A shout out to all my "M" Sisters!

I friend of mine posted this on her blog and I couldn't have said it better so I won't even try (except I can get the boneless skinless chicken breast....sorry N....for me...it is velveeta!).

By far - this has been the wildest year of my life. As I look back, I am reminded of some of the lessons learned along the way…
God is faithful. Even on the far side of the sea His hand guides me.
I am capable of far more than I ever dreamed.
My husband is the strongest, bravest man I know.
My sense of self-worth cannot be tied to my level of performance at any given task.
We (Americans) are spoiled & self-focused.
I am not entitled to every little thing my heart desires.
Dirt doesn’t hurt me.
Just because it’s painful doesn’t mean it isn’t good for me.
One should never take for granted: hot water, electricity, or boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

A huge thanks!

We are out of the city this weekend for a retreat. We have had a great time getting to know a wonderful volunteer team out of South Carolina that came to do Children's Activities with our MK's, lead worship for us and bring messages twice a day.

What an outstanding job everyone did! We so appreciate the team and EVERYONE who had a part in getting them here. It means so much to have people come and visit and spend time with our children. Wow, we just can't say thanks enough for these fine folks!

Ok, well a quick update. We are still in the temp apartment so no internet.......sorry about the out of touch thing but that's the way it is for now. Please don't give up reading!

Everyone if fine. The girls are doing well and seem to be adjusting fine. We are searching online for schools but have made no decisions yet. We are still learning the driving rules. I read the map and Mark .....well, he gets on the race track! We tell the girls when we load up to go somewhere that it is "mystery day BA style" which means we never know where we will end up!

Thanks for the encouragement about my hair! I can't believe you ask for pictures in my moment of trauma! For that, I won't even begin to describe my first shopping trip to find some new clothes........let me just say that things run small here and the skinny attendants don't mind asking if you need a bigger size :). I eased the pain of that experience in a frappe from the McCafe ....in fact ....I think next time that happens I will buy a round of vanilla milkshakes for ALL OF THE SKINNY ATTENDANTS!

Things I have learned.......

I have learned that....

I should NEVER.....REPEAT NEVER use a trip to the beauty salon for cut and highlights as a way to cheer me up on a bad language day.

DRIVING!!!!!!!

After one year in Costa Rica without a car..........the moment finally came. We received keys to our loaner vehicle. I thought I was going to cry. I think this was the best Christmas gift I could have received.

Although I am extremely excited about the renewed freedom of the road I need to explain to all my North American friends about driving in Buenos Aires. Imagine driving your car with a school of fish. Now, imagine that you have 13.5 million of those fish jocking for position around you. It is awesome!!!

A few differences from driving in the States.

1. This is the land of the one way street. Literally 90% or more of the streets are one ways.
2. Forget the lines in the road that promote an orderly approach to your leisurely drive. The few roads that have lines here are merely a suggestion. How many cars can fit side by side at 60KM per hour. Come to Argentina and I'll show you.
3. Oh Yes I almost forgot. On the main avenues which can be 6 or 8 lanes wide according to the paint. You can only make a left hand turn with a arrow........one problem......they don't ever seem to appear when I'm looking for one. So, in such a case three rights truly make a left.

Those few driving rules to say it may be a little different but I sure am glad to have keys in my pocket again.

Blessings

Mark

Argentina!

Ok, well I only have a minute to do a quick post but we are here in Argentina and doing ok. My goal was to have a dinner on the table by Wednesday night and we did it! Ok, it was frozen pizza and green salad but that's ok....it was our dinner on our table and we all sat down and ate!

Remember that we don't have internet so or vonage so any contact or responses will be slow.

Thanks for your prayers. The girls are better but we are still trying comfortable here.

I will post again when I can.