Hello from Argentina!

Hello from Argentina!

    We are praising the Lord for an uneventful trip.  It didn't have to be easy but it was and we are thankful.  The kids loved both flights!   In New York we were able to check in our 7 carry-on's which was a huge blessing.   When we arrived in Georgia the connecting flight was already boarding so we had to RUN to the gate which was down at least two flights of scary escalators. :) Scary for me with a little one in the stroller and scary for several of the others. I encouraged them "You can do this, we'll go together 1, 2, 3 STEP!"

     Funny how little things are all of a sudden scary when they are not part of your normal routine. The Lord has many more of these unfamiliar "steps" for our family as we trust Him in this new and different change in our lives.  I'm thinking of all of you special friends as well.  I am confident that there are plenty of opportunities that the Lord will put you in to stretch you and grow you more and more into His Image.  1, 2, 3, Step!  You can do it!  

    We made it! We boarded the plane for Argentina.  The kids enjoyed having their own personal movie theater right at their fingertips, literally, and I think we all got a little sleep on the trip.  All in all it wasn't torture taking 6 children on a plane ride to South America.  

    As we began our decent I began to think, "Now comes the fun part".  How are we going to get all that luggage out of the baggage claim and through customs? No worries half our stuff was already off the baggage belt when we got there. :) Oh I forgot to mention, the first step getting off the plane is to get into the really long line of immigrations. We had a feeling though we would be directed to the "speed pass" lane.  Sure enough as we stood in line, someone noticed baby in the stroller and we were directed to the short line and were through in a jiffy. :)  That line is labeled "disabled" in Spanish. It made me smile as I read it. :)

    Back to the luggage, turns out I miss counted, we had 49 bags plus our carry-on's and back packs.  The kids got to pet the security dog that was sniffing all our bags.  The police officer was really nice to them.  The Lord brought a nice airport worker who went and got a friend or two of his to help us load all our stuff onto 8-9 carts.  While we were waiting in line I thought now would be a great time for a photo of all our stuff with the kids.  As I am lining the kids up and snapping the picture I hear the dreaded sound of "NO,NO, NO!!!" No photos!  Yikes, I already took the picture.  They were all shaking their heads at me. I felt mortified.  Great way to enter the country. :( But all in all we went through smoothly with no questions about anything.  

    Our friends from Language School who are serving in Buenos Aires met us at the airport along with two other dear friends.  They were on the other side to help transport all of our stuff out to the vans.  The Lord took care of everything.  Out of all those bags we left only 1 and it's on a bus arriving tomorrow here in Chivilcoy. 

    We couldn't have done it without the help of a friend who helped with the kiddos in the midst of all this crazy adventure. 

    I miss you all dearly.  Please keep praying.  I am so glad to be here and yet today was a hard day for me, lots and lots of tears.  We are living out of our bags right now and I feel like I can't find anything.  As I'm finishing this letter to you dear friends I am in good spirits knowing that God is in control, that He cares, that He's got me in the palm of His able hands.  I can rest and give thanks that He is my strength and I can trust Him in all this craziness.  It just may not be easy that's all.  So here I go...1,2,3, Step!