7 Miles

Whew!  Today was a long day. 
I walked about 7 miles today going back and forth from the church to the house and on errands.  The fun part, the 1st six were all in the heat of the day.  (I think I might have smelled a little funny when I arrived at the last couple of the meetings.  : ) 

It was a good day though - got in some great time in God's presence, interceding & crying out to God for a revival.  I got in some good time with people, meetings and such.  (I actually understood most of the leadership meeting tonight!)  And I had some good time with the family as well.  We took them to a local play area to run off lots of steam so that they would sleep good tonight.  Ha.

It is now tomorrow, so I need to go to sleep. 
See you all tomorrow night. 

Good night and God bless
Que Dios te lleva paz, poder, y su presencia -

Sudden Holiday

Today I had a found out something cool. 
I was bummed that I had gone all the way into the downtown to try and find something at the only Christian Book Store in San Salvador de Jujuy, only to find it was unexpectedly closed.  I was surprised and trying to figure out why they were closed as I rode home in a taxi with my little princess.  I then began to realize that a lot of stores were closed.  Weird! 

I asked the taxi driver about it and he informed me that it was a short notice holiday commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Argentine Flag!  It is a 1 time holiday.  It will not be celebrated next year.  In fact, it most likely will not be celebrated until 2112 - 100 years from now, on it's 300th Anniversary.  : )  - Kind of cool to be a part of that.  : )

It was a very busy day.  I got up later than I wanted (been sick, just a little, and trying to get over it) and watched the kids for an hour while I let Heather get more sleep.  I then went to the church and had a GREAT time with God.  I ran a couple of important errands, took my little one with me to return the rental car and run another errand.  We came home and had lunch with the fam & spent some quality time with my wife.  Then I went back to the church to meet with Pastor and his family and spent a couple of hours helping a young man study and prep for his English Class.  It was a great time.  He was very thankful and relieved.  When I got home I made dinner for everyone.  Then a bunch of the neighborhood kids stopped by to see if our kids could play - they loved the idea and I went outside with them to build relationships and translate for everyone.  Afterwards I helped Heather with some stuff, practiced a little Spanish with the kids & put them to bed. 

Now it is getting late, I am working on line and getting ready to spend a little more quality time with Heather before bed.  Whew!  Full day!  : )

See you tomorrow night - God bless

Paz, salud, favor -

Goodbyes to Mom-In-Law

Today, Sunday, February 26th, 2012 was a tough day emotionally for the entire family.  My mom-in-law, Marjorie Lehman, had been here with in Argentina, visiting for the last 2+ weeks.  Today her time with us was done and we had to drive her to Salta (2 hours one way) and put her on her flight back to the U.S.  After her being with us in our tiny home for a couple of weeks, it was really hard to see her go and to say good-bye.  Aliana cried a lot as we left the airport & the kids behaved badly on the way home.  Thankfully, we were able to right the ship and everyone is doing better now. 

It was so interesting having her here.  Besides, being fun & cool to have a visit like that, it was a study into culture.  We were so excited to take her everywhere, show her everything, have her try everything.  I forget that we had MONTHS to make adjustments and she had only days, and often only 1 shot at an experience.  As I watched her reactions and listened to her descriptions, it was intriguing.  I wondered if that is what we looked and sounded like when we first arrived in NW Argentina, and perhaps at times, still do. 

We are a loud family.  I admit it, know it, and we constantly work on trying to be more quiet and subtle.  I now see why so much of the world thinks of us North Americans as the "Ugly Americans."  Our culture is so much louder, more direct, more individualistic, quick and aggressive, etc.  Without ever trying to or meaning to, we end up being a bit like a bull in a China Shop. 

I was constantly aware of how loud my m-i-l was and I was trying to tactfully get things more quiet.  There were times in public that she would make a funny face at something and I was mortified inside, hoping that no locals took notice of it or worse yet, were offended.  She did not mean anything by it.  She was just being herself (N. American culture), and in fact, was probably trying to be tactful.  But to our quiet, humble culture here in Jujuy, it was still loud and dramatic.

It made me realize how far we had come as a family in our cultural adaptation, and I was excited for that.  At the same time, it made me wonder how much we still had to learn, how often we are still being the "Bull in the China Shop" culturally.  Hmmm?  It was cool and scary at the same time.  : ) 

Anyways, it will be a tough adjustment for a bit to be without grandma in the house.  We love her so, appreciate her greatly, and miss her a lot.  Safe flight tonight grandma.  We will talk to you again soon by skype I am sure.  But for us, it is back to the grind.  Going to be tough going for a bit.

Love you mom.  God bless you and keep you safe
Good night all
May God's grace, peace, & plan be with you all -