In Sickness and in Health

I can't say enough for Lindsey as she has held everything together while I was out cold for the past few days. But thank goodness Dean and I have both started improving in a big way and are looking forward to being able to enjoy the last couple of days that we have here in Uruguay. None of us could have done it though without Lindsey and all the others that jumped in and took on leadership roles when my body wouldn't allow me to.

Dean's hiccups have finally stopped. He had them for about 6 days straight every 5-10 seconds even while he was sleeping. He's been such a good sport though.

Today almost couldn't make it back to our house because of the torrential downpours. It was as if the sky just opened up and poured everything it had on Montevideo.

We enjoyed visiting with some folks in their 10th story apartment overlooking the ocean today. They involved in counseling and had some great insights.

Pray for Health...

Quick update. Please pray for the health of our team. Brad came down with an upper respiratory infection a couple of days ago and has had to stay home to rest and get better. Dean Self has had the same infection for a few more days than Brad has (plus the poor guy has had the hiccups for 4 days straight!!!) They are holding in there; however, it has been difficult for them not to be involved in all the activities along with the team.

Please pray for the continued healing of these 2 guys, as well as the health of the rest of the team--that they will stay well and not catch what's going around.

The team has an exciting week ahead of us with a visit to the orphanage, meeting with church planters outside of Montevideo, a chance to meet with a local pastor who ministers on "La Rambla" the least evangelized section of Uruguay, and other meeting with some other church and parachurch ministries.

Schools! Retreat Center! Entire Team!

Today we got a chance to take the team by the Uruguayan American School and the British School, so that they would be able to get a chance to see what sort of schooling options are available for their kids if they were to come serve in Uruguay. Both of the schools were very nice and we were able to get a good feel about what the education would be like there.

This afternoon, part of the group went out to do some service work at the Retreat Center that SIM is building on the outskirts of Montevideo. Tonight we are going to talk with the directors of the retreat center to learn about their vision for the site and what future plans they have for developing it.

It has been great to have our team all here today and enjoy getting to work together as a team of 11! Please pray for our strength and health, as we all live together and stay warm in the chilly weather we are having! Also, please pray for the vision of those on our team--as they pray about whether Uruguay will be the next field that they serve on!

Everyone is Here and Our Anniversary

We are so happy that the entire team and all the luggage finally arrived today around 4pm. We will make sure to post updates regarding our team's time here in Uruguay. Please keep us in prayer and also pray for the people of Uruguay that we will be interacting with these two weeks.

Tonight the team told Lindsey and I to take a break for our anniversary and go out to eat. We enjoyed some time to ourselves to eat out and just slow down a little bit. It is amazing how fast three years has flown by. I'm so thankful to be married for 3 years today.

Church in Uruguay

Yesterday we had our first day of church here in Uruguay. In the morning we went to a small church service but one that was very warm and friendly. The pastor preached from Nehemiah and we enjoy the music and also the lunch after the service.

Unfortunately we had another flight get cancelled yesterday so Steve Sywulka is coming on a boat today from Buenos Aires. Then last night we were supposed to leave for church at 6pm and we found out that the plane Dean and Linda Self were on had landed in Montevideo. So I left for the airport to get them (Dean was supposed to preach at 7pm). However their luggage never arrived so Joe Milioni (a friend of ours with UWM) decided to leave with the Parkers to go to church. Finally around 7pm the Selfs came out of customs, I drove them to where we are all staying. Lindsey decided to stay and help them get used to their surroundings and Cameron and I went to the church service. Joe did a great job there preaching for Dean since his flight arrived late and we were amazed by the hospitality of that church.

Please continue to pray as we await the arrival of Steve Sywulka and Tom & Ann Withers today. The Lord is doing great things within this team as they consider moving to Uruguay to serve in the future.

Arrival in Uruguay

We have arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. We had friends there ready to meet us and also the van rental company with a sign that had our name on it. It was very easy and within about 10 minutes we were on our way with the rental van and everyone with all our luggage which was a big blessing especially when you compare it to the rest of the team. One couple arrived late last night and another man named Cameron came in on our flight. However today another couple arrives late in the day if their flight actually departs and they don't experience more delays. Another couple will have to arrive on Monday as their flight got delayed two days.

We are all staying bundled up and enjoying getting to know one another. Cameron is a professional videographer who is creating some videos for the missionaries on this trip to share with their supporters and also for CAM to use in sharing what Uruguay is like with supporters and potential missionaries. The other family that has already arrived (the Parkers) are an encouragement to all of us as they are here to consider moving here after 15 years in Nicaragua. They shipped all their belongs on a boat back to the US where they will live for a year prior to heading to Uruguay or Mexico in 2008. Its amazing to see a family with 2 grown children and another son Matthew who is here that is not looking to back out of ministry but considering launching out to a new country on a new continent.

In Argentina

Well, here we are in Argentina. Here's a map of where it is in South America. They have a great system of transportation here. The Subte (the subway) and can get you anywhere quickly (and cheaply!) The buses are in plenty and the taxis are great too.

We were able to get to see lots of different sites in Buenos Aires throughout our short stay here. It has been a great chance to get a little break from school and be able to celebrate some time together for our 3rd Aniversary.

Niebla!

We are currently sitting at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina...waiting for our flight to Montevideo, Uruguay. We were supposed to leave yesterday (Friday), but there has been an extremely thick fog drapping itself over the city since Wednesday. The port has been closed and flights have been cancelled/delayed. Our flight for today had a departure time of 11:20am.....and it's now 12:45pm without any notice of when we will be able to board the plane.

Our team's flights have been delayed and cancelled as well. Cameron Fenske, who will be doing video of our week here, made his flight from Houston to Buenos Aires, so we are hanging out with him at the airport. Others won't make it in until late tonight (Saturday), some Sunday, and another couple won't arrive until Monday. Please pray for the safe travel and rest for our team, as we come from several different cities, states, and countries!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

We have arrived safely into Buenos Aires, Argentina and are at the airport. We have a bus ticket to take us directly to the city and will be at the hotel in about 1 hour. We met a ton of nice people on the plane and we are really going to enjoy our time here. It is very cold outside right now (about 40 degrees) so we are going to have to bundle up because it is winter here. Adios for now!