Week 4
Itâs week 4 already! Time is moving too fast.
This week was a productive week at the project. We made cement and placed bricks as we built an extension to the wall on the far side of the building. It involved a lot of chucking bricks up the scaffolding where certain people had more success than others â although I wonât mention any names of those who broke bricks after not throwing the bricks high enough. Cough Catherine cough.
Outside of the project, there was also a lot happening.
On Monday, Tim, Rosie, Izzy and Natalie had the pleasure to go on the radio to talk about England and other topics. Mati, Paula and Annelien came down to visit us too, and in the evening Mati organised a big football match with other locals and people from the church, which was great fun.
On Tuesday, a few of us met up with our Argentinian friend Maxi to source some football shirts, as we all want one with Messi on the back! However it unfortunately appeared that we met up too late, and a lot of the shops were closing, so instead we enjoyed some ice cream and chatted at the main square in Tartagal.
On Wednesday we went to another annexo church, where they kindly served us some food at the end. We of course sang a song which we have grown accustomed to now as we sing every time we go to church. When we got back from the church, we found that the freezer wasnât working properly so we had to finish a whole tub of ice cream we had bought on Monday as a treat in one evening! It was a messy affair as it had all melted…
On Thursday, a few of us met up with Marco to watch an orchestra on a screen. We once again got ice cream (I have banned getting ice cream now for at least a week as the treasurer) as we waited for Marco to arrive. The orchestra itself sounded beautiful however we were only able to catch the end. After the orchestra ended we got some delicious meaty sandwiches and hot dogs at a food place on the side of the road.
A quiet Friday, saw us onto Saturday where we once again went to the kidsâ club, which is always a wonderful time. In the afternoon the team split up â some went to a market to buy some clothes, while I went to the church to try the flag dancing which they do during worship songs. It was great fun but also very tiring â a proper workout! We ended the dancing early to set up for the pastorâs wife Nildaâs 70th birthday, which we all attended at 9pm.
On Sunday, Marco kindly organised a trip for a walk to a waterfall just outside Tartagal, which a few of us had scouted last week. Many people from the church went and we all had a splendid time. While we didnât quite make it to the waterfall, we still had a nice walk along the river. We had Choripan and empanadas for lunch, and there was a big game of volleyball and a smaller game of football as well. In the evening we went to church where we got to partake in an Argentinian communion for the first time which was very interesting. We were each given a small role of bread, which we then broke off into small pieces to trade with other members of the church near you. Although many of us werenât aware of this at first, and had eaten most of the bread before we realised we were supposed to share! Also the wine was real wine, unlike the grape juice which most churches have adopted back in England.
Thank you for your prayers over the last 4 weeks, we canât believe that itâs halfway through Argentina already! (As we finish with the project on the 21st of May)
This week it would be appreciated if there was prayer for the continuation of the project to go smoothly, and a couple of us have been feeling ill so prayer for health and strength would be awesome too.
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Jakob, Tim, Catherine, Rosie, Izzy, Natalie and James.