We are home safely. All we wanted to do was take showers with hot water and water pressure. How spoiled we are...
Here are a few quotes I remember:
"Yea, Freddy!"
"Jerry! take a picture!"
"We seem to have a lot of meetings this week"
Don at Buenos Aires airport: "The first person to fall asleep we wrap!"
Gaby: "Cassandra, are you blogging?"(yes Gaby, I am)
Gaby: "Try Coffee Break in Spanish"
-Cassandra
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thursday at village from last year
6:11 pm
Sitting in the church and the water filter is in need of repairs. We've been here since 10:30 am. We sang songs with the kids, cooked lunch, and taught them how to create a garden.
One lady, Concepcion, is a great grandmother. She is 53 years old and has 9 kids herself. She also remembered we were coming and was counting the days until our arrival. The previous team told her another team would be back around August 10 or 15
They have electricty here. I'm not using it. I have a modem.
-Cassandra
Sitting in the church and the water filter is in need of repairs. We've been here since 10:30 am. We sang songs with the kids, cooked lunch, and taught them how to create a garden.
One lady, Concepcion, is a great grandmother. She is 53 years old and has 9 kids herself. She also remembered we were coming and was counting the days until our arrival. The previous team told her another team would be back around August 10 or 15
They have electricty here. I'm not using it. I have a modem.
-Cassandra
Thursday am
Hi readers!
It is 8:36am Argentina time, 4:36 am Orange County time.
We are all sitting in the hotels restaurant, finishing breakfast and discussing what we are doing today.
We are visiting a village from last years trip. We've been to this village before, meaning we picked up Carlitos, our Guarani helper, to take to the previous two villages. We are visiting his village to check on the water purifier that was placed in the back of their church last summer. We will also cook lunch, show the Jesus film and teach them about hygenie.
Yesterday, was our true tourist day. We drove 2-3 hours to Iguazu Falls. BEAUTIFUL!!! We took a picture as a group at the large mouth of the falls. Then we walked 122 steps (correct me if I'm wrong George) to see more of the falls. Some of us went to the bottom of one fall, looked at the God given wonder and came out completely soaked! (Thanks for the poncho Jan!!) So proud that Jerry made the walk!
After our tour we drove to the Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay border. Its in the water so unfortuantely we couldn't say we are in 3 places at once.
For dinner we drove to Downtown Argentina and ate a fabulous dinner. Some people tried new meats- chorizo (filet mignon), blood (doesn't taste like much), pickled tongue (good!) and our usual chicken, ribs and pork. I highly suggest the Piacera restaurant.
We are now off to work!!!
-Cassandra
It is 8:36am Argentina time, 4:36 am Orange County time.
We are all sitting in the hotels restaurant, finishing breakfast and discussing what we are doing today.
We are visiting a village from last years trip. We've been to this village before, meaning we picked up Carlitos, our Guarani helper, to take to the previous two villages. We are visiting his village to check on the water purifier that was placed in the back of their church last summer. We will also cook lunch, show the Jesus film and teach them about hygenie.
Yesterday, was our true tourist day. We drove 2-3 hours to Iguazu Falls. BEAUTIFUL!!! We took a picture as a group at the large mouth of the falls. Then we walked 122 steps (correct me if I'm wrong George) to see more of the falls. Some of us went to the bottom of one fall, looked at the God given wonder and came out completely soaked! (Thanks for the poncho Jan!!) So proud that Jerry made the walk!
After our tour we drove to the Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay border. Its in the water so unfortuantely we couldn't say we are in 3 places at once.
For dinner we drove to Downtown Argentina and ate a fabulous dinner. Some people tried new meats- chorizo (filet mignon), blood (doesn't taste like much), pickled tongue (good!) and our usual chicken, ribs and pork. I highly suggest the Piacera restaurant.
We are now off to work!!!
-Cassandra
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Wednesday
leaving the Delitcity cafe in El Dorado. I just got connected and they are all leaveing me...we're on our way to Iguazu Falls and this is the half way point.
-Cassandra
-Cassandra
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
WE MADE IT MOM!!
It is currently 8:32 pm on Tuesday and half our team is sitting in the restaurant of our hotel. (It is now 10:41 pm). My name is Cassandra and I am the blogger on this trip.
We are all well, some colder than others, it has not rained and no one is sick
Here is a break down of our trip so far:
FRIDAY & SATURDAY: travel days. Jerry had a full body massage from security check at LAX. We made it through without further problems. The food on the plane, LAN, has fabulous food! The serving sizes are small compared to North America.
Flying into Iguazu, all we see are green trees from the plane. Its the nations tree, the araucaria. We are now in the jungle!
Saturday evening we went to Pastor Guermos church in the town of San Pedro, Misiones where we talked about the PEACE plan. Take note, we had an hour to prepare. When we walked into the church, everyone greets us with a warm embrace and a kiss on each cheek. Women to men, men to men, teenagers to adults. It was the warmest and genuine welcome you can ask for. The attenders are all ages. Kids go in and out. The band consists of a teenage drummer, teenage female singers and a woman leading worship. We arrive back at the hotel at 10:30pm (Argentina time) and eat dinner, empanadas and pizza.
SUNDAY:In the morning, we met in Gabys room where all the extra bags are and sorted through the items we brought: soccer balls, pencils, crayons, the Jesus film, candy, materilas for friendship bracelets, teddy bears, and other items.
We are at the church for the day. 9:30-12 hygeine training, lunch, 2-5 hygenie training
We didn't stay to our original time was not correct, Argentinas are not on-time people..
Lunch was homemade pasta with chicken and a sauce/salsa. It was DELICIOUS! This was a special treat for the attenders and for us to have lunch.
After the hygenine training, the ladies had an hour to freshen up before the church service started at 7:30pm. It started promplty at 7:30, which is abnormal. That night all of us gave our testimonies. For some it was the first time, others it was the 4th. Everyone was capitivated by what we haad to say. Luckily our interepreters Jaime, Ines, Gaby and Eli were there. At the end of the service, Pastor Guermo asked if anyone would like to give their life to the Lord. At least 20 people did! The church holds about 75 people. Yeah God!!! We walked out of the church at 10:30, searching for dinner. This is normal in Argentina. They eat a small breakfast (coffee and bread with dulce de leche), lunch is large, dinner is eaten late- about 10 pm. Our initial destination was a bus stop that was around the corner but that was closed so we drove to a small restaurant that barely fit all of us. We had empanadas and pizza.
MONDAY: We had to be down in the hotel restaurant for breakfast at 7:30am. We are on our way to one of 3 Guarani villages. Our plan is install a water purifier, make lunch, teach a few hygeine classes and interact with the locals. We met at Guermos church at 9am. The ladies took one last potty break because the village has nothing, picked up the water filter a handful of church members and we were off in 4 vehicles. We went down the asphalt road, picked up a Guarani from another village and headed on the dirt road toward our destination. This road was our introduction to the next days ahead- bumpy, small and filled with ditches. This particular road had 2 bridges. All the trucks went over but our 15 passenger van did not. Everyone got out of the trucks to let them cross without the weight. It was a sight to see and we Californians held our breathe. (we took many pictures) We arrived at the village, the were expecting us. We cooked the food, showed the Jesus film in their language, and taught a lesson on washing hands. It was a touching moment for us to see these people and their living conditions. At the end of our visit Pastor Guermo handed the chief a Proclaimer- an audio version of the New Testament. Don brought flashlights that need to be shaken for 30 seconds in order for them to be used. No
batteries reuired! The chief received one of those too.
Our visit took longer than we thought, the jesus film was not palying continuously on the compter so it was longer than the 2 hours. We left the village at 6:45. We needed to leave at 5:30 at the latest because of the sun being our guide out of the land. well...we made it back ok and over the bridge was an experience. A car full of people over a bridge...we have pictures.
Pastor Guermos truck also overheated so we stopped a few more times on the road.
TUESDAY: we visited viallge number 2. It took us 2 hours ot get to this village. The road was...better. It did not have a bridge but at one point we thought we had to get out of the van because a deep water filled hole was in our way. We made it through with everyone in the car.
In this village we wanted to give heat family/house a Sawyer filter for the water. we were cooking lunch for them as well and teaching hygenine lessons. When we arrived at the village, we found out someone is bringing them clean water. Building a well and having that water pumped to their houses. Because of this we did not hand out Sawyer filters. This village had 80 people total. There living conditions are better than the last village. The kids were interactive and allowed us to sing songs and play games with them. Hokey Pokey, Father Abraham, Jesus loves me and London Bridges falling down. (Ask for pictures of those) We also put on a sock puppet show on germs were the kids and moms enjoyed. The moms in the Guarani villages are at least 13 years old. The average life expectancy is 40 years old.
Before we left Pastor Guermo gave the flashlight and Proclaimer to the chief of this village.
We arrived at the hotel at 6:30. We were invited a tour of the mate processing plant that Necco, a church attender, owns. Very interesting. (hope to have picutes)
Here is a breakdown for the rest of the time we are here:
WEDNESDAY: Iguazu Falls
THURSDAY: visit village from a previous Argentina trip
FRIDAY:visit village 3
SATURDAY: Childrens day celebrated at church
SUNDAY:flying day
MONDAY: arrive at LAX 6:50am. Possibly at SDBK lot at 9:30am.
I'll try to write more soon. Its hard ot find the time and get a modem to get internet access. We have computers but not internet.
-Cassandra
Note:
mate is the drink everyone has in there hand. Its like water or coffee. They carry a "cup" and hot bottle of water with them.
beef chorizo = filet mignon
Toilet paper is not placed in the toilet...it is placed in a bucket next to the toilet.
Fire is produced when heat is needed at the hotel.
The electricity at the hotel goes out every once in awhile. Its normal.
We are all well, some colder than others, it has not rained and no one is sick
Here is a break down of our trip so far:
FRIDAY & SATURDAY: travel days. Jerry had a full body massage from security check at LAX. We made it through without further problems. The food on the plane, LAN, has fabulous food! The serving sizes are small compared to North America.
Flying into Iguazu, all we see are green trees from the plane. Its the nations tree, the araucaria. We are now in the jungle!
Saturday evening we went to Pastor Guermos church in the town of San Pedro, Misiones where we talked about the PEACE plan. Take note, we had an hour to prepare. When we walked into the church, everyone greets us with a warm embrace and a kiss on each cheek. Women to men, men to men, teenagers to adults. It was the warmest and genuine welcome you can ask for. The attenders are all ages. Kids go in and out. The band consists of a teenage drummer, teenage female singers and a woman leading worship. We arrive back at the hotel at 10:30pm (Argentina time) and eat dinner, empanadas and pizza.
SUNDAY:In the morning, we met in Gabys room where all the extra bags are and sorted through the items we brought: soccer balls, pencils, crayons, the Jesus film, candy, materilas for friendship bracelets, teddy bears, and other items.
We are at the church for the day. 9:30-12 hygeine training, lunch, 2-5 hygenie training
We didn't stay to our original time was not correct, Argentinas are not on-time people..
Lunch was homemade pasta with chicken and a sauce/salsa. It was DELICIOUS! This was a special treat for the attenders and for us to have lunch.
After the hygenine training, the ladies had an hour to freshen up before the church service started at 7:30pm. It started promplty at 7:30, which is abnormal. That night all of us gave our testimonies. For some it was the first time, others it was the 4th. Everyone was capitivated by what we haad to say. Luckily our interepreters Jaime, Ines, Gaby and Eli were there. At the end of the service, Pastor Guermo asked if anyone would like to give their life to the Lord. At least 20 people did! The church holds about 75 people. Yeah God!!! We walked out of the church at 10:30, searching for dinner. This is normal in Argentina. They eat a small breakfast (coffee and bread with dulce de leche), lunch is large, dinner is eaten late- about 10 pm. Our initial destination was a bus stop that was around the corner but that was closed so we drove to a small restaurant that barely fit all of us. We had empanadas and pizza.
MONDAY: We had to be down in the hotel restaurant for breakfast at 7:30am. We are on our way to one of 3 Guarani villages. Our plan is install a water purifier, make lunch, teach a few hygeine classes and interact with the locals. We met at Guermos church at 9am. The ladies took one last potty break because the village has nothing, picked up the water filter a handful of church members and we were off in 4 vehicles. We went down the asphalt road, picked up a Guarani from another village and headed on the dirt road toward our destination. This road was our introduction to the next days ahead- bumpy, small and filled with ditches. This particular road had 2 bridges. All the trucks went over but our 15 passenger van did not. Everyone got out of the trucks to let them cross without the weight. It was a sight to see and we Californians held our breathe. (we took many pictures) We arrived at the village, the were expecting us. We cooked the food, showed the Jesus film in their language, and taught a lesson on washing hands. It was a touching moment for us to see these people and their living conditions. At the end of our visit Pastor Guermo handed the chief a Proclaimer- an audio version of the New Testament. Don brought flashlights that need to be shaken for 30 seconds in order for them to be used. No
batteries reuired! The chief received one of those too.
Our visit took longer than we thought, the jesus film was not palying continuously on the compter so it was longer than the 2 hours. We left the village at 6:45. We needed to leave at 5:30 at the latest because of the sun being our guide out of the land. well...we made it back ok and over the bridge was an experience. A car full of people over a bridge...we have pictures.
Pastor Guermos truck also overheated so we stopped a few more times on the road.
TUESDAY: we visited viallge number 2. It took us 2 hours ot get to this village. The road was...better. It did not have a bridge but at one point we thought we had to get out of the van because a deep water filled hole was in our way. We made it through with everyone in the car.
In this village we wanted to give heat family/house a Sawyer filter for the water. we were cooking lunch for them as well and teaching hygenine lessons. When we arrived at the village, we found out someone is bringing them clean water. Building a well and having that water pumped to their houses. Because of this we did not hand out Sawyer filters. This village had 80 people total. There living conditions are better than the last village. The kids were interactive and allowed us to sing songs and play games with them. Hokey Pokey, Father Abraham, Jesus loves me and London Bridges falling down. (Ask for pictures of those) We also put on a sock puppet show on germs were the kids and moms enjoyed. The moms in the Guarani villages are at least 13 years old. The average life expectancy is 40 years old.
Before we left Pastor Guermo gave the flashlight and Proclaimer to the chief of this village.
We arrived at the hotel at 6:30. We were invited a tour of the mate processing plant that Necco, a church attender, owns. Very interesting. (hope to have picutes)
Here is a breakdown for the rest of the time we are here:
WEDNESDAY: Iguazu Falls
THURSDAY: visit village from a previous Argentina trip
FRIDAY:visit village 3
SATURDAY: Childrens day celebrated at church
SUNDAY:flying day
MONDAY: arrive at LAX 6:50am. Possibly at SDBK lot at 9:30am.
I'll try to write more soon. Its hard ot find the time and get a modem to get internet access. We have computers but not internet.
-Cassandra
Note:
mate is the drink everyone has in there hand. Its like water or coffee. They carry a "cup" and hot bottle of water with them.
beef chorizo = filet mignon
Toilet paper is not placed in the toilet...it is placed in a bucket next to the toilet.
Fire is produced when heat is needed at the hotel.
The electricity at the hotel goes out every once in awhile. Its normal.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
On the Way to Iguazu
Hi everyone:
Just received a phone call from Howard Hicks in Argentina who met the team at the airport. Team is doing great, all the luggage arrived, walked through customs without a problem. They are now on their way to their final destination.
Please keep them in your prayers!
Just received a phone call from Howard Hicks in Argentina who met the team at the airport. Team is doing great, all the luggage arrived, walked through customs without a problem. They are now on their way to their final destination.
Please keep them in your prayers!
On the flight at LAX (Yesterday)
David sent a note yesterday at 12:57pm indicating that " We are all on the flight at LAX ready to leave."
Our prayers are with you all!!
Our prayers are with you all!!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Training Day (Hygiene and Purifier)
Well the time is getting near for our trip to begin to Argentina. We are within 3 weeks of being in San Pedro Misiones, Argentina and the team is really getting into the Spirit. Our fifth training class was on hygiene and purifier installation at our house. Everyone was in attendance, with the exception of one couple, who are in the middle of thier own trining for a new business they are starting when they return. They were missed during this training meeting, which we did out side on a lovely sunny California day, glad it was not last weekend.
The trip this year will consist of 11 members of Saddleback, including 3 couples and 5 singles. All adults and all ready to serve.
Attached are a couple of pictures of the team doing their training.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Skills Training, Day 1.
Today, most of group participated in Day 1 of our Skills Training for our upcoming P.E.A.C.E trip to San Pedro Misiones, Argentina. We are all so blessed to have each other to lean on and to learn from one another. Today was on exception.
The day consisted of Dan and Darlene teaching us all about "Health and Hygiene." Several modules were taught. What are Germs? When to Wash Hands. Brushing your Teeth. Disease Transmission, and yes, we even had a live puppet show. Overall, it was a very interactive day where we all participated and had fun together.
One of the highlights of the day came from "Technology Lesson #1." Making a Tippy Tap. A Tippy Tap consist of a plastic jug, string, soap, a stick and water. You poke a few holes through the jug, thread the string through the jug, add the soap and use the stick for a foot pedal, hang each side to tree branches and viola, you have yourself an instant Tippy Tap. This tool is then used to demonstrate how to wash your hands. Our group learned how to make one and it worked!! No really, it did!
Shown here in the pictures are our two "tree stand-ins" Gaby (in black) and Cathy (one of team leaders in beige shorts). Cassandra (in blue) who shows us that it really works and actually washed her hands.
What a blessing it is to have learned what we all take for granted here and how wonderful it will be to teach the people of San Pedro Misiones what we've learned here today, all while teaching the Word of God.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Return in 2010 to Misiones Argentina
We are currently planning a return mission trip to San Pedro, Misiones Argentina for August 1010. This trip will include working with the local church and Pastor Guillermo to bring clean safe drinking water and teaching hygiene to the local community who will teach in the Guarani villages.
The team from Saddleback currently consists of 10 members, who have committed to going and work with the local church, Iglesia Eben-ezer. This trip is result of feedback from the pastor, that the water purifiers, that were installed last year, have made a significant improvement in the health of the Guarani people.
Also, Argentina is now a focus area for Saddleback Church, which opens the door to more "PEACE" projects for the country.
Please join us in prayers and support for the trip. As we get closer, check back and we will keep you updated of our plans to bring both clean water and the Living Water to Argentiina.
David
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