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.