God more and more.

Falling completely in love with a people, a place and a culture.

I struggled a lot with language and some cultural issues and for that reason did not always understand what was going on around me, which can be disconcerting, perplexing, frustrating. Also I was working with adolescents, and discipline was a major issue. However in all those struggles I learnt so much and there is so much about Brazilian culture that I love and want to hang on to.

How do you feel since you got back to the UK? Any future plans?

My passion for mission/Brazil has increased and I want to continue to live the rest of my life serving God and living and working among the poor, the marginalised, the broken, the vulnerable.