Travel with us and see the country....LOTS of it!

*Written Tuesday night and posted Wednesday afternoon. There's no internet at the conference site; must travel to the next little town for wifi when the little store there is open so don't expect me to be around Blogville much this week :-)

We arrived at conference only five hours late. We’re learning the distance on the map can look surprisingly small but take three times as long as you think. We were on the road for two days; about 11 hours the first day, and over 7-1/2 the second.

For those who remember my answer to #3 on the last Random Dozen, although I’ve become more relaxed about the time issue, being five hours late was an eensy weensy teeny tiny itty bit beyond my comfort zone. However... the day was beautiful and we enjoyed the journey!

We were surprised at how different the landscape was, after simply crossing over the Uruguay River. I could wax poetic about the gently rolling hills, pastures and fields extending as far as the eye could see, groves and orchards scattered about, farm animals grazing, lakes shimmering in the sunlight... Even more important, CLEARLY MARKED ROADS. What a difference a simple road sign can make in the life of a weary traveler! As anxious as I was to get here, knowing we were on the right road eased my mind immeasurably.

I knew I’d forget a few things. So far the most missed item is bug spray. Mosquitos abound. I’m just thankful I did remember to stick in the Raid plug-in repellent for our room. We should at least sleep bug-free tonight. Speaking of bugs, we spent last night in Colon, Argentina. It’s right on the river and the mosquitos there are vicious!

When we arrived in town, we stopped to visit a friend of Ivan’s and meet his family. We sat outside for a while because it was much cooler but I think if I’d weighed fifty pounds less (okay, 100 pounds less) the mosquitos might have carried me off.

We were so impressed with the house Girardo and his wife, Angela, have built. They carried rocks from fields, loading their little car to its limit each time, to build the foundation. It took them five years from start to finish. Girardo teaches carpentry to secondary students and he’s a master at restoring or re-purposing items. He turned part of his grandmother’s old wheelbarrow into a small table. He built a desk using doors and scrap lumber. They collected and refinished old doors and windows (and designed their house around what they had). I could go on and on about their ingenuity -- what a lovely young couple who have every right to be proud of what they’ve accomplished together!

I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together this week at conference. We’re focusing on “one another” and what that means biblically. Our area director shared a great passage tonight in the first general session:

 “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6) 

 Can you imagine what a difference it would make if Christians would actually do that?!