Vineyards

For the long holiday weekend they celebrate in October, Jaclyn and I headed west to the mountains of Mendoza--wine capital of Argentina. It was picturesque. The rows and rows of vines reminded me of a few images in the Bible that stand out to me because it is full of metaphors related to agriculture.
John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Mark 4 recounts a story about a farmer scattering seeds and how the plants grew or didn't depending on where the seed landed
Today stories like this don't make a lot of sense to us anymore. They don't have the same impact because we are far removed from the environment--living in concrete cities. I need to be reminded what my job is. I don't control my own growth, I can facilitate it maybe, but there are many elements that are outside of my control. These are just some of the thoughts that have been seeping in my head lately that I keep coming back to.

Mexico

At the end of last month, I had the great privilege of going to Guadalajara, Mexico for a week. It is a beautiful city. The people are extremely hospitable...except in the airport. I had my luggage checked several times and felt interrogated at the check-in counter. I'm not sure why they were giving me such a hard time about leaving the country. Anyway apart from that, I had a fabulous trip with Marisol!

At the womens conference, we stayed in a convent. It sounds a little odd, but it was a spacious and beautiful place. We spent the weekend discussing and reflecting on God's promises. A couple promises that are especially meaningful to me are,

Isaiah 43: 18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

And Zechariah 8:6, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies."

After all that has happened in the last year, I'm hoping to see something new, to see God prepare a path through the wilderness, and bring life to this dry place. To me it seems impossible, how could it possibly change that dramatically? Especially when it seems like there's only a small group of us really living for God. But I can't focus on just the things of this world, because it's not left up to human intervention. God is bigger than that.

Awe and Beauty

While in Bariloche, I was surrounded by awe-inspiring beauty. How do you define beauty?
It's hard to describe. I feel like I am most often struck by it in nature--a stunning sunset, a pretty flower, a gorgeous landscape. Sometimes I notice it in love expressed between people--like a mom kissing her baby's forehead. I wonder how God defines beauty. The Bible says when he made the world he called it "good." We were made to appreciate these good things, don't you think?

Psalm 95: 4-6

"In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;"

There is something about the mountains. When I see them, I understand what it means to biblically fear God. All I can do is stand or sit in awe of their majesty stretching toward the clouds. It seems so easy to get distracted by life and forget the magnificence that surrounds us.

The pictures don't do it justice. I'm sure they still wouldn't, even if I had better photography equipment and skills. It makes me wonder about how we long to capture moments. To me, it points to the fact that we either have an overwhelming desire to control (time in this case) or we long for something permanent, something lasting, something eternal if you will. The book of Ecclesiastes describes it this way: "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." 3:11

Seeing the masterfully designed diversity of plants perfectly suited for their environment, millions of stars whispering of galaxies faraway, the sun dancing like diamonds over the water, a tree that's 1500 years old, makes me realize how small and fleeing my existence is. It helps to put the things of life into perspective.

Seeing more of Argentina

Last weekend, I had the great privilege of attending Mariel and Martin's wedding in Mariel's hometown of Grl. Roca, a city in the Rio Negro province (south central part of the country). It was cool getting to see more of Argentina and the hometown of my former roommate. The part of the country she lives in is drier and known for fruit trees. They were actually celebrating Apple Fest the same weekend. Apparently this festival attracts well-known bands from all over Latin America.
Anyway, not only did I get to attend the wedding, I was also blessed with the opportunity to walk down the isle before the bride! Bridesmaids and groomsmen don't really exist here (the witnesses of the civil ceremony usually fill that role), but Mariel wanted her sisters and some friends to proceed her entrance along the more North American tradition of bridesmaids.
Two wedding ceremonies were involved, one before the civil judge (the legal process) and the other overseen by a pastor (the religious ceremony). After the ceremony in the church we had an outdoor reception. Again I stayed out until the wee hours of the morning: eating, talking, and playing games. It was lovely!

This picture is of the ribbons that the single ladies pull (a tradition similar to tossing the bouquet). The "winner" has a ring attached to the string usually.

While I was in the Rio Negro neighborhood for the wedding, I decided to take advantage of my relative proximity to San Carlos de Bariloche of Patagonia. Bariloche is known for it's chocolate, mountains, and lakes. I think it might be one of my favorite places on earth. I didn't get to spend very much time there because I was missing some class (see previous post) in order to go as it was, but it was well worth it! I stayed at a little bed and breakfast outside of town on the side of a mountain with a view overlooking the lake. It was homey and peaceful. Just what I needed to relax and refocus.

For my only full day in Bariloche (due to travel), I went to Cerro Campanario first thing in the morning by bus. It's a chairlift that takes you up to one of the best views of the area.

When I came down, I caught the bus out to Puerto Panhuelo to take a nautical excursion to Puerto Blest, nearly 13 miles from the Chilean border (tells you how far west I was!). The area is particularly special because it has a very unique ecosystem. Much of southern Argentina is covered by Patagonia forest (mostly conifers that tolerate cold, dry conditions), but this area that we went to has a rainforest. It's cold, not tropical. The area receives the precipitation coming off of the Pacific Ocean that makes it over the Andes mountains and dumps there, where it rains 300 days out of the year. I happened to go on one of the few days that it was beautifully sunny. It was fun to hike and see the plant life. We also saw some gorgeous waterfalls.

Lastly, I went downtown to Bariloche to get a few souvenirs to bring back with me (besides the hundreds of photos). The city isn't much to look at, since it is very turisty, but like I said they have good chocolate!

A wedding party!

I had the great privilege of being invited to attend the wedding of Naty y Boris in Mar del Plata last weekend. Mar del Plata is about 5 hours by bus from La Plata.


Wedding customs are quite a bit different here. The ceremony was scheduled to begin at the church Friday night at 8 pm. The bride arrived at 8:45 pm. I'm told this is perfectly normal. Fashionably late I suppose. From there, we went on to the reception. We had drinks and appetizers to start, eating dinner around midnight. Then we danced. We sat down again for brownies and icecream. Then we danced some more and played some games. Around 4 am we had cake. Early in the morning we danced with masks, leis, and hats until about 5:30, when breakfast was served. More or less, that's how weddings go--a party all night long! The rest of the weekend we took advantage of the beach. We were blessed with warm mostly sunny days.

The Newly Weds!

Drive-thru Weekender

My trip stateside was a blast. It was a lightning bolt fast trip--over before I knew what happened. My fortune with weather seemed to follow me as it rained most of the time I was there. It also snowed. What a Wisconsin welcome! I had a bit of a climate shock going from around 40 degrees F to 80 degrees when I returned. Being in the familiarity of home was pretty nice though. I forgot how much I miss the beautiful Baraboo bluffs in full fall color. I really enjoyed seeing some friends and spending time with my family and wish I had more time. The good news is I'll be back soon for the holidays.

When I wasn't traveling (by air, car, or bus) or chilling at home during my 5 day excursion in the US, I was at the Upper Midwest Navigator collegiate fall conference for the 4th time in 5 years. This time I was attending as staff. It was such a blessing to be there! I am so grateful for the unexpected opportunity of being recipient of the missions offering project. I had lots of fun playing frisbee, enjoyed big breakfasts, and learned some good lessons to take away. It was refreshing worshiping in English again.

The thing I learned that stands out the most came from a session on performance and perfectionism. I tend to strive for perfection in pleasing people and proving myself through achievement. I don't strive for perfection in housekeeping as my family can easily attest to. It was good to think about why this is and ask "what defines me?" We're all so wrapped up in what we do, we lose sight of who we are. So lately I've been focusing on the heart--the only place where real, lasting transformation can happen. Our heart/soul/'however you name it' (interior) is more important than what's displayed to the world/performance (exterior). That isn't emphasized enough in our culture. It's hard to keep this as our focus because it's not something that can be measured, but it fosters authenticity. And the world needs genuine people. We have more than enough actors.

Something else I realized about the cultural difference, is that America is a little obsessed with drive-thrus. Have you noticed? There are drive-thru restaurants, coffee, pharmacies, and banks. You don't see that in Argentina. I think you would be hard pressed to find them anywhere else in the world.
It's fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and I've been conditioned to want pumpkin during these couple months. Unfortunately, big round orange pumpkins don't exist in Argentina. Butternut squash makes an okay substitute for most things pumpkin related though.

Funke Turismo

The group of adventurers!

Argentines like their holidays. We had a long weekend courtesy of "Columbus Day." Some coworkers and friends of ours decided it would be fun to see some mountains this weekend. We drove 7 hours southwest of La Plata to Sierra de la Ventana or more accurately the middle of nowhere because we stayed well outside any nearby city, traveling on dirt roads to get to camp. It was nice getting out of the city for a while and being able to see stars and hills. The title of the post comes from the company we used during our stay. It was an interesting trip! Overall, I had a good time, but I'm glad to be back around the "comforts of home."
Unfortunately, my poor weather streak while traveling in Argentina continued on Saturday (see Lobos post from July). It rained all day, thus wrecking havoc on our plans to hike Tres Picos--the tallest point in the province of Buenos Aires. This mountain range is alleged to be the oldest in South America.

Instead, we found adventure in maneuvering the mud roads into town to try some of the best alfajores (chocolate-covered, dulce de leche stuffed cookies) in Argentina.

Sunday we were blessed with better weather and made the climb up to a cave. We turned around as the wind picked up and clouds rolled past (carrying rain and a few snow flakes as well) instead of reaching the highest peak. It was an exhausting and beautiful hike nevertheless. I snapped a few photos while my camera battery was functioning.

Lobos

Tuesday through Thursday, five of us stayed in a cabin on the Laguna de Lobos. Lobos is a small city about an hour and a half drive west of La Plata. Along the way there, Chris pointed out red shrines made to honor different gauchos (sort of Argentine cowboys) on the side of the road. People leave gifts in homage to them.
It was a fun retreat, but the weather was less than ideal. It was chilly enough for it to snow a bit. Even coming from Wisconsin, it was a little odd to see snow falling in July. Even so, it wasn't very magical for me, but it was considered quite the novelty for the guys I was with who rarely see the white flakes falling from the sky. While we were cooped up most of the time, we enjoyed each others' company and spent some time each day discussing following Christ and faith in God.
<--What it looked like most of the time we were there--shades of grey

Cabin

Playing in the snow

Flamingos! I hadn´t ever seen them in the wild before. They were all over the lake.