Hola a todos!

Hey all!

Thank you SO much for your prayers! We arrived very safely after some long days of training and a very long day of travel! I must say, the few days before coming, however, were the most stretching and challenging for me. When I arrived to briefing last Sunday I was told that I would be in La Plata for the summer. That is a smaller town about an hour away from Buenos Aires. I automatically got very upset. I wanted to be content with wherever they placed me, but I can't deny my disappointment. I had assumed all along that I would be placed in BA, and just had different expectations. I hadn't been asking God WHERE he wanted me in Argentina, I just knew that he wanted me in the country. I cried a lot...I didn't want to be upset about it, but I didn't know what else to do with my emotions!

However, after meeting my team and having a few days to process the change, I am absolutely convinced that this is where God wants me. I completely thing that I would have been very comfortable in Buenos Aires, with the staff that I know, the students that I know, and the city that I know. I would have stuck with what was comfortable and maybe not learned as much. Here I get to experience a completely new city in Argentina and broaden my heart for this country. As I mentioned before, I love my team and am so convinced that I am with them for a reason. I can't wait to know more about their lives and become forever friends with them!! :-)

We've been so busy, I haven't had any time really to connect to the internet. I will update more later about what I'm learning, but for now I've gotta go!

Love and joy!!

Sarah

I won't be held down

Soo...the nerves started kicking in today.

I started believing the lie that I'm not good enough to do this ministry and kept asking myself, "Why me?" I'm not good at sharing Christ...in fact, I fail to do so on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. I'm just not sure why it's so hard for me to step out in faith and tell people about this Amazing God who loves us and takes care of our every need and desire...the God who saves us daily from the misery of this world.

If the #1most important decision of my life has been to accept Christ into my life and my heart and the #1 thing I can do for others is to tell them about that amazing decision...what am I waiting for??

1 Peter 3:15-16 says:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

As long as I am sharing Christ with a gentle, loving attitude, I have nothing to be ashamed of.

Thanks for listening to me ramble...I have had a lot of thoughts cross my mind in the last day. Now I just want to be in Greensboro, meet my team, and get to Argentina! I know my life is going to change this summer. I can't wait to see how!

I would appreciate prayer throughout this next week as we travel to North Carolina and our team gets briefed on our mission for the summer. We will be flying out Wednesday afternoon! Thanks for the love and support!! I'll keep you updated!

AMAZED!!

The only word I can use to describe what I feel for God's provision. He has faithfully provided all $5,100 for this trip to Argentina that I've felt so called to be a part of. FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS y'all!!! I have had over 50 people make donations, so THANK YOU thank you for your support! Even if it was $5, you made a difference towards reaching this goal. Every "little" bit can be used by God! This experience has taught me so much about faith and prayer and what it means to hand the reigns over to God and say "I can't do this, but I know you can."

I've had a few people tell me, "You had faith all along, and I just didn't think it would happen." Well, let me tell you...faith was something that I was lacking in so many instances. I wish I had journaled my doubts so that I could see that, even in my lack of faith, God was and is faithful. Honestly though, I was so scared a lot of the time that if I even admitted that I was struggling with believing the money would come in, God would punish me by not providing it. haha...what a silly thought process, but really.

I think, through it all, the thing I've cherished most is the overwhelming encouragement and support I've received. My church seriously opened it's arms WIDE, took me in, and showed me that they are excited and more than willing to help me accomplish my "calling", whatever it may be. I've seen over $100 come in from poor college students, just like me. My friends, who want to see me follow this passion and be fulfilled. Relatives that I don't even know have sent money, encouraging me to go where God is leading. What a wonderful group of ministry partners I've been blessed with! I cherish each one.

But I do just want to end this by saying "All glory and honor and praise be to God"
HE did this, NOT me. Now it's time to give it back to him through 6 weeks of intensive ministry!
VAMOS!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! I'll try to update once more before I leave!

I wanna be a yes girl

So, I should be studying for the first of my 6 finals this week. For that reason, I have decided to kick off the second running of my super-cool, adventur-filled BLOG!!

I would love it if you would join me on my next adventure in Argentina. I will be leaving in TWO WEEKS (May 17th) to spend 6 weeks in Argentina doing full-time ministry. I will either be in Buenos Aires (crossing my fingers) or La Plata, a smaller city about 1 hour away. Either way, I will be growing in my knowledge of God, sharing my faith, encouraging believers, creating new friendships, and having a BLAST while doing it.

Sorry I didn't write over the last five months! Of course I was busy with school and everything life here entails, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't connect to my computer every hour of every day. (Or pretty stinkin' close). I'm pretty much a compulsive email/facebook checker. I'm not sure how much computer time I will get in Argentina though, so that is a main reason why I've got this blog...to keep y'all updated.

So it may seem as if I'm returning to Argentina rather soon after being there for 6 whole months. And you know, that's a valid point, I admit. However, I view Argentina not as an isolated, one-time experience that is done and over with, but instead an experience that has allowed me to view another place on this planet as home. I think I've said this before, but I didn't just visit Argentina as a foreigner tourist on a vacation and I didn't visit Argentina as a scientist with her magnifying glass, analyzing every part of the culture and people in order to bring ground-breaking news back to the U.S. No, I didn't do that. I choose to believe that I became a part of the Argentine culture, allowed it to influence me and change me, seep into my heart and become a part of who I am. I discovered my favorite empanada place, my favorite ice cream flavor, and my favorite park to sit and read. I developed friendships with people that even thousands of miles can't destroy. I became a member of a little family, disfunctional as my own, and became a daughter to an Argentine woman.

All of that is not to say that I've forgotten where my first home is. Or who my true family is. Or who my other friends are. I still have that same favorite restaurant and ice cream flavor here. I have the beaches of Michigan that call me to watch the most beautiful sunsets one could imagine. My passions began here. I've been created here, shaped day in and day out by my experiences in good ol' Michigan.

I have two homes. I'm not sure that there is anything wrong with that, except the desire in my heart to be one place, when my body is in the other. I can never be in both places at once and, therefore, need to take advantage of the opportunities that life provides me to live and love both.

Thank you for bearing with me through that...but it's a struggle sometimes to remember that it's okay to be torn. And to end full-circle, I've been given this amazing opportunity to return to Argentina and I don't want to say no. And beyond not wanting to, I don't think God wants me to either. Staying in His will for my life and following His plan is more important to me than anything. I pray that I am able to prove that statement true in the way that I life my life forevermore.

WOW!!

Who knew the past 6 months of my life could have flown by so fast. I remember arriving here in Buenos Aires and thinking to myself, "Wow, 5 months is a really long time to be away from home." Then, as the days and weeks started passing, I realized that it really isn't all that long. Not when you're adapting to an entirely new culture and way of living. So, I extended my stay...not that I need to remind you. Now here I am, left with one full week in this beautiful, mysteriously amazing country. And I'm bored. Haha...I guess that's a good sign, right?



I honestly can say that I am extremely happy with the time that I've passed here in AR. I feel like I've taken advantage of my time and opportunities and can leave not feeling as though I've missed out on something. Sure there are things that I didn't do...but I'm only one girl in one of the biggest cities of the world...not to mention the huuge country that this city resides in.



My last real day in Buenos Aires is this Saturday. Sunday I am leaving for Cordoba, another province for the last few days before I leave for good! I will be visiting a *special* friend and if you want to know details about that, you will just have to ask.

Cheers!

Without power en mi casa

If you can't read Spanglish, the title reads, "without power in my house." Yes folks, sadly I have been without power for the last two days. But that just helps to boost my mooching abilities, as I've had to go house hopping for showers and entertainment. :-) Apparently the no-power thing is a city wide crisis with, according to the tele, 50,000 people in the city without it. Eek, talk about angry people! There were protests on the tv, to get it fixed I think, with people banging pots and pans and making a scene. I'm not really sure how much it helps, but I guess if it makes them feel like they're doing something...

Today I've spent almost the entire day in the apartment of Kim and Alexis, two of the stinters. They actually left for the weekend, but thankfully gave me their keys to their apartment, so I could shower and eat. It's been nice just chillin, relaxing, and doing absolutely nothing. Well shoot, I am on break anyways. I've been going to school since june! No matter that it was probably the easiest semester of my life. Soon enough I'll be back in the states, hurried to get stuff done and live life faster.

I would've been going home today, had I not changed my ticket. Sorry if that's a sad reminder to you, but for me it's a scary thought! I don't think I would've been ready to go home today. But then again, will I ever be ready to leave my new friends behind? I think I will be ready to go home and see everyone, and enjoy Christmas, but it's going to be really hard. Such is life....

Happy Turkey Day!!

Hey y´all! I can´t believe that Thanksgiving is already here! That means that Christmas has already arrived in the states, complete with Christmas music and all, right?? Oh, I love the Christmas season, but it just doesn´t quite feel the same with 90 degree weather and not a snowflake in sight. For that, I will be happy to return home and enjoy the joy of the Christmas season. It´s funny though because here they still try to use the North American image of Santa Clause, christmas trees, and snow in the blazing heat of their summer! Poor guys who have to dress up like Santa to pass out the presents. Talk about heat stroke!

So, speaking of Thanksgiving, sadly I am not going to get to enjoy turkey on this lovely holiday this year. However, I helped a couple of ¨gringos¨ yesterday (other American girls) to create a yummy Thanksgiving dinner that the Argentines could enjoy. I was in charge of the stuffing. I think it turned out okay...of course not as good as Grandma´s, but everyone´s got to start somewhere. We also had green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and much more delicious food. No turkey, however, due to high prices and lack of availability. That´s okay...turkey replaced with chicken was hardly noticed. I would demonstrate the great fiesta with some pictures, but unfortunately my camera was stolen (or so I believe) over the weekend.

Yes, sadly enough, someone thought that they had the right to go into my bag and steal my camera while I was on the bus to Bariloche. Ultimately it was my fault because I got off the bus for 5 minutes and left the camera in my seat, in my bag. By the time I realized it was gone, there was no way to know who had done it. More than stealing the camera however, it made me so upset because they stole my ability to capture memories in my last weeks here in Argentina. That´s something that I can´t get back. I don´t think I´ll ever understand how people think that they can take from others something that is not their own. But I tried not to let it ruin my trip. And I did end up having a good time with my good friend Andrea!

So Bariloche is in the south of Argentia, but in the north of the famous Patagonia...an absolutely beautiful part of the country. (From what I saw, that´s true!) Bariloche is in a lake district with mountains in the backdrop. The water is a dark blue and the peaks of the moutains are snow covered. It´s a beautiful sight. When we arrived in capris and flip flops, andrea and I realized that it´s a chilly area too! haha, luckily we had brought clothing that was a little bit more weather appropriate. We spent most of the weekend honestly just relaxing. We slept in and got naps just about every day. We wandered the city and made it over to this pretty area called Llao llao (pronounced shau shau here :-) Gotta love those Argentines). We also visited many chocolate shops, as the area is famous for it´s yummy chocolate. And let´s just say I´ve had enough chocolate to hold me for awhile! ha. I had a great time with Andrea, my good Canadian friend, and was sad to have to say goodbye at the end of the trip. :-( These goodbyes are just not getting any easier!! Speaking of which, I´m heading over to another friend´s house shortly to say goodbye to her too. She is Argentine, but will be visiting the states for the next month and I won´t see her anymore. ·sigh· Such is life, right?

Anyways, happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I love you!!