A beautiful week-our happy news!

12/8/14 Day 26
Today is a Catholic holiday so most people don't have to work.  We did some odds and ends stuff here and bought out tickets to go to Chile.  We will be gone from Dec 16-Jan 5.  This is to renew our visas and to spend some vacation time away for Christmas, plus we will be helping with projects at the missionary center we will be staying at.  This evening the South zone church had a talent show for the kids and then food items to buy afterwards.  We went to that with Elizabeth and then ended up staying late and talking to others that were there.

12/9/14 Day 27
We did alot of fun things today.  This morning we walked to Juan and Ami's house to swim.  We swam for awhile and then ate a picnic lunch.  This afternoon we walked to Jorge and Angelica's house which is just down the road from Juan's house.  This is where Nathan has helped Jorge pick cherries at his house.  Our kids played with their kids.  They loved the tree house that they have out back and Jayvin wanted to be a worker and pick cherries.  We also watched Nazarena (their daughter) do her twirling acrobats on her ribbon-like rope in the house.  Nathan tried to do it as well and we all got a good laugh.  Elizabeth and I talked with Angelica for awhile and then we walked back to Juan's house.  This evening we went over to Pablo and Viviana's house for supper with Elizabeth.  They have two boys Mateo and Juan who are age 6 & 8 yrs old.  It was a wonderful meal with friends and fellowship-we really enjoyed the visit with them.  We got home ~midnight from eating with them.

12/10/14 Day 28
Nathan went out to Juan's house this morning to work and the kids and I visited with Delbert and Frieda for awhile and then we took a walk to try to find the shoe that Liam lost on our way home from Pablo and Vivi's house last night.  We didn't find the shoe but I checked out a new grocery store that I hadn't been to before.  This afternoon we had Elizabeth over for lunch and then we took a long siesta.  This whole week has been so so beautiful weather wise with the high's in the 80's and cooling off at night.  This evening we took a long walk with the kids and then had family devotions together instead of going to the church for their prayer meeting.
12/11/14 Day 29
Nathan ran to Juan's house this morning with Lydia on his front pack.  I think he'll be sore tomorrow.  The boys and I went to the market for fresh produce and then they helped me cut up fruits and vegetables to prep for lunch. 

12/12/14 Day 30
Today Nathan went to Juan's house to work until late afternoon.  We were going to go to Juan and Ami's house for supper tonight but they weren't able to at the last minute because of change of plans.  Lydia spent the night with Elizabeth and two other friends, Nazarena and Mariana.  Lydia was looking forward to this ALL week.  We walked to the icecream shop for icecream with the girls and had a good time together.  The girls definently had a slumber party, but I don't think there was too much slumbering going on.   I can not believe it has been a whole month since we have been here already.  I feel so greatful for the opportunity to be here and the ways the Lord has provided for us.  In so many ways we feel very blessed and humbled to be used by the Lord in this way.  We wish we could sit down with each and every one of you and tell you of the miracles of the Lord in our lives for the ways He has provided for us to be here.  Suffice it to say that He has provided EVERYTHING WE NEED for LIFE AND GODLINESS.  May we be found faithful in what He has given us.  Speaking of blessings, we were able to skype my parent's and grandma tonight to tell them that we are expecting baby #4.  I am 13 weeks pregnant today and expecting another sweet little one in June.

12/13/14 Day 31
Today we went to Humberto and Monica's chacra(farm) to spend the day there.  This is Mariana's family.  We ate lunch with them and swam in their pool.  It was a wonderful day of play and sun and talking with Humberto of the things of the Lord.
12/14/14 Day 32
Today we went to Juan and Ami's (behind their) house, for a church service with the West zone and the ladies that had come for a retreat from another town.  Juan preached the message and then we all had lunch together (asado-meat cooked on an open fire).  The kids enjoyed running around with the other kids and splashing in their pool.  This afternoon/evening it rained and rained and we even lost power for about 45 minutes but we are very thankful for the rain to cool everything off.
12/15/14 Day 33
Today we are packing and doing laundry and last minute grocery shopping.  Early tomorrow morning (3am) we are heading out by bus with Jacob and Elizabeth to spend 2 1/2 weeks in Chile.  I don't know if I will update our blog until we get back, but we would covet your prayers for safety while we travel.

A whole week of YUCKS!

12/1/14 Day 19
Nathan and Jayving went to Juan's house to work this morning.  He is helping with odd jobs around his house that need to be done.  Like picking up sticks, digging a trench, hauling pipes, and cement work for a new pool.  Lydia, Liam and I walked to the daycare and spent the morning there. 
12/2/14 Day 20  "Thankful"
Today the kids and I stayed home to do grocery shopping, cleaning and laundry while Nathan went to Juan's house this morning to work.  Today I am thankful for the small (big to me) ways that people are reaching out to us in the community.  We went to the market today to buy produce and the man there was talking to the kids and interacting with them.  Then we went to the grocery store and the man at the meat counter asked how long were were going to be here in Choele and he was teasing the kids a bit.  I'm so grateful for the small ways that I can communicate and interact with the community people here.  Lydia put up our Christmas decorations today, but it doesn't seem like Christmas around here with the temperature well into the 90's today.  Tonight we had Tyler over for supper.  He just graduated from high school and has been staying at Chito and Mary's house for the past six months.  He is from Pennsylvania and will be returning to the States shortly.  It was fun to get to know him better and we talked with him from 7-11pm.  We got to bed by midnight and by 1am Liam was throwing up.  This lasted every 30-45 minutes until about 4:30am. 
12/3/14  Day 21   "Tired"
Nathan was going to go to Juan's house today and we were going to go back to the daycare but since we are both tired from being up with Liam last night we are all staying home today.  We will work on cleaning and laundry today-both seem like never ending tasks.  The good news is that Liam seemed fine all day today.  This evening we walked to the North zone church for their prayer meeting.  Pablo and Vivi (the pastors son and his wife) asked us over for supper next Tuesday night which we are grateful for and Delbert brought us home from the church meeting so we didn't have to walk.  On our way home Delbert said that the cook and another boy from the daycare were throwing up too, so Liam must have gotten a virus from there. 
12/4/14 Day 22 "Sick"
We had a good nights rest but Jayvin started throwing up early this morning.  Nathan decided to go to Jorge's farm to help pick cherries early this morning right after Jayvin had thrown up just once.  After Nathan left though Jayvin kept throwing up again  and again and then Lydia woke up and she started throwing up too.  I had two pukers simulateously and I didn't know what I was going to do.  I asked Elizabeth to text Jorge to tell Nathan to come back home.  Nathan came back then ~10am and Lydia and Jayvin were sick all day long.  I was doing laundry from the time we woke up until the time we went to bed today.  I was grateful for a working washing machine though.  It takes ~ 2 1/2 loads of laundry for every 1 load I would have done in the States and each load takes ~ 1 1/2 hours to do-exactly why I was doing laundry ALL day long from all of the yucky's.  The temperature got to 104 degrees today but this morning was pleasantly cool, so we stayed outside as much as possible this morning so they could puke outside and then I could wash it away.  By the afternoon I was starting to feel nauseous, but I just thought it was from cleaning up so much from the kids.  By evening I threw up, but thankfully only once.  I just want to end this day and start over better tomorrow.
12/5/14 Day 23
I don't have any energy this morning but I'm feeling better than yesterday and everyone else is too.  Thankfully Nathan never got sick.  It has felt like a long miserable week and Nathan and I are feeling homesick this evening for different reasons.  This evening we walked to a park for the kids to play.  This is a park we had never checked out before-one that is really close to our house-it's about all the energy I had for the day, but we didn't stay long.  Soon after getting there we realized we were getting thorn like bristles in our sandals and the tires of the stoller.  I was worried that we would have holes in the tires of our stroller by morning, but thankfully we didn't.  The temperature here today was 101 degrees, so it was another hot day.  Nathan and the two older kids decided to sleep outside since it was much cooler outside than inside.
12/6/14 Day 24  "Glory a Dios"
By 5am Nathan and the kids were back inside from their tent adventure.  It was starting to rain very hard.  It hardly ever rains here in the desert of the Patagonia, so it was a welcomed relief to have rain.  It rained a good part of the morning and really cooled everything off.  What a wonderful blessing to be cooler and to have all of our windows open for a good part of the morning.  This morning Elizabeth and I walked to La Anonima (the larger grocery store) to buy food for the next couple of days since Monday is a holiday here.  On our way there Floyd and Jacob pulled up and they were headed there too, so we got a ride the rest of the way there and all the way back with our groceries.  It's amazing how the Lord provides for us.  At 5pm today Elizabeth and I took our kids to Pablo and Vero's house.  We talked with Vero for awhile and the kids played with Pedro their five year old son. 

12/7/14 Day 25
This morning a group of people picked us up in the church van to drive to Darwin.  This town is only about 10 minutes away and it is a place where they have a mission center.  Last time we were here Nathan and I had helped extensively on building the church building in Darwin, so we were very excited to return here and see the people and building that we had worked hard on.  Right when we were on the outskirts on town Jayvin puked in the van, so they graciously turned the van around and we went back home to get him a new shirt.  I would have been very disappointed if we weren't able to go today, because of being stuck at home all week with the pukes.  He seemed to be fine all the rest of the day.  We had a worship service in the buiding and made empanadas there for lunch. 

 

This evening at 7pm all of the church zones here met in the central church building all together for worship and church.  Lydia sure is making friends here and this evening she even went to the Sunday school class for her age group all by herself.  This mommy is thankful for the ways that she is meeting people and really interacting with other kids here.

settling into a routine

11/23/14 Day 11
We went to church today at the West zone church building from 7-9pm then afterwards we went to Chitto and Mary's house for supper from 9:30-10:30.  Otherwise we spent our day resting from the week
11/24/14 Day 12
Today is a holiday here and we spent it cleaning our house and then we had lunch over at Chitto and Mary's house again.  We spent the afternoon with them and then walked to the West zone church building for their talent show this evening from 8-11pm.
11/25/14 Day 13
Liam has a 103 degree temperature today.  We spent the day grocery shopping, doing laundry and taking care of a sick boy.  Nathan also went to Pablo's house to get the bike that we are using from them.
11/26/14 Day 14
Liam's temperature broke in the early morning so we decided to not go to the daycare again today just to be on the safe side.....not to spread germs.  In the evening we went to the central zone church at 8:30pm for their prayer meeting. 
11/27/14 Day 15  Happy Thanksgiving
Since Thanksgiving is a U.S. holiday, we aren't really celebrating here....just another day.  We walked to the daycare today and spent the morning there.   Then we walked to the grocery store and got groceries and then went home for lunch.  Nathan and Jayvin went to Juan's house to work this morning.  We also were able to do some laundry and skype family at home for Thanksgiving.

11/28/14 Day 16
We walked to the daycare again today from 10-12:30.  Nathan went to Jorge's farm early this morning to pick cherries all day.  We all are settling into a routine here and we are cherishing all of the interaction we have with the church people here.

11/29/14 Day 17
Today is saturday.  I did 3 loads of laundry which really was an all day process.  I spent the morning with the boys and Lydia and Nathan went to Juan's house to help set this up for the soccer games this evening.  Then it the afternoon Lydia and Nathan went to a sunday school class for kids that they had at the central zone church and then in the evening we walked to Juan's house to see the soccer game.  Instead of watching the games we talked to Claudia instead.  It was very fun to get to know her more.

11/30/14 Day 18
At 10am we went to Juan's house to have church.  The chacra congregation and the South zone church bodies met here today to worship and then we had lunch afterwards.  We spent the afternoon there hanging out with people and drinking mate.  Lydia and Jayvin are taking a liking to mate now too.

11/17/14 Day 5

Today we went to the store (which happens every day or every other day) to get what we needed.  Nathan also went to Chito’s house where he has a construction materials store to get a part for the washing machine.  We now officially have a working washing machine.  At 3:30 pm we all walked to the daycare to spend the rest of the afternoon there.  This is an outreach ministry to the neighborhood which is an extension of the North zone church congregation.  It was neat to see the building and be there because 6 years ago when we were here Nathan had worked many many days helping to build the daycare building.  Now 6 years later it is up and running and a vital ministry to the neighborhood.  The temperature was 102 degrees today, so very very hot.  The rest of the week shouldn’t be this hot.  After the sun went down we sat outside with Elizabeth, Ezekiel, Jacob, and Claudia.  It turned out to be a nice evening.

11/18/14  Day 6 Feliz couple anos Jennifer

This morning we went back to the daycare from 10-1 (it takes about 20 minutues to walk there & I push all three of our kids in the single stroller we brought with us).  I think we’ll (the kids and I) be spending our mornings here the rest of the week while Nathan works out at Juan’s farm.  This evening Pablo and Vero had us over for supper.  We had supper, celebrated my birthday and talked with them until about midnight.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate.  Last time we were here they had a two year old Valentino…he is now 8 years old and they also have a 4 ½ year old Pedro.  Last time we were here their house was just being built.  They are in charge of the West zone church.  There house butts right up against the church building.  It was really neat to see their house fully done now and where they are living.  We got to know Pablo and Vero pretty well last time we were here as they had been so kind to us.

11/19/14 Day 7

Another day at the daycare.  I really love being here and our kids love it too.  It’s a great way to serve and have our children be around other Spanish-speaking children.  Some of the children have just gotten over having chicken pox or are at home because of that.  Some of the children also have lice and are not required to stay home if they have it.  Please pray for us that none of us get any sickness or bugs from being here.  Tonight from 8-10pm we had a worship/church meeting at the West zone.  Vero picked us up so that we could make it there faster than walking.  Please pray for us as we travel in other people’s vehicles for safety, as no one wears seat belts/carseats. 

11/20/14 Day 8

Delbert brought Lydia, Liam and I to the daycare this morning while Nathan strapped Jayvin onto his back with the babysling we brought and rode the bike to Juan’s house to work on his farm today.  I can tell very much that the children at the daycare are well loved and taken care of by the teachers.  We’ve been staying for morning play time, lunch and a little bit after lunch.  For lunch the kids usually get rice or pasta with some kind of meat in it and shredded carrot.  They also get dessert which is ice cream, jello, pudding or canned fruit.  Delbert explained to us that at this daycare ministry the teachers sign a paper that says they are not required to get paid and that they are serving freely as a ministry opportunity.  This technicality is required for the government.  Then anything that the parents pay for their children to be there at the daycare all that money gets split up and divided amongst the teachers for their pay that week.  They could get much or very little depending on what the parents pay week to week.  It seems like for these teachers it really is a ministry, but it is also their livelihood.  Every once in awhile the daycare then hosts a garage sale with items for the community to buy and all of that money is then used to purchase things that they would need to run the daycare (i.e. food supplies, bedding, toys, etc.).  It really had amazed me this week how content the children are with very simple toys for hours on end and how little they get to eat for lunch and are very content with that. 

11/21/14 Day 9

A very long day for all of us!  We got up a 6am and Nathan left for Jorge’s farm by 6:30am to help stack and sort and pick cherries.  It’s cherry picking season and he is usually shorthanded on Fridays and Saturdays.  Vero (Pablo’s wife) and Angelica (Jorge’s wife) are sisters.  Their farm is just a little past Juan’s farm out in the country.  The kids and I were also at the daycare today from 9:30am-1pm.  They were short staffed today as well so my help was greatly appreciated and needed.  We came home and all ate lunch together and then Nathan went back to Jorge’s farm again to work from 3pm-7pm.  At 8pm Elizabeth asked us to go to the Folklore festival in town that was going on.  We got to see men doing asado (cooking meat on an open fire) and children singing and dancing to music on stage at the school.  It was very interesting.  On our way walking home we met someone and he recognized Nathan right away. Last time we were here his parents and he along with his sister were the first ones to help start the ministry in Darwin (the next town over from Choele Choel).  We worked alongside them for quite a number of days and he quickly recognized Nathan.  This boy was 12 years old then and now he is 18.  We are so greatful for all of the interaction with the local people here and it was so good to see the positive impression that Nathan had made on this boy from 6 years ago.  

11/22/14 Day 10

This morning Nathan went over to Delbert and Frieda’s house to mow their lawn and then we went to the grocery store.  Frieda has been having some test and health issues, so please pray for her.  We also went to the store to buy as much food as we need for a couple of days as Monday is a holiday here and the stores will be closed.  At lunch time we packed a picnic lunch and walked down the the Rio Negro (river) to eat lunch and play this afternoon.  This is the first time we’ve been to the Rio since being here and our kids just loved it.  We wore them out good so that they took a good nap this afternoon.

Here we go again

11/11/14 We never would have thought that this would be our story again...to be in Argentina for the second time, but here we are.  We are so very thankful for the Lord's provision for us.  Thank you to our friends, family, and church family who have supported us with finances and prayers..they are greatly felt and appreciated.  Today we got up very early and headed to Chicago airport.  There we had a 2 1/2 hour flight to Miami.  Once we arrived in Miami we weren't sure what gate we needed to be at or where to go.  We ended up walking thru a door and right there was a lady driving a free aiport shuttle bus.  We asked her if she knew where we should go and she said, "you caught me a little off guard because  I was just coming into this hallway to go to the restroom, but your needs are greater than mine, so hop on."  We graciously did and she took us to exactly wehre we needed to be which was truely a blessing since it was AT LEAST a mile or more, that she drove us in airport that we would have otherwise had to walk.  Once getting to the gate and getting ready to board the plane the lady in charge saw that we had our hands full with our children and carry on luggage and allowed us to go ahead of everyone else in line along with those people who were in wheelchairs and crutches to board the plane.  Another God thing.  We flew from Miami  to Sao Paulo, Brazil (an 8 hour flight).  The flight was overnight but between taking care of the needs of all of our children, Nathan and I didn't get very much sleep.  They served us supper and breakfast on the plane ride to Brazil.  The breakfast was served at 4 a.m. which was really midnight our time back in the states.  The boys slept thru breakfast and Lydia, Nathan and I ate a midnight breakfast. 

11/12/14 -We arrived in Brazil at 6:30 a.m. and then had to board our next plane at 7:30 a.m.   We didn't have much time in Sao Paulo airport to wait.  Our next flight was 2 hours long from 8-10 a.m, which we all slept most of the way.  When we arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 11/12/14 after going through customs and getting all our luggage (which everything of ours arrived safely) we were greeted by Elizabeth (who arrived in Buenos Aires a day earlier than us, from Illinois) and Heriberto Bueno (who lives in Buenos Aires with his wife).  We got all of our luggage packed into two vehicles and headed straight to the bus terminal to see about bus tickets to Choele Choel.  They had a 1 p.m. bus service to Choele, so we took that one.  We were very hungry by not but the bus station had told Elizabeth and Heriberto that we would have lunch and supper on the bus, so we decided to wait since the bus was coming very shortly.  We boarded the bus at 1 pm and left Elizabeth and Heriberto in Buenos Aires (since Elizabeth's luggage had gotten lost en route to BA).  We were now headed to Choele Choel where we will be living on a 13 hour bus ride even further south in Argentina.  As the hours ticked on riding the bus we never recieved lunch.  We were hungry.  By 5 or 6 p.m. at night we were desperate for some food but we still had hope for supper coming.  Nathan found some Chex mix at the bottom of our bag and it felt like a glorious feast.  It held us over but we were still hungry for supper.  It was getting dark outside now and we still hadn't been served supper.  Then Nathan started talking to a couple who were believers in Jesus and were headed to Neuquen on the bus.  They could hear our children fussing because they were hungry and they gave us all the food they had which was a small sandwich and round pieces of hard white bread.  They told Nathan that the bus would stop in Bahia Blanca and there he may be able to get out and buy some food.  He did just that at 11pm at night.  We were never more thankful for a sandwich and empanadas that tasted like a feast.  I knew we would be ok then.  Phillipians 4:12-14.  The kind couple told the bus driver our plight and they also gave us all the rest of their bottled water to drink.  We arrived in Choele then at 2 a.m.

11/13/14 Day 1
We slept in and then had breakfast at Delbert and Frieda Erb's house.  Today we spend unpacking and cleaning our apartment.  We also went with Delbert to the grocery store to buy some groceries.

11/14/14 Day 2
Elizabeth arrived this moring after retrieving her lost luggage in BA and we all went grocery shopping together.  She will be staying in the apartment right next to ours.  We had lunch at Juan and Ami Sieber's house and spend the rest of the afternoon there.  At ~8:30pm we walked to the playground for the kids to play and then to the Heladaderia for helado(icecream).

11/15/14 Day 3
Yeah!  We were brought a washing machine and baby bed for Liam.  Two things I thought that we wouldn't have while we were here.  I am so grateful for both of these things.  I went to the grocery store today to buy our food for the day and we unsuccessfully tried to take a nap in the afternoon.  The kids eating and sleeping schedule is still on Illinois time which is a three hour difference from here.  It will take some time to adjust. 

11/16/14 Day 4
I made breakfast and something for lunch this morning before it got too hot in the house to cook.  We also took a walkt to explore more of the town with Elizabeth this morning.  We found another playground and the kids played there for awhile.  Liam has been having a fever for the past two days but he seems to be doing better today.  This evening at 7pm aa of the four church zones met in the central church building very close to where we are living to worship Jesus.  Our two older children even went to the Sunday school that they had for kids.  We had a wonderful time worshipping in Spanish and seeing so many familiar faces from last time we were here.  This lasted from 7-9:30pm.

My Argentina Life continued....

What a privilege for the Lord to use us (You and Me) in the big scheme of reaching people for Jesus right where we are at.  We never anticipated that that would take us to Argentina again but we are humbled and thankful all the same.  In April 2014, as we were driving home from somewhere Nathan asked me, "Hmm, I wonder what it would take/be like for us to go to Argentina again, now that we have children."  It was kind of a rhetorical question because he quickly gave the answer before I responded, "probably not until our children are much older."  To which I responded if the Lord led us there it would be wonderful no matter what our children's ages.  Even then the Lord was planting seeds in our mind and preparing us for Argentina again.  For Nathan to be a little more reserved and I to be the one willing and ready was only a God thing because usually it is the other way around with Nathan being the more adventurous one and me being the one that NEEDS to know all of the details before I'm all in.

A couple of weeks later Juan came to our house for supper, He's from Argentina visiting people in Illinois and the various mission sites here.  He asked us if we would consider spending some time this winter in Argentina again and we said YES.  The rest is History... or should I say His Story.  Each one of our lives is His story if we will let Him lead us.  So for now we are planning on spending 5 months this winter in Argentina and making preparations in plans to be there November 11th 2014 thru the end of March 2015.