Long Overdue

It has been way too long since I have shared what has been happening in Uruguay. I am happy and sad to say that I have been staying very busy and have not had much time to spend on the Internet. As far as WHAT I have been doing, I can say A LOT. It is summer here, so everything is pretty much closed down in the city, La Obra Ecumenica included. I was told to get out of Montevideo after Christmas or I would find myself with nothing to do. That was easy since I had visitors coming to Buenos Aires on December 26 and 27. I spent from December 26- January 4 with Laura, Anne, Josh and Megan. I got to show them a little bit of Montevideo and we explored Buenos Aires. I was very excited that they got to share with me probably the best asado I have had here at the house of one of the members of Nuestro Salvador. I introduced them to some of my friends in Montevideo, and it was great to see them interacting... with me sometimes acting as translator. I was sad to see them go after a wonderful time we had here.
I stayed in Buenos Aires until January 6 when I took my GRE then left directly for the bus station to take me to Parana, Argentina for a camp with the young adults of the Waldensian church in Argentina and Uruguay. There were 110 of us total camping in tents for a week. It was a nice getaway with friends and it reminded me of Camp Luther only for old people like me. I really enjoyed listening to them sing camp songs (even though I couldn't join in, because I did not know the songs they were singing.) I get overjoyed to see people praising God and his work in another part of the World.
With the arrival of my visitors from the US, came an overwhelming amount of school supplies for La Obra Ecumenica. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to deliver the supplies to the director since we are on summer vacation, but I just wanted to say thank you to those who collected and donated.
I also requested quite a few things for myself including salad dressing, maple syrup and some clothes that I decided I missed from home. I got spoiled for Christmas a couple days late. :)

I have reached the halfway point of my adventure in Uruguay. While I get excited to think about returning home to see all of my loved ones and give everyone big hugs, I know it will be hard to leave my life in Uruguay. Halfway through this journey, I know God still has a lot to teach me through this whole experience. It is hard to keep my eyes open and take in all of the new experiences and reflect on what I am learning through it all. It has been a whirlwind five months, and I hope I can take time to find the words to share with everyone my thoughts and feelings on this whole experience. I thank God for the continuous support I receive from everyone at home. It is so encouraging to receive the e-mails, letters and cards from everyone.