April 1, 2010
Dear Friends and Family,
Our summer was really great. Apart from our regular work schedule, our days were filled with swimming in the girls little pool at home, Cora’s swim lessons, going to parks, getting away on a couple of occasions to Rosario (a city 3 hours north of Buenos Aires), swimming in the river there and taking in the sun on the sand. Also, in January the WMF community here took a weekend spiritual retreat that was both uplifting and fun. Now begins the challenge of reentering into the school year rhythm. In March Amani began pre-school at the same neighborhood school that Cora attended. She looks so cute in her school uniform and thankfully is excited about beginning pre-school. Cora has started 2nd grade and will continue to attend the same bi-lingual school. We are so proud of them both and pray that God continues to accompany and bless them in this season of learning and growth.
There is also an important development within the ministry here in Buenos Aires that we’d like to share with you. The community has taken steps to begin the process of legally registering WMF Argentina as an Argentine civil association. A lawyer we have hired will be tackling this process and securing our registration with the appropriate government agency. Also, currently we are in the process of meeting with and inviting 8 Argentines to form the board of directors of the association. This official legal status will allow us to deepen our collaboration with Argentine partners and provide further accountability and local contextualization of the ministry. We ask that you pray for this new phase in the life and rhythm of the community and ministry. Attached you will find a letter from the WMF Argentina community explaining a bit further our history, vision and needs regarding this important step.
We are excited also for what this coming July holds in store. We’ll be in the US from July 2 through August 1. The main purpose of our trip is to attend the WMF Staff Gathering in Nebraska City, Nebraska held every 3 years. The dates of the gathering are July 12-22. And because Cora and Amani will already be missing 2 weeks of school (the remaining 2 weeks away happen to be winter break), we will be in California a little over a week. Our hope is to at least be able to see some of you during that time. The purpose of these Staff Gatherings is three-fold.
- To build relationship with one another
- To retreat together from our normal life of service and activism and
- To support one another and the movement we’re a part of through various meetings, discussions, reflections and prayer.
In order to attend the Staff Gathering the total cost for our family’s airfare will be $4300.00 ($3200 international; $1000 national flight). Sadly, our support account continues to hold a low balance and is not able to absorb this large expense. Therefore, we are communicating this need to you so that you can pray on our behalf for God’s provision. Advocating and standing in the gap with us can take many forms. Here are just a few ideas!
- Pray for our family’s financial stress, particularly that God would creatively meet our underlying need for others to partner with us in supporting us monthly
- If you are able we’d like to humbly ask you to contribute towards the $4300.00 for our airfare
- “Donating” frequent flyer miles for our use
- If you belong to a faith community, you could speak to someone in leadership about our family, our needs and the WMF ministry in Buenos Aires. For instance, you could make the initial introduction and connection and put us in contact with this person or persons. We’re in need and would love to see a couple of more churches involved in supporting us and partnering with us in ministry. We deeply believe in our vocation and would enjoy sharing our vision and work and creating the possibility of partnership for the glory of God and God’s kingdom.
If you are interested in partnering with us financially with a one-time gift you may designate your donation to “Walter and Adriana Forcatto.” You may also partner with us monthly to help meet our family budget needs.
We are blessed by the many ways you have prayed for us and offered your support during these 12 years of ministry with Word Made Flesh. May God shower your lives with goodness, mercy and grace.
Peace,
Walter