Some Beach...

Dorthy & Jean (California, USA)

Things are so good here... not going to lie to you. spent the day today at viña del mar, a port city with lots of beach and beautiful sunny hot weather THATS for sure - and loving it... we head back out to Placilla tomorrow night (conv is fri night, sat, sun, mon)
Becoming fluent in spanish is definately a process for all of us...

chao for now... have an awsome new years!

Placilla

Life is good. wish you were all here. all are well.

happy travellers...

...Moms famous boat picture...

Danillo & Dad

Sarah, Rebecca, Tyler & Sara

... Sarah & Rebecca... working hard!

¨do what you like and like what you do¨

Paraguay...un mundo sus el propios

as we ascended into asuncion, paraguay, we knew we would be meeting a country very unique from anything other.. we have not been let down.. pictures do not do justice..

a market...lots of cheese just sitting in the open...meat hanging in the back...

after the rain...the buses somehow manage not to get stuck in this...

Artegua...a small village that is known for their pottery...Tyler checked out the process... quite time consuming but keeps them busy...

you´ll see anything...horses, oxen, cars, buses...

a native Guarani women in town waiting for the bus...

sara with sarita.. came running to meet us.. a worthwhile sight after a 7 hour overnight bus trip.. it´s been 2 years since sara was here.. the family was overjoyed..

chingolo,gladys, joel, david, sarita.. in front of their home.. they have a small bakery.. they work 6 days/week.. their day begins at 3am when they start baking.. doing much better then when sara was there.. they can all afford to come to convention this year.. had amazing fellowship.. chingolo used to be the town drunk/fighter.. a completely changed man..

the road to chingolos.. 10 minutes after we left, the rains came and made the roads impassable.. spun in he sand regardless..

senora henada.. came for a study.. she lives on the "west-side".. very poor and dirty - yet wonderful to see such a clean heart..

confession time at the catholic church.. hope the bishopa understands..

having a great time.. cant wait to share more..

Next to go...

The excitement level is definately rising... heard from the family (chile) yesterday, rocky (hawaii) last night and sarah sykes (Wi,USA) just this morning - will be pretty awsome to all end up at the same place in only hours away! Pretty special to have wade, leanna and isaac here the past couple of days... seriously, this kid is so sweet! The more you spend time with him, the more you just love him and love him and love him ;)

Hard to believe the time has come to leave this non-tropical climate country... but definately looking forward to all the adventures that lie ahead of us!

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count... it's the life in your years" -Mr. Abraham Lincoln

saturday night

so refreshing to talk to you sara and mom today! cant wait to see you in 2 days..

jon and i are staying at the house of senior ramon and odilia rain (rah-een) during convention.. no hot water for bathing and jonathan cant stand up straight in the hall or bedroom! wouldnt change this accommodation for a 5 -star for anything!! they are older friends with big hearts.. moved to puerto montt from an island in the south..

convention in puerto montt is going fast, but softening.. one example of many: today in testimony, a father with a small family spoke the following "naturally, we may lose everything. but, we need not worry. We should only worry that we might lose the fear of god in our lives".. i asked after the meeting why he would say such a thing.. their house burnt to the ground this summer.. insurance? nada! they have started slowly to rebuild..happy to be at convention..
85 or so in the meetings.. it is in the carpenters shop (main floor) of some of the friends who live upstairs..

every day continues to overflow with privaledges..

island of chiloe

lots of seafood and tired vendendoras (salesmen).. how typical :) so many new sights, sounds, smells and new friends... amazing how fast a change of pace/lifestyle can affect you..

sneak peek of last week

viva chile!!

three days in chile and it already feels like we´ve been here for so long.. sorry, no pictures till tomorrow.. jon, dnaelo and myself are in puerto montt, just returning from the south. spent a free day today on the beatiful island of chiloe (the ireland of chile).. the past other days have been spent on convention visits/meals/nights in the homes of our friends.. from the back roads country, to villages, we are meeting with the friends whon we will share convention with starting tomorrow.. i can see why danelo has gained 10 kilos since he went in the work recently !!..

three more homes till convention starts tomorrow evening.. zearly monday morning, jon and i will head north for petrufguen.. convention is there next weekend.. we will spend the day erecting tents..

hasta pronto..

First Stop

Wade, Leanna and Isaac!!

A wonderful way to begin..

A wonderful reminder of home..

first post

here we begin.. 2 hours till the first clan member lifts off (tyler).. much anticipation.. stay tuned