It was a long, but good day.
Again, could not get up in time to make it to 6 am prayer. Just too stinking tired with this lingering illness to get up that early. In fact, early is the worst time. I force myself to get up at 7 - 7:15 in order to get Nate up and start getting him ready for school. We have to be out the door at 7:45 am so he needs a minimum of 1/2 an hour to dress, eat, go to the bathroom, wake up, etc. While he is doing that, I am doing the same, basically.
I have started drinking a lot of Yerba Mate (a strong green tea that is extremely popular in Argentina) for breakfast. I figure it is hot (because the house is super cold in the morning), healthy (since I am trying to get over this lingering illness), and helps wash all the junk off of my sore throat and make it feel better. - Ha, even as I write about it, my mouth is starting to salivate, I can taste the mate, and I am getting a little buzz. How's that for the power of suggestion. Pavlov would be happy. : )
Anyways, got Nate off to school, came home very cold and keep drinking more mate as I pressed forward trying to spend time in God's Word and Prayer. It was a challenge, but I managed to stay on target and keep moving forward. I am not a morning person. lol.
Jonny & AJ got up a little later. Jonny is more of a morning person than Aliana. : ) She is down right surly in the morning. You have to stay out of her way. Jonny is tired, but more pleasant. Poor little thing. She is just like her mom. ha!
The kids played games while Heather walked to the cash machine at the rotunda (about a 15 minutes) and then over to the main post office downtown (about a 30 minute walk) to pick up some packages from her mom that were stopped at customs.
Customs - apparently each person is allowed 1 package of up to $25 in value per year from outside the country. After that, you get to make a trip to the Post Office and go through Customs to get your package. Here is what Heather described to me:
1st. You have to stand in the longest line in the PO - to pick up your package. Ok, but what we did not know is that you have to PAY a holder's fee to get it - 5 pesos ($1.25) per package. You show them your paperwork that came to the house telling you to come pick up your package, sign for it, and than THE GUARD takes the package(s) over to the Customs Area (Aduana) where you stand in line again.
2nd You go through Customs - they read the customs report attached to the envelope/ box, open up each package to verify the contents, make sure it is all yours, take down your personal information, and explain how they charge you for everything. I think our packages came to 64 pesos ($16) to get them out of there. All told, I think it took her about 3 hours. Thankfully, it was well worth it - shipment from my mother-in-law: small presents for everyone! There was quite the little celebration going on at the house today. : )
I also had a good talk with a local who is going through some really hard times. We are trying to have him do some work for us at the house to help them out financially while he is out of work. He has a good attitude considering all that he and his family are going through. He knows that God is trying to teach them some important things and while they are in pain in the process, he knows that it is necessary.
Got some more of the winterizing done today. Not as much as I wanted as I wanted, but the house IS a little warmer tonight. The cold weather is on the way for this weekend, so I guess I will need to get the rest done tomorrow.
There was much more that happened today, but this is all the time and energy I have for today.
See you again soon.
God bless you all and do great things in and through your life -
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Winterize?
Was still too tired and sick to get up on time to go to prayer this morning at the church by 6 am. Until I am 100% over whatever it is that I have, I don't know if I will be making it in the early morning like that. But, I am praying all that I can during the day anyway. Just because I can't make it to one thing does not mean that I can't be logging some serious prayer time at all other times. After all, communication with the master is a key part of being a good servant!
Got up at 7:05 and started getting Nate ready for school. It was incredible cold in the house. Almost as cold inside as it was outside, and it was about 37 degrees outside! The house is very small, only a little over 400 square feet - A living room/ dining room combo, a very small kitchen, the bathroom & 2 small bedrooms. We use a space heater in each of the bedrooms to keep them warmer at night, but it was still "cool." Out in the rest of the house though - wow! Let's just say that we spend as much time as possible in the bedrooms. : )
We can use the stove/ oven to warm the main part of the house, but it runs off of a gas cylinder, not piped in gas. Therefore, your supply is limited and getting refills is a bit sketchy. We do not want to run out of gas again - last time it took us 6 days to get a refill - which means no cooking and no hot water. Bum city.
So, we use our 2 little heaters to try and keep our home warm - which really is just a concrete shell with cold tile floor. Until, we learned tonight from the neighbors that we were using too much electricity and breaking the main circuit at the street - and not just for us, but for all of them too!
The short little street we live on is the cross bar of a "T." The street we sit on top of is older houses with good electric and piped in gas. The gas lines are to small though to be extended to us, so we have to gas tubes. It appears that our electric comes off the end of theirs and one line is being split between 5 homes on our little street. There is a fuse box out on a light pole by the beginning of our street. When the fuse breaks, one of the neighbors goes out to reset it. I thought it was the workers (they are still constructing the other end of the street) who were turning it off. Turns out, we probably were using more than our fair share of electricity and breaking the circuit. We were told that we could only run 1 heater! For the whole house! That is I suppose what everyone else is running.
Well, it is way too cold to do that at night right now. The kids need the heat to sleep well and not get sick & Heather and I are both already sick and can't take the extreme cold all night. We will run both at lower settings in our rooms with the doors closed and just suffer through in the rest of the house. Plus at night, everything else - lights, appliances, etc are all off in everyone's place. We were ok last night so we should be tonight.
I don't know if anyone "winterizes" here, but we need to - especially if we have to limit our electric consumption. I am going to see if I can find sealing strip for the 2 doors, plastic to cover the window and vents, and some kind of trim to seal the bottom of the doors. (There is a generous gap under them!) All put together, it makes for a drafty environment. : ) We'll see what hardware stores carry and try to help shore up the heat from escaping.
On the plus side today - Heather worked her tail off to get our laptops to work with the new printer. It was quite the chore, but she pulled it off somehow. Yea! My wife is too smart. : )
On the minus side, it consumed a lot of time and my space so I didn't get hardly any office work done today. But, I did get some more Scripture memorized in Spanish! Extremely important for the "job." It doesn't really matter how much you know in English, you gotta know it in Spanish for it to do anything here. : )
I have to hit the sack to try and get more sleep and get to feeling better.
Talk to you later
God night and God bless
Got up at 7:05 and started getting Nate ready for school. It was incredible cold in the house. Almost as cold inside as it was outside, and it was about 37 degrees outside! The house is very small, only a little over 400 square feet - A living room/ dining room combo, a very small kitchen, the bathroom & 2 small bedrooms. We use a space heater in each of the bedrooms to keep them warmer at night, but it was still "cool." Out in the rest of the house though - wow! Let's just say that we spend as much time as possible in the bedrooms. : )
We can use the stove/ oven to warm the main part of the house, but it runs off of a gas cylinder, not piped in gas. Therefore, your supply is limited and getting refills is a bit sketchy. We do not want to run out of gas again - last time it took us 6 days to get a refill - which means no cooking and no hot water. Bum city.
So, we use our 2 little heaters to try and keep our home warm - which really is just a concrete shell with cold tile floor. Until, we learned tonight from the neighbors that we were using too much electricity and breaking the main circuit at the street - and not just for us, but for all of them too!
The short little street we live on is the cross bar of a "T." The street we sit on top of is older houses with good electric and piped in gas. The gas lines are to small though to be extended to us, so we have to gas tubes. It appears that our electric comes off the end of theirs and one line is being split between 5 homes on our little street. There is a fuse box out on a light pole by the beginning of our street. When the fuse breaks, one of the neighbors goes out to reset it. I thought it was the workers (they are still constructing the other end of the street) who were turning it off. Turns out, we probably were using more than our fair share of electricity and breaking the circuit. We were told that we could only run 1 heater! For the whole house! That is I suppose what everyone else is running.
Well, it is way too cold to do that at night right now. The kids need the heat to sleep well and not get sick & Heather and I are both already sick and can't take the extreme cold all night. We will run both at lower settings in our rooms with the doors closed and just suffer through in the rest of the house. Plus at night, everything else - lights, appliances, etc are all off in everyone's place. We were ok last night so we should be tonight.
I don't know if anyone "winterizes" here, but we need to - especially if we have to limit our electric consumption. I am going to see if I can find sealing strip for the 2 doors, plastic to cover the window and vents, and some kind of trim to seal the bottom of the doors. (There is a generous gap under them!) All put together, it makes for a drafty environment. : ) We'll see what hardware stores carry and try to help shore up the heat from escaping.
On the plus side today - Heather worked her tail off to get our laptops to work with the new printer. It was quite the chore, but she pulled it off somehow. Yea! My wife is too smart. : )
On the minus side, it consumed a lot of time and my space so I didn't get hardly any office work done today. But, I did get some more Scripture memorized in Spanish! Extremely important for the "job." It doesn't really matter how much you know in English, you gotta know it in Spanish for it to do anything here. : )
I have to hit the sack to try and get more sleep and get to feeling better.
Talk to you later
God night and God bless
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 26th, 2011
I am incredibly tired and have a growing headache so I am going to head to bed soon.
We were up incredibly late last night talking on skype to missionary associate friends in Bolivia, then my mom in WA, and then friends from college in MO. Even though we slept in a little (before the kids got up : ) it still did not feel like enough sleep. I got up with the kids to let Heather try and sleep a little more. Got them munching cereal and drinks while playing or being on the computer.
Later on cooked some lunch for everyone, watched a video with Heather (Bones - TV series), did the dishes, did the laundry, went to the store to buy groceries, washed up all the fruit & veg when I got home and put them away, caught up on line, and got ready for service.
It is very close to freezing now, so walking to church (about 25 minute walk is getting to be not as cool - pun intended). The church ran their heaters for the first time since we have been here. They are small metal grills mounted the wall that glow red hot and put off some desperately needed warmth for the cold concrete shell church. On closer review, you discover that they are actually "on fire!" They run off of natural gas line and not electricity. So be careful if you get too close. There are flames coming out of the front of it! : ) Thankfully that thought through the installation and they are mounted about about 5 feet high on the wall so that little kids do not get into them - including my own. : )
Service was great. There was a warm greeting time before hand - very Latin culture driven. You have to greet everyone if at all possible! No hand shakes will do. It is a hug with a right cheek to right cheek etiquette. It always accompanied by big smiles (they are genuine too. Here, PEOPLE are more important than stuff), and a greeting of "Blessings" or "God bless you Bro/ Sister."
Next we had a little intro and a call to prayer followed by an intense prayer time. It is always one of my favorite times of the service. People are not here to play games or just go through the motions. They are here to meet with God. They WANT to encounter His presence.
Then the worship begins. We have found there to be a VAST range of musical styles employed in different churches here. They range from very cutting edge modern to very old and traditional. They also go for being incredibly professional to very rough. We LOVE the style of worship used at our "home" church here in San Salvador de Jujuy - Centro Cristiano Jujuy. It is very aggressive, upbeat, declarative, cutting edge-modern, and very well done, but without being showy. It is not about being a cool band, it is about encountering and worshiping God! It leans toward a heavy rock sound. We find it extremely enjoyable and easy to focus on God and encounter His presence.
Apparently, even though it is loud, very loud - it is relaxing to Jonny. He is out cold before the end of worship every week! Part of it is his age. At 4 he no longer wants to take a nap, but he needs a nap - if you know what I mean. Well, on Sunday nights he isn't running buck-wild around the house to keep him awake. He is seated in one spot and I think that the atmosphere and the presence of God are like a tonic for him & before you know it...he is out cold. It is rather sweet. Then either Heather or I get the privilege of holding him for the next hour or more while he sleeps soundly. It is a lot of fun. He is still small and cute enough for it. I almost dread the day when he no longer will be.
The pastor, Alberto Sauad, is awesome and we love the messages. They tend to be long - Argentines love long services - but they are very good. The altar times are always awesome too. There is no rush to get out of there. People hit the altars and press in to God. Those who are still in their seats (not many usually) linger in the presence of God. Usually we are one of the early leavers. I don't think it is too much earlier than everyone else, service is about over. But with 3 cranky little ones and an early morning coming up with school, we usually head for the door around 10 pm. Yes, I did say 10 pm. 3 hours or more is not unusual for a service here. : )
The walk home after service was even colder and we could not catch a taxi. The few we saw were all full or headed to a call. It was cool. We make it home in one piece and were just fine.
We hurried through bathroom trips, drinks, and getting into bed. Now that the kids are asleep and I got something to drink, it is our turn.
Good night world. Hope you are doing well.
Love you all and God bless - Peace
We were up incredibly late last night talking on skype to missionary associate friends in Bolivia, then my mom in WA, and then friends from college in MO. Even though we slept in a little (before the kids got up : ) it still did not feel like enough sleep. I got up with the kids to let Heather try and sleep a little more. Got them munching cereal and drinks while playing or being on the computer.
Later on cooked some lunch for everyone, watched a video with Heather (Bones - TV series), did the dishes, did the laundry, went to the store to buy groceries, washed up all the fruit & veg when I got home and put them away, caught up on line, and got ready for service.
It is very close to freezing now, so walking to church (about 25 minute walk is getting to be not as cool - pun intended). The church ran their heaters for the first time since we have been here. They are small metal grills mounted the wall that glow red hot and put off some desperately needed warmth for the cold concrete shell church. On closer review, you discover that they are actually "on fire!" They run off of natural gas line and not electricity. So be careful if you get too close. There are flames coming out of the front of it! : ) Thankfully that thought through the installation and they are mounted about about 5 feet high on the wall so that little kids do not get into them - including my own. : )
Service was great. There was a warm greeting time before hand - very Latin culture driven. You have to greet everyone if at all possible! No hand shakes will do. It is a hug with a right cheek to right cheek etiquette. It always accompanied by big smiles (they are genuine too. Here, PEOPLE are more important than stuff), and a greeting of "Blessings" or "God bless you Bro/ Sister."
Next we had a little intro and a call to prayer followed by an intense prayer time. It is always one of my favorite times of the service. People are not here to play games or just go through the motions. They are here to meet with God. They WANT to encounter His presence.
Then the worship begins. We have found there to be a VAST range of musical styles employed in different churches here. They range from very cutting edge modern to very old and traditional. They also go for being incredibly professional to very rough. We LOVE the style of worship used at our "home" church here in San Salvador de Jujuy - Centro Cristiano Jujuy. It is very aggressive, upbeat, declarative, cutting edge-modern, and very well done, but without being showy. It is not about being a cool band, it is about encountering and worshiping God! It leans toward a heavy rock sound. We find it extremely enjoyable and easy to focus on God and encounter His presence.
Apparently, even though it is loud, very loud - it is relaxing to Jonny. He is out cold before the end of worship every week! Part of it is his age. At 4 he no longer wants to take a nap, but he needs a nap - if you know what I mean. Well, on Sunday nights he isn't running buck-wild around the house to keep him awake. He is seated in one spot and I think that the atmosphere and the presence of God are like a tonic for him & before you know it...he is out cold. It is rather sweet. Then either Heather or I get the privilege of holding him for the next hour or more while he sleeps soundly. It is a lot of fun. He is still small and cute enough for it. I almost dread the day when he no longer will be.
The pastor, Alberto Sauad, is awesome and we love the messages. They tend to be long - Argentines love long services - but they are very good. The altar times are always awesome too. There is no rush to get out of there. People hit the altars and press in to God. Those who are still in their seats (not many usually) linger in the presence of God. Usually we are one of the early leavers. I don't think it is too much earlier than everyone else, service is about over. But with 3 cranky little ones and an early morning coming up with school, we usually head for the door around 10 pm. Yes, I did say 10 pm. 3 hours or more is not unusual for a service here. : )
The walk home after service was even colder and we could not catch a taxi. The few we saw were all full or headed to a call. It was cool. We make it home in one piece and were just fine.
We hurried through bathroom trips, drinks, and getting into bed. Now that the kids are asleep and I got something to drink, it is our turn.
Good night world. Hope you are doing well.
Love you all and God bless - Peace
Soooooo Embarrassing
Wow! Well, I guess there is a first time for everything. Tonight I was sitting in on some youth services at the church we attend. At 6 pm is the Adolescent Service. It for kids ages 13 - 17. Funny little thing I learned, the word for adolescent in Spanish, "adolescente" in parts holds the meaning of "dolor" or "pain." Adolescents are going through a time of incredible change in their lives, bodies, social structures, etc and for many of them it is a time of great emotional "pain" and distress. - Good reason to minister to them, eh!?
This is followed by the Worship Team Practice at 7:30 pm. It is not only a practice time for later that night and for Sunday, but it is a time of intense intercession for those services as well. Very cool.
Then at 9 pm begins the Youth Service. It is not like a typical youth service in the states. For starters, youth, or "jovenes" doesn't start until you are 18 years of age and runs up well into the 20's and 30's. It is probably closer to a College/ Career Ministry in the states.
Anyways, here is where it all went down.
I don't know how many lessons I have heard, or even taught myself, on faith. But a very common illustration is to talk about or even illustrate it with the use of a chair. There is talk about when we sit down in a chair we have complete "faith" that the chair will hold us up. We don't even think about whether it will or not, we just know that it will, and so we plop down with complete security.
Well, there is an addendum I think should be added to that lesson: Always Listen to the Chair.
Our church uses what are basically white, plastic lawn chairs. They are not the strongest or sturdiest things in the world. I have seen some larger people double or even triple them up to be sure they will be secure when sitting in them. But I have never had any trouble with them. Week after week, service after service, church after church I have sat in them and always been great. Tonight, I learned an important lesson.
I was listening to the speaker intently and that is really where my focus was. I have a hard time tracking with 100% of what is being said and going on so I really try to focus hard. Well, as I relaxed, leaned back, and slouched in my chair, I felt the chair legs kind of slip out sideways a little. Somewhere inside I could hear the small voice of the church crying out to me - "Please readjust yourself. I can't hold you sitting like this!" I don't know why, but, I ignored the poor little cry for help. Maybe I was just too secure in my past experiences. Maybe I was really trying hard to hear the speaker over it. I don't know, but I ignored it.
Everything sent well for another bit of time. By now I had totally tuned out the cry of the chair. Everything was still fine. I am positive it will stay that way. That little, brittle, frail, white, plastic, stacking lawn chair gave it it's all. It hung in there until it's final dying breath. And then, it didn't slowly slump down. It didn't kind of break off one lag and slouch over. It EXPLODED! All of a sudden, it died, and all 4 legs snapped off simultaneously, some parts of them shattering in the explosion and I crashed to the hard tile floor with a horrible crash. It did not just break and drop down - it literally sounded like a gun shot!
Well, I don't know why, but the whole room turned and stared at me. Even the speaker stopped speaking and stared at me. I quickly raised my hand and apologized for the interruption. I hoped that he would quickly start speaking again & everyone would look back up front. No. It did not happen. Instead, concerned citizens started coming to my aid, out of their seats, across the room, helping me up, collecting all of the shattered pieces, and piling them like a heap of bones against a side wall of the room. Then came the ultimate humiliation - they brought me a replacement chair - but not just any old chair, and not another plastic stacking lawn chair. They brought me a brown chair. These are the ugly wooden and metal chairs reserved for the back of the room. The ones that no one sits in unless all of the other chairs have been taken. Sigh.
I spent the rest of the night alternating between, almost laughing out loud, being mortified with embarrassment, thinking about quietly slipping out and never coming back, and trying to pay attention to the message. It was an emotional roller coaster.
The good news is that after the service, Latin Culture took over, which means everyone gives everyone else a hug and a kiss before leaving. Seriously, it is like a rule. You have to do it in latin culture or people feel slighted. I know, embarrassing too, but it gave me a chance to laugh and talk about it with everyone in the room and hear their stories of how many chairs they have had similar experiences in. It was rather cathartic. (I'm not even sure I just used that word correctly, but it sounded real good. : )
I was going to try and fill in several other details of my day, but this story moved the front of the line and there is not time to write about the other stuff now. It is already tomorrow. : )
Good Night All
Love you and God bless you
May His Peace be upon you -
This is followed by the Worship Team Practice at 7:30 pm. It is not only a practice time for later that night and for Sunday, but it is a time of intense intercession for those services as well. Very cool.
Then at 9 pm begins the Youth Service. It is not like a typical youth service in the states. For starters, youth, or "jovenes" doesn't start until you are 18 years of age and runs up well into the 20's and 30's. It is probably closer to a College/ Career Ministry in the states.
Anyways, here is where it all went down.
I don't know how many lessons I have heard, or even taught myself, on faith. But a very common illustration is to talk about or even illustrate it with the use of a chair. There is talk about when we sit down in a chair we have complete "faith" that the chair will hold us up. We don't even think about whether it will or not, we just know that it will, and so we plop down with complete security.
Well, there is an addendum I think should be added to that lesson: Always Listen to the Chair.
Our church uses what are basically white, plastic lawn chairs. They are not the strongest or sturdiest things in the world. I have seen some larger people double or even triple them up to be sure they will be secure when sitting in them. But I have never had any trouble with them. Week after week, service after service, church after church I have sat in them and always been great. Tonight, I learned an important lesson.
I was listening to the speaker intently and that is really where my focus was. I have a hard time tracking with 100% of what is being said and going on so I really try to focus hard. Well, as I relaxed, leaned back, and slouched in my chair, I felt the chair legs kind of slip out sideways a little. Somewhere inside I could hear the small voice of the church crying out to me - "Please readjust yourself. I can't hold you sitting like this!" I don't know why, but, I ignored the poor little cry for help. Maybe I was just too secure in my past experiences. Maybe I was really trying hard to hear the speaker over it. I don't know, but I ignored it.
Everything sent well for another bit of time. By now I had totally tuned out the cry of the chair. Everything was still fine. I am positive it will stay that way. That little, brittle, frail, white, plastic, stacking lawn chair gave it it's all. It hung in there until it's final dying breath. And then, it didn't slowly slump down. It didn't kind of break off one lag and slouch over. It EXPLODED! All of a sudden, it died, and all 4 legs snapped off simultaneously, some parts of them shattering in the explosion and I crashed to the hard tile floor with a horrible crash. It did not just break and drop down - it literally sounded like a gun shot!
Well, I don't know why, but the whole room turned and stared at me. Even the speaker stopped speaking and stared at me. I quickly raised my hand and apologized for the interruption. I hoped that he would quickly start speaking again & everyone would look back up front. No. It did not happen. Instead, concerned citizens started coming to my aid, out of their seats, across the room, helping me up, collecting all of the shattered pieces, and piling them like a heap of bones against a side wall of the room. Then came the ultimate humiliation - they brought me a replacement chair - but not just any old chair, and not another plastic stacking lawn chair. They brought me a brown chair. These are the ugly wooden and metal chairs reserved for the back of the room. The ones that no one sits in unless all of the other chairs have been taken. Sigh.
I spent the rest of the night alternating between, almost laughing out loud, being mortified with embarrassment, thinking about quietly slipping out and never coming back, and trying to pay attention to the message. It was an emotional roller coaster.
The good news is that after the service, Latin Culture took over, which means everyone gives everyone else a hug and a kiss before leaving. Seriously, it is like a rule. You have to do it in latin culture or people feel slighted. I know, embarrassing too, but it gave me a chance to laugh and talk about it with everyone in the room and hear their stories of how many chairs they have had similar experiences in. It was rather cathartic. (I'm not even sure I just used that word correctly, but it sounded real good. : )
I was going to try and fill in several other details of my day, but this story moved the front of the line and there is not time to write about the other stuff now. It is already tomorrow. : )
Good Night All
Love you and God bless you
May His Peace be upon you -
Saturday, June 25, 2011
We Have Gas!
Ok, so maybe that title is a little misleading, perhaps a little disturbing. : ) Don't worry. We are talking about the house, and not ourselves.
Yes, it is true! After nearly a week (6 days) without gas to heat our water and cook our food on the stove and in the oven, we have a new cylinder of gas! I got up and called the gas company AGAIN this morning. Too early. I had to call back again in 20 minutes. I did so and almost dropped the phone when they told me that DID have a tank of gas available for us today! I had gotten so used to hearing them say that "they were really sorry but they did not have any tanks available and to call back the following day," that I was just sort of going through the motions and did not actually expect them to have one. How fun it can be at times to be startled and shocked. ha.
Anyways, I waited around all morning for them to deliver it. Our little house we are renting is newly built and has a strange address. Many people can not find it. At times we are told that something is on the way, but it never shows up. So, I waited and prayed...and waited and prayed some more. Then, suddenly Heather heard something - it was the sound of clapping.
Why would the sound of clapping get our attention? Well, here is a little known Argentine factoid for you - when someone comes to your house and wants to get your attention, they do not knock on the door or ring the door bell (although our house has them both) - they clap their hands together very loudly, usually 3 times. CLAP, CLAP, CLAP! - Different, huh? : )
Anyways, Heather heard the clapping, yelled out, and ran for the front door. We did NOT want to miss them by accident. As it turns out, it was the delivery guys. They brought in the new tank and took out the old tank - right through the middle of the house. Our tank housing area is in the back yard and the only access is through the house. I keep praying that our ceramic tile floor does not get cracked or broken as they roll that heavy tank in and out! They got it hooked up and we chatted about the need for a second tank so as not to be stuck in this situation, waiting for more gas tanks to become available after you run out, again. - To my surprise, they told me that the company does not sell tanks. They only exchange them. We have to find another tank on our own from an independent dealer. : ) Oh the fun discoveries while living in another part of the world!
We were so elated to be able to cook again! We had been living on cold sandwiches, cold cereal, and the few leftovers we could microwave for nearly a week. We were ready to eat something hot and fresh. So, this afternoon I walked about 15 minutes down the road to our favorite little hole-in-the-wall market to buy 2 of our favorite pizzas in all of Argentina. They are take-and-bake style and we couldn't wait to throw one in the oven. I have teased the shop owners about putting drugs in the crust because they are totally addicting. I literally can not get enough! Additionally, they are very cheap - about 3.75 each. : )
We were also very excited about having hot water. We had done a couple of baths over the last week, but we had to heat the water 1 liter at a time in a little electric water heater used to make tea. It would take a good hour or more to make a very shallow bath. : ) - But, first I had to figure out how to light the pilot light. Reading the instructions in Spanish was fun but the illustration was very vague. And since it was hard to see into the bottom of the heater, trying to figure out WHERE the pilot light is, was a lot of fun. Lots of looking with a flashlight, looking the the drawing in the instructions again, trying to light it in one spot, realizing it in the not the right spot, and repeating the process.
Added in is the fact that gas makes me nervous. I have heard stories of people blowing themselves across the room trying to light the oven, so every second that went by without success in lighting the pilot light make me more and more nervous. God was good and in a bit He helped me to look in the right spot and we finally got the hot water heater lite! Yea! Victory, and hot a shower, were ours!
I took Jonny to get his first haircut in Argentina today. There is a barber, the only guy barber on our side of the river, not too far from us - about a 15 minute walk. Jonny is such a little Viking. He has such beautiful, fine, yellow-blond hair. As it gets longer, it gets loopy and crests like a giant wave on the top of his head. As the barber cut it, it gently floated to the ground like angel hair. It was a sad moment, but it needed to happen. He was so good. He sat so still and did such a great job. I was very proud of him.
I bought him a bag of M&M type candy called "Rocklets." They are fantastic. While I do think that M&M's taste better, they DO melt in your hand, no matter what the ads say. Rocklets, on the other hand, can sit in the hot sun all day long and still not truly melt. They get soft and "oily" to the touch, but you can still pick them up and eat them without making a mess. Anyways, I thought it would keep him occupied while I got my haircut. I told him to eat them slowly...he finished the entire bag before I was even a 1/4 the way done! I just laughed - the best laid plans of mice and men....
It is winter and today started off wicked cold. Thankfully the sun came out warmed things up. It was so cold this morning I did not want to get out of bed. It was an ugly walk taking Nate to school, but nice picking him up to come home.
We got a ton done on line today, being our second, and most importantly, full day with internet in the house. I plowed through 100's of old e-mails. I still have a ways to go, have lists of people I need to contact regarding different things, etc, but it was a productive day. Now I just need to get feeling better. The whole family still have a runny nose, lingering cough, trouble sleeping well - the whole usual routine. I am tired of feeling drained and having to fight my way through the day. I can't wait to feel fully better and be able to blast through the day and still have energy to spare.
It is now tomorrow, so I had better go to bed. An 1 1/2 long skype call to the Campbells in Bolivia kept me up later than I should, but it was awesome to see them, hear them, catch up with how they are doing and the ministry that is happening there.
Good night all. God bless & see you again tomorrow.
Peace -
Yes, it is true! After nearly a week (6 days) without gas to heat our water and cook our food on the stove and in the oven, we have a new cylinder of gas! I got up and called the gas company AGAIN this morning. Too early. I had to call back again in 20 minutes. I did so and almost dropped the phone when they told me that DID have a tank of gas available for us today! I had gotten so used to hearing them say that "they were really sorry but they did not have any tanks available and to call back the following day," that I was just sort of going through the motions and did not actually expect them to have one. How fun it can be at times to be startled and shocked. ha.
Anyways, I waited around all morning for them to deliver it. Our little house we are renting is newly built and has a strange address. Many people can not find it. At times we are told that something is on the way, but it never shows up. So, I waited and prayed...and waited and prayed some more. Then, suddenly Heather heard something - it was the sound of clapping.
Why would the sound of clapping get our attention? Well, here is a little known Argentine factoid for you - when someone comes to your house and wants to get your attention, they do not knock on the door or ring the door bell (although our house has them both) - they clap their hands together very loudly, usually 3 times. CLAP, CLAP, CLAP! - Different, huh? : )
Anyways, Heather heard the clapping, yelled out, and ran for the front door. We did NOT want to miss them by accident. As it turns out, it was the delivery guys. They brought in the new tank and took out the old tank - right through the middle of the house. Our tank housing area is in the back yard and the only access is through the house. I keep praying that our ceramic tile floor does not get cracked or broken as they roll that heavy tank in and out! They got it hooked up and we chatted about the need for a second tank so as not to be stuck in this situation, waiting for more gas tanks to become available after you run out, again. - To my surprise, they told me that the company does not sell tanks. They only exchange them. We have to find another tank on our own from an independent dealer. : ) Oh the fun discoveries while living in another part of the world!
We were so elated to be able to cook again! We had been living on cold sandwiches, cold cereal, and the few leftovers we could microwave for nearly a week. We were ready to eat something hot and fresh. So, this afternoon I walked about 15 minutes down the road to our favorite little hole-in-the-wall market to buy 2 of our favorite pizzas in all of Argentina. They are take-and-bake style and we couldn't wait to throw one in the oven. I have teased the shop owners about putting drugs in the crust because they are totally addicting. I literally can not get enough! Additionally, they are very cheap - about 3.75 each. : )
We were also very excited about having hot water. We had done a couple of baths over the last week, but we had to heat the water 1 liter at a time in a little electric water heater used to make tea. It would take a good hour or more to make a very shallow bath. : ) - But, first I had to figure out how to light the pilot light. Reading the instructions in Spanish was fun but the illustration was very vague. And since it was hard to see into the bottom of the heater, trying to figure out WHERE the pilot light is, was a lot of fun. Lots of looking with a flashlight, looking the the drawing in the instructions again, trying to light it in one spot, realizing it in the not the right spot, and repeating the process.
Added in is the fact that gas makes me nervous. I have heard stories of people blowing themselves across the room trying to light the oven, so every second that went by without success in lighting the pilot light make me more and more nervous. God was good and in a bit He helped me to look in the right spot and we finally got the hot water heater lite! Yea! Victory, and hot a shower, were ours!
I took Jonny to get his first haircut in Argentina today. There is a barber, the only guy barber on our side of the river, not too far from us - about a 15 minute walk. Jonny is such a little Viking. He has such beautiful, fine, yellow-blond hair. As it gets longer, it gets loopy and crests like a giant wave on the top of his head. As the barber cut it, it gently floated to the ground like angel hair. It was a sad moment, but it needed to happen. He was so good. He sat so still and did such a great job. I was very proud of him.
I bought him a bag of M&M type candy called "Rocklets." They are fantastic. While I do think that M&M's taste better, they DO melt in your hand, no matter what the ads say. Rocklets, on the other hand, can sit in the hot sun all day long and still not truly melt. They get soft and "oily" to the touch, but you can still pick them up and eat them without making a mess. Anyways, I thought it would keep him occupied while I got my haircut. I told him to eat them slowly...he finished the entire bag before I was even a 1/4 the way done! I just laughed - the best laid plans of mice and men....
It is winter and today started off wicked cold. Thankfully the sun came out warmed things up. It was so cold this morning I did not want to get out of bed. It was an ugly walk taking Nate to school, but nice picking him up to come home.
We got a ton done on line today, being our second, and most importantly, full day with internet in the house. I plowed through 100's of old e-mails. I still have a ways to go, have lists of people I need to contact regarding different things, etc, but it was a productive day. Now I just need to get feeling better. The whole family still have a runny nose, lingering cough, trouble sleeping well - the whole usual routine. I am tired of feeling drained and having to fight my way through the day. I can't wait to feel fully better and be able to blast through the day and still have energy to spare.
It is now tomorrow, so I had better go to bed. An 1 1/2 long skype call to the Campbells in Bolivia kept me up later than I should, but it was awesome to see them, hear them, catch up with how they are doing and the ministry that is happening there.
Good night all. God bless & see you again tomorrow.
Peace -
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Gas? Anyone? Gas?
Well, yesterday was a great day. We got internet in the home, finally! Heather managed to get all our WiFi up and running. It was awesome. It ran too late and I was wiped out, but it was awesome.
Today was tough. I slept terribly and could not get out of bed for 6 am prayer at the church. I could barely get up at 7 to get Nate ready for school. I pushed myself to function and get at least some things done all morning long.
I called the gas company back and they still don't have any replacement gas cylinders our size. I tried to get them to bring us a smaller one but they said that I would have to call their corporate office to negotiate that. Negotiate? I can barely understand the receptionist over the phone. I did not feel very confident to "negotiate" over the phone.
I contacted a pastor friend to see if he could help. He was shocked to hear that we had been without gas for 5 days & asked why we did not ask for help sooner. I communicated that we did not want to run to them for every little thing and that we needed to learn how to do some things for ourselves. We had finally reached a point of impasse though and could use some intervention. - Part of the trouble is that we don't have a phone book. No one we know has a phone book. Apparently they exist, but are not a big deal here. Also, it is hard to look things up on line. Jujuy, as big as it is, is still in "the sticks" and you just can't find things on line.
How do you find things? The old fashioned way - you either know about it, or start asking everyone you know about it. So, we are asking our pastor friend for help. He jumped right on it and I was confident we would have heated water and be able to cook before the end of the day. ...well, it is 10:30 at night and I don't know what happened to our pastor friend. I have not heard anything else from him and Heather told me that neither he nor his wife were at the Women's Meeting tonight. Something major must have come up. I am concerned and praying for them. ...but we still don't have gas or any new options. - Tomorrow is a new day! We'll see what God brings then.
One fun thing. We went shopping for groceries this morning with Jonny and Aliana while Nate was still in school. I guess we bought over a certain amount of things so we got 3 chances to win a prize at the door. Aliana clicked an icon at random on a revolving computer screen & won a liter of milk! Then Jonny did the same and won a new glass. - I almost felt bad and so gave our 3rd chance to the mom and kid behind us in line. He won something! Either God was really trying to bless us, or everyone wins, or both. Hmmm? : )
Then God blessed us again. We had a long walk home and too much stuff to carry. No worries, as we should be able to flag down a taxi out front of the store. They are always there to help haul people and their stuff back to their place. This time - not one in sight. Weird. So, I tried to catch a Remis - pronouced "Ree - meese" they are like a taxi, but will stop and add other people along the way to make more money. They are cheaper than taxis but not as convenient either. They do NOT like to stop and pick up people from the store, especially not entire families with all their groceries, as they don't have room to add others to the trip. It is not good business for them. - Well, God granted us favor with a driver. He was incredibly non- remis driver like to take us. We tipped him and extra 20% (only about $.50 for our trip) to express our thanks and then he was very thankful. : )
Not having had a constant internet connection for over 6 months, I have a TON of catching up to do. I plowed through a lot of old e-mail tonight while Heather and Aliana were leading worship at the Women's Group (Nate & Jonny were caching up on lost time - playing their favorite and nearly forgotten on line games). Yet, I still think it will take me several more days to a couple of weeks to process everything. It is getting there.
I am going to hit the bed now. I am brutally tired and really need to get some sleep so that I can get feeling better.
Good Night & God bless -
Today was tough. I slept terribly and could not get out of bed for 6 am prayer at the church. I could barely get up at 7 to get Nate ready for school. I pushed myself to function and get at least some things done all morning long.
I called the gas company back and they still don't have any replacement gas cylinders our size. I tried to get them to bring us a smaller one but they said that I would have to call their corporate office to negotiate that. Negotiate? I can barely understand the receptionist over the phone. I did not feel very confident to "negotiate" over the phone.
I contacted a pastor friend to see if he could help. He was shocked to hear that we had been without gas for 5 days & asked why we did not ask for help sooner. I communicated that we did not want to run to them for every little thing and that we needed to learn how to do some things for ourselves. We had finally reached a point of impasse though and could use some intervention. - Part of the trouble is that we don't have a phone book. No one we know has a phone book. Apparently they exist, but are not a big deal here. Also, it is hard to look things up on line. Jujuy, as big as it is, is still in "the sticks" and you just can't find things on line.
How do you find things? The old fashioned way - you either know about it, or start asking everyone you know about it. So, we are asking our pastor friend for help. He jumped right on it and I was confident we would have heated water and be able to cook before the end of the day. ...well, it is 10:30 at night and I don't know what happened to our pastor friend. I have not heard anything else from him and Heather told me that neither he nor his wife were at the Women's Meeting tonight. Something major must have come up. I am concerned and praying for them. ...but we still don't have gas or any new options. - Tomorrow is a new day! We'll see what God brings then.
One fun thing. We went shopping for groceries this morning with Jonny and Aliana while Nate was still in school. I guess we bought over a certain amount of things so we got 3 chances to win a prize at the door. Aliana clicked an icon at random on a revolving computer screen & won a liter of milk! Then Jonny did the same and won a new glass. - I almost felt bad and so gave our 3rd chance to the mom and kid behind us in line. He won something! Either God was really trying to bless us, or everyone wins, or both. Hmmm? : )
Then God blessed us again. We had a long walk home and too much stuff to carry. No worries, as we should be able to flag down a taxi out front of the store. They are always there to help haul people and their stuff back to their place. This time - not one in sight. Weird. So, I tried to catch a Remis - pronouced "Ree - meese" they are like a taxi, but will stop and add other people along the way to make more money. They are cheaper than taxis but not as convenient either. They do NOT like to stop and pick up people from the store, especially not entire families with all their groceries, as they don't have room to add others to the trip. It is not good business for them. - Well, God granted us favor with a driver. He was incredibly non- remis driver like to take us. We tipped him and extra 20% (only about $.50 for our trip) to express our thanks and then he was very thankful. : )
Not having had a constant internet connection for over 6 months, I have a TON of catching up to do. I plowed through a lot of old e-mail tonight while Heather and Aliana were leading worship at the Women's Group (Nate & Jonny were caching up on lost time - playing their favorite and nearly forgotten on line games). Yet, I still think it will take me several more days to a couple of weeks to process everything. It is getting there.
I am going to hit the bed now. I am brutally tired and really need to get some sleep so that I can get feeling better.
Good Night & God bless -
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Ok. My original intent was for this to be an on-line journal - not just a straight up blog. Up until now we did not have internet access in the home so my posts were very scattered, and unfortunately, more like a blog than a journal. BUT, now that we have internet access at home I desire to change that! Here is the first of what I hope to be more a daily glimpse into our life, ministry and experiences here in Jujuy, Argentina.
5:25 am - Alarm goes off. I quickly fumbled around to turn it off as fast as I could so as to not disturb Heather. As I laid there thinking about the day ahead, I promptly fell back asleep. (It was a late night the night before. Did not get home until about midnight & did not fall asleep until about 1 am or later.)
5:30 am - 2nd alarm goes off. Ha ha. Yes, the backup is often needed. I turn it off and force myself out of bed. I need some hot tea. My throat is very dry and sore.
5:35 am - sucked down the tea and a miniature loaf of dry Argentine bread to stop the bite of hunger.
5:45 am - I finished getting dressed for the cold and head out the door to the 6 am prayer meeting at our church. It is about a 20-25 minute walk and it is cold this morning. Even though it is the pressing for the end of June & my thoughts are on summer in the states, we are now adjusting to life in the Southern Hemisphere and here - it is the start of winter. The temps are about 40 degrees and I am soooo glad that I brought my huge, black, fake fur trimmed parka to Argentina. I got it to do itineration in Alaska during their winter and man is it saving me from freezing here now. : )
6:10 am - Arrive at the church and start praying. This morning, mostly since it is very cold, it is only Pastor Sauad and myself. Argentine prayer style is very humble before God. Everyone kneels down and buries their head in a seat and starts to pray. The floors are all of cold tile or concrete so they are very small but tough "pillows" lying around that are used to kneel on to spare your knees. This is SO not my style of prayer, but for the sake of not offending or over-distracting, I am learning it.
This morning is tough. I am very tired and my throat still sore so praying at all, let alone out-loud is not easy. I press on anyway for several reasons:
* I need to. The resistance makes us stronger & spiritual warfare requires strength.
* I want to be an encouragement to Pastor Sauad. Being the only other person there, I want to add to the chorus of prayer to help push him forward.
* God deserves and desires my time and effort. What parent doesn't love to see their little one working hard along side of them and making a difference in the world?
* Jujuy needs it. This place NEEDS a major and impacting of God. These precious people are worth my fighting for them in spiritual realms in order to see spiritual breakthroughs!
All of these things keep me moving forward in intercession, through the tiredness, through the pain.
7:05 am - head for home to make sure Nate is up and getting ready for school. It is another cold 20 + minute walk. He has just gotten up (like his dad, not a morning person) and looks 1/2 dead still. He is sitting on our bed, munching Strawberry Frosted Flakes (dry), getting dressed, drinking some juice, and playing a game on the computer. This keeps him away from the little 2 so that they don't wake up, and helps to get him awake and ready for the day.
7:40 am - With a lot of persuasion, I get Nate out the door and we walk about 10 minutes to his school. He both loves and dreads school. He is a social butterfly (have no idea where he gets that from) and so loves to be around the other kids. But, this is his first time doing school all in Spanish and he is the only gringo in the entire school. He sticks out bad and he knows it. He hates not knowing what all is going on. At the same time he has his fill of Spanish at school and trying to help him learn more at home is like pulling teeth right now. Fortunately, most of the school loves their strange little gringo kid and his teacher is fantastic with him. He excels in English class (go figure) and in math (universal language). He struggles in the rest and we work lots with him on his homework. He has to learn it first in English and then in Spanish. It is a lot of work for him but man is he a smart kid. : )
8:00 am - I give him a hug and a final encouragement to be good and then head out the door for home. Once at home I try to catch up with Heather for a moment before the younger 2 get up and going.
8:15 am - I call the local gas company to try and get a new cylinder of gas delivered to the house. We are not on a gas line, so we have to have it delivered. Our 1st tank lasted us just under a month. This 2nd one lasted us 44 days so we are feeling good about learning how to conserve it. We ran out over the weekend and then Monday was a holiday so we called on Tuesday to get some more. It never showed up. So, after 3 days of no hot water and no cooking (gas stove/ oven) we are really ready to get it here. I go through the whole deal on the phone of our name and giving directions (we live in a new neighborhood with goofy addresses and no one can ever find us) and then come to find out at the end of a long conversation that the company does not have any tanks our size and I have to call back tomorrow... - What?!
Argentina is such a beautiful country with such beautiful people. Times like this make me not want to say that they are a 1st World county through. In the capital of Buenos Aires, yes, but way out here in the NW - no. How do we not have a registered account with them?
How do they not know our address and we have to explain it to them every single time?
How do they not have enough cylinders of gas?
etc.
Well, we try again tomorrow. IN THE MEANTIME - after a few days with no shower - it is time to get clean! So, I have a small electric water heater we use to quickly heat water for tea, yerba mate, etc. It only heats 1.2 liters at a time so it is a slow process (about an hour or so) but we use it to make a warm, shallow bath. : ) The tub is incredibly short and small, but it works. : ) An hour and a half later, Heather gets to take a bath. : ) - Our world is never dull.
9:30 am - The cable company calls us back and says that their techs can't find the house. (Like I said, nothing new.) So I get dressed up warm again and walk out about 5 minutes to the main road, find them and lead them back in to our little home. Thankfully, they know what they are doing and putting cable into the home is not too big a deal. 1 1/2 hours later we have TV & Internet Access in the home for the first time in nearly 3 months! Yeah! It was a long slow process of looking at different options, deciding on this one and then waiting for 11 days, and 3 visits to the office, to finally get it installed after we had already paid for it. : ) They were very kind and gracious and we finally have internet in the house!
TV? Well, we don't yet have a TV, but the only way to get the internet is to bundle it with the TV. So, for now we are paying for TV service that we don't even get to use. I guess it will motivate us to break down and buy one. Ha! At least the service is much cheaper than in the states so I don't feel too bad about it. And, it REALLY beats having to go out and try to find a connection to the internet elsewhere. Yeah!!!
Well, this only gets us to about noon, but I am really tired for now and need to hit the sack.
I am not even going to check for errors (after all, it is a journal, not a blog, so who cares. : )
Good night all.
I'll try to fill you in a little bit more on life here tomorrow.
God bless -
5:25 am - Alarm goes off. I quickly fumbled around to turn it off as fast as I could so as to not disturb Heather. As I laid there thinking about the day ahead, I promptly fell back asleep. (It was a late night the night before. Did not get home until about midnight & did not fall asleep until about 1 am or later.)
5:30 am - 2nd alarm goes off. Ha ha. Yes, the backup is often needed. I turn it off and force myself out of bed. I need some hot tea. My throat is very dry and sore.
5:35 am - sucked down the tea and a miniature loaf of dry Argentine bread to stop the bite of hunger.
5:45 am - I finished getting dressed for the cold and head out the door to the 6 am prayer meeting at our church. It is about a 20-25 minute walk and it is cold this morning. Even though it is the pressing for the end of June & my thoughts are on summer in the states, we are now adjusting to life in the Southern Hemisphere and here - it is the start of winter. The temps are about 40 degrees and I am soooo glad that I brought my huge, black, fake fur trimmed parka to Argentina. I got it to do itineration in Alaska during their winter and man is it saving me from freezing here now. : )
6:10 am - Arrive at the church and start praying. This morning, mostly since it is very cold, it is only Pastor Sauad and myself. Argentine prayer style is very humble before God. Everyone kneels down and buries their head in a seat and starts to pray. The floors are all of cold tile or concrete so they are very small but tough "pillows" lying around that are used to kneel on to spare your knees. This is SO not my style of prayer, but for the sake of not offending or over-distracting, I am learning it.
This morning is tough. I am very tired and my throat still sore so praying at all, let alone out-loud is not easy. I press on anyway for several reasons:
* I need to. The resistance makes us stronger & spiritual warfare requires strength.
* I want to be an encouragement to Pastor Sauad. Being the only other person there, I want to add to the chorus of prayer to help push him forward.
* God deserves and desires my time and effort. What parent doesn't love to see their little one working hard along side of them and making a difference in the world?
* Jujuy needs it. This place NEEDS a major and impacting of God. These precious people are worth my fighting for them in spiritual realms in order to see spiritual breakthroughs!
All of these things keep me moving forward in intercession, through the tiredness, through the pain.
7:05 am - head for home to make sure Nate is up and getting ready for school. It is another cold 20 + minute walk. He has just gotten up (like his dad, not a morning person) and looks 1/2 dead still. He is sitting on our bed, munching Strawberry Frosted Flakes (dry), getting dressed, drinking some juice, and playing a game on the computer. This keeps him away from the little 2 so that they don't wake up, and helps to get him awake and ready for the day.
7:40 am - With a lot of persuasion, I get Nate out the door and we walk about 10 minutes to his school. He both loves and dreads school. He is a social butterfly (have no idea where he gets that from) and so loves to be around the other kids. But, this is his first time doing school all in Spanish and he is the only gringo in the entire school. He sticks out bad and he knows it. He hates not knowing what all is going on. At the same time he has his fill of Spanish at school and trying to help him learn more at home is like pulling teeth right now. Fortunately, most of the school loves their strange little gringo kid and his teacher is fantastic with him. He excels in English class (go figure) and in math (universal language). He struggles in the rest and we work lots with him on his homework. He has to learn it first in English and then in Spanish. It is a lot of work for him but man is he a smart kid. : )
8:00 am - I give him a hug and a final encouragement to be good and then head out the door for home. Once at home I try to catch up with Heather for a moment before the younger 2 get up and going.
8:15 am - I call the local gas company to try and get a new cylinder of gas delivered to the house. We are not on a gas line, so we have to have it delivered. Our 1st tank lasted us just under a month. This 2nd one lasted us 44 days so we are feeling good about learning how to conserve it. We ran out over the weekend and then Monday was a holiday so we called on Tuesday to get some more. It never showed up. So, after 3 days of no hot water and no cooking (gas stove/ oven) we are really ready to get it here. I go through the whole deal on the phone of our name and giving directions (we live in a new neighborhood with goofy addresses and no one can ever find us) and then come to find out at the end of a long conversation that the company does not have any tanks our size and I have to call back tomorrow... - What?!
Argentina is such a beautiful country with such beautiful people. Times like this make me not want to say that they are a 1st World county through. In the capital of Buenos Aires, yes, but way out here in the NW - no. How do we not have a registered account with them?
How do they not know our address and we have to explain it to them every single time?
How do they not have enough cylinders of gas?
etc.
Well, we try again tomorrow. IN THE MEANTIME - after a few days with no shower - it is time to get clean! So, I have a small electric water heater we use to quickly heat water for tea, yerba mate, etc. It only heats 1.2 liters at a time so it is a slow process (about an hour or so) but we use it to make a warm, shallow bath. : ) The tub is incredibly short and small, but it works. : ) An hour and a half later, Heather gets to take a bath. : ) - Our world is never dull.
9:30 am - The cable company calls us back and says that their techs can't find the house. (Like I said, nothing new.) So I get dressed up warm again and walk out about 5 minutes to the main road, find them and lead them back in to our little home. Thankfully, they know what they are doing and putting cable into the home is not too big a deal. 1 1/2 hours later we have TV & Internet Access in the home for the first time in nearly 3 months! Yeah! It was a long slow process of looking at different options, deciding on this one and then waiting for 11 days, and 3 visits to the office, to finally get it installed after we had already paid for it. : ) They were very kind and gracious and we finally have internet in the house!
TV? Well, we don't yet have a TV, but the only way to get the internet is to bundle it with the TV. So, for now we are paying for TV service that we don't even get to use. I guess it will motivate us to break down and buy one. Ha! At least the service is much cheaper than in the states so I don't feel too bad about it. And, it REALLY beats having to go out and try to find a connection to the internet elsewhere. Yeah!!!
Well, this only gets us to about noon, but I am really tired for now and need to hit the sack.
I am not even going to check for errors (after all, it is a journal, not a blog, so who cares. : )
Good night all.
I'll try to fill you in a little bit more on life here tomorrow.
God bless -
Friday, June 10, 2011
Blessing In Disguise -
It's funny how things don't always go how we would like, and how that is not always a bad thing.
Our Speed-The-Light Vehicle is out of commission for awhile. I am not sure for how long. It is a used vehicle, a 2005 Hyundai Terracon SUV with about 140,000 kilometers on it. It was first the vehicle of different missionaries in Buenos Aires for several years. They have relocated and was available for us to use. It is my first diesel vehicle and I did not realize how fickle they are. It requires using only the top grade of diesel. One time, while driving in the middle of no where, I had to fill the tank with the only diesel they had available - a low grade.
After that it started to have trouble starting. It would run great, but you often it would not start. Slowly but surely the problem has gotten worse and worse - to the point that now it will not start at all. I had a few different mechanics listen to it and take a look at it. They all told me the same thing. The injectors are having issues. It will most likely not be a cheap fix. If they only have to be taken apart and cleaned - $500. If they have to be replaced all together - $2,000. Either way, I don't have the money to do it right now...so I have taken to walking everywhere.
To be sure, it is not what I would have wanted, BUT, it has truly been a blessing in disguise. I have learned and experienced a lot that I would never have while driving.
* Walking is much slower and more open-air than driving, so...
- I have noticed many things about my city and its residents that I would not have noticed while driving. It has been truly enlightening and I thank God for it.
- I identify much more with the people around me now. So many people here do not have a car, or if they do, it is not road worthy for trips outside the area. As I walk everywhere I get lots of looks from people. I think they are amazed to see a "gringo" walking instead of driving & it puts us on more of an equal level in their minds.
- I get lots of time to pray & intercede for Jujuy. What would take 5 minutes to drive takes 20 minutes or more to walk. It has been an amazing time to fight spiritually for the city and province of Jujuy. I love it!
- It is multitasking in nature. I rarely can find the time to get sufficient exercise. Now I get it all the time. lol. 20 minutes to & from the church each morning for prayer/ 10 minutes each way to take Nate to and from school/ 30 + minutes each way into the center of town for shopping, appointments, etc.
* It has opened up new experiences in travel as well...
- I have learned how to flag down a taxi here, how to give directions their way, how much it costs to get places, and had great and enlightening conversations with the drivers
- I have started to learn about the local bus system which is very extensive. Since so many people do not have cars, they take the bus (or several different connections) to get to work. It is slow (long circuitous routes) but very cheap - $.40 get almost all the way across the city.
- I have learned a lot about taking the bus cross country. Wow! There are a LOT of options, and often the schedules stink (lots of middle of the night driving) but that is how people get around. I went to 2 different pastors meetings abroad - EVERY PASTOR BUT 1 took a bus to get there. Incredible!
- It elevates me in peoples' eyes. When people learn about my car issues, the inability to just pay for it without any trouble, my need to & willingness to take the bus to come meet & minister with and to them - well, it blew them away a bit. They are not used to seeing gringos willingly suffer along side of them I think.
So, while it is not what I asked for (I asked Him to heal the car!) and it certainly is not what I would have wished for (it is going into winter here and I had to walk 40 minutes to get to a WiFi coffee shop in just above freezing temps - seriously, it was 36 when I got the the coffee shop/ gas station and the sun had been up for an hour. My face is still stiff from the cold! : ) - it HAS BEEN an incredible blessing, ground-leveling situation, and teaching tool from God that I thank Him for.
Do I need to and want to get the car fixed. Of course. It also has been a blessing to people here as we give them rides to events, etc. Also, it will be a pain to travel cross-country with the entire fam by bus. And, while it is cheaper for me when I travel alone, it is actually more expensive when buying fare for 5 people vs traveling in the car.
BUT, I still plan on walking A LOT even after the car is repaired. This is a blessing and a teacher that I do not want to lose sight of.
Blessings upon you all. Look for your own Blessings in Disguise. They are usually not what we would like or ask for - but we need them. : )
Chau.
Our Speed-The-Light Vehicle is out of commission for awhile. I am not sure for how long. It is a used vehicle, a 2005 Hyundai Terracon SUV with about 140,000 kilometers on it. It was first the vehicle of different missionaries in Buenos Aires for several years. They have relocated and was available for us to use. It is my first diesel vehicle and I did not realize how fickle they are. It requires using only the top grade of diesel. One time, while driving in the middle of no where, I had to fill the tank with the only diesel they had available - a low grade.
After that it started to have trouble starting. It would run great, but you often it would not start. Slowly but surely the problem has gotten worse and worse - to the point that now it will not start at all. I had a few different mechanics listen to it and take a look at it. They all told me the same thing. The injectors are having issues. It will most likely not be a cheap fix. If they only have to be taken apart and cleaned - $500. If they have to be replaced all together - $2,000. Either way, I don't have the money to do it right now...so I have taken to walking everywhere.
To be sure, it is not what I would have wanted, BUT, it has truly been a blessing in disguise. I have learned and experienced a lot that I would never have while driving.
* Walking is much slower and more open-air than driving, so...
- I have noticed many things about my city and its residents that I would not have noticed while driving. It has been truly enlightening and I thank God for it.
- I identify much more with the people around me now. So many people here do not have a car, or if they do, it is not road worthy for trips outside the area. As I walk everywhere I get lots of looks from people. I think they are amazed to see a "gringo" walking instead of driving & it puts us on more of an equal level in their minds.
- I get lots of time to pray & intercede for Jujuy. What would take 5 minutes to drive takes 20 minutes or more to walk. It has been an amazing time to fight spiritually for the city and province of Jujuy. I love it!
- It is multitasking in nature. I rarely can find the time to get sufficient exercise. Now I get it all the time. lol. 20 minutes to & from the church each morning for prayer/ 10 minutes each way to take Nate to and from school/ 30 + minutes each way into the center of town for shopping, appointments, etc.
* It has opened up new experiences in travel as well...
- I have learned how to flag down a taxi here, how to give directions their way, how much it costs to get places, and had great and enlightening conversations with the drivers
- I have started to learn about the local bus system which is very extensive. Since so many people do not have cars, they take the bus (or several different connections) to get to work. It is slow (long circuitous routes) but very cheap - $.40 get almost all the way across the city.
- I have learned a lot about taking the bus cross country. Wow! There are a LOT of options, and often the schedules stink (lots of middle of the night driving) but that is how people get around. I went to 2 different pastors meetings abroad - EVERY PASTOR BUT 1 took a bus to get there. Incredible!
- It elevates me in peoples' eyes. When people learn about my car issues, the inability to just pay for it without any trouble, my need to & willingness to take the bus to come meet & minister with and to them - well, it blew them away a bit. They are not used to seeing gringos willingly suffer along side of them I think.
So, while it is not what I asked for (I asked Him to heal the car!) and it certainly is not what I would have wished for (it is going into winter here and I had to walk 40 minutes to get to a WiFi coffee shop in just above freezing temps - seriously, it was 36 when I got the the coffee shop/ gas station and the sun had been up for an hour. My face is still stiff from the cold! : ) - it HAS BEEN an incredible blessing, ground-leveling situation, and teaching tool from God that I thank Him for.
Do I need to and want to get the car fixed. Of course. It also has been a blessing to people here as we give them rides to events, etc. Also, it will be a pain to travel cross-country with the entire fam by bus. And, while it is cheaper for me when I travel alone, it is actually more expensive when buying fare for 5 people vs traveling in the car.
BUT, I still plan on walking A LOT even after the car is repaired. This is a blessing and a teacher that I do not want to lose sight of.
Blessings upon you all. Look for your own Blessings in Disguise. They are usually not what we would like or ask for - but we need them. : )
Chau.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
1st Cross-Country Bus Ride In Argentina
Friday night/ Saturday morning I boarded a Balut (name of the company) bus for my 1st ever cross-country bus ride in Argentina. There was an important pastor's meeting in Oran, Salta, Argentina & unfortunately my STL SUV refuses to start. Well, actually, sometimes it starts, but lately, not so much. I did not want to take the chance that it would not start in Oran when I needed to come back again. So, I did the next best thing - I bought a round trip bus ticket.
This in itself was no small feat. I had never bought a bus ticket here in Argentina before and there are maaaaaany options. Most people here do not have a car, and many who do, well, they don't want to risk taking it too far out of town. Many of the fine people here do a remarkable job of keeping very old cars running. I kid you not, there are some amazing but old cars on the road here. Most are very old Citroen's from France, but you can find a lot of old Ford Falcons still driving around town as well. I have no idea what they do for parts, but they have figured it out.
Anyways, most people travel by bus here. So, when I went to the bus terminal it was a zoo. There were people everywhere, long lines to buy tickets for all of the different companies, loads of vendors selling everything from food & drinks to souvenirs, and of course all the buses - they were pulling in, loading and unloading, etc - and all this makes for a LOT of noise.
The ticket agents sit in offices behind glass walls with only a tiny hole to pass money and tickets through and another by which to speak to them. I already have a hard time hearing clearly anyway (I suppose all those reports about how loud rock music damages your hearing do have validity, plus, throw in a love for fireworks, most anything load & that explodes - maybe that is why I love my kids so much? hummm? - Anyways, I don't hear so clearly) so it was extremely difficult to talk to the man behind the counter and buy a ticket, but I did it. As I was walking home though, I started reading it and realized that some of the info on the ticket was not right and/or missing. Never having traveled by bus here before, this made me very nervous. Had I just wasted my money? Could I get a refund? Would I have to take a different bus and miss the meeting?
I started praying for God to help me get through it all. As I was walking along, I just "happened" to come across a tiny little hole-in-the-wall, Balut bus company office. It was perfect! Well lite, quiet (I was the only customer), and with very bright and well trained staff (the young guy at the bus terminal seemed annoyed that I did not know what I was doing and he had to be the one to deal with me : ). The current agent was easy to understand, figured out the problems right away, put the new info in the computer and I was on my way home before I knew it.
I spent all the time I could with the fam before leaving at about 11 pm. I walked into the heart of downtown (El Centro) where everything stays open late and worked to catch up on line as fast as I could. Then I caught a taxi to the terminal and nervously waited for my bus. I got hit up for money from a few people "trying to get home to _____," fill in the blank. Of course I gave them a little because I always feel bad for people and who knows, they might be telling the truth. I got hit up by several vendors as well, but I stood strong. I was nervous about this and so I was going to fast and pray, just to make sure, all the way there. : )
The buses don't have numbers, they have signs stating their destination in the front window. You have to know what you are looking for because they don't list ALL their stops on the route, only the last one. Thankfully I knew my NW Argentina geography and got on the right bus.
You are assigned a seat. It kind of surprised me since everything else is so free-flowing. And people were a little particular about sitting in the seat they were assigned. I had no idea how to read it on my ticket since they used a word for it I had never seen. But, thankfully, people were quick to help any of us rookies get to our proper seat.
It was a big, beautiful, tall, double-decker bus. My seat was # 3 so I was upstairs and right up at the front window. Not so great on the trip to Oran since it was during the night, but an awesome view on the way home in the late afternoon. My seat was next to a sweet older gentleman who's family put him on the bus and gave him instructions and reassurance. He smelled a little rough, so I supposed that he could no longer take care of himself. The trip was pretty uneventful, but I don't sleep well sitting up. At least the seats were nice and cushy, not like the hard plastic seats of a city bus, and they could lean back a little.
As the trip wore on, a fear began to set in - they never announced a stop. You just had to "know which town it was" on your own. With each stop I would listen as people would ask each other, "Is is this town, or is it that town?" Those who knew would help out, but there was never an announcement, a sign, etc. And since it was pitch black out, it was very hard to tell where you were. I was a little alarmed and thought, my stop is one of the last, in the deep of night. Who am I going to ask if it is the right stop when everyone is sleeping!? And besides, the bus driver is not messing around. He is trying to keep a tight schedule. They are in and out of each station as fast as possible. And then I thought, "Oh no! What if I am the one asleep and go right past my destination? Will I get in trouble? Will I be able to catch a bus back to the right town in time for the meeting?" Sigh.
God is good though. He had prompted me to take along the GPS. Why would I do that? I am riding a bus after all and not driving? But, I followed God's leading and packed it. Was I ever glad! I pulled it out and figured out where I was. Then I figured out about what time we would get to Oran. From there I set 2 alarms to be sure I would wake up in time and not miss the stop. : )
I did wake up. I did verify with the GPS that I was in the right place. I did not have to wake anyone up or annoy the driver. - ALWAYS listen to God's leading! Follow it or be dumb, and mess yourself over.
I got into town just fine, got a taxi and got the pastor's meeting. It went really well and was awesome to meet some of these great men of God busting tail, out there all alone in some places. We exchanged contact info and I hope to see then again and minister along side of them in the future.
It was awesome to get back home in one piece and know that I had done it. The test run was over. I am now much more confident to do it again - and at much larger distances.
God bless you all - Remember...Listen to God. Follow God's Leading. Always -
This in itself was no small feat. I had never bought a bus ticket here in Argentina before and there are maaaaaany options. Most people here do not have a car, and many who do, well, they don't want to risk taking it too far out of town. Many of the fine people here do a remarkable job of keeping very old cars running. I kid you not, there are some amazing but old cars on the road here. Most are very old Citroen's from France, but you can find a lot of old Ford Falcons still driving around town as well. I have no idea what they do for parts, but they have figured it out.
Anyways, most people travel by bus here. So, when I went to the bus terminal it was a zoo. There were people everywhere, long lines to buy tickets for all of the different companies, loads of vendors selling everything from food & drinks to souvenirs, and of course all the buses - they were pulling in, loading and unloading, etc - and all this makes for a LOT of noise.
The ticket agents sit in offices behind glass walls with only a tiny hole to pass money and tickets through and another by which to speak to them. I already have a hard time hearing clearly anyway (I suppose all those reports about how loud rock music damages your hearing do have validity, plus, throw in a love for fireworks, most anything load & that explodes - maybe that is why I love my kids so much? hummm? - Anyways, I don't hear so clearly) so it was extremely difficult to talk to the man behind the counter and buy a ticket, but I did it. As I was walking home though, I started reading it and realized that some of the info on the ticket was not right and/or missing. Never having traveled by bus here before, this made me very nervous. Had I just wasted my money? Could I get a refund? Would I have to take a different bus and miss the meeting?
I started praying for God to help me get through it all. As I was walking along, I just "happened" to come across a tiny little hole-in-the-wall, Balut bus company office. It was perfect! Well lite, quiet (I was the only customer), and with very bright and well trained staff (the young guy at the bus terminal seemed annoyed that I did not know what I was doing and he had to be the one to deal with me : ). The current agent was easy to understand, figured out the problems right away, put the new info in the computer and I was on my way home before I knew it.
I spent all the time I could with the fam before leaving at about 11 pm. I walked into the heart of downtown (El Centro) where everything stays open late and worked to catch up on line as fast as I could. Then I caught a taxi to the terminal and nervously waited for my bus. I got hit up for money from a few people "trying to get home to _____," fill in the blank. Of course I gave them a little because I always feel bad for people and who knows, they might be telling the truth. I got hit up by several vendors as well, but I stood strong. I was nervous about this and so I was going to fast and pray, just to make sure, all the way there. : )
The buses don't have numbers, they have signs stating their destination in the front window. You have to know what you are looking for because they don't list ALL their stops on the route, only the last one. Thankfully I knew my NW Argentina geography and got on the right bus.
You are assigned a seat. It kind of surprised me since everything else is so free-flowing. And people were a little particular about sitting in the seat they were assigned. I had no idea how to read it on my ticket since they used a word for it I had never seen. But, thankfully, people were quick to help any of us rookies get to our proper seat.
It was a big, beautiful, tall, double-decker bus. My seat was # 3 so I was upstairs and right up at the front window. Not so great on the trip to Oran since it was during the night, but an awesome view on the way home in the late afternoon. My seat was next to a sweet older gentleman who's family put him on the bus and gave him instructions and reassurance. He smelled a little rough, so I supposed that he could no longer take care of himself. The trip was pretty uneventful, but I don't sleep well sitting up. At least the seats were nice and cushy, not like the hard plastic seats of a city bus, and they could lean back a little.
As the trip wore on, a fear began to set in - they never announced a stop. You just had to "know which town it was" on your own. With each stop I would listen as people would ask each other, "Is is this town, or is it that town?" Those who knew would help out, but there was never an announcement, a sign, etc. And since it was pitch black out, it was very hard to tell where you were. I was a little alarmed and thought, my stop is one of the last, in the deep of night. Who am I going to ask if it is the right stop when everyone is sleeping!? And besides, the bus driver is not messing around. He is trying to keep a tight schedule. They are in and out of each station as fast as possible. And then I thought, "Oh no! What if I am the one asleep and go right past my destination? Will I get in trouble? Will I be able to catch a bus back to the right town in time for the meeting?" Sigh.
God is good though. He had prompted me to take along the GPS. Why would I do that? I am riding a bus after all and not driving? But, I followed God's leading and packed it. Was I ever glad! I pulled it out and figured out where I was. Then I figured out about what time we would get to Oran. From there I set 2 alarms to be sure I would wake up in time and not miss the stop. : )
I did wake up. I did verify with the GPS that I was in the right place. I did not have to wake anyone up or annoy the driver. - ALWAYS listen to God's leading! Follow it or be dumb, and mess yourself over.
I got into town just fine, got a taxi and got the pastor's meeting. It went really well and was awesome to meet some of these great men of God busting tail, out there all alone in some places. We exchanged contact info and I hope to see then again and minister along side of them in the future.
It was awesome to get back home in one piece and know that I had done it. The test run was over. I am now much more confident to do it again - and at much larger distances.
God bless you all - Remember...Listen to God. Follow God's Leading. Always -
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Quebrada de Humahuaca/ Cerro de Siete Colores
I LOVE the image in the background of this page. It is a picture of the famous "Cerro de Siete Colores" or "Hill of 7 Colors." It is part of the also famous "Quebrada de Humahuaca" in Jujuy, Argentina. A quebrada literally means "break" and refers to the mountain landscape. It is a break in the mountains - or a ravine, gorge, narrow pass. NW Argentina is full of many more stunningly beautiful areas like this. It is a treasure trove of geologic wonder! Well, at least to me and the 700,000 Jujenos. : ) (Those are people who live in Jujuy...and the "n" should have a tilde over it, but I don't yet know how to make one in blogger. ha.)
Anyways, it reminds me that no matter how much I love the mountains, (They are extremely high around here. Higher than anything we have in the Continental US) part of what makes them truly spectacular are the valleys that cut through them, reveal what is inside, and help to contrast the elevation and show off how truly high and majestic the mountains are.
I suppose my life, every life in fact, is the same way. We all love the mountain top experiences, but it is the valley's, the hard times we go through, that show off what is inside and show us by contrast how awesome the mountain top experiences really are. Not fun, often painfully revealing, but always important.
I was going through some difficult times today - very tired, the kids were acting up (in public of course : ), I was pressed for time with lots of work and a deadline looming,..when I needed to honor a promise I made to Nate & take him across town to go buy something at Changomas (Walmart, in this part of the world). Of course, it took longer than expected, cost me more money than I would have liked (Yes. Yes, I am tight), and to top it off - as I needed to hurry home - the car would not start. Even with our special "start your motor spray" that I have been using (and it had always worked to date) that boosts your octane and helps the car to start - it would not start. In fact, it made some noises I have never heard it make before. Worrisome to be sure. : (
So, we had to go BACK into the store and kill more time. (When it has not started in the past, this has been the remedy - let it sit for awhile, pray LOTS, and then come back in a 1/2 hour or more and it starts.) THANKFULLY, this time it did again! But not before I was deep in the valley - behind schedule, frustrated, disappointed in my own attitude and reaction to the kids, etc, etc. Funny how satan loves to kick you when you are down. I realized it too late and said and did things that I regretted afterward.
The quebrada cuts deeper...THEN I had to ask God for His forgiveness and HELP, ask my kids to forgive me (No, daddy is NOT perfect - crazy, I know.), and work hard with God's grace to pull it back together, hurry and get Heather to an appointment, watch the kids in the right attitude (still struggled) and not stress out over being farther behind in my own schedule.
I am not sure just what this quebrada in my life revealed. I hope that my wife, kids, and those around will see the beautiful colors and landscape of God's grace. I hope that not too much of "me" showed through, because honestly, it is not a landscape that anyone wants to stop and admire as they tour the area of my life.
One good thing - God is still here. He never leaves or abandons us. I can't imagine how horribly ugly my life would be without Him. Seriously. This is not false humility. I know how much He has had to (and still does) clean up, cover over, and redesign in me. I pray that I get better and better at allowing Him to do so. Maybe people will be able to stop and take pictures of my life one day and say, "Wow! That is beautiful. It is cool what God can do with a life that would otherwise be so ugly."
Gotta jet. God bless you all - very much : )
Anyways, it reminds me that no matter how much I love the mountains, (They are extremely high around here. Higher than anything we have in the Continental US) part of what makes them truly spectacular are the valleys that cut through them, reveal what is inside, and help to contrast the elevation and show off how truly high and majestic the mountains are.
I suppose my life, every life in fact, is the same way. We all love the mountain top experiences, but it is the valley's, the hard times we go through, that show off what is inside and show us by contrast how awesome the mountain top experiences really are. Not fun, often painfully revealing, but always important.
I was going through some difficult times today - very tired, the kids were acting up (in public of course : ), I was pressed for time with lots of work and a deadline looming,..when I needed to honor a promise I made to Nate & take him across town to go buy something at Changomas (Walmart, in this part of the world). Of course, it took longer than expected, cost me more money than I would have liked (Yes. Yes, I am tight), and to top it off - as I needed to hurry home - the car would not start. Even with our special "start your motor spray" that I have been using (and it had always worked to date) that boosts your octane and helps the car to start - it would not start. In fact, it made some noises I have never heard it make before. Worrisome to be sure. : (
So, we had to go BACK into the store and kill more time. (When it has not started in the past, this has been the remedy - let it sit for awhile, pray LOTS, and then come back in a 1/2 hour or more and it starts.) THANKFULLY, this time it did again! But not before I was deep in the valley - behind schedule, frustrated, disappointed in my own attitude and reaction to the kids, etc, etc. Funny how satan loves to kick you when you are down. I realized it too late and said and did things that I regretted afterward.
The quebrada cuts deeper...THEN I had to ask God for His forgiveness and HELP, ask my kids to forgive me (No, daddy is NOT perfect - crazy, I know.), and work hard with God's grace to pull it back together, hurry and get Heather to an appointment, watch the kids in the right attitude (still struggled) and not stress out over being farther behind in my own schedule.
I am not sure just what this quebrada in my life revealed. I hope that my wife, kids, and those around will see the beautiful colors and landscape of God's grace. I hope that not too much of "me" showed through, because honestly, it is not a landscape that anyone wants to stop and admire as they tour the area of my life.
One good thing - God is still here. He never leaves or abandons us. I can't imagine how horribly ugly my life would be without Him. Seriously. This is not false humility. I know how much He has had to (and still does) clean up, cover over, and redesign in me. I pray that I get better and better at allowing Him to do so. Maybe people will be able to stop and take pictures of my life one day and say, "Wow! That is beautiful. It is cool what God can do with a life that would otherwise be so ugly."
Gotta jet. God bless you all - very much : )
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