Serving a cardboard collector on the streets of Córdoba.
Every day Julio roams the streets of Córdoba, Argentina, looking for cardboard boxes. His job, called “Cartonero” in Spanish, consists of breaking down boxes, transporting them on his metal cart to a recycling center, and getting paid a few pesos per box. Some cartoneros have a horse to pull their cart, but Julio doesn’t have that luxury: he has to push the cart himself. Rain or shine, heat or frost, Julio is out in the streets trying to make a meager living.
Unfortunately, after years of living like this, Julio’s cart had begun to fall apart. It had never been “new” exactly - just some boards, metal frames, and wheels he’d thrown together - but recently it had been breaking down during his daily trek around the city. Just in time, Julio heard about a Trade School on welding coming to his neighborhood.
Bajo Yapeyú, the neighborhood where Julio lives, is considered a slum. Although many consider it a dangerous area, a few years ago, Crecer church planted a congregation in the community led by a believer named Marcelo. Julio hadn’t attended the church before, nor had he met Marcelo, but he hoped he could learn the skills to fix his cart when he heard about the trade school.
When Carlos, Crecer’s Latin American director and leader of this trade school, saw Julio’s cart, he knew it was a lost cause. There would be no repairing the rust that had eaten away at the metal. But Carlos had an idea. After talking to the other students in the trade school, they change the objective of their week of training. Instead of learning some general welding skills, they were collectively going to learn to weld a new cart for Julio. Each participant brought what they could: some metal poles, a mattress spring, some motorcycle tires. Carlos taught them how to weld the parts together, and each tried out their new skills on the cart. The end product was a sturdy, spacious cart that would help Julio carry many pounds of recycling through the city.
As always, when the course ended, the participants hear a gospel presentation, which happens at every trade school. Every student receives a free Bible to take home. After each trade school, church plant leaders follow up with participants and invite them to Sunday services.
When Marcelo invited Julio to church, he accepted. Not only had he heard the gospel, but he’d seen it lived out in the lives of the church leaders who wanted to build him a new cart. Nowadays, rain or shine, Julio is out in the streets looking for cardboard. But on Sundays, you won’t see him. He’s at church, learning more about what the Bible says.
You can be a part.
Travel restrictions are beginning to lift in Argentina, which means we can once again host Escuelas de Oficios! Escuelas, or trade schools, are an opportunity for communities to learn essential skills, churches to connect with those in the class, and for many to hear the gospel!