I can hear them sleigh bells ring...

WOW!!!!!

I can't believe that tomorrow I am boarding a plane for the USA! In many ways it feels like I have lived here forever. I definitely still carry the label gringa and will for the rest of my life…lol… but I now naturally initiate greetings with a kiss, when people talk in Spanish I no longer hear gibberish but CONVERSATIONS, love matte, think in Pesos and military times and I'm shocked when someone talks to me in English!

God has taught me a lot over the past 3 months. How to bring all of my frustrations, dreams, concerns, my complete being to His feet. I have enjoyed the privilege of studying in an environment where everything is Christ centered from the moment you wake up until you literally crash into bed. I love the fact that God reveals Himself in everything around us. I can be pulling a stubborn weed in Jardinería in the pouring rain or hot humidity and carry on a conversation with the girl working alongside me about how God is working in our lives or passages of scripture. I love how when I have dish pit aka Lavado, the whole kitchen is filled with the sound of laughter as we sing our hearts out in Spanish. Palabra de Vida is definitely a unique place, a place that I feel very blessed to be at. It is not always easy but as God promises in His word He never gives us more than we can carry and He is there with us all the way.

God is really blessing our Bilingual Bible Program Choir ministry. We traveled to different churches and performed over the past month. Several people accepted Christ as their savior at these events. I am in awe of the fact that God would choose to use me to further His kingdom. We sang at the missions conference this weekend and were told afterwords that we are going to sing every week of camp this summer. Music is such a powerful tool! Our director Ashley has completed her time teaching at the missionary school and is getting married next December so will not be returning in January with the rest of us. Please pray that God will raise up another leader to take over this ministry.

There is so much more I could share and I'm sure I will in posts over Christmas break or possibly in person…maybe even in Spanish…that is if you can understand mine! I am not really sure what to call it. I have friends from all over South America and they have all taught me their "slang" My english has taken a serious hit as I find myself saying things like, "I have hunger" or "No sit in that chair broken" hahaha I've been assured this is a good thing :)

Entonces...I think it is safe to say that I now speak neither English or Spanish but INTERNATIONAL SPANGLISH

I love and appreciate all of your prayers and support more then I can put into words and that is not because my languages are failing me but because I am overwhelmed by the love God has shown me through ustedes…I mean you!

orphanage

Once again my good intentions of posting more frequently flew out the window, but that is something that comes with the crazy, wonderful life I am living here in Argentina :0)

Therefore please ignore the grammatical errors that are sure to follow due to pressed time

Last fin de semana (weekend) on Thursday during class our director Lucas was talking with us about ministry opportunities. He said that we, the bilingual bible program, had the opportunity go to churches and various other places that weekend. He mentioned that there were a few more slots for people who wanted to work in the orphanage. I was contemplating raising my hand when I was pleasantly surprised to find I was already one of the eight people listed to go! We were supposed to head out the next day after classes but the roads were flooded so the decision was made to leave on Saturday at 8:15 am instead, which in Argentina I learned pretty quickly means 9:00 am =)

Ten minutes into the trip our driver tried turning the van around for gas but instead of performing a perfect u turn we managed to get stuck in the mud alongside the road. The three guys (Josiah, Brennan and Nathan) hopped out and tried pushing the van out of the mud but instead of escaping the gooey grossness we were creeping slowly closer and closer to

the near embankment. The five of us who were left in the van (Brittany, Amanda, Athena, Sarah and I) decided that we would rather die outside of the car than in it...lol... so we jumped out in a noble attempt to keep the van from perishing. Working together as a team we soon freed the van and were once again on our journey to Hogar el Alba (the orphanage). After laughing over our comical bus experience we had a great time singing campfire songs, hymns, sharing bible verses and a time of prayer... needless to say by the time we reached the orphanage everyone was bubbling over with excitement.

After settling into the rooms my group headed over to the orphanage's church building to meet with the Director. Pray for the director as He appeared to be in bad health. We were then sent to an apartment they were remodeling to paint. I climbed up on a ladder and taped around the molding!

We took a break from painting to eat lunch and help set up a game for the kids. We formed a rectangle by laying benches around the gymnasium floor and then left an opening on both ends. During the game everyone is assigned a number and when you hear your number called you and your partner run into the circle and grab a broom and try to get the ball into the other teams goal. It wasn't long before we found ourselves playing amongst the kids, cheering on our team and eagerly waiting for our turn.

Later on Saturday night we hopped in a bus with all of the kids and drove to a nearby church for a service and time of fellowship.

The next morning we gathered our bibles and headed over to the church on the orphanage property for the 11:00 am service.

Funny story... when we were dropped off at the orphanage on Saturday our van driver casually mentioned to our host that we could sing. Next thing we knew we were asked to sing on Sunday morning hahahaha...

The service started in typical Argentine time, 11:45 am. It was really cool that the service got a late start because I was able to have a long conversation with someone in Spanish. It was very encouraging to be reminded that I am learning the language.

The rest of Sunday was left open for playing games with the kids in the orphanage. It was awesome and a great blessing for me. I have made several friends there that I am keeping up with through Facebook and letters. Later we went to a very small church sing again. God stretched everyone in our group in different ways. The Pastor asked Josiah to pray and share His testimony in Spanish, a few others shared where we were from and what we were doing. God was faithful in providing us with the words to share even with our limited vocabulary. It was very obvious to us that we were not the one speaking but merely the Lord's foot messengers. It was a blessing to see how the Lord allowed us to be his vessels to bless the congregation.

Going on ministry was a great experience and as always I think the Lord worked more in my life and heart then those I went to minister to. My heart's desire is to be able to use Spanish to share the love of God with others. It is awesome to see the Lord's faithfulness time and time again in learning Spanish. Thank you for your prayers.