About Us
The Maness Family
July 2022 Report
Winter Break in Argentina
In the middle of July a strange thing happens if you are not expecting it. Businesses that are normally open are closed. Activities that are normally taking place are suspended. When we first arrived here in 2018 we were left unaware but have since begun to learn the rhythm and flow of the city. During the first week, we rented a house in the mountains for a few days and let the kids have fun playing in the dirt. Even though we were an hour and a half from the city, I was able to talk to two people there about the Lord that either lived in our city or worked in our city. While we were enjoying our time in the small village I was able to pass out several Gospel of John booklets in that place. Please pray for seeds planted!
During the second week, Hannah, Jonathan and Elijah had the opportunity to spend the week at a youth conference with other kids their age. This was a great experience for them and for their Spanish. Elijah had not had this opportunity during our first term since he was younger. This term will be his term to truly soar in his learning and speaking! Please pray for him! It is not easy to make friends in another language and culture, but during the week he made some friends!
On the last day of the youth conference the rest of us joined them as we traveled 2 hours south of Cordoba to the mountains. There is a place there that has zip lines that are stretched between the mountains over a river and other activities. The kids had a great time and continued to bond with their new friends.
“Maybe you should pray right now!”
One of the activities was one that I truly enjoy, archery! As I was shooting, we had a conversation with “Franco”, the one running the activity. Pray for him, as he needs to be saved! I shared what Jesus did for him and how one day we will leave from this earth and stand before Him in judgment and how Jesus willingly gave his life on the cross to pay our sin debt. I told him how he needed to repent and trust Christ before it is too late.
About the time that I was stressing the urgency, my daughter Elisabeth shot an arrow that missed the target and ricocheted back and flew right by him nearly hitting him. Without missing a beat, I looked him in the eyes and said, “Maybe you should pray right now!”
A Visit to the Plaza of Alta Cordoba
While the older three kids were away at the youth conference, we worked on a lot of things with the younger two daughters. One of the things that they really wanted to do was visit the plaza where we spent a year before the pandemic. As we walked around the plaza, we were able to talk to several people as the girls played. There was a lady there that rents out trampolines that started the conversation with us, having remembered us from before when we put on a Christmas concert in that plaza during 2019.
The Grey Haired Barber
I had found a grey haired barber that I liked after having my hair butchered by another younger barber. The only problem is that here if you find something that you like it probably wont be there long. One day I noticed that his barber shop was no longer there. I had to find another barber! I went on the search for another barber. It sounds silly, but my requirement was that the barber had grey hair, hopefully distinguishing themselves as more experienced. I walked to the center and saw an older gentleman through the window. I entered and struck up a conversation with him about my search for a good grey-headed barber. After we talked for a while, I discovered he was not the barber! The barber was a young lady with piercings and dyed grey hair. While I was not sure what the outcome would be, I had my hair cut and must say that dyed grey hair must be as effective as naturally grey hair! All joking aside, I had a great opportunity to talk in depth with three people about the Lord and gave them each a Gospel of John Booklet!
Two Reactions to the Word of God
One day when my wife and I were walking in the center we saw a man trying to sell an old, worn out Gideon New Testament for the price of a brand new complete Bible. I began preaching to the man about the value of God’s Word and that it was not intended to be a commodity to be bought and sold! How sad that this book that he had meant nothing more to him than an item to sell! I told him that the only reason that I would purchase a Bible like that would be to turn around and give it to somebody without charge! I told him that I would not buy anything from him, but that I would give him something. I gave him a copy of the Gospel of John and showed him where I had printed on the spine of the book that it was “NOT” to be sold and explained what grace is.
He will probably try to sell it, but I am confident the Lord will get it into somebody’s hands, where He wants it to go! On the same day we met another older man about the same age. When I handed him a copy of the Gospel of John and told him what it was, he immediately hugged the book! What is your reaction to God’s Word? Is it precious to you or do you scorn it?
Thoughts from Stacie
Fellowship with other Believers
One thing we have found is that we need fellowship with other believer’s in Christ. There are no ABA churches here in Argentina and during our first term we visited several different types of churches.
There is one Independent Baptist Church here in the city that we found to be the closest doctrinally to us. They believe in local church only and even practice closed communion. The pastor understands that we’re not there to become members but that it’s for us to be able to fellowship with other believers and for our children to be able to participate in Spanish services. The members of Templo Bautista Bíblico have welcomed us to their morning services and other activities that they have going on throughout the year. Visiting with them doesn’t stop us from starting our own work but they are a big encouragement in our desire to plant churches as well.
Two Concerts before the winter break
Here in Argentina July is in the middle of winter. Even though there isn’t a corresponding holiday here schools take a two week winter break in the middle of July. It’s kind of like Christmas break in the States. Before the two week winter break our children were able to participate in a couple of mini-concerts. Scott and the older three children participated in the band concert on a Thursday.
Then Elisabeth and Joanna played their violins in a casual recital style concert that Friday. The girls were able to dress-up in costumes for their mini concerts. Joanna dressed up as a unicorn and Elisabeth dressed up as a colorful bear. Elisabeth even surprised us by volunteering to play a solo. We really enjoyed getting to hear how far our children have come along musically.
Taking a short break at the Mountain House
Children need the freedom to run around and just be kids. City life can be tough on country kids. Our kids have learned to be flexible here in Argentina. We live in a large city and we give them plenty of opportunities to play in the parks. Of course in the city we try to encourage them to speak mostly Spanish outside of the house and if they do speak English to do so quietly in order to not attract a lot of unwanted attention.
However when we visit the countryside, we give them freedom to run around and be as loud as they want in whatever language they want. Little breaks like that are good for all of us.
Immersion in the Culture
The week following our stay at the mountain house Hannah, Jonathan, and Elijah attended the youth conference with Templo Bautista where they got to spend a whole week immersed in the culture and getting to know the youth of the church. They were talking about how nervous they were on the drive over to the church but when the week was over they were all declaring how much fun they had and how they were glad they went.
Ladies Meeting
I also had a similar immersion experience one Friday evening towards the end of July. I was invited to a Ladies Meeting that started at 8:00 PM. There was a guest speaker and a fellowship afterwards. I made myself go even though it was late in the evening and I was tired. When we’re tired our Spanish suffers. However sometimes that’s a good time to force ourselves to use Spanish anyway. I was glad I went. The Ladies at Templo Bautista also invited me to a women’s retreat in the middle of August. Pray for me as I’ll be driving several ladies to the retreat.
Missions Conference and Banquet
Templo Bautista where we’ve been visiting on Sunday mornings held a special Faith Promise missions conference and banquet. They asked every family attending to bring food from another culture to share during the banquet. We brought Texas chili, corn bread, and a blueberry cobbler to share. The chili was a big hit.
Celebrating Ruth’s Birthday from a Distance
Ruth turned 22 this month. It’s hard being so far away but we got to talk with her and really enjoyed hearing about all her plans for teaching at church camp. It’s hard to believe my “little girl” is now one of the grownup sponsors and a teacher at camp.
June 2022 Report
Safely Back in Argentina!
We are so thankful for all of your prayers as we traveled. I really believe that your prayers made the difference going back! At the check in booth for the airline, the Lord gave us a person to check us in that was from a large military family that grew up all over the world. What a blessing to have a kind hearted, understanding person to check you in. We are so thankful that there was no extra charge for our 7 extra checked luggage!
When we arrived at the gate we still had more bags than allowed to carry on but the airline needed people to voluntary check their luggage, which brought our number down to just a few backpacks and bags that we were carrying on to the plane.
When we arrived in Cordoba, we were able to go through immigrations and customs without any problem at all! There are so many things we could talk about during our trip that would require a book, such as our daughter striking up a conversation with a couple while we were waiting to board the plane in Chile or getting to share the gospel with the delivery driver on the way back from the airport. God is good in all things and He will richly bless us with opportunities to share His message!
Car Maintenance, Plumbing, and Catching Up
Our house was like a tomb when we came back after being gone for 8 months! Nothing had moved except for an accumulation of dusts! (It is amazing how a house that is completely shut up here can acquire so much dust!) We had so much to take care of during this first month back from paying bills to fixing what needed to be replaced.
Our car was right where we left it in the parking garage with about a 16th of an inch of dust on it. The young man at the parking garage helped us jump start the vehicle and our landlord gave us good quality, reasonably priced places to go for car maintenance. We put a new battery in the car and had a full service done.
We had several plumbing issues in the house when we turned the water back on that needed to be dealt with immediately. Our landlord had given us leave to hire whoever we would like. I contacted a friend of ours that I helped a year ago when he needed business cards designed. Pray for him! He is a saved man, but has not been to any church with his family in a year. He was interested in us letting him know when we were going to have a dedicated place for having services. We are praying for the place that the Lord will give us for that purpose!
Three Days in the Immigration Office
One of the things that had to be done within our first two months here was to report to immigration and bring ourselves and all of our documentation to get our information cards made. It took three days in a row but we have it all done! Please pray that we all get our cards in the mail this time!
We have been in the immigration office so much during the last four years that we know the process well enough to give instructions to other foreigners who were coming for the first time. We joked about the fact that our five year old has spent over a month of her life collectively in that office! Amazingly, as of sending this report, we have received 6 out of 7 of our cards in the mail one week later!
Gospel of John Booklets and New Testaments Well Received!
Before we came back to the US, we took delivery of 1,000 Gospel of John booklets that we prepared and had printed. We were also given a large number of pocket New Testaments to bring back to Argentina with us! Since we have been back, we have already given away many copies to individuals!
It is great to have resources like these to put into peoples hands and to let them know that they are holding a portion of God’s Word, His message to us! Pray that the Lord continues to use this booklet to open doors to share his glorious Gospel!
Thoughts from Stacie
Slowly Getting Back in the Swing of Things
When we arrived back to our home in Argentina, we were determined to get back to daily life slowly. We didn’t want to get overwhelmed Of course we had a lot of cleaning to do the first few days and the plumbing in both the kitchen and bathroom was leaking.
So for us starting slow meant cleaning up and calling a plumber. We also had to get our car running again. Of course by the end of just that one week back, we felt like a whole month had passed.
Resuming Band and Violin Lessons
Then the following week we got violin classes resumed. Elisabeth, Joanna, and I have been taking violin lessons. We were having our classes virtually while we were in the States. The girls were very excited to get back to in person classes and group classes with other children.
Scott and the older kids also were excited to return to band and seeing their friends. The band has a class for adults and the instructor allows the children of the parents in that class to join them. Music is something our children enjoy and we as parents can encourage them in.
Visiting Our Language Instructor and Her New Baby
I messaged our friend and language teacher, Romi, when we arrived back in Argentina. She invited Scott and I to come to her house to see her new baby. She named her baby Elías which is Elijah in Spanish. She liked our Elijah’s friendly and laid back personality when she met him and she liked his name.
We thought it was really sweet that she named her son after ours. Since she invited us to her home we told her we wanted her to come visit us as well. So maybe in a few weeks we will have her and her family come visit us.
Shopping and Paying Bills
Shopping can be a lot of work when you have to think in two currencies. Whether it’s going to the shoe store to buy winter shoes for the children or shopping at the supermarket we have to think about not only how many pesos we must bring with us but we also have to think about how much it is in dollars as well.
Sharing Electricity
Paying bills can be tricky as well. We went to pay what we thought was the only electric bills we had one day and a few days later our electricity was cut off. It turned out we had missed a bill we didn’t realize was still due. Our landlord that lives behind us loaned us electricity by giving us a cord we could plug into our house like a generator. The next day our electricity was back on but a couple days later our neighbor’s electricity was cut off and we returned the favor and had the house plugged in for his house to receive electricity. Thankfully his was up and running again after a couple of days. It was just interesting having a cord going through our bathroom for several days.
Broken Water Line
It’s almost seems unreal but when our electricity came back on the following day our water ran out. A line was broken down the road from us and they had cut the water to the houses on the street until it was fixed. Thankfully it wasn’t off for more than a day. There is a tank that fills up on our roof so we don’t always know when the water is off until our tank runs out of water. When the water came back on we were a little nervous of using too much water until we were sure that the water pressure was back in full.
Everyday life can be rather unpredictable sometimes.
Celebrating Joshua’s Birthday from a Distance
Our eldest son, Joshua, celebrated his 24th Birthday on June 27th. It’s hard not being able to be there to celebrate in person but we sent him a video of us singing “Happy Birthday” to him and we sent some money for him and Ruth, our oldest daughter, to go out and celebrate his birthday together. Ruth sent us a picture of Joshua wearing a new hat he got for his birthday.
Bonus Pictures
May 2022
About to Fly Back to Argentina!
After our consulate visit this month, we received our passports back in the mail from the Argentine consulate with our new visas! We have all of our bags packed a week early and are ready to fly out on the 7th of June. Our Itinerary is very good as we will be flying out at 12:45 PM from DFW and will arrive in Cordoba the next day at 10:34 AM. We will have two connections one at JFK in New York and the second in Santiago de Chile. Please pray for us as we travel and pray for those that we will be talking to along the way about the Lord!
So Many Blessings!
An Opportunity to Share the Gospel
Part of our consulate appointment was our interview by the main official of the Argentine consulate. He wanted to hear my story of how I started learning Spanish and why we wanted to go to Argentina. I shared with him how I first committed to learn Spanish was because many years ago in 1994, I took a trip on a bus and sat next to a man that could not speak English and I didn’t know enough Spanish to share the Gospel with him well. Since then I poured my energy into learning Spanish and the Spanish Bible to be able to share the message of Salvation with any that I would meet later. I also shared with him how the Lord had called us to go to Argentina and share this message, baptize those who believed and to plant scriptural churches. We had a great conversation with him sharing our hearts and answering his questions.
Eyes as Big as Saucers!
Later in our interview I gave him and the lady that has been handling our case one of our flyers. I showed him where on our flyer he could find more information if he really wanted to know more about us and what we are working on in Argentina. Most people just quickly glance at one of our flyers and put it away, but he began to read the main points out loud on the first page! The first page of our flyer explains how someone could be saved. When he read the third line out loud, his eyes looked as big as saucers as he read how, because of our sin, we are separated from God and worthy of Hell! Please pray for him that we may have more conversations with him in the future!
Thoughts from Stacie
A Date to the Consulate in Houston
We had our consulate visit this month in Houston. They said we didn’t have to have the kids with us for our appointment so Scott and I decided to leave the kids with my parents for a few days and turn our consulate visit into a short getaway. The evening after our consulate appointment we enjoyed dinner and a classical concert together
A Want-to-Do List
This month I sat down with each of our kids and asked them if there were anything they wanted to do before we leave for Argentina. I explained that we might not be able to do it all but we could try. We took them to a rodeo and Bass Pro Shop. Scott took the boys axe throwing. We also visited with several friends. We even took the kids to the movies and watched Family Camp.
Mothers’ Day
On Mothers’ Day we attended our sending church, Nevill’s Chapel, for the morning services. After the morning services we drove up to Idabel, Oklahoma and enjoyed being a part of their special May Missions focus. We also enjoyed getting to see my brother, Jason Clark’s family while we were there.
Elisabeth’s Birthday
We celebrated Elisabeth’s 10th birthday on May 28th. We invited a lot of family over to help us celebrate with a party at the park. She had a wonderful time and really enjoyed being the center of attention. We enjoyed getting to see cousins and family that we hadn’t seen in a long time.
Saying Goodbye
Over all we’ve had a lot of opportunities to say our goodbyes this month. We have all the visas and paperwork in order and are ready to fly out. It’s a bit surreal right now to think that we will be writing our next report in Argentina.
Thank you for praying!
We are packed up and ready to go with only our carry-on luggage left to organize. Please pray for our flights on June 7th, that all goes smoothly, and that we arrive safely with all our luggage.
Bonus Pictures
February 2022 Report
Two Great Faith Promise Conferences
We could easily fill up several pages just talking about the great time that we had with God’s people during our sending church’s Faith Promise Conference as well as the following week with Sublett Road MBC.
Two Attempts to Fly Out
Our return flight was supposed to be on the 15th of February but upon arriving at the airport, there was a major problem with our ticketing. Our tickets had a 15 hour layover in Brazil which would have required us to have Brazilian visas and immigration papers and vaccines for the whole family including five year old. As this was the return portion of our tickets we should see a refund on it within 6 weeks.
Our second attempt was a week later going from Dallas to New York and then to Buenos Aires and then finally to Cordoba. We had absolutely no problems until we arrived at the Argentine airline in New York. They were having difficulties processing our paperwork and told us that we will need to speak to the Argentine Consulate. They were at least able to pull our checked luggage off of the plane before it left for Argentina and before they all went home for the day.
After two arduous days at the New York terminal and many flight delays and cancellations, we finally arrived back in Texas. We are currently trying to set up a consular visit to the Houston Consulate. Please pray that we can get updated papers from them that will show our Argentine proof of residency.
Thoughts from Stacie
Saying Good-bye
When we bought two way tickets for this furlough we purposely planned our return trip to be after our church’s Faith Promise Conference. We wanted to have that week to spend time with our church family and to say our final good-byes.
The following weekend we spent with my parents at Walnut Street Baptist Church where my dad pastors. That Monday we went to Dallas to get our Covid Tests done and all came back negative. That Tuesday afternoon we thought we were all set to fly out.
First Flight Itinerary Fell Through
We showed up at the airport for our flight. The problem with that flight was the 15 hour layover in Brazil where we would have had to met all their Visa requirements. We had to cancel those tickets and find another flight without that long layover in Brazil. It was interesting the next day to find out that the city we would have had our layover was having major storms and mud slides.
Divine Appointments
A couple days later Scott and I were at Walmart picking up a few things we needed for our flight. The cashier asked us if we were traveling. That opened up the door for us to explain who we are and what we are doing and invite her to Walnut Street. As we were walking out another lady quickly stopped us and handed us a paper with a prayer request on it. There wasn’t much detail but she asked us to pray for James and his mother Margie. Then as we were showing our receipt to the greeter he started talking to us about church and asked us questions. We invited him to church as well.
Second Flight Itinerary Almost Successful
We are so grateful to the Reynolds for opening up their home to us Monday night. Sis. Kelli offered to drive us to the airport early Tuesday morning for our flight to New York. We landed at the JFK and ran to catch the flight to Argentina. Scott explained what happened there. Basically we were denied entry into Argentina until we were able to get things cleared up with the consulate.
Stuck in New York
With around 28 suitcases counting our carry-on and bag packs we were stuck in New York. We had too much luggage and no vehicle for us to get a hotel. We also had to find a flight with 7 seats available.
Airport Slumber Party
At least that is how Joanna felt. Joanna dubbed the terminal we spent the night in as the napping room. She later told us that she wanted to go back to the airport where she got to stay up all night and play.
I guess it is a matter of perspective. She was happy to have watched Paw Patrol on three different airplanes “even the one we didn’t fly in”, meaning the flight to Dallas that was canceled while taxiing on the runway. I would say that’s turning lemons into lemonade or rather being stuck in an airport into a slumber party.
November 2021 Report
Our passports were finished early
Thank you so much for the prayers last month about us getting our passports back on time. All of the kids had to have their passports renewed during our short time back in the US. The passports were all finished and came back to us almost two months earlier than they estimated! Again thank you for your prayers!
Three Great State Meetings
One of the things that was such a great blessing to us was getting to be present for the Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas state meetings. It felt surreal this month getting to see so many individuals that we love so much! We felt several times that reuniting with so many friends at the association meetiis a very small taste of what the glad reunion day in Heaven will be like when we get to reunite with our friends and loved ones that we haven’t seen in so many years.
Happy Thanksgiving
We also had a wonderful time with Stacie’s family. It’s been several years since Stacie’s whole family were all together for Thanksgiving. Not only were we able to spend time with all 7 of our own children at Stacie’s parents but also her brother’s and sister’s families came in to have Thanksgiving Dinner with us as well.
Thoughts from Stacie
Trip Down Memory Lane
We have been so many places this month as we attended three different State meetings. In between meetings we tried to throw in a few fun things as well. One of the activities we were able to attend was the annual Heritage Syrup Festival in Henderson, Texas. I have wonderful memories of attending the Syrup Festival as a child and it was fun to share those experiences with our children. Joanna was a little nervous about riding the carousel at the Henderson Depot Museum until she found out that I rode that same carousel when I was a little girl. It’s fun to relive those childhood memories through the eyes of our children.
Silver Anniversary
Scott and I were married on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1996. This year our 25th Anniversary was on a Sunday and we were honored to be guests at Longbranch Missionary Baptist Church where Dr. Ray O. Brooks still pastors at almost 99 years old. We truly enjoyed visiting with them.
That evening we headed northward to visit Scott’s family up in Michigan. That also became a trip down memory lane as 25 years ago we went North for our honeymoon. We reminisced over all the places we stopped at along the way. It was kind of fitting to start the month in the town where I grew up and end it where Scott grew up.
Bonus Pictures
October 2021 Report
Mission Conference and Marriage Conference
At the beginning of the month we were able to attend MTM, (Missionary Training Ministry) in Mountain View, Arkansas. This ministry is a great blessing to all missionaries and sending churches.
Later in the month my wife and I were able to attend the Homebuilder marriage retreat. This is something that we wanted to do for years but were not able to do before. It was a great weekend to spend together away from the kids for a few days. The kids had a lot of fun with their grandparents while we were away.
Passports Sent off for Renewal
One of the things that was on our list to finish early was the renewal of the kids’ passports. Passports for children are only good for 5 years. The renewal process takes between 16 and 12 weeks to renew and have back. That is one more thing that we can cross off our list!
Oklahoma State Meeting and Time with the Churches
We were able to attend the Oklahoma state association meeting held in Vian, OK. It was a great blessing to be able to reconnect with so many brethren that we had not seen in so long! We are also thankful for the opportunities this month to share and fellowship with several chuches in the area!
Thoughts from Stacie
Family Time
I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with what day it is. Time is passing so quickly. Some of the plans we had for October got moved on us. While I hate to mention the “C” word, but one person at a meeting we attended early in the month had gotten sick and tested positive for Covid. So we had to change some of our travel plans just in case we had gotten too close to that individual during the meeting. Thankfully none of us got sick and we were able to enjoy the extra time with our oldest two children. Joshua and Ruth both had a day off at the same time so we were able to plan a family field trip to a Heritage Village and the Zoo. It was such a blessing to have all our children together. We also enjoyed having one Sunday that we were able to attend Church altogether as a family.
Weekend Get Away It has been at least 4 and a half years since Scott and I have been able to spend more than just a few hours together away from our children. In Argentina we weren’t comfortable leaving them all overnight much less for a weekend. So we took advantage while on furlough of having family nearby to watch our children while we got away for a much needed alone time as as a couple. The retreat really helped us step away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and take a good look at our marriage and family. The end of November Scott and I will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary. I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than spending quality time together at a marriage retreat in Branson.
Bonus Pictures
