earthquakes, mate, and Español

Early in the morning on Saturday, February 27 an 8.8 magnitude earthquake shook Santiago, Chile. Here in Mendoza we experienced a magnitude of 5.0. Yesterday a team from our YWAM base left for Chile. Another team is hoping to follow them later this week. Being only about 112 miles away from Santiago, we are hoping to continually be sending over teams to help over the next several months. As of now, I´ll be staying at the base helping out, but planning to be a part of a team that leaves within the next couple months.

The Aconcagua Team made it home safely with four of the ten members making it to the summit of the mountain. Their stories are incredible and challenging. Even before they returned back to the base they were hearing how others on the mountain were influenced by their group. People recognized they were ¨different¨and that they respected and served each other in different ways than previous groups.

More Argentinian culture- Mate
Mate is a common hot drink in Argentina. It is most often shared with family and friends while socializing in one´s home. Like most cultural customs there are several ¨rules¨about drinking mate. I have learned that when you are handed the drink you do not touch the straw and you drink the entire cup full before handing it back to the person who refills the cup for each person. The cup is continually refilled and passed around the circle. I also learned that you do not say thank you after having some, unless you do not want anymore. Saying thank you means that you are done and do not want more.
My mentor has been attempting to teach me Spanish, when we fit it into our days that is. I´m pretty sure I´m the only staff member here who does not speak Spanish, so most conversations are spoken in Spanish. There are a couple current DTS students who do not speak Spanish though. My brain is usually pretty tired by the end of the day, but I´m glad to be having this experience. Even though I won´t be very good at speaking Spanish when I get home I will definitely know more than when I arrived here!

English- Youth With a Mission, YWAM
Español- Juventud con una Misión , JUCUM

This past weekend I was able to sit in on the current DTS classes. The speaker runs a Biblical Counseling secondary level school of YWAM in Buenos Aires. The focus over the three days was on Inner Healing. It always amazes me how God can reveal ways He has been working in my heart even when I don´t feel like anything has been happening. He definitely went deeper into my heart in some areas that He began working on during my DTS lecture phase in Belize. It is one more way that His faithfulness is revealed to me.

Hope you enjoy some random pictures I took around the base. Hoping to add more soon to show more of the base and the wonderful people here!

comedor, relationships, and dulce de leche

It´s crazy that it has already been 2 weeks since I arrived in Mendoza. Each day feels quite long, but somehow the weeks are going by quickly. I am getting the hang of how the base is run, but I´m definitely still adjusting! This past week we had a team leave to hike the highest mountain in both the Southern and Western hemispheres, Aconcagua. They have been preparing for about a year for this trip. We also have a team in India right now, and another team leaves next week to go to Haiti. Also, there is currently a Soccer DTS being held at the base. Ireally enjoy getting to know the staff and the current DTS students. Being around this school has actually helped me process more of my own DTS school. I´ve seen more and more how God had specific purposes in taking me to Destination Paradise and that reminds me that He has specific purposes in bring me here to Mendoza for this season. If you want to check out more about YWAM Mendoza and current happenings take a look at their blog- http://holamendoza.blogspot.com/

I´ve been spending a lot of my time helping out with general things on the base like cooking and raking. I´ve also had the opportunity to help out with the comedor ministry which cooks food to take to the city center to share a meal with homeless people. Comedor occurs every Friday. My mentor has a heart for relationships and for building connections within the community. I really appreciate being paired with Ang because I get to see the impact she´s made by loving people and having genuine relationships with those she has met within the community. Again, God reminds me of the power of love and relationship. He´s all about love and relationship.

Last but CERTAINLY not least...there is an amazing ice cream shop within walking distance from the base!! And you can buy an incredible amount for the small price of 6 pesos...uhhh maybe $1.50 USD. Last night I had dulce de leche flavored ice cream, wowzah!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dulce de leche in Spanish is candied milk. Found as both a syrup and a caramel candy, it is prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that is vaguely similar in taste to caramel.

goodbyes, hellos, and the Ande Mountains...

The past few weeks have been packed full of transitions. We wrapped up our Outreach in Thailand and started our trek back home on January 21. It was hard to say goodbye to the children at Sila Home, but I am soooo thankful we were able to spend a few weeks with them. It was the part of our Outreach that impacted me the most. It´s crazy how connected you can become with children even when you cannot speak the same language!

I was very excited that it worked out for me to be in the United States briefly before leaving for my internship. However, I was NOT excited about the negative temperatures waiting for me. Our tickets from Thailand flew us into Los Angeles, where one of my best friends happens to live. It worked out perfectly for me to spend a few days with her seeing her life out in California. Then I headed back to Wisconsin to see friends and family. I was thinking I would have a very restful time while being home, but my time was pretty packed full. I ended up looking forward to my long plane ride for some rest.

Last Thursday, the 4th, I left for my internship. I arrived in Mendoza, Argentina on Friday the 5th. I was a little nervous when I looked online at the weather for Mendoza and saw 104 degrees...but thankfully it is a dry heat! Nothing like the humidity of Belize.
I will be spending the next few months at the YWAM base in Mendoza which is located in the foothills of the Ande Mountains.

http://www.ywammendoza.com/

So far I am really enjoying being here. Everyone has been very welcoming and patient with me since I´m not exactly a pro at Spanish. Thanks for your prayers! They are deeply appreciated!

mushroom farms, borders, and markets...

We have been accomplishing random tasks at the Sila House. One of the major work projects has been to begin work on building mushroom farms. The Sila Home has an incredible vision of becoming a self sustaining, community living organization with various ministries. We've begun digging trenches, post holes, and a well to help with getting them started. We've spent a couple days teaching English at a local school. It can be very interesting walking into a room full of 42 Thai speaking second graders to attempt to teach them an English lesson-without a translator. We had a variety of stories to share afterwards!
Most evenings we have been running children's programming that usually involves some sort of craft, game, or fun activity. I have really enjoyed getting to know the children here. Even with the language barrier, we have been able to really connect with the kids. We organized an evening of fun games and activities for New Year's Eve and even were able to join in on some of the traditions Sila House holds each year.
This past Wednesday morning we took off toward the northern border to renew our visas again. There are many markets filled with odd food and a variety of trinkets to keep us occupied for a while. We are currently staying up by the Mynmar border to renew our visas for the last time tomorrow. Then we will head back to the orphanage to spend a few more days working on projects, teaching English at another school, and spending time with the children. It has been nice to have a couple days to spend in a new place that allows for some rest and exploration. Then we will all be ready to head back to have a strong last week before we begin our outreach debriefing.

Sila House...

We are spending the remainder of our outreach in Chaiprakarn, which took us about another eight hours of traveling to get to. We arrived Christmas Eve night. Just in time to join in the Christmas celebrations at the Silas House. On December 25 and 26 we spent the days playing games with the children and preparing for two different Christmas programs. On Christmas night the church had a program for the community that we joined in with by performing two of our skits. On the 26th we celebrated with the kids at the Sila Home with another program and a few more skits. Everyone is really enjoying our time at the Sila Home, we've really been able to connect with the children and the staff. We're scheduled to run numerous activities with the children in the evenings, help with manual labor in the day time, teach English at some local schools, and share teachings and testimonies during Sunday church services. We have a lot planned for the next few weeks, but we all are realizing that the remainder of our outreach phase is going to fly by. It's crazy to think our team will be saying goodbye to each other as we split off to head to our internships. It'll be fun to see where everyone ends up and how God uses each one of us during our internships.

Two of the children from Sila House.

Playing games with Agape Home children before leaving.

Christmas celebration dinner with the kids at Sila House.

Field workers in Chaiprakarn.

One of my new friends!

hill tribes, fevers, and Christmas celebrations...

It is hard to believe Christmas is next week. When I think of Christmas I usually think snow, wood furnaces, Christmas trees, and family. This year it's sunshine, cold showers, sugar cane, and our DTS team. Today we had a Christmas Celebration day at the Agape House where community children were invited to come play games, enjoy meals, and participate in our Christmas program. As a team, we've been planning different programs that have been presented at schools, different hill tribes, and here at the orphanage.
One of the biggest things we are learning as a team is flexibility. Our plans and schedules tend to change quite often and it has been quite trying on our team at times. It's one of the big differences in Eastern vs. Western culture. I think we're starting to get the hang of it though. God has been using our circumstances to challenge us to be faithful with the small things He has placed before us, to give 100% in planning even when we are not sure if what we are planning is going to be used or performed. We are also starting to cross of tasks from our list of things to accomplish regarding manual labor at the orphanage. Yesterday the guys lined different sports fields while the girls deep cleaned some showers. We're hoping to finish everything on our list on Monday and then head back to a local school on Tuesday.

I think every member of our team has taken his or her turn getting sick within the last two weeks. Some have been knocked out with fevers and sore throats while others are getting zapped with the flu. We were dropping like flies for a few days, but we are definitely on the up swing now. We only have three days left here at Agape House. Then we head across the Myanmar border to renew our visas and go up north to the next orphanage.

Agape House...

There are around 90 children at Agape House, the orphanage we have been staying with since we arrived in Mae Sot. Each morning the children start worship at 5:00 am, complete chores, and get ready for school. Each evening is ended with another worship time.
We have been very busy since arriving here. The first two days were spent teaching English and playing games at a local school. On two different nights we piled into the back of trucks to hold on during the trek up to two different Karen hill tribes where we presented open air programs and spent the night before coming back to the orphanage. Time has also been spent clearing out the sports fields, building and putting up soccer goals and a volleyball net. We are also in the process of organizing a variety of after school activities to facilitate for the kids when the come back from school each evening. It feels as though we are just getting started here, yet we only have two more weeks left in Mae Sot. May and Noah, our hosts, have been blessing us with incredible meals and providing opportunities for us to run into the market and we even had a chance to go to some hot springs where we all enjoyed hot showers for the first time since arriving here.
As a team we have been fighting off sickness as it seems everyone is trying to take his or her own turn of getting a head cold or sore throat. We soak in our times of team worship and intercession. During each debrief we recognize ways that God is teaching and growing our team. We pray that we will continue to be open and learn what He's showing us to improve our ministry.
Sometimes it is hard to think about what is ahead when there is so much going on in the present. We have so much left of outreach, yet internship phase is creeping up on us in a few weeks also. I'm still not set on where I will be for internship, but as of right now I am thinking about two different options. I have been looking into going to a YWAM base in Argentina, South America to help out with different mercy and sports ministries they facilitate or I am open to helping out with a ministry here in Thailand. Please pray for clear direction!
We'll see where God sends me...