Today marked our three week anniversary here in La Plata. The time has already been flying past us at the speed of light! I've been adding text to this blog entry a little bit here and there as I've had time. Jen has made some significant contributions as well. But we are still without a place to live. So internet and free time have been a little touch and go.

Having been here a few weeks, we're finally starting to get our bearings. The city is not quite as cosmopolitan as I had expected, to be honest with you. It's a little dirty and like all big cities, lacks open spaces to enjoy the outdoors. But there are some nice parks and open spaces that exist just outside of town and are easily accessible by bike or bus. I'll have to make a trip out there to keep from drowning in city life!

Our priority at this time is learning Castellano (that's the type of Spanish they speak here). Being able to speak the language is crucial in ministry here. There are students here who speak English, but the vast majority do not. This past monday we stared our intense language institute. All 6 of us take a bus about 20 minutes outside of La Plata to a town called Barriso. Although each morning this week was an adventure as the buses run in all directions without apparent rhyme or reason. Some rides take about 20 minutes while others are more like 45 minutes! We just say a quick prayer and jump on the Micro. We are in class from 9am - 1pm with a break halfway inbetween to eat some really great Argentine snacks! We hope to gain a foundation and build on that over the next several months. The woman who owns the institute is a Christian and she goes to the same church that we do! It is truly a blessing! She is so excited to help us learn the language and in that way to take part in our ministry, she has been really encouraging and helpful already. She is giving us a great deal for classes, spoiling us with snacks and candy, and has a pastor come in to teach us spiritual vocabulary and how to share the gospel in Castellano. Praise God for all of that!

As far as ministry goes, we have been able to attend English clubs that attract a handful of Argentines with fluency in English. That has been a lot of fun and helped us meet some great Argentines. We've also been tagging along with the current STINT team to meet with contacts and visit the various campuses or (facultades). The thought of taking over for this team is a bit overwhelming. They have been so helpful in training us in the culture and sharing wisdom with us from what they've learned.

Ok, so now about the food ahh, the food! The food here is amazing! So far I think I've enjoyed everything I've eaten!! Most of the food here is not too foreign from what we're used to. Some of our favorites are:
Liquados (similar to smoothies)
Helado (ice cream, homemade and SO good)
Panqueques (similar to crepes with just about anything you want in it)
Empanadas (similar to croissants, fried and filled with ham/cheese, beef, etc.)

At the moment, we would love for you all to continue praying for our living situation. Kyle & I have moved out of the hotel because it's too expensive for us to pay each day. This past week we've been split between the guys flat and the girls. There could be light on the hortunedhough! Stay tunned...

So here we sit. Now, officially living in La Plata! We just returned from a short retreat weekend located at a place right outside of Buenos Aires. It stood in stark contrast to the concrete, crowded and mostly dirty city on the horizon. The retreat center hid behind high walls of bushes and trees and provided a good place to fellowship with our new team and learn a bit more about the direction of our ministry this year. We were able to rest our spirits and feed our lives with the word of God. We're going to need a whole lot of Jesus to survive this year in a foreign place!

We currently do not have a place to live permanently. A few of the locals are working on that right now but it may be at least a week or so before Jen and I have a home. So keep us in your prayers. Pray the the Lord would have a place picked out for us and we would have the patience to wait on his timing.