Canons In The Night

Normal sounds outside of our window in Argentina include the following: canons shooting (not at us), fireworks exploding, annoying sirens squealing, buses and cars honking, nonviolent protestors drumming, and the every-so-often-car backfiring. (enjoy the following video of a typical protest in the middle of the street)

Breaking Down Barriers

Doing ministry in a country that speaks Spanish and being a person who does not would seem like a huge barrier to most, but God (I love those two little words: but God) being the sovereign God that He is can break down any barriers that we think we have in sharing the Gospel; today, I met with Carol, a girl who trusted Christ last week (and she understands some English if spoken slowly), to follow up with her and to talk about how she can grow in her walk with Jesus Christ - with no translator but with materials in English and Spanish we were able to comunicate with each other, and she is excited to begin growing more in her relationship with Him!
(That sentence is all kinds of wrong with its excessive use of commas and dashes, but it still falls under the category of one sentence - much like my other posts.)

Walking Among The Dead

Yesterday, we had a lovely team social, and I bet the first thing that came to your mind when I said "team social" was: graveyard; this graveyard was filled with tomb after tomb of wealthy Argentines who have died over the past years - it literally looked like a city for the dead (Evita is buried there by the way).

Good Food For The Body And Good Music For The Soul

Today was a fun-filled day: sleeping in, visiting the "mausoleum" graveyard (tell you more about that tomorrow), eating dinner at the vegetarian restaurant, and playing a kickin' game of mafia with the students; the vegetarian restaurant was a nice break for the 9 of us that went (our diets have consisted of mostly bread, cheese, and meat), so Portia (i.e. my stomach) was happy to have some lighter food, to listen to some soothing instramentals, and to laugh really hard throughout the dinner - thanks to those who joined me and Portia.
*Shout out to Ralphie, Darryl, Eugenia, and Daphne!

Some Things Never Change, But Some Do

After a day on campus with great conversations, we had the night free - which some of us took advantage of to hop a ride on a subway to see a movie at a nearby theater; we arrived 30 minutes early to find the line setup much like an amusement park - it took us 40 minutes to make it to the counter to order our tickets, but we still enjoyed Jack Sparrow with Spanish subtitles and a bucket of popcorn (and our first taxi ride in the city)!

Let's Paint The Town Red Or An Apartment White

Yesterday (Wednesday, May 25th), was one of Argentina's independence days (yes, they have more than one); that being said, the universities were closed... so, we were able to serve one of the national staff by helping to paint and fix things around his apartment (with many hands, we were able to get a lot done)!

Bootylicious At Burger King

Since being here in the Tina, my brain wants to think in the Slovak language rather than Spanish (i.e. while ordering my hamburger at Burger King today); the cashier asked me a question about my order, to which I responded "yes" in Slovak (ano)... not a good idea since our Spanish-speaking student staff, Nancy, just informed me that ano means anus in Spanish!
*Moral of the story: think and rethink before you speak while in another country

I Am The "Pan De Vida"

Praise Jesus that He is the true "bread of life" that does not perish (so that our spiritual longing to know God is satisfied)... unlike the physical bread here in Argentina - I have literally eaten bread at every meal.
*John 6:26-59 (what we are studying in Bible study this week)

The Police Are Downstairs

Yesterday, on the law campus, I did some spiritual interest surveys with one of our students, Brittany, and we were able to share the Gospel with Carol; she prayed to receive Christ right there in the hallway!
(Title explanation: When we asked Carol if we could do a survey with her and ask her a few questions, she told us that the police were downstairs. And she suggested that we ask them the questions. We clarified, and then she was more than happy to do the "photo" survey with us! Haha.)

When The Lights Go Down In The City

There's nothing like a rainy Sunday morning in Buenos Aires (especially when you thought the world was going to end the night before...haha)!
The view from our window:

Would You Take Our President Seriously If He Worked In A Pink House?

We explored the city today visiting many of the famous landmarks, including, but not limited to, La Casa de Rosa (The Pink House, the equivalent to our White House).

In The Words Of Bon Jovi: Whoa-Oh! Livin' On A Prayer.

Today, we spent the whole day praying over the five campuses our group is working on this summer by visiting each one (law, architecture, medical, economics, and agronomy), because we know that the Lord is who will truly be at work in the lives of the Argentine students. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)

My Hands Go Up! And They Stay Thurr.

My hands were "lifted" for several reasons today: 1) I flagged down a bus for the first time today; 2) I hugged and "beso"ed (kissed) multiple Argentines today; and 3) I praised the Lord as I watched a law student trust Christ today (hince all the besos)!!!

Legally Blonde? No, Legally Brunette!

My campus group (made up of 5 students, and 1 other staff)was assigned to the law campus of the University of BA, where all of the students are required to speak English; praise the Lord because no one in my group speaks Spanish (except hola and feliz navidad)!

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

My first impression of Argentina goes like this: they love the 80s; they have stinkin' good empanadas; they are willing to chitchat with strange Americans; and they are a passionate people!