15th Birthday Party

This last Saturday we had our first opportunity to attend a Uruguayan 15th birthday party. The daughter of our fellowship's camp director celebrated her birthday in a comparatively subdued fashion. In Uruguay, a young lady's 15th birthday party is celebrated on a scale only slightly inferior to that of her eventual wedding.

We were honored to provide a special number for the occasion and, at the family's request, I had the privilege of sharing a short Gospel presentation afterwards. Many of the extended family members are unsaved. We join the Rodriguez family in praying for salvation of their relatives.


It was a wonderful day and we are trusting God that it will yield eternal joy!

Weekend Youth Camp

Thanks to a group of students from Appalachian Bible College, the churches in our fellowship were invited to send their teenagers for a weekend camp. Four young people and I left for the camp on Friday evening. We drove just two or three miles past the estate where President George Bush and Uruguayan president Tabaré Vazquez met this last Saturday. We were making pretty good time until we ran into a bridge that had been flooded from the recent rainfall. After some detours and a stop to pick up more teenagers from another city, we arrived at the camp around midnight.

Our young people enjoyed the guided activities that the ABC students had worked on during the previous week. The challenge from God's Word and the excellent example of the ABC students was an encouragement to the leaders and the young people.

1st Day of School

Well, the kids are back in school--It's the beginning of the Fall semester in South America. It was quite a show at school today as many parents were dropping off their kids for the first time! Josiah was a little hesitant to be in a new classroom with a new teacher but I was eventually able to unwrap him from my leg. Natalia, on the other hand, strolled in through the crowd and headed straight for the toys. I don't think she noticed when I left.

Thunderstorms

We get thunderstorms on a fairly regular basis here. The one that came through today was a little more exciting that usual. I ventured up on the roof while putting the finishing touches on a clothes drier installation and I saw what was coming. I took a picture that doesn't do it justice and then promptly got off the roof. (Although it wouldn't be the first time that I was up on a roof as a thunderstorm loomed!) I wish I could describe the amount of water that fell in that first hour. The only thing I've seen like it is a tropical storm I experienced in southern Florida. We're glad for a solid (concrete) roof over our heads!