So- we've had our first taste of the culture here: we went to the supermarket! It was quite an experience with everyone jostling around. As far as stores go, it was a little different but only in the fact that walking in, there were large decorative mirrors for sale, tiffany lamps beside the checkout counter and otner sundry things scattered throughout the store. Sort of like our Walmart, only compresses into a smaller space. We don,t actually look like foreigners until someone speaks to us. Jackie knows some Spanish from having lived in Columbia for a couple lof years, but me? Yeah, not so much! In fact, the guy bagging groceries apparently asked me if the bag was loaded too heavy and I stood there and looked dumb (which really wasn't too hard too do!). I was told to just nod and say 'si'. I said that I needed to be 'a fly on the wall' and just observe. When we go again, I'll be sure to take some pictures. Sorry I haven't been able to figure out how to upload pictures to the blog, but I'll post them to facebook.

We're here in Urugauy - yay! It was a looooong trip and a semi-sleepless night, but praise God, we made it without any incidence (including the 40 minute wait on the tarmac because of "mechanical" problems). Stephanie and Bruce were waiting for us and we madeit back to their house, which was 5 minutes away! We've been catching up, getting to know our upcoming schedule (pretty busy) and watching them go through all their goodies that we brought them :D I'm so excited to be here and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us... BTW-Jackie is a great travel-companion!

Here in Miami. Really uneventful flight. But God is answering prayers already! We got off the plane and since we had to jostle things around in our check-in luggage, our carry-ons are extremely heavy! We arrived at gate 19, anticipating a three-hour layover, so we wanted to grab a bite to eat, but there was noway we were going to drag around our heavy carry-ons. I suggested we get a cart and set off to try to find one. I stopped at a gate to ask an attendant where to get acart and he said the closest one was by gate 45 or find one that someone left. We opted to go to our departure gate (22) and I would set off for gate 45 to get us a cart. I walked about 30 feet and lo and behold, there was a cart with nobody around it! I asked the several people nearby if it belonged to any of tnem and "no" it didn't-PRAISE THE LORD! He provided... We were able to enjoy our supper and our walk to our gate without sore shoulders and arms. Isn't He GREAT!!!!!?

We've made it to BWI without any events (not counting the torrential downpour that started 5 minutes before we reached the airport. Check-in went fairly smooth- just had to take a few items from one bag and transfer to another. O e bag was slightly over-weight (52.5 lbs.) but they allowed it. Let's hope the next leg Miami to Montevideo) goes as well...

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark wold and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12) How true this is proving! In the last 3 days, I feel that the "evil one" is doing his best to distract me from the mission ahead. It started with a phone call from my daughter on Sunday night that she was sick, which resulted in me making a late run trip to the pharmacy for medicine for her. Then, the next day, she was worse, which ended up with us taking her to Urgent Care late at night and another trip to the Pharmacy (thank goodness CVS is open 24 hrs!). Side note: incidentally, she has a severe case of strep throat - so bad that the nurse said she's never seen a throat like that on an adult and hasn't seen one that bad in over a year! Back to the point: Today, our dog, who is known to be an escape artist, darted out the front door when I opened it for the repairman. She's made mad dashes before, but never for as long or as far as today. After a futile attempt at searching for her, I called Steve and he came home to help search. He finally found her at the neighbors across the road and they had kindly put her on a chain, not knowing who she belonged to. Normally, these incidents would seem benign and "ordinary",  except for the matter of the timing: my leaving in 2 more days. Who ever heard of strep in June - and for it to be as severe as it was in just a few days! And what about the dog?! She's never been gone that long, and certainly has never crossed the road before! But, I know that God is in control and I know that "greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world". Praise the Lord, because He will be my sanity in the coming days.

This is the future site of my trip to Uruguay (June 29 - July 14).