Weeks 12, 13 and 14: Project 365, the 2016 Edition

Saturday, March 26

I played the same word twice in a row. Pretty sure I've never done that before.

Sunday, March 27

Hanging around after church, just visiting with folks.

Easter photos of the grandkids. Because who can resist so much cuteness?!

Wednesday, March 30

Tina had half her thyroid removed yesterday. Thankfully no sign of cancer!

Thursday, March 31

It got quite warm today! We resisted turning on the a.c. but the ceiling fans weren't really cutting it.

Friday, April 1

Ivan says morning glories are like the kudzu of Argentina, they cover everything in their path. I think they're lovely along the costanera.

Sunday, April 3

A few of the men chatting at church.

Monday, April 4

Finally opened this package of chimichurri flavored crackers that Ivan picked up shortly after his bout with food poisoning brought on by chimi. He thought it was hilarious that he found these when he did. They are quite tasty and I get them all to myself since he has no interest in anything chimi flavored these days :)

Wednesday, April 6

Picked up a couple of signs made by our favorite sign guy. I chose the colors for the "Buen Provecho" sign but we gave him free rein on "Bienvenidos", asking only that he include flags from both the U.S. and Argentina.

Friday, April 8

A couple weeks ago I gave these young ladies a box of fabric pieces and look what they made!

I was really impressed with their fabric choices and sewing abilities. Today I gave them a cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter so they don't have to cut everything by hand. Can't wait to see what they make next!

Saturday, April 9

Had to slip a collage in somewhere :)

This was an insanely intense and busy day (preceded by some insanely intense and busy weeks) as our neighbor's daughter hosted a garage sale for us. The youth group from church also had their meeting at our house and we had an asado with burgers. It rained for a solid week before the sale, and although this morning was clear, it started raining about 3 p.m. and continued for another three days.

Monday, April 11

Met with this young couple today to talk about selling them our property.

Won't go into a lot of details here, but suffice it to say it was totally God who made this happen and wasn't the result of anything we'd done to try and sell this place. It's beneficial to them and to us. They're missionaries who get support from the U.S. so are ineligible to get a home loan here. And now we don't have to mess with being absentee home owners from 6,000 miles away, dealing with realtors and renters. Hallelujah!

Wednesday, April 13

Had lunch with Marcela and her youngest, Carlota (recently back from 1-1/2 years in Canada, and now getting ready to head to Australia for a year).

Thursday, April 14

Thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Velvet Ashes Virtual Retreat today! Was so incredibly blessed by the testimonies and working through the online journal they provided. Also greatly encouraged as I listened to the four women who lead VA share from their hearts on the theme of fear.

Instead of printing out the online journal, I wrote directly into my regular journal -- which, at the moment, happens to be this ginormous one I've had for 16 years. Not sure what I was saving it for, but recently when I ran out of all my smaller journals, I decided to start using it. I initially thought I'd get a whole year into it, but that's not going to happen at the rate I'm going.

Friday, April 15

Our last rose of the season.

In reality, the bush might bear more blooms but we won't be here to enjoy them. We'll be moving out of our dear little casita on May 3rd, to the house in Sta. Rosa for a month, before returning to the U.S. for good.

The fact is my health has not improved like we'd hoped. More than a year after the celiac diagnosis and going completely gluten free, I still suffer from pretty severe fatigue and frequent migraines. It's affected the work we do, since most activities don't begin until 8 or 9 p.m. and I am DONE by then.

We began a discussion some months ago with our area director and the elders in our home church. In the end we made the painful decision that we will not be returning to Argentina after this upcoming furlough. We will be submitting our resignation to Biblical Ministries Worldwide, effective September 30, 2016. This was one of the toughest decisions we've ever made.

God has been so good. Ivan's brother has offered him the opportunity to join him in a new business venture of rehabbing homes in the northern Indiana area. We've been able to sell or give away most of our things in just the past couple of weeks. In His perfect timing, we've sold the property. Bit by bit things are falling into place.

When we came, it was with the idea we'd be here until we retired, so it's not been easy to wrap our minds around the idea of going in a completely different direction than planned. I'll admit, it's still overwhelming at times. But I can rest in the assurance He will continue to provide. He is a Good Shepherd who will "send me in the right direction" as Psalms 23 reads in The Message.

There's a lot of work involved in dismantling our life here. We're praying God will give us the strength we need, the ability to tie up all the loose ends, and that we would leave having done what God wanted of us.