The church in Choele Choel now holds a special place in my heart. I love how we gather on sunday evenings, greeting each other with kisses and hugs, a buzzing of warmth. Announcements are read, and we sing happy birthday to those with birthdays or anniversaries, greet the guests. Then, we enter into the time of singing worship, and prayer...flowing from songs of lively clapping with guitars, drums, bass, invitation to worship....to songs of adoration interspersed with spoken prayers offered by members in the congregation. During this time, people often kneel at the front for prayers of healing, and anointment with oil. There is the time of offering, where the youth pass around the basket, and then the message is spoken. Yesterday marked the first time a woman preached in the church (although women often give the message in the smaller group meetings on Wednesday nights). Given by the pastor`s wife, Diana Stabile, it was a powerful word on what it means to be angry with God, and then giving that anger over to God, allowing yourself to be cleaned and freed from it. I can see God continuing to grow the Choele church, and I believe that is one sign of that.

It is a beautiful to witness the baptisms, which take place every few months. The person is called to the front, and a pastor prays and baptizes them with water poured over their head. At the end of the service, most of the congregation gathers around the baptized, welcoming and greeting them into the family.

After almost every service, people linger a long time, chatting and fellowshipping. Us youth linger longer to play ping-pong, share matè in the kitchen, hover around the gas heater because it is freezing cold, or play UNO (the most popular card game here). The other night I was invited over to the youth leader and his wife`s house for soup and pizza after a service. Just the simple things like that...sharing moments of life with my friends in the church, make me aware of God`s presence. I don`t always have to have an agenda to my days or life. I don`t always need to be rushing around, completing a long list of to-dos. After all, Christ showed us the example of savoring life....long meals with friends, talking for hours, just being.

I like that following Christ means I am called to take time to be with my friends, family, go for walks, share coffee with a neighbor, give gifts. These are things that I can do here in Argentina, but can`t wait to do more of when I return.

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Much of the month of April, the four of us were travelling. We took two weeks of vacation, in which we travelled solos to southern Chile, and then various places in Argentina on the way back. We spent a week in a large fishing city called Puerto Montt, staying with an American missionary family that has lived there for 14 years. They have a small house church that we got to spend two Sundays with, including Easter. A lovely congregation, filled with the Spirit, and working in missionary work with people who live isolated in the mountains. Being in Chile, seeing volcanoes, going on boat rides, the Andes mountains, relaxing...in all it was a wonderful vacation.

Ending our two weeks of vacation, we spent one week with the Mennonite congregation in the city of General Roca, in Argentina. There we were carted around visiting many people of the church (over lunch, matè, dinners, women`s meetings, etc) and also taught English three times for children in a poor neighborhood of the city, where the church runs an afterschool program. I ended the week getting very sick with a flu bug (illness that turned into cold, then bronchitis, which I am just now recovering from...quite ugly). The experience of seeing other Mennonite churches in South America was special: each has their own flavor, expression of worship and ministry, but in each we were welcomed with abundant love, and saw Christ working in each of their communities.

Coming back to Choele after travelling for three weeks was hard at first. The four of us each shared at that point (the end of April) strong desire to be back home home, with family and friends again. It was sort of like, "well, done what we came to do in Argentina, ready to return"-attitude. But, God has profoundly shown me lately that there is a good reason I am to stay here in Argentina until the end of June. God`s plan for us continues here...there is still learning to be done.

As our time here in Choele Choel is coming to an end soon, I am realizing that our being here hasn`t just been an experience for us to take in. We have had an affect on this community, as we have made dear friendships and relationships with people here. From our adopted "families", the neighborhood children we teach English to, neighbors whom we greet daily, the youth group--all these connections hold a piece of our hearts. Although 8 months now seems like a short amount of time, and there are people I wish I would have spent more time with, no matter how short a time we share with people in our lives, connections that are made can have impacts that last a lifetime. And especially when we are part of the body of Christ, we are never really apart.

I see this connection/relationship building as something so important to the spreading of God`s Shalom in the world. Last Friday, the four of us went to a high school class studying the United States in geography, and we answered their questions regarding life and culture in the States. One of their last questions was what we thought the solution to wars and violence in the world was. Since it was public school, I couldn`t exactly share that true peace wouldn`t come until Christ returned. I shared that travelling to other countries like we have done, building real relationships between people of different cultures, and seeing that we are all humans and quite alike, helps correct stereotypes and ignorance, thus helping build peace in the world.

Other sharing we have done recently included giving the "message" at one of the small church meetings in the north zone. Our theme verse was Matt 10:39. Leah and I did a mime, and each of us shared our reflections on the verse, and want it has meant to us throughout our life and especially this year. I was moved by the testimonies of my dear friends, and aware of how real God is. God really has worked in each of our lives, and sitting in the small, cold cabin that we helped build (well, mostly the boys), I was struck by the priviledge I`ve had to love and be loved and worship with God`s children in another part of the world. It may not have been the most polished presentation ever, but it was from our hearts. And we did it in Spanish. Kudo points.

Each day I feel more and more aware of God`s blessings. I feel more connected with the church here, and am receiving more vocal appreciation for our presence. People beginnning to realize we are leaving soon, and are saying how they have seen God in us, and are going to miss us a lot. I certainly am going to miss them--it is annoying how often it happens in life that you don`t realize how much a blessing something is until it is almost gone, or over. Yesterday, a young mother married with one baby died. Her sister and her were involved in a motorcycle accident. We attended the funeral last night and this morning at the cemetery, which was a very moving time of feeling the intense pain in the community. Such tragic loss, and yet the message of praising God and having hope continued. I`m yet again humbled to share in all aspects of life here with this church, including celebrations and times of mourning.

I will stop there for now with the note...but will try to write shorter ones more often here at the end. Got to take advantage of my time to tell the stories as they happen!

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I have the desire to give thanks to God for the blessings in my life right now, and have decided that one of the best ways for me to do that is to show love to those around me here. And, it is not only our words that count, but our actions. Everyone needs affirmation and to be acknowledged as a beloved child of God. I like Romans 12:10..¨."love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor". If we are the body of Christ, God`s hands here in the world, the tools for God`s Shalom plan for the world, then we need to first show that love to those around us. It is easy for me to live being helped and blessed by God through the people around me, and be too lazy or distracted to really realize that God inhabitats those people. What an opportunity there is to come into union with God if we can love and honor God by loving and blessing those around us--our family, mentors, pastors, caring neighbors, strangers who help in times of need. I`ve been realizing that my serving is empty if I am not in a loving, seeking relationship with God. And my relationship with God is blocked if I am not in loving, giving relationships with my fellow companions here on earth.

God has been blessing me during this time of my life, as always. I praise Christ, because lately I`ve had some more awareness of those blessings. The blessing of being able to communicate in Spanish (understanding the sermons more!), and have friendships that are becoming more meaningful. The news from Caleta Olivia (where we went on our week-long evangelistic trip) that the small congregation down there has been growing and blossoming rapidly, with great joy and praise to God. Coffee and prayer time with my fellow RAD friend Leah Yoder, and new friend Danielle, a high school junior from Wakarusa who is here for 6 months attending the secondary school. Small reminders of God´s love like the little kids all around the city that seem to know my name and come up and give me kisses. Letters and emails of encouragement from friends back home. An afternoon by the river with a friend who confides in me. Laughing and bonding with the boys and two men from the church with whom we are constructing a new church building. Hugs and wet kisses from my three-year-old hermanita (little sister).

Borrowing from the imagery of a friend of mine, God is an ocean. The tides come and go--leaving the shore dry at times. But, if I just sit in the sand long enough, the water of the Spirit will once again wash over me. To let God´s presence wash over my life, I must come into the presence of the Creator daily...waiting, thanking, praising...faithfully.
That is the kind of worship God desires. Praise-giving that seeps into every ascpect and second of our lives, and isn´t confined to Sunday morning thanksgiving-times.

May God give me the strength to love and the patience to wait.
--Andrea

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imitating penguins

enjoying waffles on the beach, las grutas

Delbert, Frieda, me...picinic on the beach

a source of joy and support to me...my friend leah yoder and I facing the Atlantic

sunrise down South

waiting for the sunrise with friends in Caleta Olivia

sea lions (or are they seals) on the beach in Caleta Olivia

Kevin Roth working on the church construction project in Choele

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News from the South: I am recovering from the flu bug, but the Month of February and the beginning of March so far have been filled yet again with experiences of God growing, challenging and blessing me.

Here´s a recap:

-The joy of being nurtured by my fellow RADers in my faith...as we continue to study and discuss what it means to have a spirituality of service...as we share weekly how God is working in our lives...deeping friendships over ice cream in our favorite heladerìa

-I continue to feel more a part of the youth group here in Choele Choel, and more comfortable praying and sharing during our weekly meetings. We (RAD) participated in a day long youth retreat here, which included worship time, talks about staying pure in Christ and living different from the world, field games, and a talent show around the bonfire which helped strengthen relatioships.

-Getting to know people in the village of Belisle, which we visited on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago (and from now on will visit every 3rd sunday morning) has been a blessing. God continues to surprise me, and remind me that all I need to do is trust in Him. Before we went, I still had nervousness over how to talk and meet with people we hardly know, but we were warmly welcomed into homes and had chances to share our stories and God`s vision for the town over rounds of matè. We have an invitation to make Chilean empanadas with one lady, and to stop for matè any time we choose at various other houses.

-It isn`t easy to invite a stranger into your house for 8 months, and likewise it hasn`t always been easy for me to know how to be a part of the family. But, I`m at a point now where I feel truly cared for--my physical and spiritual needs taken in consideration too. I`m grateful that God shows me love in this way...helps make being far from my "real" family easier.

-A visit from Darrell Gauscho, the RAD director, was a joy. We showed him around the town, the different activities we do each day, and each had a chance to host him in our houses for matè or a meal. Also my first real time acting as a translator (he doesn`t really speak Spanish), which I really enjoyed. As usual, he asked us lots of questions that made me reflect on the ways God is at work in my life, here in Argentina, and on my future. And, as he is a foodie (has worked as a chef and has great appreciation for fine cuisine), we ate out for the first time in a lovely restaurant here in Choele, "La Aguada". Delicious food and great company!

-Between two cars, the four of us in RAD, along with Delbert and Frieda Erb, three young adults and one gentlemen from the Choele church (10 people in total) drove about 12 hours south, for a week of missions work. We took the highway (2-way paved roads, in decent condition) along the coast, stopping overnight on our way their in Puerto Madryn. The church in Choele has a church plant their, and we squeezed into the missionary couple`s house for the night (along with an unannounced family that was traveling back to Choele). I continue to be amazed my the hospitality of people here in Argentina, in opening up their homes to anyone who needs a place. Definitely has made me want to always keep my home open to those who need a place to stay!
The next morning, we took an hour or so detour on gravel roads that followed the coast, until we reached our destination...a penguin colony. It never crossed my mind that their could be penguins without ice, but these tiny Magellan penguins migrate to this refuge every year. There were marked paths for the turists to walk on, but the penguins who have their nests in the ground all around the area disregard the painted stones. They walked right in front of us, and when one of the guys in our group got too close to one, it pulled on his pant leg, as if saying, "Excuse me sir, could you please move out of my way?" Being so close to these incredibly creatures, watching them play on the waves, I was struck by the beauty of God in the creation.
Back into the cars, we continued south, with one quick visit in Comodoro Rivadavia. Working there as a teacher is a young single woman also from Choele Choel, 23 yrs old, who is the sole pastor of a small church in the city. Amazed by her bravery, but then again, why should I be surprised when God is at work?
An hour and a half later, we arrived in Caleta Olivia, province of Santa Cruz. We stayed a week in the farthest south mennonite church in the world (and certainly the farthest south I`ve ever been in my life), with the Choele missionary couple Andrés and Fabiola. They moved down to the large oil-mining-ocean town four years ago, without knowing a soul. Now, Andrès runs a house-painting buisness, and is the pastor of a small congregation (about 10 people). The task given to us for the week was to do a survey regarding the purpose of our lives, using the small questionnaire as a means of evangelizing and sharing the Gospel. We divided into pairs (one RADer with an Argentine youth) and hit the beach every afternoon. I`ve never particpated in anything like this before, and it wasn`t easy to get over my fears, especially with the language barrier. The questions asked: Have you ever been asked what the purpose of your life is? Do you know what is the purpose of your life? Are you interested in knowing more about the purpose of your life? We left alone people who showed no interest, but the majority of people we talked with seemed eager to share their beliefs, and hear what we had to say. I never have liked the practice of handing out tracts to passerbys, but we only handed a photocopy from the church after talking with people who showed interest. It was an experience that widened my perspective on evangelizing, and made me wonder why I don`t share my faith more, in all times. When God is at work, you don`t have to worry about words. I say God planting seeds of thirst for faith in the two young adolescent girls we chatted with, who wanted to know about the purpose of their life; the young man who was almost ready to commit his life to Christ, but still burdened by questions; an older man who had been sucked into a life of drinking and bad decisions but decided to come to our church service one night, hungering for the hope that we spoke of receiving through Christ.
As I felt the frustration of not being able to express myself fully in Spanish, and not fast enough to respond in the moment, I found much of my purpose that week in being a presence of prayer. My partner, Ramiro, did most of the talking, but I was encouraged by remembering that God is greater than any language barrier. I certainly know God was testing and refining me through this experience.
p.s. (for

-Most recently, we had a brief visit from a group from the Mennonite Mission Network (Lynda Hollinger-Janzen, Ryan Miller, Denver Steiner). Apart from video-interviewing us on how we have grown and what we will bring back to our home congregations from this time in Argentina, I was remined how small the world is. I feel connected to everyone back home, and the wider global church, because we are one body in Christ. That is a special, holy thing.

Looking forward:

- School has started up here, which means the church`s activities are also warming up. We will be teaching English again to children, after the summer break. I may be getting some odd painting jobs in the church, and will continue visiting people (particularly elderly) in the congregation. I have also signed up for a class that the Bible institute at the church offers---My Experience with God (in Spanish, so it will be double learning for me...language and spiritual). Still our monthly missions trips into the campo, Belisle, a week in another city teaching English, and two weeks of vacation.

As these 3 1/2 months will surely fly by, I am gearing more of my thoughts toward this summer, my return home and some sort of internship at Prairie Street. Not sure what form that will take still, but I hope in part to use my language skills in connecting with Spanish-speaking neighbors in our community. Also, trying out differernt ministry skills will be enriching learning. Not to mention introducing matè to all who are interested...

Thanks for taking the time to read, pray, and care for me.
My love is sent your way.
Andrea

Abundant Life...penguins and the Gospel remains copyright of the author andijoyk, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I have decided to overcome my fear of blogging because I have nothing very profound to say, and to just let people know I`m alive and doing well. I`m actually do better than just well--I feel like I am becoming more at home here, making more friends, gaining more ground in the spanish language, and developing a deeper awareness of the Spirit of Jesus in my life.
January flew by with another viaje misionera to Aguada Cecilio, where we visited folks, had a children`s meeting, drank lots of maté, went horseback riding in the countryside for a bit, and witnessed the beautiful thirst for God in the children who came to worship with us on Sunday morning.
(the children in Aguada)
The work in Belisle is now turned over into our hands, with me being somewhat the leader, as Pastor Juan Sieber has left to live in Illinois for a year. We visited a few weeks ago and made a number of new connections. We are hoping to visit again this Wed, bringing along three girls from our youth group. Not sure exactly what we will be doing, but probably just visit people again. I trust that God will continue to work if we just remain patience and faithful in doing our part of the work. Praying, visiting, being a presence in the town. There is one small bar/confiteria-resturant there where we might eat lunch, and a nice plaza to drink maté in. Please pray that this missions work may be fruitful and that doors may open for us to begin working with children in the town, possibly starting with English lessons.

(RAD with pastor Juan Sieber)
The four of us in RAD also got the chance to accompany the youth of Choele Choel to the national Mennonite youth camp in the province of Buenos Aires. There were about 180 youth who came (although I am sure there are many more who couldn`t come), and we stayed at a church camp that reminded me a lot of similar camps in the states. The weather was humid and hot like an IN summer too, with plenty of mosquitos, and a plague of flies. I really appreciated the worship times we had, especially one in the evening, when, after we were dismissed, nobody wanted to leave the presence of God. One kid picked up a guitar and started playing songs, and we worshipped in dim light, tears, and joy for probably another hour. It was a special time to meet new youth, even though not understanding much of anything the preacher said was frustrating. The theme was going to the extreme for Christ, but the preacher was too Argentine for us to understand--too many jokes, puns, and talked way too fast! A shame.

Life continues to be a combination of joys and challenges here. I am aware and thankful that I am really grasping the language more and more. That has happened so subtly, my learning of it, but I realize I am beginning to have meaningful conversations with people here. I am now able to talk about my faith, about God, about life with certain people, and feel like I can express myself. Not completely all the time, which is still a frustration, but I`m not as distracted by having to think about the spanish all the time I am talking.
I have begun doing more visiting of people in the church, older folks, and accompaning Frieda Erb on her visitations. I think this might be one new way God is calling me to serve here, in building relationships in this way. I enjoy it, and pray that the relationships I make may be fruitful and life-giving.
This afternoon, while attempting to survive the extreme heat (39 C, about 110 F), the four of us met in Leah`s apartment to begin a study time. We meet once a week for prayer and worship together, but now on mondays, I will be leading a discussion on the essay we are reading, by Susan Classen, A Spirituality of Service. I love the image she uses to show how God works through us in our service. Like the water system in the village where she worked in El Salvador, God is the source, the tap spring, and we are the pipes, carrying the water to the villagers below the hill. We are the pipes through which God`s love flows, and our actions are the water that comes out of the faucet. If we are connected to God, and in good relationship with our Creator, then the love we receive will flow through us in tangible ways. As young adults on a journey of discipleship and discovering what it means to be a servant for Jesus, we are looking to make clear our channels. To be aware of the things in our lives that may distract us, or clog us with bad spirit, or pull us away from God, and ask that God clean us and make us flow with the Spirit again. I pray that each day, we may be filled more and more with the Spirit of Jesus Christ, so that everything in our life may become a natural act of loving service.
In a few weeks, our RAD director Darrel Gauscho is visiting us. We pray for his safe arrival, and a good time of visiting and mutual encouragement. I`m sure I will have some heart-to-hearts with him, as he always seems to know how to probe into my inner soul.
We are also praying as plans are made for our missions trip to Caleta Olivia, a town about 2 days of travel south, to the southernmost Mennonite church in the world (I think). We still don`t know many details, but think it might be some sort of evangelical work, which also sounds vague and slightly scary to us. But, I`m trusting in God, as with every new and slightly scary or intimidating experience here in Argentina. Things always seem to work out, with God`s help. Oooo, and we might get to take a detour to see the penguin colony. That would be awesome!
I think of my return in 5 months with great joy, and anticipation. I know that God is preparing me for that time and for my future in general during this time. I`m excited to get involved again at Praire Street, working with the youth and children, and seeing how God has been working in Elkhart and through the church in the neighborhood. I pray a prayer of blessing, of energy and vitality to all my beloved brothers and sisters.
Here`s the Monday prayer from my Celtic Benediction (by J Philip Newell) prayer book that us four prayed during our meeting today:

In the beginning, O God,
your Spirit swept over the chaotic deep like a wild wind
and creation was born.
In the turbulence of my own life
and the unsettled waters of the world today
let there be new birthings of your Spirit.
In the currents of my own heart
and the upheavals of the world today
let there be new birthings of your mighty Spirit.

Bendiciones to all.
love, Andi

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Apologies to all for not responding very well to emails and not blogging often enough. I´m on a huge guilt trip right now, because I haven´t been good in keeping in communication with people. One of my New Year´s resolutions is to write people and blog weekly. We will see how that goes, but I really need to do it, for my own sake, and for other´s.

These days I have been doing very well. I sort of feel like I (and the rest of the group too maybe), have moved into a new phase of our being here. Two months have passed, and I am finally starting to feel comfortable speaking in spanish, understanding more, making more friends, and feeling more at peace with God and being here. I´ve settled more into enjoying life here, searching for opportunities to see God, receive love, and give love, and not be as restless in asking questions of God all the time. I´m growing to love my host family more, and feel loved by them.

Although I missed my family and everything familiar at Christmas, in retrospect, Christmas and New Year´s here were good experiences of bonding with my family here, and learning how to celebrate Christ´s birth without all the familiar. God is creating some new work in me, and I feel myself growing into a person more rooted in prayer, filled with a deeper thirst to follow God, and desire to give my life over to service in the name of Jesus.

These days have also been filled with more activities (as will the upcoming months), which I think help me from getting bored (which are the moments when I also tend to get more pensive and down). The four of us were helping with the pre-adolescent camp of the church the past Wed thru Sat. We camped out with 54 kids (and many other adult and youth helpers, thank God) in tents on the church chacra (farm) right outside the town. Each day we helped as being team leaders, leading devotion times, joining in worship with the children, helping in the kitchen, accompaning them to the canal where we swam, and playing. It was a joy, and the constant talking with the kids was great spanish practice. It reminded me how much I enjoy working with children, and makes me want to help with kids´ camps when I return to the States. I remember these sort of church camps were formative in my faith when I attended them as a child.

Only one bad thing happened though....Leah got very sick on Friday with an episode of acid reflux/terrible stomach inflamation and pain. This was the third time she has had this type of pain while being here, but this time was the worst. With Amaris Sieber (the pastor´s wife who speaks English), we went to the clinic, and then the emergency room in the hospital. They were able to give her some medicine to calm the inflamation and pain to some degree (as well as an IV later), but it was so hard to see her in such pain. I then spent the night with her in the hospital, which was a bit of a surreal experience. The nurses and doctors were very nice, but being woken up in the middle of the night various times really confused me, and it felt like a dream. But, by Saturday noon, Leah was feeling much better, and we returned to the chacra for the end of the camp. Leah has medicine to take now, and a list of foods to stay clear of, especially the maté. Please continue to keep her in your prayers, for her physical healing. I really hope that the rest of our time here is sickness-free for her (and for the rest of us).

This week, I am looking forward to our trip with Juan Sieber to the nearby town of Belisle , where we will eat lunch, get to know more people in the village, and pray. It is exciting to be starting this new mission work there--I feel like it is something God is challenging me in (because I´ve never been involved in a church planting or such a form of evangelism), and yet is also preparing and equipping us with the tools of language and the power of the Holy Spirit to complete our part in the work of God.

On Friday evening, we will leave with a group from the church for Aguada Cecilia and Pailiman, in the campo, for the viaje misionero. It will be good to return to these places for a second time, now knowing more what to expect, and to build more relationships. The last trip was an eye-opening experience into the greatness of God, in the broadness of God´s love to all ends of the Earth, even to these isolated places. I am learning much about missions from people in this church--the importance of regular visiting and fellowship with new or isolated believers, the power of prayer to transform lives and situations that seem hopeless, involving believers of all ages in the mission work, and much more.

The rest of January involves us going to the province of Buenos Aires for the national youth camp, and the return of Delbert and Frieda. We might start up some form of Spanish classe with them when they return, but right now, we are getting some lessons from Amaris and one of the youth who we teach English to.

I sat outside my neighbor´s house this morning, sheltered from the hot sun by the thick green grape vines, heavy with fruit. In my devotions for the day, I meditated on the verse of John 10:10. "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly."

God has blessed me more than I can know, more than I can describe. When I come before Christ, giving to Him my burdens and all my worries, letting Him breath into my life, my eyes are opened to how abundant my life is. I give all my praise to God, for God has been good to me. I pray for moments each day when I am aware enough to taste the sweetness.

Abundant blessings to all this new year,

Andrea

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I am asking these days for God's spirit to fill me, to lift my spirits (and those of our whole team), to return to me my motivation to study spanish and practice it more, to find my purpose in being here and more ways to serve. To fill me with love, Christ's love, so that I can give and recieve love freely. I don't want my time to pass here without notice, without a change in my life. Hmm. I think things just feel harder too around Christmas time. I'm missing family, friends, church, and traditions. Today, us RADers cooked ourselves a Christmas dinner (chicken, mashed potatoe casserole, creamed corn, salad, apple crisp), and decorated the little Christmas tree Frieda and Delbert left in their house while they spend a month in Canada and the U.S. It was fun, but I think it left us all a bit melancholy and homesick.

Even though I feel like I am going through a dry spell in my spiritual and emotional life right now, I continue to hold onto the hope that God has a purpose for me being here, and that it will be revealed to me. Adjusting to living in a new culture and building meaningful relationships in a new community (moreover in a different language) takes time. We've been here about 2 months. I need to give myself grace. Can't expect to be perfect at Spanish and have best friends here yet. But, God is still working in my life, and here. I feel like I am so close to God, but that my soul is covered with a blanket. I can sense that God is calling me to be in closer relationship, I sense that the Spirit is ready to fill me, I'm just not sure what I need to do to reach that place. It is at the times that I don't feel like I can pray or don't have the motivation to spend time with God each day that I most need to. Pray for the ability to pray.

Amidst my feelings of laziness, frustration, and sadness, I still give thanks. I have good health. My family here loves me--there have been moments where I have been able to share more personally how I'm doing and talk about faith matters with Clara and Marcos, which has been a blessing. Our RAD team gets along very well, and we support each other. We meet each week to pray for each other, and soon I am going to start leading us in a study of an essay by Susan Classen ("A Spirituality of Service: Freely Give, Freely Receive"). I am able to understand more of the sermons, and I think more of Castellano in general, although it is so hard to gauge how much I am learning.

Two weeks ago, the four of us RADers traveled along with 12 people from the church on a viaje misionero into the campo, the brush desert surrounding most of Choele Choel. Their we visited two small pueblos (villages), meeting and visiting people in the town the church has built relationships with, and worshipping with them. I saw the beauty and power of God working even in the most isolated places on the Earth. What a wonderful time it was to see more of Argentina, practice spanish (5 hours in a bus on dirt roads, laughing, singing, playing cards), and worship with growing Christians who have hardly any wordly possessions yet depend on God and hunger for Christ in their lives. On the return to Choele from the desert, we stopped in a town where the church doesn't know many people. We broke off into groups and just began greeting people. Along with two other women, I was invited into the home of a woman to share juice. My first real "mission" experience. Just showing the love of Christ through building friendships. Next month we will visit the same villages to continue to strengthen bonds, and support the small circle of believers and seekers. There is so much for me to learn from these missionaries and the people in the villages. I look forward to these monthly experiences.

Sorry for the awfully long blog, and for being so silent for so long on this blog. I've been quite lazy, and I apologize. I think of you all, my beloveds, fondly and often, and hope that the peace of Christ is bestowed on you all this Christmas. While snow brings a "silent night" in Northern Indiana, this Christmas will be brought in with fireworks (as is tradition here). Blessings, and Merry Christmas!

Asking, Knocking, Waiting for Response remains copyright of the author andijoyk, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Christ truly is the living water--whenever I am thirsty, He satisfies my soul. When I am dry of energy, patience or joy, God calls me back to the river. All I need to do is believe and drink.

This past weekend, I was renewed in many ways. On Friday, Delbert and Frieda took Leah and I on a 2 1/2 hr drive to General Roca, a city of about 80,0000 people. There we visited Piroli (I think that was his name), the pastor who helped start the first mennonite church there. We also went to the city´s poorest neighborhood, where all the street were dirt, and the houses small cement constructions. The Choele church has sent a missionary couple to live in that neighborhood, I think. The lady, along with another woman, run a tutoring program for niños. Frieda needed to visit, because she coordinates such church initiatives. This program, which has only been running for about 6 months or so, has about 20 kids who attend. Leah and I got the chance to help teach multiplication (in Spanish!), and see how God is ministering through this program. It is so much help for these kids, most of whom have parents that are separated, working and not at home much, and often don´t get enough food at home. We must pray that the church in Gnrl. Roca will get more involved with this initiative and that there will be sufficient funds so that the children can be fed at the school. At the end of the month, it gets hard to buy enough bread and dulce for them.
On our drive home that night, back to Choele, I was admiring the gorgeous night sky, when I suddenly heard my mom´s singing voice. In shock, I asked Frieda what CD it was, but soon realized it was Prairie Street´s music team CD from 2001. I started crying. For the next hour, I spent a blissful time in prayer, tears, and worship. It was such a gift to feel so close to home in Spirit, even as it was the first time I really realized how far away from home I was.
The next morning, Saturday, as I went jogging on the small island in the middle of the river, the familiar songs kept cycling through my mind. I belted out the familiar tunes (after making sure I was alone on the island ) As I dipped my feet in the Argentine Rio Negro, I sang "As I went down to the river to pray." God is so great. I was so thrist for God, and physically coming to the river was powerful. That night, at the youth reunion in the small yellow chapel, we sang "No hay nadie como tú"---"there is no one like you". I felt at that moment God´s hand blessing me and the whole gathering of believers. I continue to see the Spirit moving in our lives here (and I include the RAD team in the church here).
Times I´ve experienced God this week:
-memorizing the Lord´s prayer in Spanish--"El Padre Nuestro"
-talking on the phone for the first time with my family on Saturday
-Clara (host-mom) sharing with me the history of her family, and how she came to faith
-all the times I share maté with friends, and new acquaintances, and am welcomed and loved here. I love that in Argentina it is culturally acceptable to just stop by a friend´s house unannounced to visit--relationships take priority over "things"
-the first real rainy days at the beginning of this week reminded me very much of home. But, rain is rare here. That´s okay. I like the heat of summer (isn´t there a blizzard right now back in Indiana?)
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the immense love of God, and the water of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
In love,
Andrea

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Each Thursday morning, the four of us, along with Delbert Erb (our coordinator here) meet with Juan Sieber, who is one of the pastors at the Choele Choel church here. He is Argentine, but born of American missionary parents Floyd and Alicia Sieber. He speaks fluent English, and this morning we worshiped for the first time in English, singing worship songs in English. I hadn´t realized how much I missed singing and worshipping in English. I like the prayer times at the church in Spanish, but it is hard at times to both enter into worship and focus on understanding the language. Praying in my own tongue is most natural, but I pray that with time, praying in Spanish will become natural too. I will need the power of the Holy Spirit for that.
Juan is sharing with us the story of the church here in Argentina, and explaining the partenership that exists between the Choele Choel church and churches in Illinois. This partnership, called Arm in Arm by the churches in IL, has been around for about 10 years, and is bearing fruit. His vision is for a new definition of mission, one that makes mission a two-way road--not only missionaries from the U.S. to Argentina, but also missionaries going from Argentina to the U.S. We have been discussing the need for spiritual revival in the U.S. church. For so many years, the U.S. has been a great mother country in sending out missionaries, but over the years, we have lost the ability to be as mission-focused in our own communities. Part of the challenge the Argentine church has given the Illinois churches is starting church plants. This is a challenge that the Argentine church has taken on, and every month sends groups out from the church to visit new contacts, house churches, established churches, and missionaries who are working in the Patagonia region. A small church plant in Illinois has also started through this partnership, I believe. Talking about mission work, and the need for it in the U.S. excites me. I´ve often thought of mission only as work that you go to a new country to do. What would it mean for the churches in Northern Indiana to make plans to send missionaries to other cities that don´t have any Mennonite churches? I´m not sure what that would look like, and I´m not sure if that is something I may be called to, but it is something to pray over. It excites me to think about what God has in store for my future. I know now that I am called to be a servant for Christ, but how that will be played out in a job or vocation, or where I live, is such a mystery. But, I trust God.

Back to Thanksgiving, and my many reasons for thanks...

I´m thankful for the warm welcome from the youth in the church. Inviting me over to a sleepover, pizza, walks in the plaza, dips in the river, asados (barbeques), and sharing maté. They take interest in my well being, and one lovely girl even gave me an encouraging card that said something about her being grateful I´m here and that she is praying for me. The way the Holy Spirit is moving in and among the youth is so visible in their prayers and their actions.

I´m thankful for the way my RAD group is bonding and supporting one another. We have almost daily contact with each other (classes, church reúniones, visiting each other´s houses for meals), and once a week we meet to talk about how life is going, and pray for each other. We are able to share honestly with each other, and I have found good frienship in each of them. It is so good to be able share this experience with three other people.

I´m thankful for good food. We´ve heard from the two RAD boys in Brazil that they have rice and beans for every meal. I like rice and beans, but appreciate the variety of food here.

I´m thankful for the amazingly big, beautiful night sky. It is so filled with stars it makes me just stare in awe. Wow. Can´t see that in Elkhart, especially not the Southern Cross (constellation).

I´m thankful for God´s call on my life that I have felt tangibly this year, in bringing me to RAD. For feeling secure in the love of Christ this year, secure in the love of friends and family, and learning to love myself as Christ loves me. For the ways God has provided when I have need (I think for example of the financing of this year being provided for abundantly).

And finally, I´m thankful for all the quirks and funny things I´ve experienced so far in Choele...

- the fish seller that goes around in a truck with a loud
speaker. the first time I heard him, I thought it was
political propoganda, or announcements. I still can´t
understand what he says...

-the dusty dogs of all types and sizes that roam the streets
(or sleep in them) like squirrels do in Goshen. They did
amuse me until one really scary German-shephard-like dog
nipped at my behind and scared me half to death.

-learning how to work the toilets, that each seem to have a
different flusher--a pull on the top of one, a button in the
wall, a string you pull down, lever at the back of the toilet---
not understanding them caused some confusion and embarrassment
the first week or so

My list could go on forever (of thanks, and funny things). Thank you to whoever reads this. Thanks for your care, and interest in my life, in me. ¡Díos te bendiga!

Dia de Gracias remains copyright of the author andijoyk, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sorry for writing such a long letter. I'll try to keep them short, and they probably will be as life becomes more natural to me here. I keep you all in my prayers. Love, hugs, smiles, and tears from Choele Choel...
Andi

Patience for us Babies remains copyright of the author andijoyk, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Dios les bendiga!

Con amor, Andrea

I think I´m becoming Argentine... remains copyright of the author andijoyk, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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