Sunday, May 30, 2010

Project 365, Week 22

I've missed a couple of weeks with Project 365. On May 16th I spent the day praying and keeping vigil from 6,000 miles away as one of my best friends lost her oldest son after he was declared brain dead. He'd been in a terrible bicycling accident on May 14th. That was a hard week, my friends. Then last Sunday we were in Sta. Rosa for what we called the Bicentennial Retreat for the folks in our fledgling church plant.

But this week I'm back. I'll be honest, I missed taking pictures a lot of days over the past three weeks, so you're not going to have to suffer through 21 photos. And I'll keep my commentary brief :-)

We really like to sing at our church! Several of the kids are learning to play guitar so they can accompany us. Since some of them went to summer camp in February and learned new choruses, they've been teaching the rest of us. Not perfect by any means, but definitely a "joyful noise unto the Lord"!

Getting out of the house for a picnic on one of our warmer fall days, we headed to the river on the other side of town. We were the only ones on this stretch of park by the river. Very peaceful place.
We've gotten to know different missionaries serving in the area and had the pleasure of hosting one family for dinner a couple weeks ago. Their kids are too cute! They'd been in a conference all day and the kids had to be tired, but were still in good spirits. Their youngest is a typical little girl who loves to giggle!
Youth group tends to get a bit rowdy, as you might expect when you get a group of teens in a small place and attempt to play games. This particular night one of the games was charades and we were doing movie titles. I cannot remember what Ivan and Charley were acting out, but Charley was really hamming it up!
Another fine fall afternoon found us stopping for passion fruit sorbet at our favorite ice cream place. This is the view from their outdoor veranda, looking down the costanera.
This coming week I'll be sharing the latest in the what-it-takes-to-get-a-package-out-of-customs saga. For now, suffice it to say we spent quite a bit of time in this building one day.
The Bicentennial Retreat warrants the most photos this week (and you can see even more on that post!). I know it was only five days but I'm sharing eight photos. I couldn't narrow it down any farther! Considering we took over 400, I think that's pretty good.

Loading up on Friday...
One of the games on Saturday. Can you guess the objective?
The girls and ladies do a skit.
Timber! One of the dead cottonwoods comes down nicely between two trees we wanted to keep.
Group photo on the way to Embalse.
Ivan cleaned out the drainage pipe from the kitchen. No more sluggish sink!
Lots of hugs after Circle Time on Monday night.
Tuesday was our last day of the retreat AND the bicentennial of Argentina!  We celebrated by singing the national anthem and the kids put on a really funny skit, incorporating bits of Argentine culture and history. We also had a traditional asado (of course). All in all, a great way to end the retreat!

9 comments:

Mari said...

It's nice to see you back! Great pictures this week. I love the river picture.

Dena said...

Little girl giggles are such a sweet, sweet sound.

I'm guessing the objective of the game was to pop everyone else's balloon and being the last one with a balloon still on your ankle.

Fun pictures!

riTa Koch said...

Loved the singing!
Fave foto U & Ivan & ?
So curious about the skit???
Hope I had nothing to do with sending a package that caused trouble. I can't remember sending anything...

Angie said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I've been out of commission somewhat in May, but looking forward to connecting with my blogging friends again in June.

I feel like I'm all caught up on what's been happening in your life. I'm sorry to hear about your friend's son who passed away. So sad.

I love how busy you and Ivan are and the ministry you provide to the young people. My husband and I were youth leaders in the 90's and I remember how much fun it was.

I went and checked out your recipes and blog favorites. I'm now following you so I can come back and spend a little more time in both places. Your recipes look yummy and a few resemble some that I have on my cooking blog. Love comparing recipes and trying new ones.

Have a great week!

Tori said...

So sorry to hear about your friend's loss.
I love seeing all of the scenery you capture. I would enjoy a sorbet with that view too!
I think the game was to keep your own balloon in tact while popping others.
What a blessing you are to the youth. You can see it on everyone's faces!
Have a super week!!!

The Davidson Den said...

That's so sad about your friend's son. A bicycling accident?! Wow. Scary.

Well, you guys had lots of fun and games this week!! So much joy on so many faces!

Thanks for sharing!

Cristina Elizabeth said...

Wonderful pictures!!

The Bug said...

Really, all I can think about right now is sorbet. Do you think my boss would notice if I slipped out in search of some right now? Heh.

I know it looks like everyone had a great time at the retreat - but my goodness how exhausting to be around all that energy!

Lisa said...

You both are investing so much into the kingdom! Blessings to you.