There may be times when regret follows an action, but at all times, it will certainly follow inaction.

There may be times when regret follows an action, but at all times, it will certainly follow inaction.

The drive from Santiago to Mendoza Argentina was the most beautiful drive I have ever taken. After all the long, hard drives of endless desert sands, this was an incredibly welcome sight. There were beautiful vineyards in front of snow covered peaks surrounded by fall foliage. Around every curve we caught our breath as the scenery changed to another gorgeous panorama. I took so many pictures it is going to take me 40 years to sort them all out. There was a beautiful blue mountain reservoir, fields full of horses, rivers, rock formations and we saw a cool grey fox. We also saw lots of exotic birds once we got through the pass, like hawks, flamingos and even flocks of parrots. 

Vineyards lined the highway, surrounded by mountains. 
The snow from the mountains waters the vineyards making delicious flavored
 wine which is sold ridiculously cheep in Mendoza. 

Different kinds of parrots can be seen all throughout Argentina and it is quit a unique
sight to see a fall colored tree full of parrots.

The pass up to the border is world famous, maybe you have seen pictures, it was on one of those shows about dangerous roads. There are 29 steep curves, with a sign counting each one. The mountains are so steep it’s like a wall of shear ice and there is a waterfall running down the side. We all wanted to be able to say we drove it (silly and childish, I know) so our dad let us take turns swapping out when there was a pull over. We are all so excited to be on our way to a brand new country. This pass is in the shadow of the tallest mountain in the Americas. Mnt. Aconagua is over 22,000 feet tall and heavy snow sits on its jagged peaks. I never saw the movie, “Seven years in Tibet”, but this is where they filmed it in case that is something you really wanted to know.

Here we come up curve 15.

Long tunnels weaved through the pass.

I photo shopped all the curve signs together for your enjoyment. 

The Argentinean border is indoors since it is so cold and besides a delay when their system crashed, and having to clear the rack on our roof because we were almost too high, everything went smooth. The Argentinean accent is so different from other Spanish speaking countries. It is like a combination of Italian, Portuguese, a little French and Spanish. Sometimes it seems that they don’t really punctuate their sentences, it’s just one long stream of words going up and down in cadence and it is going to be a bit more challenging to understand. They are also using a tense of verb that I don’t know and is not in my verb book so I’ll have to figure it out.

The Argentinean border is nestled  in the mountains at the top of the pass.

You check out of Chile at one window, and into Argentina at the next, pretty easy.

Welcome to Argentina! 

The road had been pretty good (besides the Doctor Sues curve part), but after the border it got pretty bad. We saw a semi truck tipped over and a car on fire with the engine blown out of it. Also check out this knew cool sigh to add to my list of “Laugh or cry signs that scare the heck out of you while driving the Pan-American highway”.  

Caution: 
Car may tip on ledge, go off edge and plummet down cliff landing in river.

I don't even know how this could have happen,
 there were no steep curves or inclines at this part but l
uckily the driver was fine. 

Like I said, there are a lot of dogs in the world! 
This guy found warmth in the womens bathroom.

 This morning we were on the road by 6:00  and saw the most beautiful sunrise
 ever. We listened to the song, "Fragile" as we all drove together on our way to 
a brand new city. These are the memories that weave together the
 beautiful tapestry called, life.
. 

 Buenos Aires is huge, traffic was horrible due to a serious accident and getting in to the center took a while. For some reason I had imagined this city to be ritzy and state of the art, but it is quit run down and very old. We had a place to stay that we had found online for a really cheep price, when we got there, we found out that the reason it was so cheep was that there was a gas leak down stairs and the whole place smelled like propane. We considered our options and realized we did not have many since everywhere else down town was really expensive, so once we found out it was not dangerous (at least they said so and we reeeeaaaally hope so) we decided to just get some strong smelling candles and incense and stay. It’s an old creaky house, and it gets cold since it is freezing here, but there is a cozy loft, enough space and wonderfully meets our needs.

 It is always a challenge learning our way around a new big city. So many things are different from one city to the next, their culture, traditions, laws, and even words they use in one country, might not exist in the next. Like in Mendoza, most everything was shut down and closed until after five and no one eats until like 8 or 9 at night, this is how it was in Italy and other parts of Europe. Here in Buenos Aires it is a normal scheduled for the most part (besides the guys that play drums late at night right out our door even when no one is around listening). There is an afternoon rush and an evening rush when the streets are just packed with people and that's usually when we go out.  

Argentinians are the biggest fútbol (soccer) fans ever, especially during the World Cup. When there is a game, no matter what day it is on or what time it is at, the city will completely shut down three or four hours before the game, even big businesses. (My family and I are huge Notre Dame football fans, but we only shut down like an hour before the game.) 

The people here in Buenos Aires are very different than other countries in Latin America, they have a strong European influence and a more arrogant, cynical attitude. In the late seventies to the eighties, Argentina suffered under the power of a horrible dictator who would kidnap and even torture people whom he believed to be communist. There have also been numerous Brazilian evangelical churches that are complete scams and have come here to take advantage of the people, as well as other religious groups. Anyway, there is a lot of history behind what makes a person the way they are and makes someone skeptical to hear us. It takes work and creativity to get through and communicate the Gospel, but no matter if people listen or do not, we still will try with everything we have to tell them about God's profound love; Jesus. 
We have been going out a lot, walking and standing on the very busy streets, sharing with the people. This one street I stand on is one of the widest in the world, 6 lanes running in each direction. We have gone out with our music a number of times, one of our spots is at a park and a huge crowd always gathers. It has been very effective in fighting the cold, cynical attitude so many have. Music and laughter are powerful weapons for the use of breaking down the lies that God is religious and boring. 
The cold weather makes performing on the streets and going out even more of a challenge. You can see your breath as it was around 30 degrees the other day, and the cold burns your lungs dancing at an intense level (like after I do my Irish step dance, it is so hard to catch my breath and then talk to the people without sounding like a complete wheezing idiot). Most of us are sick and it seems that when one of us gets better, another is just getting it and when the last of us is healthy, we start again with a new sickness. It can't really be avoided living and traveling close together like we do and it is a very small price to pay compared to the reward of being used by a very big God. 

Letting all the little butterflies take center stage. 

My brother learned to play the song "Time to say Goodbye" on his violin and it is beautiful doing an artistic magic act while he plays.

The Pope is from Argentina and most Argentinians are strong Catholic.  My parents were raised Catholic and most foundations and prison systems we work with are run by Catholics. Although my family and I are not with any religion nor with any church or group, God has given us the wisdom to work with people from many different religions and backgrounds to bring God's love to many places. As Paul says, "I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some"(1Cor.9:22).

They have a really neat cultural dance here that is my favorite of all the countries we have been to, even better than Colombia's Cumbia. Its called Chacarera, and the music and steps have a flavor of Irish dance. You can dance it across from a partner, or in a circle. Out the door from where we are staying there is an abandoned dirt lot where a band plays Sunday nights and everyone dances by campfires. Some locals taught my brothers and sisters and I the dance and we had a lot of fun dancing late one night. The Argentinians really appreciate the Irish style dance that I do on the streets, and are familiar with Irish music and tapping since they sometimes tap as well during their famous Tango dancing. 

Dirt lot that transformed into a Chacarera dance hall Sunday nights.

I just had my birthday (I turned 32, yikes, it seems like yesterday I was turning 18) and the birthday gift I wanted most was the authorization to enter the prisons here in Buenos Aires. God answered my prayers and gave me that blessing the day before my birthday. After  emails, phone calls and visits to the main office, we received authorization to enter the prisons. These weeks we are working in three, two mens prisons and a womens prison. Every country we have been to, against all odds, God has opened the doors to visit the prisons, surely this is very important to Him and He cares about the forgotten. I will tell you about our time in them next post.

On my birthday, after we had been presenting down town in the center, my family surprised me by taking me to a big horse stable and race track where you could watch races for free. It was really cool, I love horses and have had numerous jobs working with them but have never been to a race. I even got to ride for a bit and jump which is my favorite thing to do on a horse. 

Going back a second to when we were in Santiago; we got to run a really cool race because the organizers donated the entry fee to us so my whole family and I could run. Everyone started at the same time, then after a half an hour, a car left and started driving the route, gradually picking up its speed.  Once the car passes you, you are done and that's your finish line. This race was run at the same time all over the world. It was different running and having no idea how far you would get, or how to pace yourself. We had not trained for the race because we found out about it at the last second. I actually did really good, I was the first woman the whole race, until I got passed in the last few miles, ("aahhhh no! Where did you come form? Go legs, go! No, not happening.. I am about to collapse..." is what went through my head as three girls flew past me who had actually trained and knew how to pace themselves and not just run all out). But it was fun being way out in front and having cameras on me, and a biker carrying a flag that said, "first women" especially since I thought I would do really bad and was wearing heavy hiking type shoes.  I ended up running just under 18 miles before the car caught me, finishing first in my age category, 4th overall and like 155 world wide (out of  around 15,000 women). We can do so much more than we think we can, our will is a powerful weapon. It was awesome to run past vineyards and little huts, see the sunrise and just be alone on the road with my God not knowing when the finish line would arrive. 

The theme of the race was, "Running for those that can't".

Soon the Master will return and it will be all over. I don't know when Jesus is coming, but when He comes, I will be found by Him, running for Him, with all my strength. This life is but a shadow, a breath, quickly flying by. I remember when we first got to this place we are staying in Buenos Aires, the tree out my window was full of golden leaves, and now, in such a short time, it is barren and all the leaves lie on the ground. We just do not know how long we will have all that we have, our strength, wits and each day we take for granted. So now, with the "leaves" that are still left on our tree, let us seek out our Creator, and be willing to truly live for Him. Let us care for the week, love others more than ourselves, give, seeking nothing in return and fulfill the greatest commandment,

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength"(Mark12:30) 

This is a park where I run in Buenos Aires. See more pictures on the Photo Gallery page.