Easter Back in North Carolina, 2010

I was super blessed to be able to make it back home in time for the Easter holiday. I have missed a lot of family holidays and I really wanted to spend another Easter with my niece before she was too big to enjoy the fun little things! Brinkley had her first sleep-over without her mommy the Saturday night before Easter. Then we headed on to church Easter morning and back to nana's house for Easter dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt!

On March 9th while I was trying to figure out exactly how I was going to get safely to North Carolina from Argentina the words to this song came to my head " You can reach me by railway, you can reach me by trailway, you can reach me on an airplane, I don't care how you get here just get here if you can." I missed my first flight ( it took off without me and I was there and saw the plane on the ground and then it left) which made me have to take a 12 hour bus ride in order to my next flight in the capital city, Buenos Aires. The bus ride was long but it went very well and from the moment I reached Buenos Aires things could not have gone smoother. Sometimes we have to let flexibility take over when change is thrown our way. While I was waiting in Buenos Aires I met a wonderful couple who were vacationing in Buenos Aires but were from California. I could feel God holding me in his hands because from the moment my luggage passed through and the airline and I didn't have to pay for the excess weight just the extra bag. Then I got the amazing the surprise that my flight had been changed from a flight with 2 stops on it to a direct flight! I immediately that God for the great blessing he had bestowed on me and for answering my prayers! I arrived in NC after almost 3 days of traveling with mixed emotions but more then ready to not be traveling anymore. God knows what we need even before we do!

Hard Good-byes!

Andre, Max, Me, Diego and Tato- Saying good-bye at the bus station Mariela, Me, Mariela mom, and Kitty (sister) On March 9th my year in Argentina came to an end. In some ways I was very much looking forward to what God had planned for me in the US but on the other hand I was not looking forward to having to say good-bye to the wonderful people I had been so blessed to meet and made wonderful relationships with. Good-byes do not get easier but they easier when you know you stay in each others lives!

Counting down the months till the end!

Diego's 34'th Birthday - The last of our Group of 4 to celebrate their birthday! Is something on fire! Max telling Tio Diego "Feliz Cumpleanos! Tacos - requested birthday meal! Sometimes you never grow-up! Friends forever!

Surprise your 28!

I woke-up on January 12th, 2010 my 28th birthday to what was a very dreary day outside, it was pouring down the rain and I thought twice about getting out of bed. However, I knew I was going to have a visit from friends at noon. So, I to got up and was super surprised to have my dreary day cheered up by a surprise lunch! Tato and Andrea ( a young couple) some of my closest friends here and a mutual friend came prepared with everything. It turned out to be a very blessed day. Also, many friends visited as the day went along! God is good he knows our every need!

Ringing in the New Year Argentine Style!

Tato's Nephew! Tato the brother I never had! The young adult group bringing in the New Year! Tato lighting the Lantern to send it on up! Me with Tato's nieces and nephews. Well, the Argentine New Years Eve celebrations start around 10 with the preparing of the meal and the gathering of the family. Most families gather at their parents house and if you are married you may find your family split up so you can both be with your parents on that night! There is a big table put out normally on the lawn or the patio and loud music turned on to set the mood. Most families have many kids running around and they can't wait to set off the fire works so you will hear fire crackers and see the sky lighting up a little before 12 to passify the children. Finally, around 11 the family all sits down to a meal of chicken, empanadas, sandwiches, and soda. Then once it strikes 12 it is time for the cider toast and don't be fooled, it has alcohol in it. And then it is firework and fruit salad time. They make a fruit salad with another type of cider that is really good and I have requested it for my birthday! Then, a very special tradition takes place, a crate paper lantern type balloon is lite on the inside ( it looks like a hot air balloon without a basket) and you let it go up into the night sky. I love this tradition, you can look up and see balloons coming from everyones house, it is so neat. This was the first time I had ever seen this tradition. I really enjoyed being with family during this time because for me New Years has never been a big holiday and being that I just left my family behind after being with them a month, i was super happy to have some to go and be a part of. I was invited by Tato, I describe him as the brother i never had to his families house to celebrate. Then after all the family festivities are done, you go and visit friends and other families. So, being that Tato was alone, his wife and son had taken off to be with her family who live in the country for 3 days, we went to visit some young adults in the church community and a girl whose birthday is exactly at midnight on the 31th of December. When we got to the meeting place for the young adults I was again reminded of the difference in cultures. There were people dressed to the nines, but not because they had a party to go to, just because that is what you do. So, we waited around for over an 1 hour for them to decide what they wanted to do, which is common in this culture because it is a group decision making culture. So, then we went to the river bank where we brought in the rest of the New Year just hanging out till the sun came up! Let me tell you, I have already started working on my list, I am getting out of my box! It was really hard for me to stand around with no plan to spontaneously do things but I did it! God is soooooo good!

Blessings in Waiting List 2010

Calling all First Class Passengers~

December 29th was a sad day but also one of transition, heading back to Argentina to finish up my term. There I was standing at the Atlanta Airport at the check-in kiosk when " do you want an upgrade to first class" popped up! My first thought was why not, this day is going to be hard enough and I hit yes, little did I know God had something else in store. I finished checking in, putting my "body bags" a.k.a luggage up on the scales and saying good-bye to my mom, went through security and got on the plane. As I looked for my seat I noticed I was sitting beside what looked like a nice little old lady, I always keep in the back of my mind, the hope that I will be sitting by someone who will be kind and courteous even if they don't want to talk. However, I had no idea I would get to meet Ivy Salomon. A Jamaican lady who had been a missionary in Haiti for over 50 years. She did not hear very well and had just started using a cane so, with great pleasure I go to help her do a lot of things. She told me about how she was a RN and had started her mission work with Christian Flight International. She started working with little kids in Haiti and started an elementary school that is now a high school. I had been reflecting on 2009 for a couple days before leaving the US and as I sat on the plane and conversed with Ivy I began to think, will I be like Ivy one day will God use me for 30 years in International Missions. Well, only God knows that because I can only take it one year at a time.

Therefore, like I have done for several years now I have composed a " Blessings in Waiting List". The list is composed of things that I not only pray for but goals that I would like to accomplish to better my life. However, unlike resolutions that people make I will not be upset or if they do not happen this year because just like prayer requests, God's answers are often not what we expect and His timing is perfect!

Blessings in Waiting 2010

1. To have an established sleeping pattern, so my day is more structured and functional.
2. To wake-up and have my time with God, to let it be the opening to my day ( mornings have not worked for me in the past because of my sleeping pattern and attention span in the mornings but I want to try it again.)
3. To find a functional diet for me, to have a good relationship with food.
4. To find an exercise routine that is safe and works for me wherever I am.
5. To loose weight to better my health and self-esteem ( for me.)
6. To take my mission goals to the next level, to get out there and visit people with-out being invited.
7. To continue to strengthen the relationships I have made during the last year.
8. To commit to call and chat with pray patterns at least monthly.
9. To not take things so personally but let them be learning opportunities.
10. To continue to grow as a believer and missionary.
11. To be more spontaneous, everything does not have to be planned!
12. To expand my friend base to reach more lost people.
13. To be a good steward of God's money at all times
14. To build relationships with churches and people have an interest in coming down and doing short term trips or patterning with the work being done in Santiago.
15. To never loose focus of what I do and why I do I it.

Please pray for me and my "Blessings in Waiting List". God is so good to us and always has so many wonderful things in store for us but He also wants us to put forth effort. These are my desires for this year, we will see which ones He blesses me with!

Sierra