The building was dedicated on the first Sunday in October 1965; fifteen persons were baptized in November; the First Baptist Church of San Francisco Solano was organized early in December with thirty-nine members; and it was formally received into the Association at the very next annual meeting after the one in which the project had been voted. A layman who was sitting behind Ben leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder. He whispered, “I will donate a parcel of land in Solano for new work.”
The Association’s dream of sparking enthusiasm for opening new works had come true. A mission point was started in the donated lot. Young people from the Association’s churches led the effort, beginning with a tent revival in April 1966. Another gift of wood from packing crates was received, this time from the Chrysler Motor Corporation.
The lead article of the May 1967 issue of The Commission, the Southern Baptist Foreign Missions Journal, was called “A Monument to Cooperation.” It summed up the history of the Solano church and ended with these words on the mission points that grew out of this effort:
On the Sunday before Easter a group of men and boys, none of them residents of Solano, gathered at the site. After Bible reading and prayer, they spent the day mixing mortar and laying a foundation for the chapel, though there was not a professional bricklayer among them.
Sunday School attendance increased quickly to more than 30. Bible study was begun on Wednesday evenings. A seminary student, Augusto De la Calle, assisted with the services. To the small chapel building three classrooms soon were added. The association provided all the money for this project, and the chapel became a mission of the young church in Solano, with associational young people cooperating.
While all this was developing in one suburb, at least 11 other mission points were being established by individual churches in the area, and five of these new works were provided permanent buildings in which to meet. In addition, almost every one of the [now] 21 churches was involved in some type of building project for its own growth. Many of the churches have conducted these building programs without outside financial aid, and others have put in a sizable portion of the total cost. It is reassuring to witness the effort these churches put forth on their own.
Who Is Going to Help You Now?
When the project began, the participants had no idea how it would snowball. At the end of the initial revival, participants from the various churches helped take down the tent and put away the equipment. Ricardo Kölln, from Florencio Varela, was helping Ben stack folding chairs in the back of the Rambler.
“Who is going to help you now?” he asked.
“So far, my wife and my children!” answered Ben ruefully.
“You know, I’ve been thinking and praying about this, and I believe that God is calling me to serve here.”
This was wonderful news for the Bedfords, but it was with very mixed feelings that Pastor Schmunk watched this faithful deacon and trustworthy treasurer, a veritable pillar of his congregation, take up the challenge. Like Ben, Ricardo was in his late thirties. He had recently been widowed and had three children—two daughters whose ages matched those of the two eldest Bedford children and a son who was several years older than Nancy. Silvia and Nelda clicked from the very first and soon became inseparable, the beginning of a life-long friendship. Ricardo, son of World War I immigrants, had been born and raised in a German colony in the Province of Entre Ríos, but he had long since gone to Buenos Aires to seek his fortune. He was now the owner of a prosperous small business that anodized and galvanized metal parts. Honest and hardworking, he was always willing to help and many young men got their start working with Ricardo. Later he was instrumental in starting two more new works that became churches.
As the regular meetings got under way, new and old friends joined the effort. The mostly do-it-yourself construction generated a lot of camaraderie and not a few humorous situations. Ben long had a vivid image of himself staggering slightly under the weight of yet another two pails of mortar, preparing to hand them off to the three men plastering the tall brick wall from the makeshift scaffolding. The one on the near end took a step to the right, leaning slightly to catch the hook dangling at the end of a long rope on the handle of the first pail with the confidence born of multiple flawless executions of the maneuver. Yet something must have been different, for the board tilted, slowly at first and then gaining momentum. The first man slid off, the second rolled down the board, and the third was launched into a spectacular summersault high in the air before crashing to the ground, while mortar flew in every direction, generously spattering them all. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured and the incident soon became legend. Ben was irresistibly reminded of one of his little daughter’s favorite shows, The Three Stooges. They were among the most enthusiastic and generous members of his congregation—Baez, Albornoz and Loberche, the first two new Christians and the third a volunteer from another church in the Association.
The Baez and Albornoz families were the first to be baptized in Solano. Mrs. Baez was pregnant at the time and was later to joke that her son was baptized twice—once with her and once on his own. Mrs. Albornoz was so eager to learn that she volunteered to act as secretary for the Auxiliar de Niñas,12 the girls’ missionary activity, not only to help out but to soak up every bit of instruction.
Mrs. González became a Christian at the mission point and proved to have exemplary faith. Her favorite Bible story was that of Paul and Silas with the Philippian jailer. She took for her own the promise “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31), and she lived to see it fulfilled as one by one her family members became believers.
Not only did the Bedfords come to know and love a new group of people, they also got to renew cherished bonds. The plans for the worship center and the designs for the pews and pulpit were prepared by none other than José Ragni, the architect with whom they had teamed up for a series of building projects in Rosario and who, together with his wife Delia, had been the first to be baptized in the new building of the First Baptist Church of that city.
The Marzocchis, the family that had helped them pioneer the new work in Comodoro Rivadavia, had recently moved back to Banfield and soon offered their services. They faithfully rode a bus for thirty to forty-five minutes over badly potholed roads in all weathers to teach Sunday School. Although the pavement was only two blocks away, the walk to the church building could be quite hazardous, since the streets turned into squelchy rivers of mud whenever it rained. Even those who went in cars were forced to park on the pavement and go the rest of the way on foot. Umbrellas and galoshes were standard equipment.
Another welcome addition, a little later, was Mercedes Pitoiset, the teenager who had lived with them in Comodoro while she finished school and was now a Seminary student. She struck up a close friendship with Esther Roberto, surgical nurse and sister of the lady who had lent her empty lot for the initial tent revival, and both sisters eventually became believers. Esther’s husband Julio was at sea most of the year as chief engineer on a merchant ship, so she attended with her seven-year-old daughter Patricia. This was to prove to be a most important connection for the Bedfords, particularly David.
Par for the Course
Shortly after arriving in Buenos Aires, Ben and La Nell tried an alternative route to the South Zone. It was called the Camino de Cintura,13 and was reached by a continuation of the Federal Capital’s ring-way known as the Camino Negro,14 a veritable “black belt” of a road. It had been paved that very year, and the complete absence of lighting made it pitch black at night.
Signs indicating that they had reached Lomas de Zamora rang a bell:
“Didn’t that guy on the ship say that there was a golf course around here?” asked Ben.
“Let’s find out!” answered La Nell.
They stopped the car, got out and inquired of a passerby if he knew where the Lomas Golf Club was.
“You mean where