Thursday, May 31, 2007

Preparing for a busy week

These past couple of days have been kind of calm. However, this is nice because we have a very busy next couple of days. Everyone in the house has had some kind of sickness..colds, sore throats, tiredness... so we are trying to rest up and get well. We have a girls' night tomorrow, pastors conference (Mr. Donell only), marriage conference, and trip to La Rioja all back to back.

Please pray for our girls' night tomorrow night. Amy and I are really excited about this opportunity with these girls to explains God's call for beauty. I was reading today in 1 Peter 3 in preparation for tomorrow and was reminded about how our beauty must come from an inner, quiet and submissive spirit. Just the opposite of what the world tells us about beauty. (Amy wants to show a little video clip to the girls tomorrow in preparation for the short devotion from: http://www.dove.ca/doveselfesteemfund/tv_ad It's really focused on self-esteem, but it makes a point.) Please pray that we would take advantage of every opportunity for spiritual conversations with these girls.

Amy and I at first were a little paranoid about the girls having lice. So this afternoon, Mrs. Donell and I did a "Lice Check" with some of the girls. They look clear...but still. In reality, whether they have lice or not, they still need our love and the truth of the Gospel just the same. Coming to this realization has been convicting. As Ian keeps reminding us, "Lice for Christ."

-Kristen

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Downtown

Here are just a few pictures from today. I walked downtown to the church several times today. These are a few shots of the town.





















This morning the skies cleared up, and we had beautiful snow on the mountains. Here's a picture of the view.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Hot Tea Time


It's definetly hot tea time now with this freezing weather. Like they said, it snowed much of the day today.. only "flurries" though. It has been overcast, snowy/rainy, and bitterly cold all day. Amy and I walked downtown twice today to do some errands. When we finally got back tonight around 8:00pm after walking around town for a couple hours, it felt so good to be in the warm home with soup and a hot cup of tea. She and Claudio had several wedding plans we were working on..things are really coming together.

After our successful night with girls last Friday, we are planning another one! This time, next Friday, we are going to have a beauty parlor to wash and style to girls' hair and do their nails. Amy and I want to take the opportunity to present to the girls the call for inner beauty. As Christian women, our true beauty must come from our love and devotion to the Lord. Please pray for these opportunities as the girls seem very excited about the night.
Excited about the opportunities ahead,
Kristen

Sunday, May 27, 2007

The weather outside is frightful...


They are predicting snow up in the mountains. It looks like snow clouds outside. We shall see...
-kristen

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Spending Time with Girls

Last night Amy and I had the girl's night that we had been talking about doing for a while. We saw this as a great opportunity to spend time with the a few, particular young girls between 11-13. They are beginning to think on their own, yet they are still very teachable. Here is a picture of the group of girls. Here are two pictures of us. The first one: Veronica, Gemina, Micaela, Ayalen, Me, Nyer, and Camila on below. The other picture is of Amy and I. Amy thought that only one or two would come, but it turned out really nice. We ordered pizza and watched "Nacho Libre." I was told it is very funny, but it kind of lost its funniness for me because it was dubbed over in Spanish with English subtitles. After the movie, I got a chance to explain to the girls why I am here and my testimony. It was a great opportunity, and they seemed interested. Afterwards, we just hung out, laughed, played silly middle school games (HUH-for those of you who are familiar), and showed the girls that we really wanted to get to know them. Some of them begged us for another night like this to spend time together! The girls left around 11:30pm, early for many of them. Afterward, Amy and I talked about how we can further reach these girls whose parents often discourage them to participate in anything related to the Gospel. Please pray for the many opportunities that might come from this. We hope to do several more of these nights and ask other older Christian girls in the church to share their testimony each time, however we don't have that many.

Last night, two of the girls (sisters) who live down the street begged to come over today. This is a picture of Ayalen (12), Me, and Nyer (10). The older sister, Ayalen has some tests next week, so we told them to come over with some homework and I would help them. Faithfully, they came over around 3:30pm and worked on homework and simple math flash cards - it is an interesting experience tutoring someone in Biology in Spanish! We had a blast, and she seems ready. I promised the girls when we were finished we would play a game and listen to their favorite music - High School Musical soundtrack. We played "Guess Who?" and "Life" while listening to High School Musical. It's so funny when they don't speak English, but they sing the songs in English! They don't know what the words mean nor do they know how to say them, but they sure can sing the tune. We played for several hours and just had a great time. I see this as a wonderful door to building stronger relationships with them and showing them the way that the Gospel changes lives.

So, along with doing the book table out in the park this morning, that was the day. Oh... here are some pictures of the view from Amy's bedroom of the other day when there was snow on the mountain. It was really beautiful.













Last, but not least, the missionary, Don Donell, hard at work at the book table this morning.We work very hard here in Latin America ;).

I would love to hear from you all. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
-kristen

"Locro" on "El Feriado"

We did a lot yesterday and had a great cultural experience. As I mentioned before, yesterday was a "Feriado" (holiday) so we went over to the Molina's house to celebrate. (Here is a picture of the view of Carlos Paz from their porch.) On national holidays, Argentines typically eat a stew called "Locro" as you can see in the pictures.
This is a very authentic stew that is a combination of different cultural aspects from over the years. It has a pumpkin/squash based broth with homeny, sausage, "tripa gorda" and an onion and green pepper relish on top. Most people in this area eat their "Locro" with "tripa gorda" (the last part of the cow intestine - these are the little rings you see). Bilma was very sweet and made us a pot without "tripa gorda." Before serving Locro they slice up "queso creamosa" which is kind of like cream cheese and put it in the bottom of their bowls. Here is my bowl with the "queso cremosa" and without "tripa gorda".
It was really an interesting experience. Personally, it was okay - not really my favorite stew, but it wasn't bad. Mrs. Donell's homemade bread and cheesecake were still the best.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Molina's fellowship and laughed so much. Also, the Donell's got the Molina's a coffee maker (so they could have coffee when at their house), and the Molina's thought it was just the greatest thing in the world. We had many laughs, knowing the Donell's real reason for the coffee maker. ;) This is the the Molina's kitchen while the "Locro" was still cooking.

I still have more to tell you about our girls' night last night..but I'll have to do that later. I love you all and would love to hear from you anytime. =)


-kristen

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Teaching Ian


I spent most of today teaching Ian so that Mrs. Donell could prepare for our "feriado" (holiday) tomorrow. Tomorrow's a national holiday celebrating the beginning of the war of Independence for Argentina. We're going over to the Molina's for lunch to celebrate with "locro" (an authentic Argentine stew). I'm excited; this should be very neat cultural experience and great fellowship. Then, at seven, we're having some girls over just to hang out and build relationships with them.

Ian and I had a good school day. He does so much work! I am impressed but worn out. Around 3:45, when we had been working for several hours and still had some to go, Mrs. Donell brought out lemonade and fresh muffins. They were so good, and was so sweet of her. That motivated us to finish finally around 4:15pm.

The days are getting much colder now. By night, it is quite cold. A few days ago, I woke up to see snow on the mountaintops across the city. This morning our grass was lightly covered in frost. It's funny to think that some of you are wearing shorts in the hot weather!

-kristen

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Creating tracts



Just to give you an idea of the tracts and brochures that I have been working on. Here is the "Quest for Joy" tract I just finished. Enjoy the pictures.

Downtown

Mr. Donell and I at the book table - Saturday morning

Amy and Claudio

Veronica and Gemina

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Sunday afternoon greetings

A couple days have passed since my last blog entry, and I wanted to updated you all. I apologize for no pictures, I have honesty been working so much that I have not gotten around to taking any pictures. (Then, when I wanted to take some pictures, the camera was dead, and I lost the battery, but I found it today.)

Anyways, I have been doing a lot a computer work lately. We have a marriage retreat coming up in June, so Amy and I have been doing a lot to get ready for that. I created a brochure that we passed out at church today. We are hoping to have about 10-12 couples. This will be a wonderful opportunity to define and explain a Gospel centered marriage, a concept foreign to many Argentines. Just to give a perspective, most people do not actually get married here. They just live together and become "Common Law" married. They do not want to go through the complication of commitment and divorce. So... we see this "Reforming Marriage" retreat as a great opportunity.

On Friday, I went to Karate with Ian. That was an interesting experience to watch the kids from all different levels all do their karate lessons together. Ian is very focused and does a great job.

Saturday morning, Amy, Mr. Donell, and I set up a book table down at the park downtown. It went really well. We passed out several tracts and talked with a number of people. We gave away about eight books, which is quite a number. Mr. Donell even sat down to talk with a man, Ector, who had been by the table a couple other times. He told Mr. Donell that he wanted to come to our services on Sunday, and he was actually there today. (Often people say they will come and never actually do.) Ector seemed genuninly interested in the Gospel.

Later, I created a "Quest for Joy" tract from Desiring God Ministries in Spanish because we are running out of tracts. We are also working on creating a Spanish songbook for the church.

Yesterday afternoon, we went to find a wedding place for Amy and Claudio. It was really beautiful! I am so excited for those of you who plan to come to the wedding (Oct.4). It will definitely be a neat cultural experience.

Today, the Lord's day, we had the morning service. This is a time of sining, memory/catechism work, and Sunday School. During Sunday School, I watched to babies so the parents could go to the service. Tonight, at 7:00pm, we will have the main worship service. Right after the service, Mr. and Mrs. Donell left for San Nicholas. Amy and I are here to "man" the house until late tomorrow afternoon. I am glad to help out teaching Ian because it will free Amy up to prepare her English classes.

So anyways, that is what's going on. I think my Spanish is coming along, but I still get easily overwhelmed\nervous with people I don't know very well. I love you all and miss you much. Hopefully next time, I will have some pictures of Carlos Paz and the book table. (The ARE on Amy's camera, but the Donell's took it to San Nicholas.)

Un besito y mucho cariƱo,
Kristen

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Enjoying the beautiful fall weather

Well, I am enjoying the beautiful fall weather here in Carlos Paz. The trees are just now turning slightly brown and orange, and the nights are a little chilly.

My trip here went very well, only a few little confusions - not a problem. I got in a wrong line in Peru, but considering it was 12AM and my flight was not until 1:35AM I had plenty of time, especially with a smaller crowd. My flight from Lima, Peru to Santiago, Chile was only three hours but the time change in the middle of the night and landing at 5:45AM local time was a little tiring. I arrived in Cordoba, ARG around 10:00AM local time and met Amy and Mr. Donell a little after that.

We went out for lunch and just spent time in encouraging fellowship. The Donell's fellowship has been a wonderful blessing. We talked about some ways that we can reach a few particular teenage girls who are quickly being lured by the world and its fleeting pleasures. Amy and I would like to have a movie night soon to simply get to know these girls and show then that we want to love them as friends. Lord willing, I can share my testimony with them to explain the reason why I am here and what it means to be a Christian. Please pray for this opportunity as many Argentines tend to act interested but will not actually come.

This afternoon I went for a run in the chilly fall weather - perfect running weather. Claudio, Amy's fiance has been over, and it has been good to see him again. His English is coming along so well. Speaking of which, I think that I am going to go with Amy to her English classes tomorrow. A great chance to spend time with Claudio and Veronica as they study English.

I love you all and will write more later.