Brasil: Day One

Lauren and I are in BRASIL! We met up at the casa at 7:45, got in a cab, told the driver to take us to Aeropuerto Jorge Newbury ( aka AEP, about 15 minutes away), and he told us it was closed. I told him that that was not possible, considering I had checked the flight status this morning and it said it was leaving out of AEP. He said he was certain that it was closed and that all flights were moved to EZE which is about 45 minutes away. Trying hard not to panic, I looked at Lauren and she told him to go to AEP anyway and check. He ended up rolling down the window and asking another taxi driver if it was open, and thankfully, he said it was! After that little scare, we got on a 30 minute flight to Montevideo, Uruguay, changed planes, and got to Sao Paulo at 3pm!

Jacqueline and Bryan were waiting for us and we drove to their apartment, got settled in and had some lunch. For those of you who don't know, Lauren and I are staying with some family friends, Jacqueline and Bryan Bost, who have been missionaries living in Brasil for almost 35 years, making disciples out of the Brasilian people that they come in contact with. We had absolutely not idea what we were coming here to do, but we are so excited to learn about discipleship and hopefully bring back what we learned to BA and eventually, back to the states. This is not your average mission trip. We probably won't be doing a lot of physical labor and we will only be working with needy children one of the days that we're here, so this trip is mostly about us learning about how to make followers of Christ. This is kind of scary for me, but I am totally confident that the Lord will be with us and teach us so much through Jacqueline and Bryan.

They had told us that they didn't have WiFi, but I somehow managed to find some so my posts may be regular or they may be whenever I can find internet. Please be praying for us this week!


Besos xoxo

well, that was awkward...

This is for Randy and David, because they both think that I need more funny stories in my life.

I was at the gym today and I went to go do this triceps machine thingy and I was really struggling with figuring out how the thing worked. This super buff guy comes up to me and asks if he can help, and I try to formulate a sentence in spanish (haven't really spoken a lot of spanish in a few days so I'm a little rusty) telling him that I can't figure out how to work it. Then he starts speaking to me in perfect english, and I'm like, "Oh great, you speak english!" So then I realize that the machine is actually working the way it's supposed to, and I'm a little mortified. If that isn't bad enough, I had my headphones in and he started to say something to me but I kind of ignored him and started to work out again. As I'm using this machine thing, I notice that he is just chuckling and staring at me. Now I'm thinking that I'm using it wrong so I stop and he goes, "Can you move to the other machine (on the other side) so I can connect these two weights?" Basically, when he was talking to me and I wasn't listening, he was asking me to move to the same machine on the other side so he could finish his work out, but I was too stupid to realize that and continued to work out like a fool. I apologized profusely and started to walk away, while in the background he was saying, "No wait, you can use the other machine!" I was too embarrassed so I just said, "No, esta bien." And I booked it out of there...

Time flies.

I can't believe first semester is already over. It seems like yesterday that 63 of us hopped on a plane and headed down to South America. But that was 3 months ago!

taking over the BA airport in September

I have made many new friends and memories and I wouldn't trade this semester for anything. Although I sometimes miss being in Malibu, studying abroad has been the biggest blessing for me and I am so grateful for this opportunity. I am SO excited to come back to America for a few weeks, but I cannot wait to get back to BA and finish off this amazing year. 

Here are some highlights from this semester:

 second night in BA at Cafe Tortoni with the girls!

 my beautiful Argentine sisters

 Switchfoot in BA!

 Adulam!

 Iguazu Falls!

 Fall EFT!

  sunsets in Cordoba!

  Convo dinners!

Asado Thursdays!

Boca v. River game!

For my BAer's: You all are incredible. Our group would not be complete without every single one of you. Each of you has contributed something to this experience and I would not have it any other way.

Te quiero mucho!

*Lauren and I are off to Brazil on Thursday, so please keep us in your prayers!

Besos xoxo

There's no need to worry!

Ask anyone in the Casa and they will tell you that I have been a lunatic these past few weeks. I have lost my sanity constantly stressing about visas, papers, finals, money, you name it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've been voted "Most Likely To Stress Out About Anything." Believe me, I'm not proud of that title. Although my friends tell me all the time not to worry, it just doesn't seem to do the trick. In my mind, there is so much to worry about!
Hannah lent me the book, "Ragamuffin Gospel," and let me tell you, it has changed my life. I am normally a very fast reader but I started this book a few weeks ago and am not even half way through because I can't stop taking notes! Out of all the amazing quotes from the book that I have written down, this one has been the most applicable to my feelings lately:

"Everything else will pass away, 

but the love of Christ is the same

yesterday, today, and forever."

"Yesterday. Today. Forever." In the end, papers don't matter, tests don't matter, money doesn't matter, nothing else matters but Christ's love and sharing that love with those around us. "Everything else will pass away." Even though in the moment, we feel like the world will end if we don't pass this test or run out of money and are stuck on the streets of BA next semester, it isn't the end of the world! And frankly, it's an insult to God when we worry because that's us saying that we don't trust that God will take care of us. Trust me, I'm the queen of worrying so I know how hard it is not to worry. But the Lord always provides for those who love Him. Always. Christ's love is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and so are His blessings. He will always provide. Everything else will go away in time, but we need to give priority to the one thing we know will always be there. How comforting is that?

Besos xoxo 

Answered prayers!

Happy: I GOT MY VISA! Woo hoo! I went to the Brazilian consulate this afternoon and got approved with no problems. It's kind of a weird process; you go to the consulate, show them your paperwork, and then they write down the name of a bank close by so you can pay for the visa there. Hannah and I got lost on the way to the bank, but we finally got there, paid, and I go back to the consulate tomorrow to pick up my visa/passport. Thank you all for praying!
Also, I skyped with Whitney :) Love you, Whit!

Crappy: Studying for finals has started... and we are not happy about it. On the bright side, we're done on Monday! I can't believe this semester is already over. It's very bittersweet because I'm so happy to go home for awhile but it also makes me sad that time is flying by!

Laughy: About a week ago, right before leaving for Cordoba, I was walking from my apartment to the casa and I stopped at a street corner waiting for a car to pass. These guys sitting outside of a cafe in back of me started laughing and shouting, "Caca! Casa!" Feeling like they were talking to me, I looked down at my feet and noticed that I was stepping in a huge pile of dog poop (no one picks up poop on the streets...). Needless to say, I was very embarrassed and totally grossed out.


19 DAYS UNTIL AMERICA!


Besos xoxo

Gauchos, sunsets, and delicious food.

For my second long weekend in Argentina, 14 of us went took an 11 hour bus ride to the province of Cordoba to spend three days at a beautiful estancia in the mountains.

Day Uno (Thursday):
We arrived to Cordoba at around 8am and drove 45 minutes into the mountains to get situated in our estancia. It was a beautiful little place owned by a sweet Australian couple who picked up their lives in Sydney five years ago and settled in this 400 year old estate and turned it into a bed and breakfast type place.

 where our rooms were

pub/dinning area

After getting settled, we drove down the road and got on some horses! We rode pretty deep into the mountains and eventually when it got too steep, we hopped off and hiked the rest ourselves. I was pretty nervous about scaling this insanely high peak, but my wonderful friend Alexx convinced me to keep going and I'm so glad I did because the view was amazing! We were out in the sun for over 5 hours and even though I had put on sunscreen, I managed to get one of the worst burns I've ever had. Ouch!

 my horse!

 incredible view

sunburn... even with sunscreen.

We ended day one with a wonderful asado made by the owner and chef of the estancia.


Day Dos (Friday):
We got to sleep in a little bit and then we all headed over to some local caves down the street. After that, we packed up into a van and drove 3 hours to the salt flats! This was something that I was really looking forward to because some of my friends who came to Cordoba last year said the flats were unbelievable at sunset. We got a little lost on the way but made it just in time to watch the sunset. These salt flats go on for miles! Way off towards the horizon, we saw water (all the water from the rain stays on the salt flats for awhile) so we all started running towards it, with about 10 minutes to spare before the sun was gone. That sunset was definitely the most amazing sunset I have ever seen in my life.

After the sun set, we built a fire and the John, the chef from the estancia, made a wonderful stew and chocolate cake. The stars were absolutely incredible that night. I literally felt like I was standing inside of a planetarium. We all went out by ourselves and just laid out under the sky. That was an amazing experience for me because in that moment by myself, I realized how BIG and incredible God is and how insignificant we are compared to Him and His creation. 

Day Tres (Saturday):

We left the flats at 5am and didn't get back until 8am, so needless to say, we were all exhausted. Alexx and I climbed into bed and I passed out until 3pm! I missed out on another hike, but at least I caught up on sleep! We had a great pizza dinner, then packed our bags, and headed to the bus station for our 11 hour ride back to BA. 

It was a great weekend filled with awesome friends, great food, and incredible scenery. God has truly blessed me this semester with the opportunity to see some amazing places in Argentina and I even though it was hard being away from family for Thanksgiving, I couldn't be more grateful for my life here in Argentina.

Besos xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night, we had our very own Thanksgiving dinner at the Casa! Everyone either made a dish or helped other people make stuff and it was delicious. It was so great having everyone together and being able to celebrate the best American holiday ever :)

FOOD!

num num! Thanks Claudio!

Tomorrow, I'm off to Cordoba for the long weekend!

Besos xoxo