I had to laugh today when I saw a group of people in the city. Clearly they were tourists- one guy was wearing shorts! And today didn't get above about 13 degrees!
This last week has turned remarkably cold given that we are still in April. Some say that the cold weather always arrives for the weekend of rally racing they have each year in Cordoba. We have lent our tent to some of the guys from church who are going up into the hills to camp and watch the rally- could be a chilly few nights, especially as they are saying there is a possibility of sleet!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Football Fiasco
Martin learnt a new lesson of survival in Argentina tonight .... only ever play football with people you know.
A student friend had booked a mini football field for a game tonight, but most players had bailed on him. He was going to lose his deposit. So Martin offered to make up numbers, not knowing any other player apart from his friend.
In the middle of a generally well-behaved game all of a sudden one of the young guys laid into another young fella. Clearly there was a history behind the angst that was thrown into each kick, rumble and verbal attack. (perhaps a long-standing argument over a girl??? Who knows!).
The fight was so messy and unstoppable that the game eventually had to be called off. The guys persisted in throwing rocks at one another, with our car in the middle of the fray.
Bit of bad luck that the football security guard had taken that 15 minutes off to buy his dinner. Could have done with a bit of intervention.
Posted by Julie
A student friend had booked a mini football field for a game tonight, but most players had bailed on him. He was going to lose his deposit. So Martin offered to make up numbers, not knowing any other player apart from his friend.
In the middle of a generally well-behaved game all of a sudden one of the young guys laid into another young fella. Clearly there was a history behind the angst that was thrown into each kick, rumble and verbal attack. (perhaps a long-standing argument over a girl??? Who knows!).
The fight was so messy and unstoppable that the game eventually had to be called off. The guys persisted in throwing rocks at one another, with our car in the middle of the fray.
Bit of bad luck that the football security guard had taken that 15 minutes off to buy his dinner. Could have done with a bit of intervention.
Posted by Julie
Monday, April 23, 2012
Divorce
Today I had the opportunity to meet with two groups of girls ... firstly, the girls from the Arts faculty, then later from the Psychology faculty. We were able to delve into the Bible, checking out what God says on divorce.
Naturally it was a topic that held lots of emotion ... girls coming from broken homes were eager to talk about the implications of the teaching from the prophets, apostles and Jesus himself. One student, Laura, encouraged her younger classmates to look for examples of solid Christian marriages on which to model their future relationships, especially for those whose parents are no longer together.
Great advice from Laura, and it made me think of the huge responsibility we have as Christian married couples to model Jesus and his sacrificial love for the church to those around us. A tall order made possible only by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Posted by Julie.
Naturally it was a topic that held lots of emotion ... girls coming from broken homes were eager to talk about the implications of the teaching from the prophets, apostles and Jesus himself. One student, Laura, encouraged her younger classmates to look for examples of solid Christian marriages on which to model their future relationships, especially for those whose parents are no longer together.
Great advice from Laura, and it made me think of the huge responsibility we have as Christian married couples to model Jesus and his sacrificial love for the church to those around us. A tall order made possible only by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Posted by Julie.
Update on 'Only a matter of time'
As an update on my post 'Only a matter of time', the traffic light in question was working again properly the day after the accident. Obviously it wasn't something difficult to fix, it just wasn't a priority until someone was killed.
I wasn't the only one angry about it... the newspaper article online had various comments from angry and frustrated neighbours.
I wasn't the only one angry about it... the newspaper article online had various comments from angry and frustrated neighbours.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Lago de los Cisnes .... Swan Lake!
Last night we were thrilled to attend a sell-out performance of Swan Lake in the main theatre of Cordoba. The Cordoba Symphony Orchestra accompanied the Cordoba Ballet, and the performance was of a very high standard.
We found the whole experience particularly exciting because one of our friends from church had been contracted by the ballet to perform for the first time. She had been cast in a background role, but during Thursday´s performance one of the ´swans´ injured herself on stage ... our friend was ripped from her costume and thrust on-stage as a swan! She was delighted to be given the opportunity to dance this famous ballet in such auspicious company.
The kids enjoyed their first taste of theatre, as did some neighbours we were able to invite. The performance started at 9.30pm, and only one little Field fell asleep, despite his best efforts, as the final act drew to a close after midnight.
Posted by Julie
We found the whole experience particularly exciting because one of our friends from church had been contracted by the ballet to perform for the first time. She had been cast in a background role, but during Thursday´s performance one of the ´swans´ injured herself on stage ... our friend was ripped from her costume and thrust on-stage as a swan! She was delighted to be given the opportunity to dance this famous ballet in such auspicious company.
The kids enjoyed their first taste of theatre, as did some neighbours we were able to invite. The performance started at 9.30pm, and only one little Field fell asleep, despite his best efforts, as the final act drew to a close after midnight.
Posted by Julie
Only a matter of time
Last night as we came home from the city there had been an accident involving a motorbike and a car. It looked very serious, possibly involving the death of the motorcyclist. And when I checked the newspaper today it confirmed that the motorcyclist (27 years old) had died.
It made me both sad and angry.
Angry because that particular traffic light has been out of action all week. And it is a shocking intersection to try and negotiate without a functioning traffic light. It was only a matter of time before something happened. Why does it take the municipality so long to fix something so simple? Why does it always seem to take an accident or a death before there is action?
It made me both sad and angry.
Angry because that particular traffic light has been out of action all week. And it is a shocking intersection to try and negotiate without a functioning traffic light. It was only a matter of time before something happened. Why does it take the municipality so long to fix something so simple? Why does it always seem to take an accident or a death before there is action?
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Goodbye Seachange
We watched the last episode of Seachange on Thursday night...
Over the last few months it has been our little connection with Australia. It is a little sad to say goodbye to our friends from Pearl Bay... especially we are going to miss Kevin and Trevor, Angus and Karen, and the wonderful Pranee!
We never watched Seachange when it was on tele in Australia- must of been on Sunday nights when we were at church. But we have enjoyed this little escape from reality for 45 minutes a couple of times a week. When we arrived back from Australia last May we didn't reinstall the Cable TV... which has been a great decision. Instead of sitting down at the end of the day and zapping around between the channels and in the end watching nothing of note, we sit down for a limited time and watch a whole episode. Now that Seachange has finished I think we will head back to West Wing for a while.
Over the last few months it has been our little connection with Australia. It is a little sad to say goodbye to our friends from Pearl Bay... especially we are going to miss Kevin and Trevor, Angus and Karen, and the wonderful Pranee!
We never watched Seachange when it was on tele in Australia- must of been on Sunday nights when we were at church. But we have enjoyed this little escape from reality for 45 minutes a couple of times a week. When we arrived back from Australia last May we didn't reinstall the Cable TV... which has been a great decision. Instead of sitting down at the end of the day and zapping around between the channels and in the end watching nothing of note, we sit down for a limited time and watch a whole episode. Now that Seachange has finished I think we will head back to West Wing for a while.
The Hunger Games
Every now and then we get a surprise in Argentina...
Last night Ellie (12 years old) went to the movies to see The Hunger Games. But they wouldn't let them in without showing their documents. The movie has a minimum age of 13 years- but we have never heard of them checking here in Argentina for ages! This was a first. In the end she saw Mirror Mirror.
Ellie has read the first two Hunger Games books. We got started on them a few weeks ago when Lachlan saw the movie with his friends. We then downloaded the books onto our kindle (thanks friends at Gladesville!). I hogged the kindle while we were away over Easter and read all 3 books.
Anyone read them? What are your thoughts? I enjoyed them, though they are fairly disturbing. I wouldn't recommend them for anyone younger than 12, and I'm still not 100% sure for a 12 year old. There are some interesting themes to discuss with the kids, especially about what is 'entertainment' and the need we have to be entertained, and it seems with an increasing level of violence (the people living in the Capitol delight themselves in watching teenagers from other districts kill each other in the arena). But is the book itself feeding into the very thing it is making comment on? That is, that teenagers need the level of violence of The Hunger Games in order to stay interested in reading?
Ellie has read the first two Hunger Games books. We got started on them a few weeks ago when Lachlan saw the movie with his friends. We then downloaded the books onto our kindle (thanks friends at Gladesville!). I hogged the kindle while we were away over Easter and read all 3 books.
Anyone read them? What are your thoughts? I enjoyed them, though they are fairly disturbing. I wouldn't recommend them for anyone younger than 12, and I'm still not 100% sure for a 12 year old. There are some interesting themes to discuss with the kids, especially about what is 'entertainment' and the need we have to be entertained, and it seems with an increasing level of violence (the people living in the Capitol delight themselves in watching teenagers from other districts kill each other in the arena). But is the book itself feeding into the very thing it is making comment on? That is, that teenagers need the level of violence of The Hunger Games in order to stay interested in reading?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Our fifteen year old daughter...
Ellie´s new high school organised a parents meeting to inform us of our children´s progress in adapting to their new environment. Amongst other things, they handed out the results of a battery of tests they have performed on the Year 7 kids, which supposedly indicate the ´mental age´ of each student.
Ellie´s result made us giggle .... although her chronological age is 12 years, she scored a mental age of 15. Could it be that all the fantasising about celebrating her ´quince años´ (15th birthday) with its associated benefits (a big party with ballgown) has had a profound effect on her mind???
Posted by Julie
Ellie´s result made us giggle .... although her chronological age is 12 years, she scored a mental age of 15. Could it be that all the fantasising about celebrating her ´quince años´ (15th birthday) with its associated benefits (a big party with ballgown) has had a profound effect on her mind???
Posted by Julie
Mexican friends
Today the couple met with some of the ABUA Cordoba students to chat about student ministry in Mexico.
Posted by Julie
Monday, April 16, 2012
Full House
Every month we are seeing growth in the ABUA training event, which takes place in our home with lunch and an afternoon training session. This month the teaching was on a biblical approach to the touchy topic of abortion. The students were encouraged to think sensitively on the theme, discussing accounts of women who had experienced abortion from the personal angle rather than simply casting judgement.
The topic generated lots of discussion and was so well attended that the 3rd new table we bought during the week still didn´t accommodate all the students! In fact preparing food for the group was a challenge this month, as the first 10 people to arrive were unexpected visitors, so we set to work in the kitchen!! When everyone was served, the final 3 portions were popped in the oven to keep warm (the microwave blew up that morning!), which was just as well .... 3 more students arrived late! All were well fed, both physically and spiritually.
Posted by Julie
The topic generated lots of discussion and was so well attended that the 3rd new table we bought during the week still didn´t accommodate all the students! In fact preparing food for the group was a challenge this month, as the first 10 people to arrive were unexpected visitors, so we set to work in the kitchen!! When everyone was served, the final 3 portions were popped in the oven to keep warm (the microwave blew up that morning!), which was just as well .... 3 more students arrived late! All were well fed, both physically and spiritually.
Posted by Julie
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Birthdays left, right and centre
Happy 39th Martin,
A happy man with Kebabs and Lemon Meringue Pie!
And ...
Happy 14th Lachie!
Some mates spent the night then rose early to hike in the Cordoba hills together.
A happy man with Kebabs and Lemon Meringue Pie!
And ...
Happy 14th Lachie!
Some mates spent the night then rose early to hike in the Cordoba hills together.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Confidence in the Bible
I had both an encouraging and discouraging time in the Law faculty today...
First with the encouragement. I met with Marcos, a student from a Catholic background who is really keen to read the Bible. A course mate of his was there when I arrived, so we started chatting about God and faith. This guy is an atheist and so it was interesting to listen to what he thought and the basis (or lack thereof) that he had for his positions.
The discouragement... the Christian friend who originally brought Marcos along to the group wasn't able to come but he told Marcos that he is keen to start something different on Wednesdays in the faculty...basically a get together where he will give a 20 minute talk to the group, using some illustrations from life to get across an idea...
Ah... why is it that it is the Christians who don't have confidence in the Bible? Lets just open the Bible and read it and explore it together... why do we need to go back to someone telling us what to believe?.. and why can't this Christian guy see the growth in Marcos which has come from exactly that... sitting and reading the Bible? It doesn't appear impressive, but I remain convinced it is the most valuable thing we can do in the faculty.
First with the encouragement. I met with Marcos, a student from a Catholic background who is really keen to read the Bible. A course mate of his was there when I arrived, so we started chatting about God and faith. This guy is an atheist and so it was interesting to listen to what he thought and the basis (or lack thereof) that he had for his positions.
The discouragement... the Christian friend who originally brought Marcos along to the group wasn't able to come but he told Marcos that he is keen to start something different on Wednesdays in the faculty...basically a get together where he will give a 20 minute talk to the group, using some illustrations from life to get across an idea...
Ah... why is it that it is the Christians who don't have confidence in the Bible? Lets just open the Bible and read it and explore it together... why do we need to go back to someone telling us what to believe?.. and why can't this Christian guy see the growth in Marcos which has come from exactly that... sitting and reading the Bible? It doesn't appear impressive, but I remain convinced it is the most valuable thing we can do in the faculty.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Escaping to the hills
Off to the hills today for a 4 day long weekend. The Easter weekend starts on Maundy Thursday in Argentina... we are escaping to Los Cocos, our favourite place in the hills, after a very busy March. Hoping to recharge the batteries a little!
Thanks Lord that it was only a close call
Today I had dropped off the youngest kids at school and had to return to the house for something Lachlan had forgotten. Just as we crossed the main road near our house a motorbike swerved as he flew by. I hadn't seen him at all. I got quite a shock, but I was mostly just very relieved that I hadn't hit him. I would have been in the wrong and it could have been a nasty accident- must have missed them by a metre or less. Thank you Lord for protecting them and me!
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