Secondhand Speedos y El Subte

So yesterday was a day for interesting moments. We woke up and headed for the church to help with organizing clothes and getting them ready to be donated. Little did we know, that as two very loud American girls out on our own, that we would get lost on the Subte. To our credit, we actually did the right thing, but just did not exit on the right staircase. This may seem minor, but it ended in a 2 mile detour around the city, while looking for the Iglesia de Cristo. After several phone calls to Osvaldo and Maria Laura, asking questions to both a Subte attendant and a Christian book store worker (in fragmented Spanish mind you), we walked back towards the Subte a mile and a half and found the iglesia. Hannah and I are about to tour again, and we can only hope that we can improve from yesterday's exploration.Last night we had a English speaking cell group, which basically means it was a bible study with a bunch of natives who were trying to speak English. Interesting enough though, there was a Polish guy as well as people from Peru and Brazil and Bolivia. It was a really neat time to talk with them and do a study of Mark 6. They were all very sweet and two are in the process of preparing for baptism. I can only hope that we will be blessed enough to witness it. Tonight we have a Spanish speaking cell group, this will be more of a challenge!! Keep praying about our encounters with people, that we will get over our struggle to communicate and really be able to minister to some people. Thank you.

I will leave you with a picture of a secondhand speedo which Hannah and I were so fortunate to find while sorting clothes at the church. Enjoy!

Sanctuario

Today was Day one and it started out busy! We got off the plane at 8:20 am and did not leave the airport until 9: 45 am. After having our first experience with customs, we drove with Osvaldo and Marcelo to our new home for two months. We unpacked, met the family, spent some time exploring the neighborhood and ate ice cream at an internet cafe around the corner called Dolce Fressa. Then Maria Laura (M.L. as we call her), stomped us in Mario Party. The afternoon was filled with getting to know the Valdez family and the home we will be a part of for the next two months. 

Then later that night I experienced sanctuario (sanctuary) for the first time in two days. The moment happened when we met 12 other Christians at their church in Caballito (the downtown area). They were meeting there to talk about and plan their upcoming "Friends' Day." The event was part of their community outreach and is something that they have been planning for awhile. It was an honor to be invited to the meeting and then to be asked to be a part of it. I may have only understood every 5th word or so, but it was great to be in a community of believers and to be accepted almost instantly. Pato, Mikaela, Marissa, Maria Laura, Natalia, Daniel, Herman, William, Pedro, Juan Carlos are people I look forward to seeing again. With them I found community. When we sang together, in Spanish of course, it was a moment I will always remember because it united us under God.

My prayer is that God continues to use Hannah and I and challenge us to reach beyond ourselves to find him. Thank you for your support and prayers. I look forward to continuing to share with you my journey. Viva la Argentina!!

Eleven Days and counting

Hannah and I will be leaving in eleven days for Buenos Aires, Argentina. We are mostly packed, and finishing up our last mission training as I write this. At this point we are just anticipating getting there, and being that Abilene is currently around 90 degrees and BA is 60 degrees, I think that this will be a good way to spend the summer. Hopefully I won't be sitting on the bench next to this guy. Stay tuned and I'll keep you up on my adventures this summer.