Hey everyone! It’s early Tuesday morning and we’re off to South Africa via London in just a few hours, but I wanted to post about the last week before it got too far behind. Being in Buenos Aires has been a rejuvenating breath of fresh air. We got here at 3am on Thursday morning and made it safely to our crowded hostel for the night. My team set out on an adventure Thursday afternoon to find the church we were staying at. While attempting to eat lunch, Amanda had her bag stolen. (Check out her blog: http://amandamillington.theworldrace.org/ to find out more.) While trying to find our way there, we asked a man for directions and he ended up buying our train tickets for the day (blessing #1). We made it to the International Bible Church (IBC) where we would be staying.
The four girls would be staying here while the boys were staying in a house nearby. We quickly accommodated to our nice room, a comfortable bed, our own bathroom and HOT shower, a toilet where you can flush the paper down it, wireless internet, and even a washer and dryer. Of course, we quickly made ourselves at home (blessing #2).
We found IBC because Andrew went to college with a girl who works for Buenos Aires International Christian Academy (BAICA). She lives at IBC. Her name is Mariah and she has been a huge blessing also (blessing #3). She has shown us the city, given us tips, shared her heart and her vision with us. It is so neat to meet others around the world who want to serve the Lord.
On Saturday, we did a quick tour of the city. We took the train, as a team, downtown. We walked to the port and explored the waterway. Then, we headed through Parque de Mayo and the Oblisque.
That led us to Avenida 9 de Julio, which I am told is the widest street in the world. Each way is seven lanes long. Then, we hit Calle Florida and Galleria Pacificos. Two major shopping areas and tourist attractions. I think this was the most beautiful mall I have ever been in!
Then, Morgan and I headed to the Cementario de Recolleta where Eva Paron (“Evita”) was buried. We never actually saw the grave because we got distracted by the craft show booths, except these aren’t like the craft show booths at home. They had quality items for cheap. I got lots of Christmas presents (blessing #4).
Blessings 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc. came on Sunday. It started out with a church service in ENGLISH. The worship was in English, the sermon was in English, the congregation spoke English. It was SO nice and refreshing. Then, after church, we were invited to a couple’s (Earl and Marge) house from the congregation. It was the nicest house we had been in 4 months. Marge made us a feast!
We had bbq chicken, MASHED POTATOES, green beans, macaroni and cheese, corn, white bread, wheat bread, corn bread, chicken salad, numerous drink choices, coffee, and apple pie and chocolate cake for dessert. It was AMAZING! Then, for over an hour, we sat around the table with some with Marge, Earl, and some of the BAICA teachers and talked about how God had all brought us to Argentina. It was so neat to hear everyone’s story and God’s sovereignty. It was a day FULL of blessings! I continue to say that things couldn’t get better, but over and over again, we are BLESSED!
We ended our time in Buenos Aires by going out for a steak dinner last night. We were told that Argentina is known for its beef and that it comes at a pretty cheap price. We headed downtown and went to a nice restaurant where we were all able to order steak. It was oh-so-yummy!
