March forward

Hee hee.. did you catch my play on words... it is finally March and for us it is time to "march forward."  Arriving to March has been a goal of mine since we started packing our house in Buffalo.  I knew back then that it would take at least six months to get settled in and a year to feel at home.  I knew that would come in the Fall (which is in March here), we would have some kind of routine in place once the kids were in school and things at church would go into full swing after the summer.

And so it is... Isa has started school on the 2nd. He is loving it, though I worry about how long his school day is.  He leaves about 7:45 and doesn't get home till about 4:45. He is going to a bi-lingual school and is enjoying his new friends.  I totally respect him.  He began school at the end of the school year last year.  He was there from Oct. to Dec.  He began without speaking any Spanish.  Now, he speaks and communicates well.  I am amazed and blessed by his transition.  Thank you for your prayers, God has answered them.  Keep them coming for a good school year =).  "S"  will begin pre-school next Monday.  She will be going to a school nearer to us and is only in Spanish.  We also had the option to send "A," but we have decided to let her stay home and enjoy one more year with her mommy.

On the ministry side, things are starting to pick up.  "K" today will be visiting one of the "villas" that is predominantly Paraguayan. He will be going with the director of the social service ministry as well as one of our youth (that is no longer as young as we remember hee hee).  In this location there is a group of carpenters that want to learn to make kitchen cabinets, so it is a perfect way for "K" to make contacts into this community as well as laying the groundwork in this area for the vocational school.  Please keep all this covered in prayer!  Keep his safety in prayer as violence in the villas is very high.

For me, "C", I have met and will continue meeting with my cell group weekly and we are now doing a book study.  I am excited because I also have started meeting with a key leader to plan out the Bible school for the leaders in the church.  We are preparing the curriculum and classes and hope to begin meeting with our teachers in the next few weeks and then kick off soon after. Again keep this in prayer.  The church is in a very hard place and is walking through many transitions.

Ok, this blog entry has gotten long.  We will attempt to write more often. Still getting used to  the whole blog thing... Feel free to send questions or ideas of what you would like to see discussed on the blog.  That will help me with entry topics =) Blessings!! 

Un dia con Jesus/ A day with Jesus

"A day with Jesus" was the name given to the day we as a church, La Mision, went to spend a day outdoors.  It was a mixture of retreat, church picnic, church outdoors and so much more. It was a time to eat and fellowship together.  Many enjoyed playing sports, others enjoyed the sunshine and conversations, some lucky few even got an outdoor nap.  My favorite was having our Sunday service outside!  There is just something about worshipping God outdoors; I love it.  I love to sense His creation around me as we sing to Him and hear His word. I think there is just a little kid in all of us that just likes to be outside.  It was a wonderful time for all.  Isa even got to have some birthday cake with his church buddies.   "A Day with Jesus,"  a day with His followers, His creation, His presence...  

Our trip to Gualeguaychu

 

Our time in Gualeguaychu with the youth was wonderful.  We want to thank everyone who was praying for us and the youth.   The youth did a tremendous job each day in the heat.  They lived and worked in one of the schools in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the area.  Each day the youth did work in the school and then prepared for an outreach event in the different neighborhoods in the area.  The evening events had crowds from 40 people to 100. Then the  next day they would meet with contacts made the previous night to speak further and connect them to the church  we were working with.  We were so impressed with the youth's commitment and drive as well as hard work.

When asked what impacted them the most; the youth shared that the time of "evaluation " each day is what impacted them.  This was a time set apart each day to share and clear the air within the group if anything needed to be discussed.  Here the youth were able to work out differences and minister to each other.  It always  amazes me how we always receive more than we give when we go on these trips.  The youth were able to grow as a group and truly learn to love each other more.

For us this trip was unique in the sense it was the first in which we were balancing family and ministry.  We thank God that we were able to do both and incorporate our children where ever possible.  Isa and the girls loved attending the children's festivals and they got very attached to the clowns.  K was able to build some shelving for the Pastor and C enjoyed helping wherever needed as well as encouraging the youth throughout our time there.  

We praise God for all the seeds that were planted, the lives that were touched and the hearts that were changed!

Preparing for Gualeguaychu

It is amazing to me to sit and write about a trip to Gualeguaychu.  Mostly because six years ago, almost exactly to the date (off by a few weeks) K went with the youth on a mission trip to this same city and this same sister congregation.  I was not able to attend because I had just had Isa two days before the trip and was recovering from a c-section; not to mention I had a newborn to adjust to.  (needless to say I was clueless in thinking it was fine to let K go and he was clueless for going, nonetheless it all worked out=)  Anyways, I remember being left with the sense of "man I wish I could go"  Well, here we are 6 yrs later and it is the night before we join the youth in Gualeguaychu as a family. We are so excited to see what God will do.  

We wanted to post the schedule so that those that could and were willing to commit to pray for each day and the events could do so.  So here goes:

Monday

Travel time

Evangelistic Outreach in Zabale

Tuesday

Visit contacts made at the outreach in Zabale

Working on fixing a local school

Evangelistic outreach in La Cuchilla

Wednesday

Zim's travel

Visit contacts made the previous night at La Cuchilla

Continue working on a local school 

Evangelistic outreach in Sagrado Corazon

Thursday

Visit contacts made the previous night in Sagrado Corazon

Continue working on a local school

Children's festival in La Cuchilla

Friday

Children's Fesitval

Work projects at the local school

Evangelistic outreach in Plaza San Martin

Saturday

Free time during the day

Youth meeting during the evening

Sunday

Church service with our sister congregation

Return to Buenos Aires

An Event "Full" Weekend

Happy 2009 everyone!  Ours has begun with quite the event filled weekend.  We are enjoying the summer here in Buenos Aires. this past weekend we spent time with our church friends picnicing.  Friday we had a wonderful time with some young families with children; our kids litteraly climbed from tree to tree.  It was a great time of fellowship. Then on Saturday, we attended the annual presbytery soccer tournament!  Now this is a big event; the youth and the not so "youth" play on teams representing their church.  The winner gets a trophey, but more importantly the joy of beating the other churches.  We had a great time watching the matches and cheering for La Mision. K played and he did pretty well considering he hasn't played for six years.  Our kids just so enjoyed being with the youth.  We had some great qualitiy time with the youth as well as the adults that attended.  It was good to continue to build these relationships especially as we prepare to head on a mission trip with them in about a week.  Of course no picnic in the summer is complete without a good ole water fight, and boy was it a water fight.

Our weekend ended with an event of a different type.  We share it only to give glory to God for His protection and to ask you to continue to pray for God's protection on our family.  Coming home from church we pulled into our driveway.  I had come into the house already and K was getting "A" out of the car when two men came up to him and asked him for the keys to the car.  K was able to look into their eyes and told them to leave with authority.  Meanwhile the other guy tried to get his wallet out of K's pocket.. again K told him to leave.  Thankfully K had noticed the gun he had was fake, thank God they didn't grab A, thank God they didn't come in the house since both the gate and the door were wide open! God was here watching over us. Then when we called the cops, the cop that came to take the report was named Angel!  We got such a kick out of that.. we knew God was here and His angels were protecting us!  

We praise God for this event Full weekend and we know He was in it in every moment! May we continue to see him every moment of 2009!

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Posted are some pictures of the Isa and S Sunday school class at the christmas program at La Mision.  Isa played Joseph and S was an angel. All the children sang beautifully.

New Home

We are finally posting some pictures of our new home.  We are so thankful to the Lord for our duplex.  It is perfect with lots of room for our family as well as for having people over! 

 

The kids are especially enjoying the patio.