More and more responsibilities....we are loving it!

1-15-09 Day 48

Today we slept in since we had such a late night last night. In the afternoon we walked to Juan's house and talked with Floyd and got some things figured out, like how to put pictures on our blogspot. YEAH! Nathan then went with Floyd to unload bricks with Jorge and Pablo. It took them about 2 hours and they unloaded 1,000 bricks. About 9pm we walked back home.

1-16-09 Day 49

This morning we went to the post office to mail off a card and then at 10am we had another Spanish class with Delbert. They invited us to eat lunch with them of empanadas and corn on the cob. I was also able to talk to my mom on the phone. This evening for supper we had Jacob and Elizabeth over. After supper we ended up playing Rook until 11pm. Lots of fun!!

1-17-09 Day 50

This morning we got up early and ran to Jacob's house, lifted weights and then ran back home. Nathan then went over to Delbert and Frieda's house to mow their yard and I made peanut butter cookies while he was gone. You can't buy peanut butter here in the store, however the group from IL brought some and left a little here for us. The cookies turned out really good...yeah! This afternoon Nathan and I had a two hour discussion on what we are learning by being here. We were able to write a few things down and reflect on what God is teaching us. This was very beneficial for both of us. This evening we walked to the West zone for their youth meeting. It was a time of worship with the youth and then Elizabeth gave her testimony to the youth.

1-18-09 Day 51

Today we went to Paso Piedra to church with Delbert and Frieda. This is a small church congregation that is out close to many people chacra's. This is the church that we went to our first Sunday being here. We had a time of worship and then we ate breakfast together (cake & hot tea). After that Frieda asked Nathan and I to be in charge of the children in a room by ourselves while the adults listened to the sermon. We ended up showing them clips on the video camera of God's creation and then we played bato, bato, goose (duck, duck, goose). It was a little intimidating since we couldn't communicate very well with them but it was wonderful to have that kind of interaction. Delbert and Frieda then dropped us off at Juan's house. We had lunch with them and talked to Juan for awhile. In the evening we walked to the West zone for their church service. The devotion of the church members is humbling to me. When we got home we decided to go get helado at the Heladeria. Jacob joined us and we all talked together until 11pm or so. Nathan and I have been reading thru Revelation and have been discussing the seven churches that John talks about in Revelation. We discovered that Jacob and Elizabeth are also reading thru Revelation. The seventh church that is talked about in Revelation 3:14-22, the church of Laodicea is especially convicting to me.

1-19-09 Day 52
Many of the youth went to a camp retreat this week including Jacob and Elizabeth, so Nathan and I have more of a free week and its very welcomed. Jacob let us borrow his bike while he's gone this week and that's much appreciated as well. This morning at 8am we rode the bike to the North zone church building where Reuben (the pastor) and Billy (a congregation member) were working on the church building. My job was mostly to watch and serve mate (as it's not as socially acceptable for women to do those kinds of jobs) and Nathan got to learn how to mud walls (sling cement). The building is made out of bricks and on the inside of the building they cover it with cement-it acts like dry wall except it's a cement wall. Slinging cement is definently an art and looks alot easier than it really is. By the afternoon Nathan was getting really good at it. We were there from 8-11:30am and then went home for lunch and a siesta. Then we went back at 4pm and Nathan stayed until 7pm. This afternoon I ran there while Nathan rode the bike (good exercise) but I didn't stay the whole time. I ended up coming home. I did laundry and went to the grocery store while Nathan was gone.

1-20-09 Day 53

Today Nathan again went to work at the North zone church building. I cleaned up a little and read the Bible while he was gone. In the afternoon we went to the river for about an hour and a half and then Nathan went back to work and I went with Frieda to visit some ladies from the church.

1-21-09 Day 54

Today Nathan went back to work at the North zone church building. He's been working there everyday from 8-12 in the morning and the 3-7 in the afternoon. He's loving it and enjoying having some constructive work to do. Today it was him and Billy working. Billy mixed the cement and Nathan slung the cement. I was pretty impressed that in just 3 days he was left alone to do this by himself. We ate lunch at Delbert and Frieda's house today. This afternoon while Nathan was working I went with Frieda to visit an elderly lady who was having a birthday today. We talked with her awhile and then ended up down at the river talking with some other people. There were so many people at the river today. I guess that's what everybody does when the temperature is 104 degrees fehreheit. It's been hotter than hot here these last couple of days with no end in sight. It hasn't even cooled off in the evening as much. Tonight we went to the North zone for their evening service. It was good to have some more interaction with people today.

1-22-09 Day 55

This morning I went with Frieda to a lady's house who has a sewing room. All the equipment, materials, and crafts were amazing. My job was to take out the hem of a pillow that wasn't long enough. Some of the other ladies were working on the sewing machine or cutting material for a quilt pattern. This is a place that I would like to spend more time. This afternoon we went to the river with Vero from the West zone and her family. We ended up going back to her house and having supper with them about 10pm and then she took us home.

1-23-09 Day 56

Today Nathan worked at the North zone again and I was content at home reading my Bible. I ended up going to the North zone then to see what the guys were up to and the progress they were making. Half way there I noticed the back tire of the bike was flat, so once I got to the North zone Billy so graciously took it to a shop for us to get a new tube for the tire. This evening we went to the river again with Vero. It's been so warm and the water feels so good. Alot of people were there and it's a good place to interact with people and see familiar faces. This evening we went to Vero's house from the North zone for supper about 9:30pm. Pablo and Viviana were there also. It's really great to have more interaction with Vero since she will be coming to the States in Feb, March, & April. I am actually able to carry on simple conversations with people now and I am so very thankful for that.

1-24-09 Day 57

This morning Nathan worked at the North zone church building again just until noon. I went to the post office and mailed some letters and then did some shopping while Nathan was gone. This afternoon we took it easy and took a long siesta especially after Nathan worked all week. This evening Delbert and Frieda took us to visit Ami. She had just come home from being in Hopedale, IL with her oldest son for a month. We were able to talk with her about how her trip was and catch up a bit. We also had supper with her. This was definently a cherished time for us as we appreciate Juan and Ami's friendship very much. We talked to her from 10pm-1:30am and then ended up spending the night at their house.

1-25-09 Day 58

This morning we got up and Ami and Nathan and I got a taxi ride into town. The West zone and central zone were meeting together today in the central zone church building for sunday worship. It was a good time of worship together and hearing the Word preached by Rafael. This afternoon about 5pm Nathan and I walked to the Heladeria to get helado and then we spent a good hour and a half walking around part of Choele we hadn't seen yet. We ended up at Billy's house for awhile, where we talked with him and drank mate together. After that we walked around a little more because it wasn't quite time for church to begin yet. We ended up at Vero's house and talked with her a short while before we walked with her to the North zone church building for the service at 8:30pm. We watched a movie there and had popcorn. The movie was a t.v. evangelist giving the message. People from the church then asked us to come over to their house for supper. It was Alberto's family who asked us to eat with them. We were also able to see some of their pictures and we showed them the DVD of Galesburg. We didn't get home until 12:30am but we cherish the time we get to spend with people.

1-26-09 Day 59

Today was the beginning of me teaching English classes to children 4-8 years old. I waited until 10:30am but no one showed up. It's ok though, maybe I'll feel a little more organized by tomorrow morning. Nathan worked at the North zone all day today. This afternoon we visited with Jacob and talked with him about how his week at camp in Esquel went. He ended up eating supper with us.

1-27-09 Day 60

We have now been here for two months and the time is going so fast. Today I had three children show up for the English class. It goes from 9-11am and I had Gabi, Matheo, and Abril. We learned the body parts in English. We sang head and shoulders, knees and toes & If you're happy and you know it clap your hands. This afternoon Nathan and I worked on cleaning our apartment. I did lots of laundry and Nathan did lots of cleaning. It took us most of the afternoon but it was very rewarding after we were done.

1-28-09 Day 61

Today in the English class I taught the children colors in English. I had Abril, Josias, Nazarena, and Mariana. Four children showed up and we had great fun learning how to say colors in English. Nathan worked at the North zone church building today in the morning. This afternoon at 4pm Delbert took Nathan, Elizabeth and I to Juan's house. There we swam and visited with Juan and Ami. Then in the evening we went with them to the West zone church meeting. Nathan and I ended up walking home after that and we were very tired from a long day.

1-29-09 Day 62

Today we had the English class from 9-10:30am. Elizabeth has been helping me and that has been much appreciated. She is able to explain things to the children in Spanish so they understand what we are doing in English. Today we learned how to count in English. Much more difficult but definently fun!

Today we had Abril, Josias, Mariana & Nazarena. At 10:30am Nathan, Jacob, Elizabeth and I met with Juan to talk about SIMP. We prayed together and talked about the stages of development in the process of establishing a body of believers in a particular place. We sketched out IL and looked at how we are doing in towns that we have targeted as potential places of ministry. This afternoon Nathan and I walked down to the river and swam for awhile. There we met Vero and her family so we talked with them for awhile and drank mate with them. This evening Jacob and Elizabeth came over to our apartment. We had supper together and played Rook until about 11pm. It was very fun!

1-30-09 Day 63

Today was the last day for the English class for this week. We reviewed all that we learned this week and played some games. Josias, Nazarena, and Abril came today. Nathan spent the morning working at the North zone again. At 4pm Nathan, Elizabeth, Jacob and I took a taxi out to Juan's house. We had another SIMP meeting together. This evening at 9:30pm we went to Ezekiel's house (a youth from the West zone) to have a birthday celebration asado for Jacob. It was really fun to be invited to Jacob's party and celebrate with him.