Day Two in Buenos Aires

Another hot day here in Ramos Mejía, one of the western suburbs of Buenos Aires. I'm sitting directly beneath the ceiling fan where it's bearable. The humidity combined with the heat just sorta wilts us. BUT the time with our co-workers has been WONDERFUL!

We are finishing the book Teaching to Change Lives by Dr. Howard Hendricks and this is a book I'd recommend to ANYONE doing ANY KIND of teaching with ANY AGE. Just excellent truths and presented in an extremely read-able format. Dr. Hendricks is a HOOT! A great storyteller and teacher.

And a lot of planning is going on since the Argentina team is responsible for organizing the next conference for the combined Argentina/Uruguayan missionaries. It will be the first week in March and we're having it in Cordobá Province! Yeah! This conference we'll be blessed to have the director of our mission and his wife visit, and they've never been to our area before so we'll get to show them around.

Some individual responsibilities have been assigned and I'm organizing the crafts for the kids (anyone surprised?). Since the ages are 10-17, I'm having a blast thinking of ideas. And several of us are putting together the annual Ladies Tea that's always on Wednesday afternoon of conference. Plus I will be doing the door crafts -- which shall remain a secret for now because I don't want the other missionaries to know what it is yet -- but it will be both fun and functional. These door crafts are a tradition that (1) show the missionaries which room is theirs and (2) serve as a memento of the conference.

There will be more about conference in upcoming posts since I'm pretty excited and can't contain myself :-)

Can't talk about our get-together and not talk about the food. One word: DELICIOSO! Yesterday for lunch we had quite a spread. Peceto al horno (beef, of course! roasted with a very flavorful sauce), potato salad Argentine style (carrots and peas included), tossed salad with add-your-own-toppings, matambre (hard boiled eggs, cooked vegetables, and a cut of beef called matambre rolled up and baked, chilled and served in slices), and a variety of fresh rolls. For dessert our hostess made an amazing cake with fresh fruit and whipped cream between the layers and on top. About 9 p.m. we finished for the day and moved into the back yard where we relaxed with a variety of empanadas and iced beverages. Perfect ending to our day :-)

[NOTE: There are many, many different fillings for empanadas and I think I should make it my goal in life to make sure I try them all.]

Another missionary mom who has college age kids in the U.S. shared that last week they were able (through Skype) to watch their oldest perform LIVE at her junior piano recital in northern Wisconsin. The computer locked up at the end but they were able to listen to 3/4 of the concert. How cool is that?!

Then this morning when I checked e-mail I had an update from a favorite fellow blogger who's on the other side of the world. Sarah had posted the cutest photos from her daughter's birthday. Plus I had a really sweet e-card from one of our supporting churches.

Can we just join together and say Praise the Lord for the internet?! AMEN AND HALLELUJAH!