Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Home
Well, I don't really know if the title for this post is really fitting. I do feel like I am at home at Asbury, but it is not the home that I have grown up in, yet home also felt a bit like Argentina somehow.
I did arrive safely, the flights were all on time, and no baggage was lost. The 8 hour layover is Chile was as painless as any 8 hour layover could be, as the longest part of the trip for me was actually the last 2 hours in the car from Louisville.
On the last plane ride, I had a very interesting conversation with a man from England that the Lord brought to me. We talked about religion and his frustrations with hypocritical Christians who seem to be in it just for the money. I pointed him to a passage in Romans that I had just read warning believers not to judge others which fit with the conversation perfectly. I was also able to witness to him and encourage him to seek the Lord even though his current wife and stepson are making his life not exactly peaches and cream. I didn't get his name and doubt I will ever see him again, but I was glad to have made the most of that plane ride from Dallas to Louisville as I slept from Santiago to Dallas.
Classes start tomorrow and I've still got a bit more unpacking to do. It's off to bed and onto the races for a very full day. Thank you all so much for keeping up with my blog! I am excited to see how the Lord works through our team even after we are gone.
God bless!
I did arrive safely, the flights were all on time, and no baggage was lost. The 8 hour layover is Chile was as painless as any 8 hour layover could be, as the longest part of the trip for me was actually the last 2 hours in the car from Louisville.
On the last plane ride, I had a very interesting conversation with a man from England that the Lord brought to me. We talked about religion and his frustrations with hypocritical Christians who seem to be in it just for the money. I pointed him to a passage in Romans that I had just read warning believers not to judge others which fit with the conversation perfectly. I was also able to witness to him and encourage him to seek the Lord even though his current wife and stepson are making his life not exactly peaches and cream. I didn't get his name and doubt I will ever see him again, but I was glad to have made the most of that plane ride from Dallas to Louisville as I slept from Santiago to Dallas.
Classes start tomorrow and I've still got a bit more unpacking to do. It's off to bed and onto the races for a very full day. Thank you all so much for keeping up with my blog! I am excited to see how the Lord works through our team even after we are gone.
God bless!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Our Last Day In Mendoza
Tomorrow we head back home. Wilmore seems so distant somehow even though we have just been here a little over a week. Then again, it seems like we just got here, so I'm still trying to sort out this trip in my head.
We spent the earlier part of today shopping at various tourist shops, then ventured to the mall's food court to order on our own! From there, we spent some time at Hugo's house playing ping pong tournaments and setting up their new Wii. Then, we headed to the Archer's house again to eat a pre-dinner dinner and get ready for the youth service at the church downtown.
We arrived at the youth service a bit later than we had hoped, but we were still welcomed with warm greetings and began with an absolutely riduculus skit involving our whole team. As Vince was presenting our team, we would get up in groups and act like chickens, air planes, and monkeys. He asked us why we thought we were these things, and we answered, "Because we eat corn; because we live in an airport, etc." Finally, the last of our team interrupted with praise to God, and explained that they were Christians because they went to church, read the Bible, and did good works. This segwayed into the message about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Then, Elizabeth Lloyd gave her testimony which Joel faithfully translated into Spanish, and one of the youth there gave a testimony as well. The main message given to us by Mr. Archer (Vince), was followed by a time for socializing and snacks. Rose and her husband also arrived at this time to present our team with t-shirts from AMAD and thanked us again for our work there this week.
I am definitely sad to be leaving this place, but motivated to get this video out so that more can learn about the needs of the AMAD ministry.
Well, I had better get to packing! We have to get up in just a few hours to head to the airport! I will post one last time to let you all know that I've made it home safely.
God Bless!
We spent the earlier part of today shopping at various tourist shops, then ventured to the mall's food court to order on our own! From there, we spent some time at Hugo's house playing ping pong tournaments and setting up their new Wii. Then, we headed to the Archer's house again to eat a pre-dinner dinner and get ready for the youth service at the church downtown.
We arrived at the youth service a bit later than we had hoped, but we were still welcomed with warm greetings and began with an absolutely riduculus skit involving our whole team. As Vince was presenting our team, we would get up in groups and act like chickens, air planes, and monkeys. He asked us why we thought we were these things, and we answered, "Because we eat corn; because we live in an airport, etc." Finally, the last of our team interrupted with praise to God, and explained that they were Christians because they went to church, read the Bible, and did good works. This segwayed into the message about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Then, Elizabeth Lloyd gave her testimony which Joel faithfully translated into Spanish, and one of the youth there gave a testimony as well. The main message given to us by Mr. Archer (Vince), was followed by a time for socializing and snacks. Rose and her husband also arrived at this time to present our team with t-shirts from AMAD and thanked us again for our work there this week.
I am definitely sad to be leaving this place, but motivated to get this video out so that more can learn about the needs of the AMAD ministry.
Well, I had better get to packing! We have to get up in just a few hours to head to the airport! I will post one last time to let you all know that I've made it home safely.
God Bless!
The Send-Off
Last night, we arrived at AMAD for our farewell banquet/celebration of all the work that our team and the other workers had accomplished. After we had all greeted each other with kisses, we made our way into the gymnasium that we had been working to paint and put a ceililng in. Chachi and I were on standby to give our testimonies, and actually began the ceremony with them. Mine went a lot better than expected as far as nerves are concerned, and I think people were encouraged by it.
Later, we showed a slideshow of pictures from the week both of our team working and the children at AMAD. Oohs and Ahhs filled the room, as well as the occassional outburst of laughter at some of the pictures. At around 10:30pm, dinner was served, and I must say Edgardo outdid himself as this was by far the best meal of the trip! He had cooked outstanding chicken that fell apart as you ate it, potatoes with herbs, onions, and garlic, and some vegetables here and there.
At the end of the meal, some of the workers at AMAD began throwing balled up napkins at each other, so our team joined in by all throwing little napkin balls all at once. This, of course, escalated to little pieces of bread, and then bigger pieces of bread! As the clock ticked past midnight, then past 1 am, we began to tire, and made our way to the cars after saying our final goodbyes. I was definitely sad to leave, and am motivated to get this video out so that their ministry can grow.
Today is a fun day for our team. We'll spend part of the day shopping at little tourist shops, then playing some serious ping pong, and finally packing and debriefing from the trip. At some point, I need to get team interviews. This may happen today or might have to wait until we are at the airport in Chile for our 8-hour layover.
Well, this has been a great trip, and again I thank you all for your prayers and support!
Bendiciones!
Later, we showed a slideshow of pictures from the week both of our team working and the children at AMAD. Oohs and Ahhs filled the room, as well as the occassional outburst of laughter at some of the pictures. At around 10:30pm, dinner was served, and I must say Edgardo outdid himself as this was by far the best meal of the trip! He had cooked outstanding chicken that fell apart as you ate it, potatoes with herbs, onions, and garlic, and some vegetables here and there.
At the end of the meal, some of the workers at AMAD began throwing balled up napkins at each other, so our team joined in by all throwing little napkin balls all at once. This, of course, escalated to little pieces of bread, and then bigger pieces of bread! As the clock ticked past midnight, then past 1 am, we began to tire, and made our way to the cars after saying our final goodbyes. I was definitely sad to leave, and am motivated to get this video out so that their ministry can grow.
Today is a fun day for our team. We'll spend part of the day shopping at little tourist shops, then playing some serious ping pong, and finally packing and debriefing from the trip. At some point, I need to get team interviews. This may happen today or might have to wait until we are at the airport in Chile for our 8-hour layover.
Well, this has been a great trip, and again I thank you all for your prayers and support!
Bendiciones!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Day 8 - Last Day at AMAD
Well folks, our time here is wrapping up quickly! It's been a really great trip so far, and while I am sad to leave, I feel that we have accomplished a considerable amount in the time that we have been here. Today we took a half day at AMAD, taking pictures and trying to finish up construction projects as best we could, and have spent a few hours at our homes resting up for a late night tonight at AMAD. If I haven't described it before, tonight is sort of a send-off banquet/celebration for our team and the progress made at AMAD. Dinner will be served probably around 10p, which is normal for Argentina, and will be followed by some sort of ceremony where Rosa will speak, as well as our own team. I will be one of the speakers giving my testimony, so pray that I speak with confidence. It will nto be very long, and I will have a translator so I will not have to worry about trying to translate as I go. We will probably be there until after 1am with about 80 other workers and their families.
Tomorrow is our last day here. We will spend the day doing typical "toursit" things, packing, and debriefing. Then Sunday, it's off to the airport early in the morning to head back to Wilmore!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support - this trip could not be possible without you!
Tomorrow is our last day here. We will spend the day doing typical "toursit" things, packing, and debriefing. Then Sunday, it's off to the airport early in the morning to head back to Wilmore!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support - this trip could not be possible without you!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Day 7 - A Twist
Hola! I apologize ahead of time that this blog is coming in so late - as a preview, I will tell you that today was much more like a mission trip than any other in that we ran into some discouragements along the way.
First of all, we have not lost heart and are still in this race to the finish. With that said, let me tell you about our day. Our first surprise came in the morning when our dearly beloved Rachel had woken up several times in the night sick. Thankfully, she was the only one who had gotten sick and spent most of the day back at the house resting. She is feeling much better now. As for myself, I felt a little queezy in the morning, but it went away not too long after lunch. The team did not have as much work to do at the construction site since the pool was pretty much complete and the tasks that were left only required a few people. I spent much of the day filming the last necessary shots for the AMAD video, and got everything recorded that I needed to, which is a huge praise! Tomorrow, I will get some more "artistic" shots just in case, as well as filming interviews of our team about the trip since it will be our last working day.
There were some fun aspects to the day as well - the therapists at AMAD brought out some of the older students to the gym that our team had been working to paint and put a ceiling in. Not only did they get to see the progress, they got to help put the top coat of paint on a part of the wall! They got even more excited when Thomas offered himself as an alternate canvas for painting, which resulted in even more smiles and excellent video footage.
As we were loading up the cars to go back home, we realized that one of the car batteries had died. Since it was a manual, the guys pushed it a bit in reverse and we got it started that way. However, the car completely died again at a pretty big intersection, so the guys jumped out of the cars as quickly as possible, ran behind the car, and pushed as fast as they could into the nearby gas station. Alas, the car still would not start. This put a dent into our evening plans, but we were able to make it back to our house with only about 30 minutes delay - and we made it back safely.
We will be without a 2nd car until at least tomorrow noon, so getting all of us to the worksite on time will be difficult, but possible with taxis. Pray that we would have renewed vision for our work and that we would not get discouraged by the obstacles along the way.
First of all, we have not lost heart and are still in this race to the finish. With that said, let me tell you about our day. Our first surprise came in the morning when our dearly beloved Rachel had woken up several times in the night sick. Thankfully, she was the only one who had gotten sick and spent most of the day back at the house resting. She is feeling much better now. As for myself, I felt a little queezy in the morning, but it went away not too long after lunch. The team did not have as much work to do at the construction site since the pool was pretty much complete and the tasks that were left only required a few people. I spent much of the day filming the last necessary shots for the AMAD video, and got everything recorded that I needed to, which is a huge praise! Tomorrow, I will get some more "artistic" shots just in case, as well as filming interviews of our team about the trip since it will be our last working day.
There were some fun aspects to the day as well - the therapists at AMAD brought out some of the older students to the gym that our team had been working to paint and put a ceiling in. Not only did they get to see the progress, they got to help put the top coat of paint on a part of the wall! They got even more excited when Thomas offered himself as an alternate canvas for painting, which resulted in even more smiles and excellent video footage.
As we were loading up the cars to go back home, we realized that one of the car batteries had died. Since it was a manual, the guys pushed it a bit in reverse and we got it started that way. However, the car completely died again at a pretty big intersection, so the guys jumped out of the cars as quickly as possible, ran behind the car, and pushed as fast as they could into the nearby gas station. Alas, the car still would not start. This put a dent into our evening plans, but we were able to make it back to our house with only about 30 minutes delay - and we made it back safely.
We will be without a 2nd car until at least tomorrow noon, so getting all of us to the worksite on time will be difficult, but possible with taxis. Pray that we would have renewed vision for our work and that we would not get discouraged by the obstacles along the way.
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