We're here!

So we arrived after a 6 hour delay in Dallas.. because our plane was BROKEN. Rest assured though, our 10 1/2 hr flight was a success. We tried to pass the time in the airport by eating and making videos on our computers, which I might add are pretty funny. We arrived around noon in Buenos Aires to be picked up by our missionary and two people from the church, Marcello y Estella. We were nervous, but we drove back to the apartment first to drop off our luggage. The apartment is really cute and perfect size. There's one bedroom with a queen size bed and one small room in the front with a twin bed (which is where I sleep). We have a small dining room and kitchen and a little bathroom that only turns on the light by motion detector. It's funny to be taking a shower and the lights turn out... scared us at first, but now we're used to it.

We walked around the area of our apartment first called El caballito. It's a lot like downtown Honduras with small shops and narrow one way streets. The apartments are all really nice so it's nicer in some ways than Honduras, but other ways it's very similar. Joel took us to the church to get to know the area and where to go, how to get places, which places to buy the cheapest produce, meats, etc.

Considering that me and Katie don't like lots of meat, Jenn can knock herself out at the meat shops :)

Our first day we had to go meet Savanna Roe, who is here with Wheaton on study abroad. We got on el subte (subway) to go a few stops down to meet her at Plaza de mayo. It's very European-like, since that's where lots of businesses and government places are located. We've heard this is the part of Buenos Aires that reminds people of Paris. There is a long part that is only where people can walk and so it's really nice, but reallllly crowded. I didn't take my camera when we went the other day, so I'm taking it since we're about to head back to that area, and I hope to get some good shots.

The subway was a little tricky at first, but I think we've mastered it at this point. The people here are awesome, or at least the ones we know. Some people tend to think that Jennifer and Katie look a little strange here with their blonde hair, so sometimes/all the time we get some crazy looks. I have never once felt unsafe to say the least. At nighttime obviously we don't walk alone, but everywhere and everyone says that it's always really safe here.

We're really excited to get to know some of the youth at the church because the ones we have met are really awesome. A lot of people have some kind of English knowledge here. They at least know several words or sentences/phrases, which is really convenient especially for KT and Jenn. My highlights of my days are listening to them practice their Spanish. It's AWESOME. We'll have to show you the videos we've made sometime, they are so freaking funny.

Speaking of funny, I could not have asked for two better buddies to do this mission trip with. They are so much fun, and we are all so carefree and laid back that we haven't fought or had a misunderstanding about anything.. yet. Let's hope it stays that way (knock on wood).

Our first reading session was all day yesterday, and we started at 10 am and read until 1 pm, took a break for siesta time/lunch, and then returned at 3 pm to read until 8 pm last night. It was a lonnngggg day. Although we were really tired, I really got a chance to get to know some of the people at the church and our readers a lot better. Usually when I don't have a reader for an hour or two, I like to talk to Rosalina. She's the secretary at the church, and she doesn't really know any English. She's really helping me practice my spanish and get used to the accent here. It's crazy, but it is also crazy beautiful... kind of like the people.

Rosalina is seperated, but not divorced. She has been like that for over 11 years she said, but yet her "rebel" of a husband, as she called him, still bums off her and lives with her and her daughter in the church building. She says its so sad to see that her daughter, Kara, is more like him in a lot of ways, and she thinks he has influenced her for the worst. She doesn't attend church, but she believes in God she says. Rosalina and I had a great talk about faith and our parents who have set us on the right path. She hopes that her daughter can eventually be able to see her faith and learn from that like she did from her parents.

One of my other readers, Hernan, is a well known atheist that has been reading with LST for several years at this church. When he first started out, he was very strong about his belief/nonbelief in God. I was told beforet he trip he had softened a little, but I kind of hoped I wouldn't get him as a reader. Of course, the first person that signs up for my time is Hernan. God really stuck it to me there, didn't he. Well Hernan was my first reader yesterday at 10 am, and he is just now getting over a cold so he was kind of standoffish. We started talking about what he does, what he likes to do, etc, and basically he loves to learn. He has been studying english at school and wants to learn more languages. He really liked that I spoke spanish, and said he wants to talk to me sometime outside of our session in spanish instead of english. He brought his own Bible that we read out of instead of the book that he said one of the old LST workers had given him. It was good to see that he carried this around, and that gave me some hope for our sessions. He was really receptive of everything we talked about when we were reading in Matthew 5-7. We talked about forgiveness though, and he said that he didn't want to forgive people who have wronged him. I told him that is something that I definitely struggle with as well, and he was surprised. I kind of found it ironic that this is what we read, considering it's probably what I need to work on the most. We also spent some time talking about holding "things" up over God, like money, clothes, etc. When I told him I struggled with this too, he REALLY found that surprising. I think he found hope in my honesty. I am really looking forward to reading with him on Monday.

I reallllly had the greatest conversation with a 19 yr old, Catalina. Her and her brother have been going to the church here for awhile, but she is weak in spirit because she finds it difficult to be a Christian in Argentina. She seems like she is new at being a christian, and she wants so hard to believe in "these things" as she would say. It is so exciting to work with someone so eager to learn about Jesus. Even the story of Mary "giving light" to Jesus in a barn is so strange to her (in Spanish they use the phrase "dar una luz" as giving birth). I am so eager to see where we can go in our conversations about the Word and her being baptized. Right now she wants to wait until it is warmer because it is winter here. I think she is going to become a very good friend who I can have for the rest of my life.

We are in love with our landlord, Pablo. He is so nice and very cute... too bad he's married.

Today we went back to Plaza de mayo and walked for about 90 miles... or so it seemed. We got some great pictures that I'll upload later on facebook. We walked around Calle Florida which is a very famous avenue that only is for walking down with millions of shops on the sides. This is the part that reminds me of NYC or Chicago. We then walked alllllll the way down to Puerto Moderna and ate lunch at this precious little grill. The food was awesome... definitely more Americanized. It was good to have something besides peanut butter or trail mix. It's hard to eat here since the main thing to eat is steak, which I don't like and Katie (the vegetarian) obviously doesn't eather. We've had pizza the past 2 nights... which has been awful.

I am very sleepy since we've been up and walking for what seems like forever. Tonight we're hoping to hang out with Alejandro who is a youth from the church. We are also expecting a visit from Pablo around 830 to fix our computers to pick up internet access in the apartment!! CANNOT WAIT TO SKYPE YOU MOM AND DAD!

love you all and keep praying-
Annie B