Yet another taste of Argentina!

Dear Readers,

Here I am again, to tell you a little more about my mission trip...
So much had changed in one year in Argentina!
I had looked forward to so many little things, and they were all more wonderful than I had wished they would be. Coffee and dulce de leche on toast in the morning...late nights chatting with my precious host mom and more coffee...bus rides with my host dad...time just "being" with my dear family...

It all happened and it all was so wonderful. Only there were a few changes: I got to have some bus rides with my host mom and Isabella, too, because she attends the preschool now. And when we arrived in Argentina we got to straight home to our families! The first day was my favorite.  And time just "being" with my family was the sweetest time of the whole trip. I'll highlight those moments in this blog post.


 

This was taken last year: Renzo, Nico, Emily, and I

First of all, those little babies were huge! Renzo and Isabella (my host brother and sister who are twins, now 2 1/2 years old) have grown so much in the past year it blew me away. Nico has grown up so much, too! It was so bittersweet to see how they had changed as I was sad to have missed so much of their lives, but was so thankful that I was back with them again. 

I'll never forget riding home from the church, Isabella was asleep in Viviana's arms and I was just so thrilled to be beside them I could hardly contain myself. We had the sweetest conversation, which was a mix of my newly acquired Spanish and her words in English. Then she handed the phone to me and I was speaking to Reynaldo! It was so sweet to hear all of their voices again. 

Last year some of my favorite moments were just holding these sweet little twins, this year I think my favorite moments with them were when I would read a book to them called "Vaca Luluz". Isabella loved this book, and so despite the fact that I didn't know how to pronounce some of the words, I read that book so many times that by the end of my ten days in Argentina, I could quote it! hehe it really is a cute book and I loved that time with them. 

Nico and I spent a lot of time fixing hair last year, and this year was no different. She loved fixing my hair and putting makeup on me, then having me fix her hair, and setting my camera to take ten pictures of us with our beautiful new do's.  ;) We have some really funny shots! This girl has the most beautiful heart and I can't wait to hug her again! 

We worked on English, too :) 

Another difference in this trip was that Benjamin, Mason, and Mom weren't there. It was so strange to not have them with us! Their host family from last year invited my family and I over for dinner one night, and we had so much fun! They were so kind and welcoming and you could tell how much they loved my Mom and brothers. They were so sweet that they kept thinking I had been in their home before, too, since they said they felt like we were all family. (The first picture in this blog post is from our night there.) I love these people and this loving culture! 

I really wish we in the United States took a lesson from the people in Argentina. 1 Peter 5:14 says: "Greet one another with the kiss of love." 

I really can't describe with words the warmth and love you feel while you are there. It is incredible. It goes beyond the kiss (although that is a big part of the welcoming feeling).The church embraces us with open arms. The fact that so many at this church welcome us, teenagers who don't know their language or their culture, into their homes, their lives, their families is huge.  It's the most beautiful thing, and I'm so thankful to say that I have a family in Argentina. 

There's so much more I will share...

God taught me things and grew me and really blessed my time with these dear people. But here's another little snippet for you! 

Thank you for your prayers that made this trip possible. Your Blogger,

 Claire

  

Prayer Request

I signed up to receive prayer requests for sweet kiddos waiting for their families in China. I got this email from them a couple of days ago, and this little baby completely stole my heart. Look at that sweet smile! And those beautiful eyes! Here's what the email had to say about little Torie:

"Torie was admitted to our Special Care Center in Zhengzhou last June at four months old. She has been diagnosed with a severe congenital heart defect. Torie is a beautiful little girl who is quick to smile and has an adorable single dimple on her right cheek. She is curious about her surroundings and anxious to be up and moving around, but also enjoys cuddling up with her nanny. Torie celebrated her first birthday in February and we hope she will have the opportunity to celebrate many more. Torie was recently scheduled for heart surgery, but her condition was deemed inoperable in China due to its severity. However, Dr. Joyce Hill is hopeful that she may have a chance to receive the life-saving procedure she needs if she is adopted. Please join us in prayer for Torie to this end, and for our medical staff to gain wisdom on how to best proceed while she is under our care."

Will you join me in praying for Torie?

Your Blogger,
 Claire

Momentary Troubles

Dear Readers,
 I miss you! I am just so busy with school right now, I don't have time for a real post. But I NEEDED to encourage all of my dear ones this morning, so thought I would post a devotional from Joni Eareckson Tada.  It really touched my heart, and I hope it gives you perspective on whatever is going on in your life right now!  Much Love,
 Your Blogger

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all. --II Corinthians 4:17

When Vicky's husband abandoned her and her two-year-old son, she needed to find work. On one fateful day of job hunting, she was brutally attacked-and shot through the neck-by a man pretending to hire her. Later that day, lying in an emergency room, she knew she would live... but as a quadriplegic in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

In the years that followed, Vicky's anguish and bitterness finally began to melt under her friends' prayers, warming to the Word of God and its promises. "But sometimes I wonder," she once told me, "about the fairness of it all." I explained to her that it took the most unfair act in history, the execution of Jesus, to satisfy divine justice in a world full of injustice. That event made it possible for the least deserving of all-a convicted thief on a cross next to his-to gain an eternity of undeserved happiness. One day the scales of justice will not only balance, but they will be weighted in our favor, all for our good and God's glory.

Vicky now understands that, even in her wheelchair, she is no better than that thief on the cross. By all that's "fair," she knows she should be on her way to hell, and that there was nothing "fair" about Christ paying the penalty for her sins. She doesn't deserve such mercy. And neither do we.

This present life of ours is infinitely shorter than the blink of an eye compared with the eternal beauty, purpose, and joy we will experience in the Father's house. Let your thoughts linger on heaven for awhile, and then give thanks to the One who made it possible-by the great injustice of dying on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

Lord Jesus, I praise you for enduring the humiliation, the injustice, and the unspeakable agony of your crucifixion to win an eternity of light and hope for me.