October in Misiones

Campamento de Jovenes –
In the second weekend of October, I joined the Confirmation Class and youth from Olas Petri, the IELU´s church of Oberá, on a camping trip in Panambí. We left Oberá on Saturday afternoon, with a clear sky. After a two hour ride on the public bus, we arrived to Panambí, a small town of Misiones, and walked to our campsite. After pitching our tents, we took a walk down to the Uruguay River, which separates Argentina from Brazil. Some of us sat along the river and drank tereré, and others played some soccer on the municipality´s soccer field. I think I may love tereré even more than mate, if that´s possible. Tereré is the summer version of mate, and it is of Paraguan origin. The Yerba mate is poured into a cup, instead of a mate. Then, instead of hot water, you drink the mate through the bombilla with juice of your choice. I think my favorite may be lemon-lime. It is a wonderful way to pass the time, passing the tereré, while chatting. However, do not be fooled, plenty of mate was had that weekend as well. (And in the pastor´s giant mate!) In the evening, we had guiso, or stew, played games, sang songs and fellowshipped some more.
On Sunday, Clovis Kurtz, one of the co-pastors of Olas Petri, led a workshop on justice with the youth. They seemed to be very moved by his group dynamic. We continued with songs. The rest of the afternoon was followed with more time to drink tereré and mate, play games or rest. In the evening, the rain started to come down hard. But that did not stop us from playing our planned game for the evening in the rain. My group won the game! That evening I decided to try to sleep in my tent. After sleeping in my tent for several hours, I woke up to a wet feeling. I moved my sleeping bag to the bathroom, where several other girls were also sleeping. I must say that it was an interesting experience sleeping there. And a whole lot drier!
We finished up Monday morning with some songs, games and taking down our tents. We had some choripan (grilled sausage in bread – my favorite Argentine dish!) for lunch, and caught our bus back to Oberá. It was a great experience being with the youth for weekend. They welcomed me with open arms, and always included me, as if I had always been a member of the group. I look forward to camping with them again in January.

San Martín´s congregation ¨Dios Es Amor¨ –
I have continued to get involved in the life of the church in San Martín. I have joined Mariela Pereyra, the pastor, making visits with her, in organizing different church events, and accompanying her with her First Communion Classes. I have enjoyed getting to know some of the families on a more intimate level, and look forward to deepen my relationships with the members in the remainder of my time here.
Perhaps the highlight of my time with ¨Dios Es Amor¨ (the IELU church in San Martín) was this past Saturday, when I helped with the children’s bible school. It was the first time that I took the bus, and spent time in San Martin without the pastor. My friend Michela had asked to join me, and I will admit that it was nice to have an Argentine friend accompanying me on the journey. When Michela and I arrived, the children greeted us and Norma, the woman leading the school, asked me to open with prayer. This was the first time for me to pray on the spot in Spanish! We spent the hour and a half with the children making picture frames for their moms for Mother´s Day (which occurs on the third Sunday of October, because it is spring for them now, not in May). And I taught them the song, ¨The more we get together¨ in Spanish and English. Then two of the teenage girls who were helping, Diana and Andrea, walked Michela and I back to the bus stop. We waited for over an hour for a bus to stop for us. The buses were so full from people traveling to visit their family for Mother´s Day that they were not stopping to pick us up! Finally, we had enough luck that one stopped for us..

Friends in Oberá –
Over the last month, I have made some wonderful friends in Oberá. I have met a girl, Lauren, who is from Nebraska, who has spent here last eight months in Oberá, teaching English through a Fulbright Scholarship. She and I have spent many afternoons and evenings together cooking or drinking mate. She has introduced me to some really nice Argentines close to my age that are studying English at the school where Lauren teaches in Oberá. This past week was the first time that I had some friends over to my house for lunch. I cooked pasta for my friends Naty, Michela and Lauren. Now my apartment feels like home, because I have shared my table with others. I have enjoyed the several evenings that I have spent with them going for walks to the Parque de las Naciones with mate or tereré.