In our earlier post, we were leaving Pablo's house (our host in Cordoba who we named the 'Alpha Man") for the overnight bus trip to Salta. Pablo and his wife Fer exemplified the gentleness, love and compassion which seems to be rooted in the Argentinian people and which so deeply touched all of us.[In this picture you will see Pablo and his wife and children along with Suzanne and myself.]
The bus trip to Salta from Cordoba is 11.5 hours, and while the bus was a sleeper bus, sleep proved elusive and we all arrived at the Salta bus terminal quite sleep deprived. Fortunately, we did have two days to rest at the house of Walter and Alejandra (our hosts in Salta) who were wonderful and gracious to us in every way. Upon arrival, much of this time was dedicated to meeting the local support and music teams (Salta was scheduled for two conferences) and working out logistical issues. [In this picture you see the team eating at Walter and Alejandra's grand table with the local evangelical team.]
Before the commencement of the evangelical conference, some of the team did have the opportunity to travel with Walter (our host in Salta) to the foothills of the Andes were we saw the colored mountains ("de colores"), and visited an indian village. This was a breath-taking and awesome experience as we had the opportunity to witness the wondrous vista of the Argentinian countryside under a brillant azure sky. 
The following day, we began the first of two back-to-back conferences, a two day conference with evangelical leaders and an extended one-day conference with Catholic leadership. The evangelical conference included the attendance of many pastors and leaders from local churches and outlying areas. There was a real hunger to understand the principles of Alpha and to gain an understanding of how Alpha could be used to evangelize the Argentinian people for the cause of Christ. Over the two days of this conference, rapt attention was given to all of the presentations, and during the times of Q&A there were many thoughtful questions regarding implementation, and a good discussion of many practical issues. In the end, there was no doubt that the principals of Alpha had been understood by all the attendees who were quite eager to begin their own courses. [Here, were having lunch with some of the attendees.]In my next, and final Argentinian post, I will address the Catholic conference which was extremely encouraging, and the wonderful gift of Padre Angel who sees Alpha as a much needed tool and a gift from the Holy Spirit to all of the church.
Blessings,
Peter Carpentier
