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Andrew & Maria work with CMS (SAMS) in Salta, Northern Argentina, where his father and grandfather were missionaries among the Indian peoples.
Andrew works part-time for ASOCIANA, the Anglican social programme serving these indigenous people, especially in issues of land rights and deforestation. He does research & writing for them, & has published a book on the Indian peoples. Also he uses his skill as a pilot to fly over the Chaco, monitoring & filming the advancing deforestation.
In January 09 Argentina's Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt to deforestation across most of the north & west of Salta province. This was the result of coordinated action by indigenous organisations, the Catholic Church & ASOCIANA. The Salta government was given 30 days to produce a list of all people & companies who have obtained deforestation permits since 2007.
At the public enquiry on Feb 18th '09 the court maintained the order for deforestation north of Salta to be suspended. In June '09 Andrew rejoiced that there had been little or no deforestation so far that year.
The Salta government was ordered to conduct a strategic, & region wide, environmental assessment of all deforestation carried out to date & all planned in the near future. Since it was finished they have drawn up a land use map which forbids the deforestation of the Indian lands for agricultural purposes.
Pray that the big companies will continue to be prevented from deforestation of the area & pray for Andrew & ASOCIANA as there has been a backlash from some, including some Indians who want to make quick money logging.
Andrew has written a book The Hunting and Gathering Peoples of the Salta Chaco which gives detailed demographic information about the Indian people.
Pray it will serve to strengthen the Indians claim for social justice.
Andrew & Maria returned to Salta mid-February with renewed vision after 2 months visiting family, friends & churches in the UK. They are embarking on a new initiative - Land for life - which aims to acquire land for conservation with a strong social focus.
Pray for guidance as Andrew sets up this new conservation initiative.
Andrew also acts as a consultant for Compassion International, assessing the impact of their work with sponsored children in other countries of S America. In May '09 he visited Columbia. He was very moved to talk with young people who had received support & to see how their lives had been dramatically changed. On a recent visit to El Salvador he saw how CI helps children to grow up & avoid being involved with the violent struggles of the internaional gangs there. Maria does translation for agencies like TEARfund & Compassion International.
Andrew recently travelled to Australia for meetings with Compassion International prior to fieldwork for them in India, Ruanda & Kenya.
Pray that God will be with him as he goes to these countries, keeping him safe & giving him strength & wisdom for his research. Pray for Maria & the girls as they have to manage without him, especially for Maria as she drives the girls in Salta where the traffic is very bad.
Family
They have three children, Tomas, Ceci & Carolina.
On March 1st Tomas went to Cordoba University to study aeronautical engineering. He is living at a student guest house run by the Anglican church.
Pray for him as he seeks to keep up with his studies, especially his maths.
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