ARGENTINA
Fabian & Marcela Abregú
To travel from Córdoba (Argentina) to Cachi is not a journey for the weak-of-heart. The first day is a 12 hour trip, traveling by car north out of Córdoba--stopping only to take a quick break or fill the car with gasoline. By the end of the first day, you will arrive in Salta, and you'll notice that mountains have replaced mile after mile of flatlands. After a good night's sleep, the next 4 hours will be mountain driving--with lots of dirt roads and switchbacks. (A little chocolate is a good remedy for the motion sickness for this part of the journey.)
Now you arrive in Cachi. It is an isolated area in the northern part of Argentina called the Valle de los Calchaquíes. The area is marked by a serious lack of evangelical churches and an abundance of Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) worship. As one Cachi resident explained, "We like to read the Bible, but we have no one to explain it to us..."
It was to this isolated town that Marcelo and Nancy Brondo felt the call of God to go. So, instead of accepting a position as pastor of a growing church in Córdoba, Marcelo began proclaiming the gospel in Cachi, building relationships, planting a church and sharing a vision with local believers to reach others with the gospel. Along the way, they've had to address the high alcoholism rate and prolific child abuse issues that are rampant in the valley.
What's there now?
In the early 2010s, we built a pastoral house so a missionary family could move to Cachi and begin a new church. It was designed to expand upwards eventually. Cachi is in a region that has many unreached people in mountainous valleys. The hope was always to create a hub that could be used for ongoing classes, hosting seminary interns and church planters, hosting long-term American interns, and facilitating missions teams. The opportunity to have this kind of hub in a remote location is rare.
What's next?
We are working alongside Messer Construction to begin the expansion. While much of the construction work in the coming two years will be completed by missions teams sent from the United States, some preparatory work must first be completed. Specifically concrete reinforcements and slab work for the second and third floors.
What will is cost to get started?
The current scope of all concrete work is $62,000.
What’s the next step after preparatory work?
Once we finish the concrete work, we will begin sending teams and raising material funds. The needed budget for all materials and labor is $150,000. We are excited to have partnerships with professional construction experience travel to complete this project, and we are looking for more who would like to get involved.
