July 1, 2006 Dear loving family and friends, I have to tell you that it sure is great to live in a country with such a historical and strong soccer tradition. I'll give you an idea of the passion, expectation, excitement and joy surrounding Argentina's participation in the World Cup. Last Friday before Argentina's debut game Cora and the rest of her kinder-garden came out of school wearing light blue and white paper headbands they had made in and chanting “Argentina, Argentina, Argentina!” It was so cute and so demonstrative of how much fútbol is a part of life here. Cora is continuing to make great improvements in her Spanish fluency and is really enjoying going to school. At times she will surprise us by singing a song she learned I school that we haven't heard her sing before. Adriana and I just look at each other in amazement and joy. Adriana is doing well and by the time you read this will be 4 ½ months pregnant. We recently went to her June appointment with the gynecologist/obstetrician and actually heard the baby's heartbeat! Also, recently we have begun to host a Thursday night bible study with friends from the faith community we attend. There are 3 home studies that have just begun and the idea was to have one study in the neighborhood of La Boca (where we live) since several people from the church live in the area. Adriana and I are excited about this opportunity to welcome friends into our home and build deeper bonds of friendship and love as we seek God together. I also want to encourage you to continue praying for the youth on the street and us. Over the last 2-3 months I have noticed something very encouraging with respect to our friends who live on the street. It seems that the foundation of love, fondness and trust we have been working to build has deepened considerably. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened but I sense that the youth are opening up more and in a way giving more of themselves to us. Several youth came to an activity we had at the church in late May where we showed an Argentine movie about a child on the street in Buenos Aires. And it was deeply encouraging to see how our friends from church who came to the activity warmly welcomed the youth. Three or four of them have expressed an interest in coming to the service on a Sunday morning. There are many other “ordinary”, subtle examples that I think are a result of prayers and simply accompanying in love these youth in their walk through life. I don't want to risk over explanation of what may be part of the mystery of the working of the Spirit of God. But I wanted to share this with you to ask that you keep interceding that God would reveal himself more and more to our friends, brothers and sisters on the street. May God's face shine on you today and his favor rest upon you as you follow the example of Jesus. Your faithful presence and friendship in our lives makes God's love real and tangible as we faithfully live the vocation He has given us. Here are a few things you may pray through as you think of us: – A possible field visit in September to the WMF community in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pray that we would be an encouragement and support as dependable leaders to the staff there. – Healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy for Adriana and baby Forcatto – Pray for healthy pregnancies and deliveries for two young ladies we deeply care for – Pray that our friends Juan Jose, Lorena, Marina and Nicolas would continue to bless and be blessed by the kids and youth they are getting to know. – Pray that God would give us continued wisdom, vision and grace as we serve the leaders and staff in our role as South America Regional Coordinators. Peace, Walter