BORK!!!

We're just about at the end of week two and time has deifinitely sped up. The first week seemed to take months but the second week only felt like a day or two. It seems like we've done so much in the short time that we've been here. At the same time though there is still a lot of work and a lot of things that God has to teach us.



So last week was our first full work week. We've started to get into a routine and have difinitely seen results. Weather is a little unpredictable so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather we've had. We took a break from replacing the ceiling and started work on reapairing the roof of the OM base. This was deifinitely work that we never thought we would be doing. First thing we had to do was scrape off all the old tar that had bubbled up over time. This required a lot of time on our knees and our arms and hands getting covered in fiber glass. Then we had to cement all of the holes that we created from the scraping so that it created a smooth surface. The final step was to cover the entire thing with tar (to include a good patch on Chris's leg). We finished this about lunch time on Friday.



After the roof was finished we continued our work on the ceiling. The material that they chose is a huge pain so this has been a somewhat slow process. After a full day on that we are just about done. After that I think we will be building an awning in the courtyard of the base. This will probably be our final task here before moving to the farm.

Enough about work, let's talk about our awesomely fun awesome weekend awesomeness. We actually didn't do a lot, it was just really fun for some reason. Friday night we went to the youth group again but this time we played volleyball and actually held our own. After that a few kids were really exciterd to have us teach them how to throw a football. In the same way we have the stereotype of all Latinos (which is pretty much true) they have the same one for Americans with football. They're as awkward with their hands as we are with our feet. Saturday Siegfried took the girls and us to the highest "moutain" in Montevideo. There was a museum at the top that we walked around in for a couple of hours. The view of the entire city was amazing. Later we went to a park in order to teach the girls how to play Ultimate Frisbee. I've never seen a rookie have so much fun with that game before. Sunday we went to a church where Alejandro (the head of OM Uruguay) is the pastor. Chris was pleased to see that they had a ping-pong table and we played with 2 natives for about an hour. Later we went back to the park because the girls really wanted to play more frisbee. All of this entailed us walking probably close to 15 miles over the course of the weekend.

That's about all for the update this week. We are excited to see what God has for us next. Thank you for all of your prayers, we love you guys.

Besos....Siestas....Tarere!!!!

Well, the first week is just about over, and it seems like we've been here for a month. Probably because we have taken in so much of Montevideo these past few days. We are staying with four girls from Paraguay, and they have been very accepting and open to taking us everywhere they go. Its really helping us get used to the culture, and its also convenient that they speak fluent English and Spanish, and even a little German.

So first things first. Tarere. The girls introduced us to this South American tea/social medium. The first that comes to mind when you see someone drinking tarere is that it looks like they are smoking a bong, at least that was our first impression. The tea is amazing though, they serve it ice cold and it has a minty, earthy zing to it. Hard to describe, have to taste it for yourself(which we are trying to bring some home :D). This is the traditional way to serve it in Paraguay, but in Uruguay, it is called mate' and its served hot. Last night, we all sat on the roof and drank mate' for about an hour, it has a more bitter taste, and definitely was not as good as tarere.

In the five days we've been here, we have begun building a frame for a ceiling in one of the rooms here at the OM base. The work helps to speed up the days, which is good, because we have A LOT more down time than we thought we would have. We think that will change when we move over to the farm in a week. We have also been downtown twice, walked down to the oceanfront, been to two church youth groups, a youth futbol game, where we got spanked.....and then played futbol....good times, went to a mall tonight, and saw a tango concert.

We cant wait to see whats in store for us in these coming weeks down here. We love and miss you all!!!

Catch you on the the mengie

We're Here!!!!!!!!....and tired...

Well, after 33 hours of traveling we have finally arrived in Montevideo. Tonight it will be nice to sleep in a bed since the last two nights have either been on an airport terminal floor or with our seats and tray tables in the locked and upright position. We learned that Miami isn't a fun place to spend ten hours unless you have a car or someone to show you around (our time was spent either in the airport or in a subway playing various card games).

We arrived here early this morning and were greeted by Siegfried Klaussen. He took us to the OM headquarters which is where we will be staying for the next two weeks before we are moved to the farm. The farm, we learned, is the building site for Eagle's Wings and the future youth center. Also upon arrival wwe met the team that we will be working with for the time that we are here. They consist of Seigfried's family, two Canadians, 4 girls from Paraguay, and 4 natives to Uruguay (of all the natives Darwin is the only name that we remember).

After unpacking we took a walk around the neighborhood to get used to the country a little bit. It is definitely a developing country but not in the third world degree. There are still cars and electricity but the houses are very simple and people don't seem to have a lot. Also, we have already seen proof of what we mentioned about teen homelessness. During our walk we saw 2 young men (probably around our age or a little younger) digging through dumpsters. The other teens that we saw were acting just like American teens do.

Tomorrow we will start our work and get a better idea of what we will be doing during our stay. Thank for your prayers and support, we love you all. Check back soon for our next update.

Pre-Trip Preparations

Alright, we are now down to nine days before we leave for Uruguay for 2 months. Preparations are going well for the most part, plane tickets are bought for the trip there and home, we know what we are going to need to take down there, and we have someone to pick us up once we get there. We still need support to come in to help us pay for the trip but we are confident that God will provide the funds that we need.

Siegfried Klaussen (who we will be working with) has asked us to bring him two jars of crunchy peanut butter. Apparently that is a luxury that we have that they don't. To tell you a little bit of what we will be doing, Uruguay is number one in the Spanish speaking world for teen pregnancy, suicide, homelessness, and drug addiction. Eagle's Wings is building a youth center in order to reach out to these kids. We will be helping with the construction along with any other tasks that they may have for us. In the time that we are down there we will also be getting plugged into other ministries on the weekends and maybe sharing our testimonies and devotions.

Thank you all for your support on this trip, we will post again after we arrive on April 15. God bless.

Prayer Requests

-Monetary support that we need to come in.
-Safe travels.
-Chris and Dan to adjust to the new climate and culture.
-God's will to be done throughout the entire trip.
-Financial breakthrough for the Eagle's Wings project.
-The churches in Uruguay to begin making youth ministry more of a priority.
-Today is the first day that we've had where we're both very irritable and we don't really have much motivation. Please pray that this changes and we can get back on track.