Our last night in Argentina we spent with the Youth from the Sunrise Children's Home in San Nicolas...we will greatly miss them and continue to pray for them!! Thank you Feeneys for serving these kids so well!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
More on Argentina
Our last night in Argentina we spent with the Youth from the Sunrise Children's Home in San Nicolas...we will greatly miss them and continue to pray for them!! Thank you Feeneys for serving these kids so well!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Back in Gresham
Well, we are back in Gresham again....Got back today after 27 hours of travel! What an amazing time we have had. Hope to be able to share more with many of you...A small note...it is so cool to see all the spring flowers and all the green here...remember, we were just in FALL down south. Now, it is spring again!!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Amazing Feeneys
As our time draws to a close here in Argentina …..we must stop for a moment and pay tribute to our friends here, Tom and Colleen Feeney and their lovely twin teens Josiah and Sarah. It is amazing to see how God has taken this North American family and planted them here in San Nicolas, to be used for His Kingdom purposes. We have spent a little more than a week now following them around and discovered that God has gifted them both in an incredible way to serve and minister in this culture, and in this environment. They are known, respected, loved and cared for by many. We have also discovered that Tom and Colleen don’t just have two kids….they, along with a group of very loving and caring staff, are Mom and Dad to many more. There are close to 80 kids at the home right now, and although that is considered a low number compared to years passed, it still present a challenge beyond measure. This is where Tom and Colleen play a major role in so many children’s lives. You should be here at the Feeney home as the 24 plus teens from the Hogar (the home) “invade” for Youth Group once a week! It can get pretty wild, at the same time as the kids have the deepest respect for Tom and Colleen. They take them to Youth Groups, to church and special events; they are with them as they go on ministry trips; they care, talk, mentor, disciple, and are generally available to kids that have been abandoned, rejected, abused, neglected and at times forgotten. The verse in James 1:27 has come alive again as we read: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
We love you guys and are so thankful that we could come and be with you for a while…so thankful for all the friends we have made, for the kids we now feel we know…for all the great Argentine food you have introduced us to Tom…for being able to see the Ministry team in action…in rain and sunshine, and participate in a variety of ministry opportunities in church and small groups. Thank you for taking time out to “give us Argentina!!”
Sunday, April 08, 2007
More From Argentina
He is RISEN!!
Easter morning in San Nicolas, Argentina!!
We have written our updates, but have had no time to post...so here are the pictures (at least some of them) of a multitude of activities in the last few days...from loving on the kids at the Orphanage, Youth Group at the Feeneys home, Bible Club at the Orphanage complete with Easter egg coloring...and two Ministry Team outreaches with their Puppet and Children's show...one in Rosario, in pouring rain and one yesterday in a poor neighborhood right outside town...we also participated in the Youth meeting at a local church in town last night...sharing about the World and missions...
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Argentina Update
First...we have had some problems with Internet connection...but this morning we were able to get on line and here is another update from us...
Argentina Update Number 1
The trip was long…but well worth it. Never in my life would I ever believe that one day we would find ourselves so far south!! We left Portland on a brisk Monday morning and round ourselves at Tom and Colleen’s house in San Nicolas a little bit after five the next day, Tuesday. They are only 4 hours ahead here and it was kind of weird to travel for so long and have hardly any time difference. After a nice stop over in Houston, Texas we boarded another Continental flight and flew forever….and landed around nine on Tuesday morning at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Customs went fast, and our luggage came out almost immediately…so before we knew it we were out…looking all over for Tom and Colleen. They were nowhere in sight. Well, we thought, we’ll just hang around for a little bit…and then go and try our luck with an Argentinian phone booth. It was quite fascinating to just stand there and watch people…taking it all in….we were in South America!! After a while we discovered a familiar face…there was Tom and Josiah!! Colleen and Sarah were back in San Nicolas.
Coming out of the airport one had a feeling of being somewhere familiar…and still in a new place…it was hard to put a finger on it. We piled into the Feeney van…and were immediately informed that the back seats did not have any seat belts. In fact seat belts is something that no-one really care that much about anyway in Argentina. Later on Josiah also told us that Argentina has one of the highest mortality rates from road accident. Wonder if there is any connection there??
The fun part was was we were not really heading straight home, but back in towards the city…or outskirts to the city…to pick up one of the girls who is attending a Bible School. She is the first one from the Sunrise Orphanage who has gone to Bible School!! After much weaving in and out in traffic, and finding incredible short cuts, and almost getting lost, we found the Bible School….the road there also took us through some of the poorest parts of Buenos Aires….and poverty is the back side of life even here. Buenos Aires is a huge city (with almost 13 million people), of about 30 million in the entire country.
After waiting for Ellie for a little bit (she was still in class when we came) we took off again…this time Tom drove us in through down-town BA and that was amazing. We were once again reminded of so many places we have been and lived…and decided that Buenos Aires was a good combination of Casablanca, Cairo, Beirut, Turkey, Cyprus and Nairobi. It is all there, and it is still unique. The most outstanding thing you notice is that it is hard to know who is a foreigner and who is not…here you have all colors and shades you can imagine of both skin and hair…and then there are no black people at all. Some years ago they were severely persecuted and were basically driven north to Brazil. Most of the folks here in Argentina are on Spanish and Italian backgrounds, with several other Europeans mixed in plus those who are of the original folks from the area. And they ALL speak Spanish….and we don’t understand a bit.
After our tour through downtown Buenos Aires, we headed north; along the waterway that separates Argentina from Uruguay. That water, although over 20 miles wide in places is considered a river and not a bay since the water is fresh water.
Once out in the country side, there was the pampas grass….and the open wide fields…mile after mile after mile…in fact all the way up to San Nicolas, 3 hours north of the capitol. And here and there you saw marks of the heavy rains and floods they had last week where a lot of people from the north were evacuated.
Half way back to San Nicolas we stopped at this restaurant out in the middle of no-where and had BBQ….well, you took your plate and went outside to the BBQ pit and pointed at the meat you wanted…the rest of the meal you got inside…some of the stuff looked rather strange, so I stayed what I was told was beef. And it was GOOD!! All nourished and full we once again left and got on the road. Tom told us that here in Argentina; the speed limit on the open road is whatever speed your car can run at…. Soon we arrived in San Nicolas, and there on a nice little side street we stopped at a typical green iron gate, which soon opened, and there was Colleen. And her two little puppies…. Petizio and Brown. The cutest poodles you ever saw. They absolutely LOVE to look out through the bars at the front door, and bark at all the dogs passing by. And dogs there are a lot of in this country. Some belonging to neighbors and others, and some just plain stray!!
It was good to finally be in the Feeney house….and settle in, talk and share…and unpack our suitcases with all the trillion goodies we had brought with us from the States. Things like peanut butter and taco seasoning are hard to come by…along with marshmallows and other goodies. Not to speak of tons of Easter goodies!! Visiting missionaries is so much fun !!
It is amazing to visit our people on the field….to see them in their environment, hear them speak and interact with the folks around them, and just hang out. We are so proud of our people, so amazed to see how God is using our people around the world. Tom and Colleen came here over 17 years ago and have lived in this house this whole time, except for times spent on furlough. The last four years they have ministered as the official Chaplains of the Orphanage Sunrise Home here in town. That means that their responsibilities involve the spiritual well fare of the children..and they especially work with the Jr and High School age kids from the Orphanage.
And today we got to go to the Orphanage!! Now, I have visited many orphanages over the years, but one is never prepared for the tug at the heart strings that you experience when meeting children who have been left behind…either through death, divorce, neglect of plain rejection. It hurts. And today we hugged and took pictures and loved on a lot of little ones. We also spent time touring the facility, talking with the Orphanage Director and meeting most of the Staff. It is amazing to see the loving and caring relationship that Tom and Colleen have with these little ones!!
We have been here less than 24 hours as I write this…and we are already deeply impacted by this place. Tonight the kids are coming over to the Feeney House for their weekly Youth night and tomorrow we will be helping out with the Children’s Club at the Orphanage….on Friday we get to go up to Rosario to see the Ministry Team from the Orphanage perform (puppets, song and dance for children) and on Saturday they perform here in town. On Easter Sunday we will have a BBQ with all the kids at the Orphanage and later on that evening Pat will preach in their Easter Service at their church….so our week is full…and we are looking forward to every part of it. We are taking lot’s of pictures and will try to write updates and post pictures as we have opportunity. Take care.
Sorry we will get pictures later on......
Argentina Update Number 1
The trip was long…but well worth it. Never in my life would I ever believe that one day we would find ourselves so far south!! We left Portland on a brisk Monday morning and round ourselves at Tom and Colleen’s house in San Nicolas a little bit after five the next day, Tuesday. They are only 4 hours ahead here and it was kind of weird to travel for so long and have hardly any time difference. After a nice stop over in Houston, Texas we boarded another Continental flight and flew forever….and landed around nine on Tuesday morning at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Customs went fast, and our luggage came out almost immediately…so before we knew it we were out…looking all over for Tom and Colleen. They were nowhere in sight. Well, we thought, we’ll just hang around for a little bit…and then go and try our luck with an Argentinian phone booth. It was quite fascinating to just stand there and watch people…taking it all in….we were in South America!! After a while we discovered a familiar face…there was Tom and Josiah!! Colleen and Sarah were back in San Nicolas.
Coming out of the airport one had a feeling of being somewhere familiar…and still in a new place…it was hard to put a finger on it. We piled into the Feeney van…and were immediately informed that the back seats did not have any seat belts. In fact seat belts is something that no-one really care that much about anyway in Argentina. Later on Josiah also told us that Argentina has one of the highest mortality rates from road accident. Wonder if there is any connection there??
The fun part was was we were not really heading straight home, but back in towards the city…or outskirts to the city…to pick up one of the girls who is attending a Bible School. She is the first one from the Sunrise Orphanage who has gone to Bible School!! After much weaving in and out in traffic, and finding incredible short cuts, and almost getting lost, we found the Bible School….the road there also took us through some of the poorest parts of Buenos Aires….and poverty is the back side of life even here. Buenos Aires is a huge city (with almost 13 million people), of about 30 million in the entire country.
After waiting for Ellie for a little bit (she was still in class when we came) we took off again…this time Tom drove us in through down-town BA and that was amazing. We were once again reminded of so many places we have been and lived…and decided that Buenos Aires was a good combination of Casablanca, Cairo, Beirut, Turkey, Cyprus and Nairobi. It is all there, and it is still unique. The most outstanding thing you notice is that it is hard to know who is a foreigner and who is not…here you have all colors and shades you can imagine of both skin and hair…and then there are no black people at all. Some years ago they were severely persecuted and were basically driven north to Brazil. Most of the folks here in Argentina are on Spanish and Italian backgrounds, with several other Europeans mixed in plus those who are of the original folks from the area. And they ALL speak Spanish….and we don’t understand a bit.
After our tour through downtown Buenos Aires, we headed north; along the waterway that separates Argentina from Uruguay. That water, although over 20 miles wide in places is considered a river and not a bay since the water is fresh water.
Once out in the country side, there was the pampas grass….and the open wide fields…mile after mile after mile…in fact all the way up to San Nicolas, 3 hours north of the capitol. And here and there you saw marks of the heavy rains and floods they had last week where a lot of people from the north were evacuated.
Half way back to San Nicolas we stopped at this restaurant out in the middle of no-where and had BBQ….well, you took your plate and went outside to the BBQ pit and pointed at the meat you wanted…the rest of the meal you got inside…some of the stuff looked rather strange, so I stayed what I was told was beef. And it was GOOD!! All nourished and full we once again left and got on the road. Tom told us that here in Argentina; the speed limit on the open road is whatever speed your car can run at…. Soon we arrived in San Nicolas, and there on a nice little side street we stopped at a typical green iron gate, which soon opened, and there was Colleen. And her two little puppies…. Petizio and Brown. The cutest poodles you ever saw. They absolutely LOVE to look out through the bars at the front door, and bark at all the dogs passing by. And dogs there are a lot of in this country. Some belonging to neighbors and others, and some just plain stray!!
It was good to finally be in the Feeney house….and settle in, talk and share…and unpack our suitcases with all the trillion goodies we had brought with us from the States. Things like peanut butter and taco seasoning are hard to come by…along with marshmallows and other goodies. Not to speak of tons of Easter goodies!! Visiting missionaries is so much fun !!
It is amazing to visit our people on the field….to see them in their environment, hear them speak and interact with the folks around them, and just hang out. We are so proud of our people, so amazed to see how God is using our people around the world. Tom and Colleen came here over 17 years ago and have lived in this house this whole time, except for times spent on furlough. The last four years they have ministered as the official Chaplains of the Orphanage Sunrise Home here in town. That means that their responsibilities involve the spiritual well fare of the children..and they especially work with the Jr and High School age kids from the Orphanage.
And today we got to go to the Orphanage!! Now, I have visited many orphanages over the years, but one is never prepared for the tug at the heart strings that you experience when meeting children who have been left behind…either through death, divorce, neglect of plain rejection. It hurts. And today we hugged and took pictures and loved on a lot of little ones. We also spent time touring the facility, talking with the Orphanage Director and meeting most of the Staff. It is amazing to see the loving and caring relationship that Tom and Colleen have with these little ones!!
We have been here less than 24 hours as I write this…and we are already deeply impacted by this place. Tonight the kids are coming over to the Feeney House for their weekly Youth night and tomorrow we will be helping out with the Children’s Club at the Orphanage….on Friday we get to go up to Rosario to see the Ministry Team from the Orphanage perform (puppets, song and dance for children) and on Saturday they perform here in town. On Easter Sunday we will have a BBQ with all the kids at the Orphanage and later on that evening Pat will preach in their Easter Service at their church….so our week is full…and we are looking forward to every part of it. We are taking lot’s of pictures and will try to write updates and post pictures as we have opportunity. Take care.
Sorry we will get pictures later on......
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Off We Go...
The bags are packed...the house is clean....instructions are written to those caring for things on this end...and we are ready. Argentina here we come!!!! We fly out tomorrow at noon and will be arriving in Buenos Aires early the next morning....A long flight!!!! But we come ready with our pillows, shades and earplugs and lot's of prayers!! (Thank You!!) As you can tell, we are excited and hopefully we will be able to send you updates from down south. In the meantime, you have to check out Trina's blog: www.inthebuj.blogspot.com ...an awesome write up of an awesome experience...and some fabulous pictures to go along with it. I love to promote my friends!!
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