We arrived two days ago to Buenos Aires and have been promoting a youth event happening this weekend. Today we will venture out to see the sights of the city.

More to come.

So this was our first time to be in Porto Alegre. Pretty much everything (except Foz do Iguaçu) before this point have been new experiences. The missionaries we worked with in Porto Alegre were fantastic, funny, and hospitable.

We worked most of the time at a place called Chacára, a alcohol and drug rehabilitation center for men. We built a dormitory brick-by-brick. I think only one member of our group had previous masonry experience. It was excellent to work along side these men and at random they would shout out “Gloria a Deus!” (”Glory to God!”).

We also had the opportunity to stay with host families, and I do have to say, ours was the est. Ha! No, Roberto and Moema were superb people. Always making sure we were comfortable and well fed. Man that was some good food.

I had a fantastic time in Porto Alegre and I can not wait to return in the future.

Brandon and I have the pleasure of staying with a family this week, as do all others of the group, but Brandon and I have the pleasure of being with Moema, Roberto, and their son Keldy this week whie in Porto Alegre. We were at Jennifer’s and Sascha’s house on Tuesday and twice Moema and Roberto called to check if we were ok. We had not been assigned homes, so I jumped on the chance to stay with people that were SO excited to keep us.

They are sweet and considerate. They were not sure if we would be comfortable staying with a bi-racial couple that has a cat and a dog, no worries we said. Truly they are servants and some of the most hospitable individuals I have had the pleasure to be with. Brandon has a great attitude as well, so it makes they stay that much better. The food is not bad either.

In other news, I sat on a granite table today in the mall food court and broke it off the pedestal. Oh well. The mall staff were only concerned if I had been hurt. Not really, just a bit embarassed.

It was a quick stop, but we had a fantastic time in Foz do Iguaçu. Originally we were going to visit Itaipu, the largest power plant (a dam) in the world, but we opted to go shopping in the third largest duty-free zone in the world - Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Cheap computer stuff and everything else.

The visit to the park was nice too. We actually received passport stamps this time when we crossed the Brazil-Argentina border to Argentina. It made my day. Most of the group went on the boat ride, but I decided not to. It was pleasant walking around tha park, touching coaties, looking at the falls.

Quite a good visit. Now we are in Porto Alegre after a thirteen-hour bus ride overnight. Should be fun.

Even though the heavy auto exhaust caused some allergies and illnesses to flare up, our time in Asunción was fantastic. The team we worked with here is fantastic and it’s sad to be leaving so soon.

I knew from the moment I saw Enoch’s (one of the missionaries) smiling face that we would be welcomed by such warm people. We worked with several of the team, but primarily with Enoch and Chris Fry. The highest compliment we received at the end of our time was that we were so ‘low maintenance.’ That means quite a lot coming from a team that will be receiving four, I believe, groups in the next month. The next group comes the day after we leave.
We worked with three orphanages in the city. We painted a wall at one and played with the children at all three. We put on a two-day VBS, that the kids loved. We passed out flyers and spoke (it’s so good to be able to communicate this time around) with university students and parents at universities and in downtown to promote English classes and the VBS.

Honestly we stayed busy and always had something to do. It was a pleasure working with the team and I look forward to continue building the relationship in the future.

Cheap food and great people. Who could ask for more?

Pictures to come soon.

To get another perspective on what we are doing in South America, visit wherestraci.blogspot.com and the AFCSA TravelPod. Enjoy.

So I was typing up a post two days in an Internet café in Rio when the computer restarted. A bit frustrating, so I’m back.

Rio was fantastic. If there was one word to sum up our time in Rio de Janeiro, it would be encouragement. It truly was a fantastic destination to start our trip. We worked with Abel Azevedo, a man dedicated to planting churches in Rio.

Abel is the son of a man from Mozambique and a woman from South Africa, he lived in Mozambique for much of his early years, then moved to Portugal in service to the military, then to Canada to work (but it was too cold for his taste), so he moved to Brazil and that’s where we find him. He helped us the last time we were in Rio working with a congregation in Ramos (a neighborhood of Rio) and last year I emailed him to see if he would, again, be interested in working with us. He told me “Of course.”

The two churches we worked with are located in far west Rio de Janeiro. They are Jabour and Cosmos. They’re not large congregations but are filled with people who love God and serve each other and their communities. Abel informed me that we are the only group that has ever visited these churches and what a blessing of encouragement it is.

The encouragement was reciprocal. We had an amazing time in Rio and can not to return in the future.

Leaving Miami, Frank is out	Abel squatting
Abel speaking to the confluence	Dancing in the favela
Group atop Pão de Açúcar	Amanda and I above Rio
I was out of it	My friend Lucas and I at Barra
Carol with David	Abel being Abel

Oi todo o mundo,

  We are in Rio, gorgeous Rio. I’m a bit pressed for time, but we have been so blessed to work with two fantastic, small congregations on the outskirts of town. I will be updating as much as possible, when possible.

Até logo.

This past weekend. I left Antigua for three days with a few friends for Lanking, Semuc Champey, and Coban. It was a good trip. At Lanking I got a terrible headache and was out for one night, but that day we went to Semuc Champey. It´s a natural limestone bridge with pools of water, under it flows a raging river. Amazing.

See more at flickr.

Last week my Spanish teacher took me to visit a finca (farm/plantation) in her home town of Pastores, about five minutes by chicken bus outside of Antigua. Carmen, mi maestra, showed me her home as well. Pastores was flooded and had considerable damage near the local river last year and is now preparing for this rain season, which we re in the beginning of.

Ve mas fotos a flickr.