The Underwood Family

Missionaries to Argentina

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June 2022 Prayer Letter

June 2022 Underwood Family Prayer Letter PDFDownload

Dear Faithful Ministry Partners,

I am excited to report that we are closing in on holding our first services for Iglesia Bautista Esperanza (Hope Baptist Church)! In just a short amount of time, God brought us from desperately searching for a place to rent, to signing a contract, and beginning remodeling to make a garage a church building. We are so thankful that He is fulfilling the dream and desire He placed within my heart to be a church planter in Argentina!

The following is our plan for starting Iglesia Bautista Esperanza:

  1. Pass out 10,000 invitations in the community by knocking doors
  2. Hold a 6 week course of English classes before our midweek service and invite those in attendance to stay.
  3. Saturate the area businesses, bus stops, and soccer fields with posters and materials about our church.
  4. Hang signs across streets in order to advertise.
  5. Purchase advertisement airtime on a local radio station.
  6. Hold weekly youth meeting and invest our energy in training young men for ministry
  7. Each first time visitor will receive a special gift along with a follow up visit from ourministry team.

Lord willing, I will be preaching a series on salvation, baptism, and church membership, and what it means to be a church throughout the first month of services. I trust that the Lord will bring folks to the saving knowledge of Christ through our efforts
and that He will build His church!

Thank you all for your continued love, prayers, and support for our family!

Your Missionaries to Argentina,

Stephen, Ashlee, Peyton, Eli, and Neyland
The Underwood Family
Acts 20:24
argentinamissions.com

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Signing on a building! Quick Underwood Update!

After nearly a three month search, looking at over a dozen locations for rent, and hearing from at least eight different real estate agents “no to a church,” we are finally signing on a great location!

I am so excited about the days, and weeks ahead, though this is all uncharted territory, I know that God has already begun working, and preparing hearts to hear His gospel message!

This garage (galpón) is roughly 78 square meters, has a small room to the side that will serve as our children’s church, and two bathrooms. One bathroom is unfinished, so we will be finishing that as soon as possible. Some work has already begun, such as adding a roof to an open air area, and sealing off a door to become a window. We will be giving this garage a major face lift when it is empty of the owner’s belongings, and preparing to hold services as soon as we can!

At signing, I will be paying a little over $2,000 just to be able to take possession officially. The owner has been so gracious to allow us to spend time there already, and says he will be one of our first visitors! He is a retired artisanal wood worker and has already built my first pulpit as a gift! The estimated cost for all that needs to be done to make this garage a functional church, (no bells and whistles), is roughly $10,000. If you would like to help and be a part, we would be grateful for anything the Lord moves you to give! Simply designate any special gifts as Church Plant and send it to:

Vision Baptist Missions
Attn: Stephen Underwood
P.O. Box 442
Alpharetta, GA 30009

Thank you all for praying with us and staying up to date with our family and ministry here in Argentina!

Your Missionaries to Argentina,

Stephen, Ashlee, Peyton, Eli, and Neyland
The Underwood Family
Acts 20:24

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May 2022 Prayer Letter

Underwood Family Prayer Letter PDFDownload

Dear Pastors and Prayer Partners,

April was a full month of blessings and encouragements and there are even more heading our way! We have finally started making headway on our church plant in Ezeiza. There were times I wasn’t sure what was going on, between owners not wanting to rent to a church, or paperwork for visas being delayed, but God is certainly in control and in His timing, we see results!

I believe we have found a good fit for our church plant; at least for the first year or so. There are two other places we will see before making a final decision, but I am encouraged either way. Each place is essentially a garage of sorts, but with a little TLC we can see it transformed into a sanctuary of the gospel to a lost and dying world! At one location, I have already priced what it will cost for some remodel and paint; roughly $10,000. I hope to have some estimates for the other options in the days to come. Please pray for wisdom in making this decision. We are so eager to get things going!

I’d also like to request prayer for our visa paperwork. In February, we were able to extend our visas without leaving the country for an additional 90 days. This time, it appears that we will need to hop across to Uruguay to stamp our passports. This will not be an issue anymore once we have our letter of invitation back from the governmental department that has it currently.

I’m so thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to preach, teach, and stretch my language ability. I was honored to preach/teach 1 Corinthians 13 at Iglesia Bautista Fe on a Thursday evening, and I believe the Lord used it to encourage folks. May my life be a reflection of His love to the world!

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support for our family! Your Missionaries to Argentina,

Stephen, Ashlee, Peyton, Eli, and Neyland
The Underwood Family
Acts 20:24
argentinamissions.com