12-23-08 Day 25
This morning Nathan mowed Delbert and Frieda´s lawn and I cleaned our apartment. At 11am we went to the grocery store. It was absolutely packed with people buying their Christmas food items. Nathan boiled a chicken and I made apple crisp this afternoon after our siesta. Probably not a good idea when its so so hot, it made our apartment really warm but it sounded so good, oh well. At about 5pm we walked down to the river with Elizabeth, Vero and Valentine (her son). It was nice to have some more interaction with the people from the church here. At 8pm we walked to the west zone and worshipped with them there.
12-24-08 Day 26
Christmas eve is more of a celebration for people here than Christmas day is. I was able to talk with my mom and grandma on the phone today, it was wonderful. This evening we went to Juan and Ami´s house to be with them. We ate supper (asado) together and waited until midnight to have a toast, and lots of firewords were going off in the town. Definently a different way of celebrating Christmas.
12-25-08 Day 27 MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Today Nathan and I walked to Juan and Ami´s house for lunch. We ate and then swam in their pool. We played some card games together, drank mate, and hung out. It was great to be with them. No Christmas decorations, no Christmas gifts, no family, no snow. Our Christmas day was much, much different than it would have been in the states. Thank you to all of you who sent us Christmas cards here....each one was very special to us!
12-26-08 Day 28
Today was low-key. We watered plants, did some laundry, played cards games together, went for a run in the evening, and stayed inside in the afternoon to avoid the heat of the day.
12-27-08 Day 29
This morning at 8am Elizabeth, Kira, Juan, Jacob, Nathan and myself met together. We shared with each other for about an hour of what the Lord is teaching each of us. Passages that came out were Isaiah 50:10-11, All of Acts and Paul´s journeys, Matthew 16:24-28, Psalms 5:3, & Colossians 3:12-17. It was good to spur one another on toward love and good deeds and learn from the Lord. After that we went with Kira to the North zone church building where some people were revarnishing benches and measuring wood slates for the windows. Kira left and we ended up staying to help finish with the windows and drink mate (of course). On our walk home, Nathan was saying how they could have done this or that to make things better and more efficient but here making things better or doing things more efficiently isn´t really as much of a value. It´s more about serving the Lord and being in fellowship with one another-getting things accomplished is second to that. Any kind of interaction we have with the people here is very much appreciated-we learn so much! Tonight we went to the Cena de Jovenes 2008. An end of the year celebration for the youth. People here are considered youth until about 30years old, unless you are married and then you aren´t a youth anymore. So Nathan and I weren´t exactly youth but we went anyway. It was at the south zone church building and was an evening of fun. The youth dressed up nice, we had a wonderful meal together, watched a video of past youth experiences that they´ve had, recieved a Christmas ornament, had a toast for the new year, and took some group pictures. This event lasted from 8:30pm-12:ooam. Then Nathan and I walked home (30min trek).
12-28-08 Day 30
WOW... we have been here a whole month. Time goes so fast! It seems like we are just starting to grasp SOME things here. This morning at 930am we started walking to Juan and Ami´s chacra and we got about half way there when the church van picked us up to go the rest of the way (God has many times already provided for us when we least expect it). The west zone church had the service in the pavillion back behind their house. It was a beautiful cooler day. We had a time of worship and listening to the word of God and then we had a picnic together of asado. YUM!!! In the afternoon they played vollyeball and swam in the pool. We walked home at about 5pm and Nathan was able to talk with his family on the phone.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Another mission trip & anniversary celebration!
12-18-08 Day 20
Today we walked to Juan´s house (Nate, Jacob, Elizabeth and myself) at 930am (a 40 min trek). We hung out and worked on the computer some. We had lunch with them and then at 3pm we had another SIMP meeting. We talked of our trip this past weekend, more on ministerial professionalism and some about congregations feeling the need for a church building before anything gets started. Nathan and I walked home about 6pm or so, on our way home we ran into the couple and two boys that went with us on the trip this past weekend. They are spending a few days here in town with some of their family. They were headed down to the river to swim. We ate supper, and did some laundry then and Nathan was able to talk on the phone with a friend from home. What an absolutely beautiful night to sit outside and watch the stars!
12-19-08 Day 21
It´s very hot today. We took it easy today-did some laundry (a constant thing here), went to the bank, grocery store, and tried to figure out if we were going to be able to go on the trip this weekend-it depends if there will be enough space in the van for us.
12-20-08 Day 22
We woke up at 430am and left for our trip at 515am. Much earlier than I have ever gotten up since being here. Nathan and I went with another 9 people who all only speak spanish. We figured out that we were going on this trip about 1030pm last night. We arrived here at Pa.(name annonymous) about noon after stopping in a town along the way to worship and drop off half of the people that came with us. We then stopped at elderly people´s house to say hi, before we arrived in Pa. The elderly man whose house we stopped at was a gaucho (like a rancher). Once we got to Pa. our first job (Nathan and me) was to clean the bathroom and toilet with a small broom and a rag. After that I was thankful for the small things (big to me) like soap and running water to clean my hands. We ate lunch (pasta noodles, potatoes, & meat still on the bone and very chewy and bread that was made by the neighbors from their brick oven outside, and soda). Then we took a siesta. The guys of our group went somewhere with the van to visit other people in the town and us girls and Nathan went to the neighbors house to visit them for awhile. These people were older but still managing to take care of their house and such (they were worried about not having enough clean water for the town). This town seems like its in the middle of no where-we had to travel 45min. on a very very bumpy dirt road and we arrived at some place called Pa, which pretty much looks like a very remote step-back-in-time kind of a place. Just when Nathan and I get somewhat comfortable with one thing here the Lord challenges us to try again something new-most of the time way out of our comfort zones. We waited around for quite awhile until the guys got back. They started cooking supper at about 1030pm at the neighbors house. Nathan and I came to the conclusion that these neighbors (a man and his three children) aren´t believers but graciously let us use their things while we were there. I believe it´s a relationship that they´ve had from past trips here. Nathan and I sat there and listened mostly. Nathan also made paper airplanes for the little boy that lived there. We ate supper at about 1130pm (lamb still on the bone and very chewy, potatoes, salad, bread and soda). Nathan and I ate off the only plates they owned. The rest of the group just ate on the table. It was very humbling to be recieving food on a plate when no one else was. I was also very thankful for this gift because for everyone else it was a free for all. People eating out of each bowl and then going to the next. I´m definently not used to the kind of germ sharing that goes on here. After supper we went to bed. We cling to II Corinthians 4:13-18
12-21-08 Day 23
We both slept so good. The mattress we had was even better than we have in our apartment and considering we slept basically in a barn like building with spiders and such, it was really great sleep. Today at 10am they had a worship service in this building. We had three older persons come other than our group. We then headed home, picked up the rest of the group we had dropped off in the town over and arrived back home in time for the central reunion at 7pm. Jacob and Elizabeth sang What Child Is This? in English tonight it was really great.
12-22-08 Day 24 HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY NATE AND JEN
Today in the morning we did laundry and were over at Delbert and Frieda´s house watering their flowers. This afternoon we packed a sack lunch and headed down to the river. Nathan and I ate lunch together adn then swam in the river in the afternoon. This evening we got dressed up and walked to a nice restaurant at about 9pm. They were just opening so we decided to walk to the park first and take some pictures and then walk back to the restaurant. The sun was just setting as we were walking. It was really fun. Then at the restaurant we ordered (not exactly knowing what we ordered). They brought out some kind of curry chicken for me and a wrapped chicken thing with bacon for Nathan. I also ordered french fries and Nathan had a salad. It was a wonderful one year anniversary supper. That took us until about 11pm and shops and people all around the town were hopping. It was one of the first times that we had been out around the town so late and Nathan and I were both amazed at the night life. We walked home, watched the stars for awhile (you can see stars here that you can´t in the states) and then we went to bed.
Today we walked to Juan´s house (Nate, Jacob, Elizabeth and myself) at 930am (a 40 min trek). We hung out and worked on the computer some. We had lunch with them and then at 3pm we had another SIMP meeting. We talked of our trip this past weekend, more on ministerial professionalism and some about congregations feeling the need for a church building before anything gets started. Nathan and I walked home about 6pm or so, on our way home we ran into the couple and two boys that went with us on the trip this past weekend. They are spending a few days here in town with some of their family. They were headed down to the river to swim. We ate supper, and did some laundry then and Nathan was able to talk on the phone with a friend from home. What an absolutely beautiful night to sit outside and watch the stars!
12-19-08 Day 21
It´s very hot today. We took it easy today-did some laundry (a constant thing here), went to the bank, grocery store, and tried to figure out if we were going to be able to go on the trip this weekend-it depends if there will be enough space in the van for us.
12-20-08 Day 22
We woke up at 430am and left for our trip at 515am. Much earlier than I have ever gotten up since being here. Nathan and I went with another 9 people who all only speak spanish. We figured out that we were going on this trip about 1030pm last night. We arrived here at Pa.(name annonymous) about noon after stopping in a town along the way to worship and drop off half of the people that came with us. We then stopped at elderly people´s house to say hi, before we arrived in Pa. The elderly man whose house we stopped at was a gaucho (like a rancher). Once we got to Pa. our first job (Nathan and me) was to clean the bathroom and toilet with a small broom and a rag. After that I was thankful for the small things (big to me) like soap and running water to clean my hands. We ate lunch (pasta noodles, potatoes, & meat still on the bone and very chewy and bread that was made by the neighbors from their brick oven outside, and soda). Then we took a siesta. The guys of our group went somewhere with the van to visit other people in the town and us girls and Nathan went to the neighbors house to visit them for awhile. These people were older but still managing to take care of their house and such (they were worried about not having enough clean water for the town). This town seems like its in the middle of no where-we had to travel 45min. on a very very bumpy dirt road and we arrived at some place called Pa, which pretty much looks like a very remote step-back-in-time kind of a place. Just when Nathan and I get somewhat comfortable with one thing here the Lord challenges us to try again something new-most of the time way out of our comfort zones. We waited around for quite awhile until the guys got back. They started cooking supper at about 1030pm at the neighbors house. Nathan and I came to the conclusion that these neighbors (a man and his three children) aren´t believers but graciously let us use their things while we were there. I believe it´s a relationship that they´ve had from past trips here. Nathan and I sat there and listened mostly. Nathan also made paper airplanes for the little boy that lived there. We ate supper at about 1130pm (lamb still on the bone and very chewy, potatoes, salad, bread and soda). Nathan and I ate off the only plates they owned. The rest of the group just ate on the table. It was very humbling to be recieving food on a plate when no one else was. I was also very thankful for this gift because for everyone else it was a free for all. People eating out of each bowl and then going to the next. I´m definently not used to the kind of germ sharing that goes on here. After supper we went to bed. We cling to II Corinthians 4:13-18
12-21-08 Day 23
We both slept so good. The mattress we had was even better than we have in our apartment and considering we slept basically in a barn like building with spiders and such, it was really great sleep. Today at 10am they had a worship service in this building. We had three older persons come other than our group. We then headed home, picked up the rest of the group we had dropped off in the town over and arrived back home in time for the central reunion at 7pm. Jacob and Elizabeth sang What Child Is This? in English tonight it was really great.
12-22-08 Day 24 HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY NATE AND JEN
Today in the morning we did laundry and were over at Delbert and Frieda´s house watering their flowers. This afternoon we packed a sack lunch and headed down to the river. Nathan and I ate lunch together adn then swam in the river in the afternoon. This evening we got dressed up and walked to a nice restaurant at about 9pm. They were just opening so we decided to walk to the park first and take some pictures and then walk back to the restaurant. The sun was just setting as we were walking. It was really fun. Then at the restaurant we ordered (not exactly knowing what we ordered). They brought out some kind of curry chicken for me and a wrapped chicken thing with bacon for Nathan. I also ordered french fries and Nathan had a salad. It was a wonderful one year anniversary supper. That took us until about 11pm and shops and people all around the town were hopping. It was one of the first times that we had been out around the town so late and Nathan and I were both amazed at the night life. We walked home, watched the stars for awhile (you can see stars here that you can´t in the states) and then we went to bed.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
God´s creation is BEAUTIFUL!
12-13-08 Day 15 the towns and places we went to will be appreviated to anninimity sake
Early this morning we left for our trip. We drove from our apartment at 7am and headed south for 13.5 hours (approx. 900 kilometers) and arrived in C.R. It was a long trek and very tiring with lots and lots of desert land. We ate supper at 1030pm and I went to bed at 1215am with out Nathan. The girls slept at a house, 2 houses down from the church and the guys slept in the church building. After a long day of driving it was hard to go to bed without Nathan. My highlight tonight was talking more to Juan about the SIMP vision adn what it means to take up the cross and follow Jesus. Also about the bondage that some church bodies have fallen into of just doing church and ministerial professionalism-making God´s work a profession instead of a calling.
12-14-08 Day 16
This morning us girls ate facturas and hot, hot tea with the host family we stayed at. We then went to the church building and met the guys there. At 10am we had a time of worship. We sang songs, Juan had a time of preaching from Matthew 7:13-14. At the end L and A confessed their sins before the congregation. They want to do ministry work in the congregation but because of sin issues have been prevented from doing so. Juan and Rafael married them (in God´s way) right then and there. It was amazing to see their brokeness and contrite heart and the good work that God was doing in their lives. A has been divorced before and L and A are living with each other and are expecting their first child together (she already has two adorable boys from her previous marriage). They confessed their sins before the congregation and then were married. They wanted to get things in order according to God´s standards. We then ate lunch empandas, potatoe chips, and gaseosa. After that we packed up and drove one hour south to C.O. The most wonderful thing was about 40 min. of our trip there we road right along the ocean. It was so amazingly beautiful. When we arrived here we dropped our things and went straight to the beach. There we saw at least 2 dozen sea lions sunning themselves by the waters edge. It´s the closest I have ever been to such an animal. It was incredible and Nathan got some great video footage of them up close. This evening at 7pm we had a reunion (prayer meeting). Again we ate supper at 1030pm. I was so hungry and tired by then I ate and went to bed.
12-15-08 Day 17
Today we left C.O. and drove all morning and arrived in S about 12pm. Again this morning we drove past the ocean for about 40 min.-AMAZING! In S we ate lunch with the family who runs the mission center there. The pastor is blind but still preaches the word of God. We ate lunch with them-(like a soft shell taco with spinach inside and meat sauce on top with meat balls-I can´t remember what it was called). We left there at 145pm but had a little bit of a set back. There was no petro (gasoline) in any of the gas stations in the whole town. We ended up siphening gas from a trucker with his permission. Then off we went. We got halfway to our destination and again we were running out of gas when we were in the middle of now where. We pulled off and there happened to be a truck stopped there as well. He happened to be a Christian and gave us some gas for FREE. An answer to prayer (for us and for him, they were able to encourage him to get back into fellowship with a body of believers). We continued on and arrived in Es about 930pm because of our gasoline delays. There the believers meet in a school because they have no church building at the moment. We introduced ourselves adn then all of us split up and went to different people´s houses to sleep for the night. Nathan and I went with a younger couple who had two kids (ages 8,5 I think). We ate pizza for supper about 11pm, took a shower, and went to bed. It was great to be with a family adn have to try to communicate with them. They were very gracious to us. We even had an air matress to sleep on. It was the best 6 hours of sleep we´ve gotten since being in Argentina.
12-16-08 Day 18
Today we left from Es at 730am. This morning the little girl (5 yrs old) was singing to us in Spanish as we ate breakfast. Most people just have hot tea or mate for breakfast but they gave us bread and crackers as well. We again drove all morning and took many pictures on our way to our next destination. The mountains with snow were spectacular to say the least. When we arrived in B we had lunch with a family of believers who are starting a good work in this town. We ate in their cabin-like house that was practically hanging from a mountain. The view was so amazing, Nathan and I could harldy believe we were there beholding such beauty. The view from the front window was many snow capped mountains. It was a picture that you only see in magazines. What an awesome God we serve! We left there about 330pm and traveled for another 10 hours and 45 min when we arrived back at home at 215am.
12-17-08 Day 19
Today we slept in from being exhausted from our trip. I got Delbert and Frieda´s house key from Rafael´s wife and talked to my mom on the phone for only a few short minutues. I haven´t quite figured out how to use the callontime card I got for her, UGH. This afternoon we went to Juan´s house. We were going to walk there (a 40 min trek), but just as we were leaving our apartment he pulled up, so he took us to his house. We cleaned out the van from all the trash that accumulated from our trip this past weekend. We helped a little more with their pool and talked some with Juan. We then went with him to the West zone reunion (prayer meeting). The kids had a Christmas skit and some ladies sang some Christmas songs. We then walked home from the west zone church building. We had supper-provided to us by Rafael´s wife-left over pizza from the central zone reunion. Isn´t it amazing how God provides for our needs-even in so many details of our lives. We are learning more and more from God by being here and it´s hard exactly to convey in words the kind of learning that we are experiencing. It´s very humbling to accept so many things from people of the church without adequately sharing our thanks with them (our Spanish is very minimal). God will reward them!!!
Early this morning we left for our trip. We drove from our apartment at 7am and headed south for 13.5 hours (approx. 900 kilometers) and arrived in C.R. It was a long trek and very tiring with lots and lots of desert land. We ate supper at 1030pm and I went to bed at 1215am with out Nathan. The girls slept at a house, 2 houses down from the church and the guys slept in the church building. After a long day of driving it was hard to go to bed without Nathan. My highlight tonight was talking more to Juan about the SIMP vision adn what it means to take up the cross and follow Jesus. Also about the bondage that some church bodies have fallen into of just doing church and ministerial professionalism-making God´s work a profession instead of a calling.
12-14-08 Day 16
This morning us girls ate facturas and hot, hot tea with the host family we stayed at. We then went to the church building and met the guys there. At 10am we had a time of worship. We sang songs, Juan had a time of preaching from Matthew 7:13-14. At the end L and A confessed their sins before the congregation. They want to do ministry work in the congregation but because of sin issues have been prevented from doing so. Juan and Rafael married them (in God´s way) right then and there. It was amazing to see their brokeness and contrite heart and the good work that God was doing in their lives. A has been divorced before and L and A are living with each other and are expecting their first child together (she already has two adorable boys from her previous marriage). They confessed their sins before the congregation and then were married. They wanted to get things in order according to God´s standards. We then ate lunch empandas, potatoe chips, and gaseosa. After that we packed up and drove one hour south to C.O. The most wonderful thing was about 40 min. of our trip there we road right along the ocean. It was so amazingly beautiful. When we arrived here we dropped our things and went straight to the beach. There we saw at least 2 dozen sea lions sunning themselves by the waters edge. It´s the closest I have ever been to such an animal. It was incredible and Nathan got some great video footage of them up close. This evening at 7pm we had a reunion (prayer meeting). Again we ate supper at 1030pm. I was so hungry and tired by then I ate and went to bed.
12-15-08 Day 17
Today we left C.O. and drove all morning and arrived in S about 12pm. Again this morning we drove past the ocean for about 40 min.-AMAZING! In S we ate lunch with the family who runs the mission center there. The pastor is blind but still preaches the word of God. We ate lunch with them-(like a soft shell taco with spinach inside and meat sauce on top with meat balls-I can´t remember what it was called). We left there at 145pm but had a little bit of a set back. There was no petro (gasoline) in any of the gas stations in the whole town. We ended up siphening gas from a trucker with his permission. Then off we went. We got halfway to our destination and again we were running out of gas when we were in the middle of now where. We pulled off and there happened to be a truck stopped there as well. He happened to be a Christian and gave us some gas for FREE. An answer to prayer (for us and for him, they were able to encourage him to get back into fellowship with a body of believers). We continued on and arrived in Es about 930pm because of our gasoline delays. There the believers meet in a school because they have no church building at the moment. We introduced ourselves adn then all of us split up and went to different people´s houses to sleep for the night. Nathan and I went with a younger couple who had two kids (ages 8,5 I think). We ate pizza for supper about 11pm, took a shower, and went to bed. It was great to be with a family adn have to try to communicate with them. They were very gracious to us. We even had an air matress to sleep on. It was the best 6 hours of sleep we´ve gotten since being in Argentina.
12-16-08 Day 18
Today we left from Es at 730am. This morning the little girl (5 yrs old) was singing to us in Spanish as we ate breakfast. Most people just have hot tea or mate for breakfast but they gave us bread and crackers as well. We again drove all morning and took many pictures on our way to our next destination. The mountains with snow were spectacular to say the least. When we arrived in B we had lunch with a family of believers who are starting a good work in this town. We ate in their cabin-like house that was practically hanging from a mountain. The view was so amazing, Nathan and I could harldy believe we were there beholding such beauty. The view from the front window was many snow capped mountains. It was a picture that you only see in magazines. What an awesome God we serve! We left there about 330pm and traveled for another 10 hours and 45 min when we arrived back at home at 215am.
12-17-08 Day 19
Today we slept in from being exhausted from our trip. I got Delbert and Frieda´s house key from Rafael´s wife and talked to my mom on the phone for only a few short minutues. I haven´t quite figured out how to use the callontime card I got for her, UGH. This afternoon we went to Juan´s house. We were going to walk there (a 40 min trek), but just as we were leaving our apartment he pulled up, so he took us to his house. We cleaned out the van from all the trash that accumulated from our trip this past weekend. We helped a little more with their pool and talked some with Juan. We then went with him to the West zone reunion (prayer meeting). The kids had a Christmas skit and some ladies sang some Christmas songs. We then walked home from the west zone church building. We had supper-provided to us by Rafael´s wife-left over pizza from the central zone reunion. Isn´t it amazing how God provides for our needs-even in so many details of our lives. We are learning more and more from God by being here and it´s hard exactly to convey in words the kind of learning that we are experiencing. It´s very humbling to accept so many things from people of the church without adequately sharing our thanks with them (our Spanish is very minimal). God will reward them!!!
Living life
12-9-08 Day 11
In the morning we hung out at the church building and played ping pong with the youth. Youth from Bolivia arrived at 1030am and we ate breakfast with them. We then went to get some keys copied. It was a little difficult because of language barriers but it was great because it ended up being a church member, Gustavo, that we got the keys copied from. In the afternoon we went to the river and it was actually quite cold. Nathan and I started doing a puzzle so we worked on that the rest of the evening.
12-10-08 Day 12
We are getting more brave! Today we went to the bank to exchange bigger bills into smaller ones. At 3pm we went with Elizabeth´s host papa (Humberto) to their chacra (farm) by ourselves. The farm is very big. They grow corn, cherries, peaches, walnuts, green beans, mint, basil, etc. Lots of produce. It´s a really beautiful place. He showed us around adn then we drank mate and talked for awhile. It was wonderful to learn some more spanish as he graciously pointed to things and said how to say each thing in spanish. Everyday living here is a spanish classroom experience for us. We are so thankful for all that we are able to understand and learn. Tonite we went to the north zone church building for thier prayer meeting. We walked there (20 min) and had a time of worship, Nathan gave his testimony while Delbert interpreted, and then Frieda talked about Jesus´death and resurrection frees us from the bondage of sins.
12-11-08 Day 13
This morning at 10am we had another SIMP meeting with Juan. We prayed, had a time of worship, and talked about ministerial professionalism and John 10. We could really sense the Holy Spirit´s presense with us. At noon we had lunch with Humberto, Monica, Maxi, Marian, and Elizabeth. We had papas, melanesa, gaseosa, and tomatoes. It was very kind of them to have us over, we even practiced our spanish with them. In the afternoon we took a siesta and in the evening we went to this store called La Ranchero. It´s a western store with many neat things. Nathan bought a sombrerro and I got a mate cup. We came home had supper, did some laundry, and studied scripture (John 10) together.
12-12-08 Day 14
Today we had spanish class with Delbert again at 10am. It was pouring down rain when we woke up and much to my dismay our clothes that were drying on the clothesline were soaking wet. Nathan had a good sense of humor about it and just said ¨Our dryer must be broken.¨ After our spanish class he took most of our clothes to Delbert and Frieda´s house to spin out and then the sun came out, so we hung them back on the clothesline to dry. I miss my washing machine at home.
In the morning we hung out at the church building and played ping pong with the youth. Youth from Bolivia arrived at 1030am and we ate breakfast with them. We then went to get some keys copied. It was a little difficult because of language barriers but it was great because it ended up being a church member, Gustavo, that we got the keys copied from. In the afternoon we went to the river and it was actually quite cold. Nathan and I started doing a puzzle so we worked on that the rest of the evening.
12-10-08 Day 12
We are getting more brave! Today we went to the bank to exchange bigger bills into smaller ones. At 3pm we went with Elizabeth´s host papa (Humberto) to their chacra (farm) by ourselves. The farm is very big. They grow corn, cherries, peaches, walnuts, green beans, mint, basil, etc. Lots of produce. It´s a really beautiful place. He showed us around adn then we drank mate and talked for awhile. It was wonderful to learn some more spanish as he graciously pointed to things and said how to say each thing in spanish. Everyday living here is a spanish classroom experience for us. We are so thankful for all that we are able to understand and learn. Tonite we went to the north zone church building for thier prayer meeting. We walked there (20 min) and had a time of worship, Nathan gave his testimony while Delbert interpreted, and then Frieda talked about Jesus´death and resurrection frees us from the bondage of sins.
12-11-08 Day 13
This morning at 10am we had another SIMP meeting with Juan. We prayed, had a time of worship, and talked about ministerial professionalism and John 10. We could really sense the Holy Spirit´s presense with us. At noon we had lunch with Humberto, Monica, Maxi, Marian, and Elizabeth. We had papas, melanesa, gaseosa, and tomatoes. It was very kind of them to have us over, we even practiced our spanish with them. In the afternoon we took a siesta and in the evening we went to this store called La Ranchero. It´s a western store with many neat things. Nathan bought a sombrerro and I got a mate cup. We came home had supper, did some laundry, and studied scripture (John 10) together.
12-12-08 Day 14
Today we had spanish class with Delbert again at 10am. It was pouring down rain when we woke up and much to my dismay our clothes that were drying on the clothesline were soaking wet. Nathan had a good sense of humor about it and just said ¨Our dryer must be broken.¨ After our spanish class he took most of our clothes to Delbert and Frieda´s house to spin out and then the sun came out, so we hung them back on the clothesline to dry. I miss my washing machine at home.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
12-3-08 Day 5
In the morning we had a Spanish class with Delbert. It was good to get somewhat of an understanding on some of the language. We studied how to ask questions and the verb ¨to be¨. At noon we boiled a whole chicken and took it off the bones. I don´t think I´ve ever cooked a whole chicken before. In the afternoon Nathan and I went to the river to swim. There wasn´t very many people there bu twe were able to talk with quatro (4) boys. We came home took a short siesta, had supper and then did some Bible studying and some Spanish studying. At 830pm we went to the Central zone prayer meeting. There were more people at this one, but again it was really great.
12-4-08 Day 6
Today it rained almost all day. A slow steady rain. There was cloud coverage and it was almost cold. At 10am we met again to pray, sing and talk about the SIMP vision. Nathan and I were able to show the Galesburg DVD that we had brought. At noon we ate with Delbert and Frieda and it was really great to be able to talk with them some more. Delbert suggested that Nathan might want to give his testimony next Wednesday, so he´ll prepare for that in the next week or so. In the afternoon we took a siesta & then at 5pm I went with Frieda to visit some ladies. We wrapped Christmas gifts that some of the children during the Esquilita will give to their parents. These gifts consisted of homemade pot holders. After that we sat around and talked and drank yerba mate (very very popular here, but i´m still not so sure about the bitter taste it has). After that we went to a single mom´s house to talk. All this exposure to the Spanish language is good for me. We are picking up a little more each day. I made ravioli for supper, except I couldn´t read the directions, so I just boiled them for as long as I thought appropriate. It turned to mush! So we had mush and chicken for supper.
12-5-08 Day 7
This morning Nathan and I went for a run. We walk everywhere here but it was great to get our bodies moving so early in the morning when it´s still somewhat cool. We ended up running to the place across town where they are building a church building and daycare center to the north zone. Currently this church body is meeting in congregation members houses. At 9am we had our second spanish class. My brain usually hurts by the time we are done, but we are learning none the less. After our spanish lesson Nathan and I walked the town even more. We found an internet shop where you can use the computer and then pay at the end. We used the computer for 25 min. and payed the lady one peso (approx. 33 cents). It was really great to be able to do this on our own. We also went to Maxicom (grocery store) adn bought a few groceries. We have to go to the grocery store at least every other day because the experation date on food isn´t as long as it is in the States and our freezer, frig isn´t very dependable. In the evening we went to the Circo Hermanos Segura, a circus that came to town. It started at 930pm, we bought our tickets and went in. It didn´t actually start until 10:10pm adn went until a little after midnight. It was great to see a circus Argentina style. There were tigers, and acrobats, and magic tricks. We bought our tickets for $10 pesos each (a little more than $3 dollars each) and Nathan bought two cotton candys which were $3 pesos each (approx. $1 each). He gave one cotton candy to some of the children we recognized from church and we shared one. It tasted pretty much like the cotton candy we are used to but without the coloring.
12-6-08 Day 8
In the morning we went over to Delbert and Frieda´s house. Delbert showed Nathan how to mow and weed the garden and Frieda showed me how to make chocolate chip cookies. For about a month they will be in Bolivia so we will be somewhat in charge of watering their flowers and other things like that. We ate lunch with them and then came back to our apartamentos (apartment) and took a siesta and then Nathan went with Delbert to help set up a stage at the north zone church building for the Esquilita that night. I attempted (ha ha) to do laundry by hand. It took me quite awhile to wash everything by hand and then I hung everything outside on our clothesline to dry. Needless to say the laundry didn´t take long to dry because its so hot here. When Nate came home from setting up the stage we went to the grocery store. We are getting pretty good at asking for what we need at the grocery store and somewhat understanding how to check out. In the evening we walked to the north zone church building where nathan had set up the stage for the Esquilita. Esquilita is an end of the year celebration for the children that attend church there. It was really neat. The children were all dressed up in different costumes for the nativity scene. They posed up on the stage and parents took pictures. Nathan and I thought they were acutally going to act out the Christmas story but they didn´t. They showed a powerpoint presentation of the children throughout the year adn then we ate. We ate empanadas, pizza, torte (cake) and juice.
12-7-08 Day 9
Today we went running again in the morning. At 930am we went to the central zone church by ourselves. We didn´t understand much and didn´t have an interpreter but it was still great worshipping the same God with a body of believers. We sang, had a time of sharing, prayer, eating tea & cookies, and a short sermon by one of the congregation members. All the benches were in a circle. Again this church body had a similar family feeling as did the other church body we had worshipped with last sunday. In the afternoon I attempted to make cookies. I say attempted because I had no recipie or measuring utensils. It was kind of a joke but Nathan graciously said their good. We had a down pour of rain this afternoon as well. It was a welcomed relief from the hot hot sun. At 7pm this evening all of the Menn. zones came together in the central zone church building for a time of worship. We sang some songs, had announcements, Delbert gave the sermon-talking about the mind of Christ, and we had a time of worship. It was very moving worshipping all together to honor God. The little that we did understand was really great. We are learning to cherish the small things!
12-8-08 Day 10
This morning I made flan and it turned out excellent. It´s kind of a custard pudding. It´s really great with Dulce de leche (like caramel). Today we went with Kira to the chacra (farm). We had a picnic there, swam in a canal and learned some more spanish. Nathan drove us girls down to the canal with their stick shift truck. His first time driving here, and he loved it. We spend all afternoon there with no siesta and lots of sun. Needless to say we were tired and a little sunburned but happy. In the evening we went to the south zone church building. Each age group put on a little skit. Elizabeth was even in one. It was fun to watch her act in spanish. Afterward they had food you could buy at different booths adn some men sang spanish folklore. This was from 830pm-midnight. After that we walked back home with Elizabeth and went to bed.
In the morning we had a Spanish class with Delbert. It was good to get somewhat of an understanding on some of the language. We studied how to ask questions and the verb ¨to be¨. At noon we boiled a whole chicken and took it off the bones. I don´t think I´ve ever cooked a whole chicken before. In the afternoon Nathan and I went to the river to swim. There wasn´t very many people there bu twe were able to talk with quatro (4) boys. We came home took a short siesta, had supper and then did some Bible studying and some Spanish studying. At 830pm we went to the Central zone prayer meeting. There were more people at this one, but again it was really great.
12-4-08 Day 6
Today it rained almost all day. A slow steady rain. There was cloud coverage and it was almost cold. At 10am we met again to pray, sing and talk about the SIMP vision. Nathan and I were able to show the Galesburg DVD that we had brought. At noon we ate with Delbert and Frieda and it was really great to be able to talk with them some more. Delbert suggested that Nathan might want to give his testimony next Wednesday, so he´ll prepare for that in the next week or so. In the afternoon we took a siesta & then at 5pm I went with Frieda to visit some ladies. We wrapped Christmas gifts that some of the children during the Esquilita will give to their parents. These gifts consisted of homemade pot holders. After that we sat around and talked and drank yerba mate (very very popular here, but i´m still not so sure about the bitter taste it has). After that we went to a single mom´s house to talk. All this exposure to the Spanish language is good for me. We are picking up a little more each day. I made ravioli for supper, except I couldn´t read the directions, so I just boiled them for as long as I thought appropriate. It turned to mush! So we had mush and chicken for supper.
12-5-08 Day 7
This morning Nathan and I went for a run. We walk everywhere here but it was great to get our bodies moving so early in the morning when it´s still somewhat cool. We ended up running to the place across town where they are building a church building and daycare center to the north zone. Currently this church body is meeting in congregation members houses. At 9am we had our second spanish class. My brain usually hurts by the time we are done, but we are learning none the less. After our spanish lesson Nathan and I walked the town even more. We found an internet shop where you can use the computer and then pay at the end. We used the computer for 25 min. and payed the lady one peso (approx. 33 cents). It was really great to be able to do this on our own. We also went to Maxicom (grocery store) adn bought a few groceries. We have to go to the grocery store at least every other day because the experation date on food isn´t as long as it is in the States and our freezer, frig isn´t very dependable. In the evening we went to the Circo Hermanos Segura, a circus that came to town. It started at 930pm, we bought our tickets and went in. It didn´t actually start until 10:10pm adn went until a little after midnight. It was great to see a circus Argentina style. There were tigers, and acrobats, and magic tricks. We bought our tickets for $10 pesos each (a little more than $3 dollars each) and Nathan bought two cotton candys which were $3 pesos each (approx. $1 each). He gave one cotton candy to some of the children we recognized from church and we shared one. It tasted pretty much like the cotton candy we are used to but without the coloring.
12-6-08 Day 8
In the morning we went over to Delbert and Frieda´s house. Delbert showed Nathan how to mow and weed the garden and Frieda showed me how to make chocolate chip cookies. For about a month they will be in Bolivia so we will be somewhat in charge of watering their flowers and other things like that. We ate lunch with them and then came back to our apartamentos (apartment) and took a siesta and then Nathan went with Delbert to help set up a stage at the north zone church building for the Esquilita that night. I attempted (ha ha) to do laundry by hand. It took me quite awhile to wash everything by hand and then I hung everything outside on our clothesline to dry. Needless to say the laundry didn´t take long to dry because its so hot here. When Nate came home from setting up the stage we went to the grocery store. We are getting pretty good at asking for what we need at the grocery store and somewhat understanding how to check out. In the evening we walked to the north zone church building where nathan had set up the stage for the Esquilita. Esquilita is an end of the year celebration for the children that attend church there. It was really neat. The children were all dressed up in different costumes for the nativity scene. They posed up on the stage and parents took pictures. Nathan and I thought they were acutally going to act out the Christmas story but they didn´t. They showed a powerpoint presentation of the children throughout the year adn then we ate. We ate empanadas, pizza, torte (cake) and juice.
12-7-08 Day 9
Today we went running again in the morning. At 930am we went to the central zone church by ourselves. We didn´t understand much and didn´t have an interpreter but it was still great worshipping the same God with a body of believers. We sang, had a time of sharing, prayer, eating tea & cookies, and a short sermon by one of the congregation members. All the benches were in a circle. Again this church body had a similar family feeling as did the other church body we had worshipped with last sunday. In the afternoon I attempted to make cookies. I say attempted because I had no recipie or measuring utensils. It was kind of a joke but Nathan graciously said their good. We had a down pour of rain this afternoon as well. It was a welcomed relief from the hot hot sun. At 7pm this evening all of the Menn. zones came together in the central zone church building for a time of worship. We sang some songs, had announcements, Delbert gave the sermon-talking about the mind of Christ, and we had a time of worship. It was very moving worshipping all together to honor God. The little that we did understand was really great. We are learning to cherish the small things!
12-8-08 Day 10
This morning I made flan and it turned out excellent. It´s kind of a custard pudding. It´s really great with Dulce de leche (like caramel). Today we went with Kira to the chacra (farm). We had a picnic there, swam in a canal and learned some more spanish. Nathan drove us girls down to the canal with their stick shift truck. His first time driving here, and he loved it. We spend all afternoon there with no siesta and lots of sun. Needless to say we were tired and a little sunburned but happy. In the evening we went to the south zone church building. Each age group put on a little skit. Elizabeth was even in one. It was fun to watch her act in spanish. Afterward they had food you could buy at different booths adn some men sang spanish folklore. This was from 830pm-midnight. After that we walked back home with Elizabeth and went to bed.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Our first couple of days
11-29-08 Day 1
We are here and hae unpacked our things and feel somewhat settled. The last day and a half has been a whirlwind of activity. After our 12 hr flight from Miami to Buenos Aires we finally arrived in Buenos Aires airport. There we waited 6 hours and Heriberto and Mary Bueno picked us up and took us to thier house to eat, shower, and take a siesta before our 12 hour bus ride south to Choele Choel. Today we ate breakfast at Delbert and Frieda Erb´s house and then went to our apartment to unpack. At 1pm we ate lunch with Delbert and Frieda, rice with meat and veggies, and a salad. In the afternoon we took a siesta adn then went to Rio Negro with Juan and Amaris to swim. The weather is beautiful and warm, we got in the river and floated down stream. Elizabeth, Jacob, Nathan and myself walked home from the river and we ate supper with the Erb´s. We´ve learned a lot in only a short time, each day is LOTS of learning.
11-30-08 Day 2
We ate breakfast at Delbert and Frieda´s house and then went to a small church that is just getting started. There we sang, ate breakfast (cake and hot tea), listened to a sermon on David by way of t.v. and we learned a new song on the t.v. After church we went to Juan and Ami´s house for lunch and then spent the rest of the day there. We played volleyball and Uno with the youth. In the evening we went to the West Zone church. Juan was telling us that their evening service is a fairly new thing. We sang praise songs for a long time, had a time of introducing ourselves to the people there, Juan preached and we had supper together. Afterwards Nathan drew quite a crowd of children from the church. He would make an animal sound and they woudl tell him how to say that animal in spanish. Quite commical. This church feels more like a large family than anything else. Our frustration today was not being able to fully communicate with the people. We have to be patient with ourselves as we learn. Saturday and Sunday, I was also tired when I should´t have been and hungry when I shouldn´t have been, but my body will adjust with time, I´m sure.
12-1-08 Day 3
We ate breakfast at Delbert and Frieda´s house and then we walked to the grocery store with Frieda to learn about how to buy groceries. It was kind of overwhelming for me to say the least. I didn´t know what I needed or what anything was. I made lunch today for the first time in our apartment. In the afternoon we took a siesta, and then about 3¨30pm we walked 40 minutues to Juan´s house to help him with the pool he is constructing. It was really great to do some physical labor. We made the 40 min. walk home at about 710pm and then went to a prayer meeting at 830pm. The prayer meeting consisted of about 14 young people pouring thier hearts out to God until 1030pm. It was really great. We came home had supper (it´s very normal to eat supper between 10 and 11pm) and then went to bed. Buenos Noches!!!!
12-2-08 Day 4
This morning we met Juan in the church building to pray and worship and talk about SIMP vision. I think we will do this at least once a week in the month of December. We came back home had spaghetti for lunch and then attempted to go to the grocery store for the first time by ourselves. It was 130pm and it was closed. Elizabeth later told us that most stores close in the afternoon time for lunch and a siesta and then reopen at about 5pm til 9 or 10pm. It´s a much different pace of living here. At 4pm Nathan and Jacob went to the Rio Negro (black river) to swim and I went with Elizabeth to meet with a lady from the church who recently moved here from Buenos Aires. Her and her husband are looking for work and are having some difficulty finding any. They live in the upstairs apartment of the West zone church building. We talked with her from 430-630pm. She sells perfumes and other things on the side to make some money. It´s kind of like Avon, we looked in a catalog adn could choose from a variety of things. She let us try many samples of perfumes. Elizabeth ended up buying some perfume and I bought some hand soap. She was very appreciative of our business. As three sisters in Christ we were also able to talk about the Lord and pray together. It was really great. She was telling us that she has been with the Lord for 10 yrs. and has been married 9 years. She thought I was very young to be married already. I guess at my age it is young for most people to be married in this culture. After I got home Nathan and I went to the supermarket ourselves for the first time and got a few more groceries. I got quite a bit of food for 106,87 pesos. We then ate supper quick and at 8pm went with Veronica(a lady from church) to the town of Darwin (10 kilometers from Choele Choel) for their prayer meeting. No heated building, no comfy chairs, no fancy church building, like I´m so familiar with in the states. Just four brick walls and Jesus. It was really great to see their passion for the Lord. I was even able to share a bible verse. Romans 12¨1-2 with them as Elizabeth so graciously translated. These verses have been speaking to my heart lately, about not being conformed to the world.
We are here and hae unpacked our things and feel somewhat settled. The last day and a half has been a whirlwind of activity. After our 12 hr flight from Miami to Buenos Aires we finally arrived in Buenos Aires airport. There we waited 6 hours and Heriberto and Mary Bueno picked us up and took us to thier house to eat, shower, and take a siesta before our 12 hour bus ride south to Choele Choel. Today we ate breakfast at Delbert and Frieda Erb´s house and then went to our apartment to unpack. At 1pm we ate lunch with Delbert and Frieda, rice with meat and veggies, and a salad. In the afternoon we took a siesta adn then went to Rio Negro with Juan and Amaris to swim. The weather is beautiful and warm, we got in the river and floated down stream. Elizabeth, Jacob, Nathan and myself walked home from the river and we ate supper with the Erb´s. We´ve learned a lot in only a short time, each day is LOTS of learning.
11-30-08 Day 2
We ate breakfast at Delbert and Frieda´s house and then went to a small church that is just getting started. There we sang, ate breakfast (cake and hot tea), listened to a sermon on David by way of t.v. and we learned a new song on the t.v. After church we went to Juan and Ami´s house for lunch and then spent the rest of the day there. We played volleyball and Uno with the youth. In the evening we went to the West Zone church. Juan was telling us that their evening service is a fairly new thing. We sang praise songs for a long time, had a time of introducing ourselves to the people there, Juan preached and we had supper together. Afterwards Nathan drew quite a crowd of children from the church. He would make an animal sound and they woudl tell him how to say that animal in spanish. Quite commical. This church feels more like a large family than anything else. Our frustration today was not being able to fully communicate with the people. We have to be patient with ourselves as we learn. Saturday and Sunday, I was also tired when I should´t have been and hungry when I shouldn´t have been, but my body will adjust with time, I´m sure.
12-1-08 Day 3
We ate breakfast at Delbert and Frieda´s house and then we walked to the grocery store with Frieda to learn about how to buy groceries. It was kind of overwhelming for me to say the least. I didn´t know what I needed or what anything was. I made lunch today for the first time in our apartment. In the afternoon we took a siesta, and then about 3¨30pm we walked 40 minutues to Juan´s house to help him with the pool he is constructing. It was really great to do some physical labor. We made the 40 min. walk home at about 710pm and then went to a prayer meeting at 830pm. The prayer meeting consisted of about 14 young people pouring thier hearts out to God until 1030pm. It was really great. We came home had supper (it´s very normal to eat supper between 10 and 11pm) and then went to bed. Buenos Noches!!!!
12-2-08 Day 4
This morning we met Juan in the church building to pray and worship and talk about SIMP vision. I think we will do this at least once a week in the month of December. We came back home had spaghetti for lunch and then attempted to go to the grocery store for the first time by ourselves. It was 130pm and it was closed. Elizabeth later told us that most stores close in the afternoon time for lunch and a siesta and then reopen at about 5pm til 9 or 10pm. It´s a much different pace of living here. At 4pm Nathan and Jacob went to the Rio Negro (black river) to swim and I went with Elizabeth to meet with a lady from the church who recently moved here from Buenos Aires. Her and her husband are looking for work and are having some difficulty finding any. They live in the upstairs apartment of the West zone church building. We talked with her from 430-630pm. She sells perfumes and other things on the side to make some money. It´s kind of like Avon, we looked in a catalog adn could choose from a variety of things. She let us try many samples of perfumes. Elizabeth ended up buying some perfume and I bought some hand soap. She was very appreciative of our business. As three sisters in Christ we were also able to talk about the Lord and pray together. It was really great. She was telling us that she has been with the Lord for 10 yrs. and has been married 9 years. She thought I was very young to be married already. I guess at my age it is young for most people to be married in this culture. After I got home Nathan and I went to the supermarket ourselves for the first time and got a few more groceries. I got quite a bit of food for 106,87 pesos. We then ate supper quick and at 8pm went with Veronica(a lady from church) to the town of Darwin (10 kilometers from Choele Choel) for their prayer meeting. No heated building, no comfy chairs, no fancy church building, like I´m so familiar with in the states. Just four brick walls and Jesus. It was really great to see their passion for the Lord. I was even able to share a bible verse. Romans 12¨1-2 with them as Elizabeth so graciously translated. These verses have been speaking to my heart lately, about not being conformed to the world.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to Nathan and Jennifer's blog spot. Here you will find what we are doing in Argentina and the things we are experiencing. We hope you enjoy the journey as we post different things.
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