More Pictures Than Words...

Eric driving with argentina ma-te

Hi!  Oh how we’ve wanted to post an update over the past several days.  Late nights, no Wi-Fi, and busy days have prevented it.  We’ve covered 1,900 km thus far.  Until you drive in the Patagonia (and we’re not even half way into it), you really don’t understand just how vast it is!

Tero bird in Bahia Blanca

We left Buenos Aires and drove all day (still in the province of B.A.) arriving late that night into the city of Bahia Blanca.  This is one of the cities we have been counseled to consider as we pray about where to move.  We only stayed one night but explored the city a little.  The next morning, we left and drove all the way to Puerto Madryn (province of Chubut).  The most interesting thing was being stopped at each police check-point and asked if all these kids were indeed ours.  At one check-point, they made us give them all the kid’s documents so they could verify that they were ours.

Rest-Stop at Rio Colorado

Once arriving into Puerto Madryn and checking into the hostel where we’d be staying, we met all the pastors at the church for the pastor’s retreat.  We were very well received.  It was very emotional to hear the pastors talk about Kristi’s parents and the work they did many years ago as well as the work Grady and Claire have continued.

 

Rio Colorado rest-stop

The kids and I didn’t stay for all the meetings.  We spent some time at the beach, collecting sea shells and enduring the wind.  We also did some driving around exploring the area.  Eric had a great time listening to the work that God is doing in the different cities and regions.  It seems that the recurring themes and statements were the common problems each church is facing, that the Patagonia is a forgotten area in terms of ministry, and that the distances are so vast.  There was a sense community, all united by these common threads.  Eric was asked to bring the devotional Saturday morning (by ‘devotional,’ they really mean message).  We were also able to give out the little gifts we had made for all the pastors.

A common sight: virgin Mary and saint shrines on the side of the road



Loooooonnnnnngg Trips of the Patagonia

Saturday (after finding a little place that could repair my phone after it fell into the mud), during the long break, we were able to make the ‘trek’ to Playa Doradillo to see the whales.  It was amazing to see them so close!  That night, we went to the special service of ordination for one of the pastors.  The kids endured the 3 hour service without losing it (thank you, Lord!) and we enjoyed a meal with all the brethren of roasted leg of cow served in sort of a pita type bread.  It was delicious.  Our kids tried to make several friends using their Spanish.  They really are learning more and more.  We are so proud of them.

Sunday, we went to Trelew (province of Chubut) to have lunch with our teammates, Grady and 

Grady and Claire Milstead - our teammates!

 

Claire Milstead.  It was like going home.  They let us use their washer and dryer and served us a delicious ‘asado’ (Argentine grill).  We had a great time of fellowhip and listened to all the advice and wisdom they shared with us.  One of the first things Grady did when we got there was to take the kids to the back yard and show them the fossils my mom (Kristi’s mom – Karen De Leon) had found years ago when they first moved to the Patagonia.  Our time meeting with the Milsteads was so profitable that we decided to stay in the area another day so we could meet again.

Monday, we used the day to do a little sight-seeing.  We drove to the “Peninsula Valdez” to see the seals and sea lions (the sea lions were not there yet).  It was a beautiful drive!  We also went to an Ecocenter to learn more about the Southern Right Whale, the Orca, and other aquatic mammals of the region.  The kids were able to use their money to buy some little souvenirs and we ended the day enjoying some delicious “Pizza a la Piedra.” 

Today, we are heading back to Trelew to meet with Grady and Claire.  We have more questions for them.  We also have more dirty clothes!  We will go with them to a Dinosaur Museum and then share leftovers with them at their house.

So far, our plan is to leave tomorrow and drive north-west to Cipolletti (Rio Negro) to meet with a brother who was here at the pastor’s retreat.  We were very well received by the pastors and their families.  Many of them spoke so highly of Richard and Karen and the work they did many years ago.  Several of them invited us to come visit them and see the work.  In talking with Grady and Claire and listening to their insights and experience, it seemed good to go to Cipolletti to meet with this brother and talk with him about the work and seek his wisdom and advice.  He asked us to stay until Sunday and wants to take us around to the different “obras” (works) that are going on in the area.

Emilia is happy to be out of her carseat

At the Puerto Madryn beach

 

 

 

 

Organized Chaos

We are getting ready to head to the Patagonia.  We have all our bags packed, our water bottles ready, our car equipment, our blankets, our food, etc...pretty much everything 'but the kitchen sink.'  It is always our intention to travel light (chuckle) but it never seems to happen.
Anyway, the Lord opened the door for our family to travel to Puerto Madryn (province of Chubut), where there is a Patagonia Pastor's Retreat and a Pastor Ordination service.  It will be a great time to get to know many of the pastor's that work and live in the vast area of the Patagonia.  We will also get to see our team-members that live down south.  Team members?  Yes!  More about that later.
Eric was asked to share a devotional Saturday morning.  Arrangements were made for our family to stay in a hostel owned by one of the church members.  We are grateful that there is a private bathroom in the bedroom!  That is a blessing. 
We have made small gifts to hand out to the pastors (we had lots of pictures but I can't get them uploaded at the moment) and pray these will be a blessing to them.  There is so much more to share but not the time.  Hopefully we will post some while on the trip.  Perhaps we will get to see the whales, sea elephants and sea lions at the "Peninsula Valdes."  Kristi's parents say that it isn't uncommon to see Guanaco and rabbit out in the flat lands of the Patagonia.  So...who knows!  Please pray for safety as we travel. 
It would take 17 hours of driving to get to our destination (without stops).  So, we plan on driving 8 hours to "Bahia Blanca" and spending the night there.  Then, we will drive the rest of the way into Puerto Madryn and find a place to stay (one night) until we can check into the Hostel Maranata. 

Feliz Dia Del Niño! (Well, NOT UNTIL THE 18th)

Kids drinking 'mate' (a traditional Argentine tea) out of a grapefruit "cup"

Today (oops!) August 18th  is "Children's Day" in Argentina.  Most children receive a small gift or a little treat on this day.  In celebration of this day, we decided to start a new 'page' called Kid's Corner.  Please visit this page and check out the downloadable coloring calendar pages we've posted with fun facts about Argentina. 

We are grateful to the Lord for our children.  The Scriptures teach us that children are a heritage from the Lord, a blessing, the crown of the aged, and that they are like arrows! 

Thank you for praying for us!  Thank you to all the children who lift up our family in prayer!




Emilia at 2 1/2 months

Download, Save, and Print!!!

We are trying a new thing on our blog.  We have created a day-by-day prayer calendar for the month of August.  You can view the link under the "Prayer Needs" tab of our blog.  Once you've signed-in to your google account (or created one) You should be able to download, save, and print this calendar and keep it accessible so that you can pray for the needs listed on a daily basis.  (Thank you Aunt Margie and Jennifer D. for finding the glitches with downloading the document!  Thanks for pointing them out to us so we could fix them!!!!)

Thank you for praying!!

A Quick Video Update

A Day in the Life from Entrusted Heritage on Vimeo.

Feliz Dia Del Amigo (Happy Friend's Day)!!!!

We're thankful for our little photographer, Olivia

We've had a wonderful week full of several get-togethers.  It was a privilege to meet the Vecchiarelli family who used to work in Malargüe (province of Mendoza) with Kristi's parents many years ago.  They came over for "merienda" (afternoon tea time) on Thursday.  We had a nice visit and learned a lot about the ministries in which they are involved (training churches on how to begin AWANA programs for children).  They work in the "Cono Sur" (south cone) of South America (Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina).  They had a lot of insight and experiences to share with us and are a neat couple; we praise the Lord for the blessing of re-connecting with them.  


Ricardo and Liseth

On Friday morning, we had a fun visit with a couple who feels God's calling on their life to move down to the Patagonia region.  They shared about their call and the journey the Lord has brought them on.  They're expecting their first child late September so we will be praying for a healthy baby and birth.  We hope to have more visits with them.   Please pray for God's direction in terms of when to relocate and for God's provision for them.  Ricardo is currently working as a nurse.  He also teaches how to play musical instruments (we forgot to ask which one!) and is completing training to get certified to repair motorcycles.  You can say he is honing those "tent-making" skills!


All bundled up and ready for some outdoor play time at a nearby park

Last night we visited some colleagues who live on the other side of Buenos Aires.  It was a fun evening.  The kids had prepared little cards for their friends for Dia del Amigo (friend day); the girls made little bracelets for their friend and Elias inflated his last balloon to give to his little friend.  Sweet!

The funny thing is that a few days ago, while our family was doing some grocery shopping, the kids started reading the signs: "Dia Del Niño"  (national Children's Day).  They got pretty excited since this day is coming in August!   One of the many neat things about being an MK is that you have double the holidays to celebrate!!

 Today, in celebration of Dia del Amigo...our family had a "build your own pizza" party.  We had invited some friends but they could not make it.  We had a lot of fun - even if half the toppings got eaten while the building was being done!!  The favorite toppings were the green olives and sautéed onions!  We also had zapallito (little round zucchini squash), sautéed mushrooms, sautéed red bell pepper, meat, and cheese.  One of the exotic toppings we let the kids try (well, those that wanted to) was anchovies. We also celebrated with ice cream for dessert and then had fun fellowshipping together.

 

9 de Julio - Argentine Independence Day!!!

Today we decided to get together with friends to celebrate  Argentine Independence Day.  We enjoyed a nice (albeit not very healthy) breakfast of tortas fritas (fried bread dough which is literally called "fried cakes") with mate - the traditional Argentine tea. 

We went all out and made a traditional Argentine dish called "Locro."  Locro is the national dish for many South American countries but each place offers it's unique twist.  It is customary to eat this stew for some of the national holidays.  Needless to say, the recipe we used for this particular argentine Locro was amazing (the recipe varies by region within the country as well).  It is an incredibly delicious stew made with cracked corn, beans, pumpkin, sausages, meat, bacon, onions, and spices.  It's sometimes served with quiquirimichi which is a red-hot sauce drizzled on top and fresh bread.  Mmmm....delicious!  Some good friends came over to join in the celebrations and a good time was had by all!  Wish you could have been here with us!

Family Update

After the birth of Emilia, we have been busy getting back into a routine, continuing to learn the ropes of living here, and lots...no, LOTS of paperwork.  Not a week has gone by that we haven't had to go to a certain government office for paperwork (and usually multiple times a week).  We praise the Lord that we received Emilia's documents and are praying for ours to get completed soon. 

Our children are transitioning to a new school schedule (since we're in the middle of winter here)...one that would allow us to homeschool closer to an Argentine calendar. They are learning Spanish and enjoying life, as they know it, in Argentina.  We are ready to get settled however.  We love our little apartment and have enjoyed the many blessings the Lord has brought our way while living here but after living in 'transition' for three years, we're ready to get a little more settled.


Emilia Nora - posing for her document pictures
 

We appreciate your loving encouragement and your prayers.  The hardest part of being here, thus far, is being far from so many loved ones and especially from Kristi's parents (many of you will remember that her mother, Karen, is battling bone cancer.  Her doctor recently found some spots on her liver as well).  We continue to ask our Lord for complete healing for Karen.  We marvel at the opportunities the Lord gives her and Richard (Kristi's father) to witness and give glory to the Lord through their journey.  Karen is one of the most positive and joyful people on earth.  Her excitement, her humor, and heavenly view of earthly matters are evident in the updates she writes and sends out.  Click here to download/view her latest update.  She will have a meeting with her oncologist tomorrow to discuss the results of her last CT scan and the new treatment she is using. 
Thank you for praying for her!