child's play

As kids, who hasn't pretended the frosted breath in early fall was cigarette smoke? I remember we used to find small sticks and pretend to be sophisticated adults, or if you were quick enough, you could write something in your carbon dioxide... This morning as I was biking to the post office/ pharmacy I noticed the person biking in front of me was smoking, except as I passed him, I realized that he wasn't smoking, but it was his breath! I casually passed him and the quickly turned my head and let out a huge breath and to my surprise, it frosted! I giggled and realized that fall would be approaching soon... oh my... I'm going to really start taking full advantage of the month of summer we still have!

some of my favorites...

Today was absolutely amazing... after being roused by a whailing puppy at 8:30am, I looked out and saw the sun peeking through the tiny holes in the sun shade... I made my hot chocolate and sat down to read Psalm 2... a nice start to the day!! I made lunch and a yogurt fruit salad (which was really yummy!!) and we ate around 2:30pm... then it was nap time, most of the time I lay there listening to the huge thunderstorm that lasted a couple hours :) then it was kid's club! I can't even begin to explain how much those kids are a blessing to me!! I came home to 50 pictures from my mom's visit to Capernwray today and I love them all! Here are my favorites :)



New addition: Timothy David Thiessen born Feb.23rd

I miss them way too much now!!!

this doesn't help the fear of needles...

To the untrained eye, this picture may look like a beacon of hope to the beach- lover... white sand path that leads to a sprawling scene of God's amazing creation. I too was deceived... along this path lie patches of cacti, small plants that grow hundreds or thousands of little prickly balls; I lovingly call them the plants of death. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I was leaving the beach, walking a path similar to this one, minding my own business when one of these small death balls wedged itself between my toes. I shrugged it off and lifted my foot to get it off, I was thankful it was only one - my thought had yet to finish when I lost my balance and set my foot down... in a whole patch of the death plant! I plopped down on the sand and looked at the bottom of my foot, which was covered in tiny little green balls. I took a deep breath and began removing each one... I've realized that flicking them off is your best option. If you were to pick them off, then they get stuck to your fingers and well I couldn't think of any other ways to get them out. I sat for a good 5 minutes flicking and flinching as hundreds of little needles made their imprint in the bottom of my foot. The aftermath? A horrible itch and tingling sensation that won't go away. A smart friend told me I should have used disinfectant so we'll see what happens! Live and learn I guess...

you're not seeing double: Maria Belen and Victoria are identical twins and Kati, in the middle is their best friend.
These 3 girls come to kids club every Tuesday and come to see us on Thursdays when we go for youth meeting.
They say they've accepted the Lord as their savior but they haven't been discipled.
I want to build a relationship with them, get to know them. Please pray for their growth.
The picture above was taken about 2 years ago and the two below were in the past 5 months. Please keep them in your prayers!

On and encouraging note, we saw Belen last Thursday and she came to the other meeting in the other town. She came running up to us and was happy to see us. Please continue to keep her in your prayers!! thanks.

the land

A snapshot of Uruguay...

The view from the bus, if you fall asleep and wake up an hour later the scenery wouldn't have changed at all. It's a flat, but vibrantly colorful land!

This looks a little "Anaconda-ish" but I can assure you that I did looked closely and only found small water snakes... which is enough to stop me from putting my feet in.

The beach in La Tuna (means cactus, not fish)... I loved it there were tons of seashells, I may have taken a few.

One of my favorite pictures :) makes me smile

Sunset on the beach... one day I'll make it for a sunrise; in the winter when it's not so early!

fried deliciousness

It's raining in Uruguay, which could only mean one thing... torta fritas (fried cake)!!!
Small, round fried- dough- amazingness that make you regret every bite as you reach for another one.

Anyone who knows torta fritas knows that this is way too many! I ashamedly admit we may have gone a little overboard, thankfully, we had youth group that night and the guys helped us out!
Praise the Lord for teenage boys
and their appetites!!

buzz

When someone thinks of a kids club, one might imagine fun-themed games and dramatic Bible lessons. In Uruguay, we like to do things a little different...

We give out free hair-cuts!!

Mathias was the last of many victims, I mean, "customers" who came through. A lot of the children can't afford $2 to get their heads shaved in a local barber shop so Liliana offered to do it for free...

Christian (above) was the first one to ask, in one night Liliana did almost 4 or 5 heads, most of which were brothers. By the end of the night the clippers were ready for a break! The following Thursday there were 5 or 6 more waiting. Now the boys of the neighbourhood are running around hair-less and loving it!

It was a real blessing because we had the opportunity to see the children outside of the "kids club" atmosphere and build deeper relationships with them. Some might say unconventional,I prefer to use exceptional...

#9 Luis Suares

After almost being expelled from the country (ok, that might be a little extreme) for buying an Argentina soccer shirt BEFORE purchasing the coveted and almost worshipped Uruguayan shirt... I have finally succumbed to peer pressure and bought a national shirt.
I must admit, the one from Argentina is still more comfortable...

Here it is... THE shirt... so it's not completely obvious... but the point is that I have one!
I'm off to watch the Uruguay - Colombia match! w00t!