If you follow this blog then you probably know that we all got home safe yesterday.
Thank you for following this blog, and thanks be to God!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Today was an amazing day, The rain held off and so we absolutely filled the day.
Off by 9:30 am - the bus to some shopping at a local mall (youth agreed the market is way more fun!) Anne & Tobin taking Jeff and Landon to the clinic to get congestion checked out - after seeing Dr and getting medication we joined the group
lunch - at the food court
apres lunch - walked to the foot of Sugar Loaf mountain and took 2 yes 2 cable cars to the top of the mountain (Aaron is sleeping now and has the cord to hook camera up to blog so photos will have to wait until the airport tomorrow if there is time)
Shinnika, Anne and Jeff who are not fond of heights did well and we are all proud of them - infact some might say they began to enjoy the ride!
Lots of photos and walking around the top seeing the spectacular view of ocean and Rios many beaches.
Down the mountain
off to the Samba Drome and Merican huge football stadium in Brazil
at the Samba Drome we encountered the Samba school in rehearsal and our guide Carla who knew the instructor got us into the class room open air court. Next thing we knew we were watching a mini show and then pulled into dancing with the samba dancers - it was a wonderful moment of spontaneity that transcended all language barriers.
We also took a moment for some youth to try on Carnaval costumes for a small donation that goes towards the students of the school - then they paraded along a piece of the samba drome a stretch of road with concrete bleachers built on each side specifically for Carnaval
Back to the hostel for a quick change into our ¨semi-formal¨attire (or so thought Ben : ) ) and then back on the bus for a trip to a fabulous final buffet with live guitar player! And the desserts - well you will have to see the photos
It was hard to get everyone to bed - last lights went out after 1:30 and we need to follow -
Tomorrow morning we see Christ the Redeemer and then final hours spent at Ipanema beach before our flights home begin.
So sad to see this trip coming to a close but we are ready to come home.
There will be joy to be with family but tears as we leave each other.
Everyone is talking about our reunion in August already.
New friendships made, youth growing by leaps and bounds (leaders too).
oh yeah we really love out Bim Bom tour guide T2 Thomas. He has kept us going with laughter and so much knowledge about the country and ´people of Brazil. His sister Carla joined us for past two days and was really helpful as well.
shalom
Anne
Off by 9:30 am - the bus to some shopping at a local mall (youth agreed the market is way more fun!) Anne & Tobin taking Jeff and Landon to the clinic to get congestion checked out - after seeing Dr and getting medication we joined the group
lunch - at the food court
apres lunch - walked to the foot of Sugar Loaf mountain and took 2 yes 2 cable cars to the top of the mountain (Aaron is sleeping now and has the cord to hook camera up to blog so photos will have to wait until the airport tomorrow if there is time)
Shinnika, Anne and Jeff who are not fond of heights did well and we are all proud of them - infact some might say they began to enjoy the ride!
Lots of photos and walking around the top seeing the spectacular view of ocean and Rios many beaches.
Down the mountain
off to the Samba Drome and Merican huge football stadium in Brazil
at the Samba Drome we encountered the Samba school in rehearsal and our guide Carla who knew the instructor got us into the class room open air court. Next thing we knew we were watching a mini show and then pulled into dancing with the samba dancers - it was a wonderful moment of spontaneity that transcended all language barriers.
We also took a moment for some youth to try on Carnaval costumes for a small donation that goes towards the students of the school - then they paraded along a piece of the samba drome a stretch of road with concrete bleachers built on each side specifically for Carnaval
Back to the hostel for a quick change into our ¨semi-formal¨attire (or so thought Ben : ) ) and then back on the bus for a trip to a fabulous final buffet with live guitar player! And the desserts - well you will have to see the photos
It was hard to get everyone to bed - last lights went out after 1:30 and we need to follow -
Tomorrow morning we see Christ the Redeemer and then final hours spent at Ipanema beach before our flights home begin.
So sad to see this trip coming to a close but we are ready to come home.
There will be joy to be with family but tears as we leave each other.
Everyone is talking about our reunion in August already.
New friendships made, youth growing by leaps and bounds (leaders too).
oh yeah we really love out Bim Bom tour guide T2 Thomas. He has kept us going with laughter and so much knowledge about the country and ´people of Brazil. His sister Carla joined us for past two days and was really helpful as well.
shalom
Anne
Friday, July 24, 2009
Toucans support MCEC fundraisers
After seeing the falls some of us went to a bird sanctuary also inside the Iguassu Park. There were several large bird enclosures that we could walk into. The birds that we met included some very agressive macaws and very curious toucans.
Leaders
Here we are! All of the leaders still standing with only 7 days left!
This is us at Iguassu Falls on Tuesday, July 21.
It´s like Niagra falls but bigger, wetter and much closer.
For many of us the falls will be remembered as a significant God moment.
MWC
Here is a group shot outside of the CFA in Asuncion. As always we turned heads when we were all in our red shirts.
Exploring the beach
We were doing some sightseeing in the city of Niteroi across the bay from Rio when we decided to stop and explore this little beach. We found a puffer fish of some type and a cave. Cool.
On a cliff above the beach was the Niteroi Museum of Contemporary Art (AKA The Mac).
another day in Rio and much fun in spite of the pouring rain - sigh
we have decided to delay our visits to Christ Redeemer statue and the cable car up Sugar Loaf mountain because of rain but still walked the Copacabana beach, had a fantastic lunch buffet, (we have eaten a lot of buffets and have all commented that we need to eat a lot less!!!), tour of parts of the old city saw a very old cool library - the Royal Portugese Reading Room where the whole building was transported to Brazil from Portugal and the youth commented that it looked like a scene from a Harry Potter movie, saw the contemporary Catholic Cathedral, and the First Presbyterian church of Rio, walked in a lot of rain and got wet many times, a few youth and leaders took in a local CD shop where they play live Bossa Nova music on Friday nights and some of us bought CDs, we had a pizza buffet tonight which included dessert pizzas with white or milk chocolate and fresh ice cream. more rain walking back to the hostel which has its own lively night life - youth are tucked in to bed now - well ok almost tucked in - leaders settling down too but not yet ready for bed til we know all are safely in their rooms.
tomorrow we pray for good weather to go up the Tijuca Forest and to Corcovado and Sugar Loaf.
Lots are excited about a little sleep in (that is 8 am if some want showers). Because of the small shower and bathroom space some youth got up this morning at 6 am and then went back to bed again!!!
We want to get some photos up for you so signing off
soon home
anne
we have decided to delay our visits to Christ Redeemer statue and the cable car up Sugar Loaf mountain because of rain but still walked the Copacabana beach, had a fantastic lunch buffet, (we have eaten a lot of buffets and have all commented that we need to eat a lot less!!!), tour of parts of the old city saw a very old cool library - the Royal Portugese Reading Room where the whole building was transported to Brazil from Portugal and the youth commented that it looked like a scene from a Harry Potter movie, saw the contemporary Catholic Cathedral, and the First Presbyterian church of Rio, walked in a lot of rain and got wet many times, a few youth and leaders took in a local CD shop where they play live Bossa Nova music on Friday nights and some of us bought CDs, we had a pizza buffet tonight which included dessert pizzas with white or milk chocolate and fresh ice cream. more rain walking back to the hostel which has its own lively night life - youth are tucked in to bed now - well ok almost tucked in - leaders settling down too but not yet ready for bed til we know all are safely in their rooms.
tomorrow we pray for good weather to go up the Tijuca Forest and to Corcovado and Sugar Loaf.
Lots are excited about a little sleep in (that is 8 am if some want showers). Because of the small shower and bathroom space some youth got up this morning at 6 am and then went back to bed again!!!
We want to get some photos up for you so signing off
soon home
anne
well it is 4:15 am and we (being Ruth-Ann and anne) are sitting in our hostel after a supposed 13 hour bus trip which turned into a 21 hour ride. Not an problems with us but 2 hour delay for a highway accident then 2 hour delay through Sao Paulo rush hour traffice and we are not quite convinced that the trip would only have been 13 hours with stops. Did I mention we left Witmartsum this morning at 6:30 am!!!!
Youth are tucked into beds stacked three high and are settling in - the morning is almost here. We are glad to be in what will prove to be very close quarters for our final 3 days together - good thing we all like each other so much. From the looks of things the `"dining room" ie front porch which doubles as a small living room will serve around 10 of us at a time - should be a real adventure.
We have really appreciated the adaptability of the youth and tonight is no different.
While most slept on our way into the city Ruth-Ann, Tobin, Meghan and I took in the night view of the Christ the Redeemer Statue.
Sop here is the sleeping arrangement so you can chuckle as much as we did as we arrived at 3:30 am - 18 boys all in one room then a room of 6 girls, 9 girls, and and then 12 girls. There are only 5 bathrooms in the whole hostel which our 44 plus 2 drivers and tour guide will share with an additional 20 hostel guests - as you can imagine some of us will opt for showering via the ocean which is a mere 6-7 blocks away or so they say. 400 metres from Copacabana beach which we hope we will see tomorrow.
www.elmistihostels.com then we are at the one at Copacabana.
Well we should go get some sleep ór maybe we could grab the showers Ruth-Ann!!!!!
no probably sleep since youth will need alert leaders at 8:30 am
peace and love to all at home having fun, yes we are somewhat tired but everyone is feeling that the trip is coming to an end far too soon
here is the hostel site
Youth are tucked into beds stacked three high and are settling in - the morning is almost here. We are glad to be in what will prove to be very close quarters for our final 3 days together - good thing we all like each other so much. From the looks of things the `"dining room" ie front porch which doubles as a small living room will serve around 10 of us at a time - should be a real adventure.
We have really appreciated the adaptability of the youth and tonight is no different.
While most slept on our way into the city Ruth-Ann, Tobin, Meghan and I took in the night view of the Christ the Redeemer Statue.
Sop here is the sleeping arrangement so you can chuckle as much as we did as we arrived at 3:30 am - 18 boys all in one room then a room of 6 girls, 9 girls, and and then 12 girls. There are only 5 bathrooms in the whole hostel which our 44 plus 2 drivers and tour guide will share with an additional 20 hostel guests - as you can imagine some of us will opt for showering via the ocean which is a mere 6-7 blocks away or so they say. 400 metres from Copacabana beach which we hope we will see tomorrow.
www.elmistihostels.com then we are at the one at Copacabana.
Well we should go get some sleep ór maybe we could grab the showers Ruth-Ann!!!!!
no probably sleep since youth will need alert leaders at 8:30 am
peace and love to all at home having fun, yes we are somewhat tired but everyone is feeling that the trip is coming to an end far too soon
here is the hostel site
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Going to see the falls!
Today we are leaving the Carima Hotel in Foz du Iguassu:
http://www.hotelcarima.com.br/v4/conteudo/index.htm
We will see Iguassu falls from the Brazil side and then we are planning a visit to a nearby bird sanctuary. Then a 6-8 hour drive to the Witmarsum Mennonite Colony for 2 nights.
Spirits are high after a night in the hotel. For the first time in a week we had a breakfast that was more than white bread and sweet spreads. Many of us are thankful for that!
Unfortunately we can not post pictures from here for some reason.
http://www.hotelcarima.com.br/v4/conteudo/index.htm
We will see Iguassu falls from the Brazil side and then we are planning a visit to a nearby bird sanctuary. Then a 6-8 hour drive to the Witmarsum Mennonite Colony for 2 nights.
Spirits are high after a night in the hotel. For the first time in a week we had a breakfast that was more than white bread and sweet spreads. Many of us are thankful for that!
Unfortunately we can not post pictures from here for some reason.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Hi everyone,
Ruth-ann and Anne here at the internet cafe (ie small room with 4 cubicles in our hotel). we have the duty of typing the latest blog as everyone else hits the steam room, or hot tub or cold outdoor pool, or plays some pool or the new hot card game that is all the rage amoung MCEC peace loving mennonite youth - BANG!! a wild west game where you are either trying to protect or shoot the sheriff - you can imagine the fun.
So this is our night of luxury - Tobin and Anne (me had booked us into the cheapest yet safest hotel at Foz de Iquacu but discovered once we were at conference that our tour guide had put us in the best hotel in the city - we kept it a surprise until we pulled up tonight and after many days of being really amazing at whatever sleep setting was before them our youth are literally experiencing luxury - hot showers, only 2 to a room, warm comforters, pillows - yes no sleeping bags and mini travel pillows YIPEE!!! It has already brought about some good dinner conversation about all we have and take for granted and how it really is something that we get even one night of this before we are back in a camp setting.
From a leaders perspective it feels like our upgrade was a small gift from God (ok a really big gift!) as your teens have faced each cold shower or no shower or crowded bedroom with great attitudes.
Cassy is on the mend after her really bad bacterial stomach episode which included a nice stay at the Baptist hospital for the day yesterday as she was rehydrated from . . .well you know . . . she was a real trooper about it all and the youth were more than happy to have her back with the group last night - there was much hugging and well wishing.
Adventures of the day - Emma found money then Emma dropped money into toilet - along with other droppings and therefore had a pricey BM worth $6 US flushed down the toilet - we have all thanked her for this great story that had us in stitches after dinner. Parents please remind your youth to flush their toilet paper once they get home as we have discovered that in South America toilet paper gets put into the basket beside the toilet - this only makes Emma´s adventure that much funnier as she knows better than to put any paper object into a toilet - JK Emma - we love you!
We had a great visit to Itaipu Dam with many photos taken by all - it was great to have some free time after days of herding youth like cattle from one place to another. We awoke this morning at 4:45 am having gone to bed at - wait for it - 9 pm !!!! yes parents they really do sleep before midnight and can get up early - try this at home and remind of their days with C2G. The bus picked us up a mere 45 minutes late and we we off - a fantastic buffet lunch.
We really thought you would love to hear that after all the notarizing of documents and authentications of the notarizations and authentications of authentications and all the costs that accompanied this - they never once asked leaving Paraguay or entering Brazil at either check point to see the documents - sigh - but had we not had them they no doubt would have asked.
It was quite the experience to get off the bus at the Paraguay side with our guide and Tobin and I carrying 44 passports and all the paperwork. The traffic was speeding all around.
You should see the number of people on motorcycles!.
Our tour guide as we hit the Brazil side of the bridge crossing countries pointed out to leaders and youth alike the smugglers outside our window lowering goods over the bridge to waiting boat below. You should have seen us hanging all on one side of the bus gawking out the window - ruth-ann and I thought the bus might just tip over - I think Aaron got the best photo of the smugglers - apparantly they nicknamed this road Ant Road as people had backpacks full of smuggled goods tossed over the bridge. - We really are learning so much.
Supper tonight was another buffet meal - we are celebrating having vegetables!
Tomorrow the Falls and then a long drive to Witmartsum - you might not hear any more news until Thursday night when we hit Rio de Janiero
no doubt the stories will abound!
Again loving this time with all these amazing youth and the leaders aren´t all that bad either - in fact we are enjoying ourselves far too much.
Everyone does miss home sometime during the day but we have really bonded as a group - more than we would have thought possible.
Signing off to post some pictures for you of our day
love your youth and leaders
Ruth-ann and Anne here at the internet cafe (ie small room with 4 cubicles in our hotel). we have the duty of typing the latest blog as everyone else hits the steam room, or hot tub or cold outdoor pool, or plays some pool or the new hot card game that is all the rage amoung MCEC peace loving mennonite youth - BANG!! a wild west game where you are either trying to protect or shoot the sheriff - you can imagine the fun.
So this is our night of luxury - Tobin and Anne (me had booked us into the cheapest yet safest hotel at Foz de Iquacu but discovered once we were at conference that our tour guide had put us in the best hotel in the city - we kept it a surprise until we pulled up tonight and after many days of being really amazing at whatever sleep setting was before them our youth are literally experiencing luxury - hot showers, only 2 to a room, warm comforters, pillows - yes no sleeping bags and mini travel pillows YIPEE!!! It has already brought about some good dinner conversation about all we have and take for granted and how it really is something that we get even one night of this before we are back in a camp setting.
From a leaders perspective it feels like our upgrade was a small gift from God (ok a really big gift!) as your teens have faced each cold shower or no shower or crowded bedroom with great attitudes.
Cassy is on the mend after her really bad bacterial stomach episode which included a nice stay at the Baptist hospital for the day yesterday as she was rehydrated from . . .well you know . . . she was a real trooper about it all and the youth were more than happy to have her back with the group last night - there was much hugging and well wishing.
Adventures of the day - Emma found money then Emma dropped money into toilet - along with other droppings and therefore had a pricey BM worth $6 US flushed down the toilet - we have all thanked her for this great story that had us in stitches after dinner. Parents please remind your youth to flush their toilet paper once they get home as we have discovered that in South America toilet paper gets put into the basket beside the toilet - this only makes Emma´s adventure that much funnier as she knows better than to put any paper object into a toilet - JK Emma - we love you!
We had a great visit to Itaipu Dam with many photos taken by all - it was great to have some free time after days of herding youth like cattle from one place to another. We awoke this morning at 4:45 am having gone to bed at - wait for it - 9 pm !!!! yes parents they really do sleep before midnight and can get up early - try this at home and remind of their days with C2G. The bus picked us up a mere 45 minutes late and we we off - a fantastic buffet lunch.
We really thought you would love to hear that after all the notarizing of documents and authentications of the notarizations and authentications of authentications and all the costs that accompanied this - they never once asked leaving Paraguay or entering Brazil at either check point to see the documents - sigh - but had we not had them they no doubt would have asked.
It was quite the experience to get off the bus at the Paraguay side with our guide and Tobin and I carrying 44 passports and all the paperwork. The traffic was speeding all around.
You should see the number of people on motorcycles!.
Our tour guide as we hit the Brazil side of the bridge crossing countries pointed out to leaders and youth alike the smugglers outside our window lowering goods over the bridge to waiting boat below. You should have seen us hanging all on one side of the bus gawking out the window - ruth-ann and I thought the bus might just tip over - I think Aaron got the best photo of the smugglers - apparantly they nicknamed this road Ant Road as people had backpacks full of smuggled goods tossed over the bridge. - We really are learning so much.
Supper tonight was another buffet meal - we are celebrating having vegetables!
Tomorrow the Falls and then a long drive to Witmartsum - you might not hear any more news until Thursday night when we hit Rio de Janiero
no doubt the stories will abound!
Again loving this time with all these amazing youth and the leaders aren´t all that bad either - in fact we are enjoying ourselves far too much.
Everyone does miss home sometime during the day but we have really bonded as a group - more than we would have thought possible.
Signing off to post some pictures for you of our day
love your youth and leaders
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Food - I like to eat food and lots of it. Right now I am really hungry.... and I know down the road I will be receiving rice or n00dles with some sort of meat gravy. I really want pizza!! Ben
Seminars - Overall good. But mostly boring. It is almost like humans talking a lullaby and putting you to sleep. Some of them have been good though but some are less then desirable. Dimitry
Conference - I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. Recently six of our youth represented Canada beautifully in an interesting game of soccer. We were destroyed - our hopes and dreams of professional soccer were shattered. It was a beautiful representation of Canadian soccer. Adrian
Freezing in worship - It is very cold during worship. The building is not heated and therefore we have all bought a bunch of blankets to use to keep us warm.
Worship time - Right now we are holding seats in worship. We need to arrive at 4:30 p.m. for our 5:30 p.m. worship time and save 44 seats for our group. As we write this the band is warming up in the background with some great music and the worship area is starting to get full. For each worship time we need to take everyone's name tag and then go outside of the worship space to get our translation devices as the platform language for worship is Spanish. This is quite a feat to get 44 headsets - they know us by now!!
Casey is having a fun time and says Hi to everyone back at home.
Yesterday Rob and I went to the market with 10 youth. The market was very busy and took up 20 blocks - people were selling fruit, vegetables and anything else you can imagine. After about 20 minutes the guide told us that we could spend another 25 minutes shopping by yourselves. Our youth thought this meant that they could just walk in different directions leaving Rob and I in a bit of a panic. Clearly, our youth thought they were shopping at Fairview Mall in KW! Luckily we had security detail with our group and one of them realized that we could use some extra help. In the end he helped Dylan and Ben purchase football shirts. I am happy to say that all youth are accounted for!!! You can imagine that we do a lot of counting during our days.
Paul Dueck from Leamington is the organizer for the music during worship and I am listening to him play his harp. I have to say that your youth have become our beloved youth. As leaders we are constantly amazed at the various friendships that are forming and daily thank you as parents for entrusting your youth to us. Tomorrow is the final day of conference and it seems that we all have mixed emotions about this. We are sad to be leaving and to say goodbye to the friends that we have met but we are all very excited for the next part of our trip. Lots of love to everyone - Ruth-Ann
Seminars - Overall good. But mostly boring. It is almost like humans talking a lullaby and putting you to sleep. Some of them have been good though but some are less then desirable. Dimitry
Conference - I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. Recently six of our youth represented Canada beautifully in an interesting game of soccer. We were destroyed - our hopes and dreams of professional soccer were shattered. It was a beautiful representation of Canadian soccer. Adrian
Freezing in worship - It is very cold during worship. The building is not heated and therefore we have all bought a bunch of blankets to use to keep us warm.
Worship time - Right now we are holding seats in worship. We need to arrive at 4:30 p.m. for our 5:30 p.m. worship time and save 44 seats for our group. As we write this the band is warming up in the background with some great music and the worship area is starting to get full. For each worship time we need to take everyone's name tag and then go outside of the worship space to get our translation devices as the platform language for worship is Spanish. This is quite a feat to get 44 headsets - they know us by now!!
Casey is having a fun time and says Hi to everyone back at home.
Yesterday Rob and I went to the market with 10 youth. The market was very busy and took up 20 blocks - people were selling fruit, vegetables and anything else you can imagine. After about 20 minutes the guide told us that we could spend another 25 minutes shopping by yourselves. Our youth thought this meant that they could just walk in different directions leaving Rob and I in a bit of a panic. Clearly, our youth thought they were shopping at Fairview Mall in KW! Luckily we had security detail with our group and one of them realized that we could use some extra help. In the end he helped Dylan and Ben purchase football shirts. I am happy to say that all youth are accounted for!!! You can imagine that we do a lot of counting during our days.
Paul Dueck from Leamington is the organizer for the music during worship and I am listening to him play his harp. I have to say that your youth have become our beloved youth. As leaders we are constantly amazed at the various friendships that are forming and daily thank you as parents for entrusting your youth to us. Tomorrow is the final day of conference and it seems that we all have mixed emotions about this. We are sad to be leaving and to say goodbye to the friends that we have met but we are all very excited for the next part of our trip. Lots of love to everyone - Ruth-Ann
Sightseeing in Asuncion
This is the presidential palace in Asuncion. We all went on a group day tour on Monday to see the main attractions. Some youth have also chosen to go on MWC day tours - during which they see the exact same things again, and get another chance to go shopping at a downtown market.
Conference grounds
The conference is being held at massive new church in Asuncion called Centro Familiar de Adoracion (CFA). And it is NEW. As in it's not done yet. Several of the upper floors are incomplete. There are signs of paused construction everywhere: cement mixers, ladders and lots of caution tape. Apparently the sidewalk, grass and planters were installed less than 48 hours before conference began. The worship space seats 10,000 with plans to expand to 20,000. Oh, and the only type of chair in the entire building are rented plastic lawn chairs.
We eat in the top floor of the parking garage underneath the building.
Worship in the top balcony
Yesterday we all went to worship in the morning in the top balcony (closer to God?). Some youth prepared for worship with a deep tissue massage.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Hi it´s Anne here but really it will be Emma typing for us today as blogger extraordinaire - pressures on Emma!
Except for this which Emma will not say but you parents want to know - most everyone is well - the cold/hot changes in temperature have given us a couple of girls (Rebecca and Sara) with cold viruses/strep but they are both on medication and were well cared for at the MWC site clinic. Clara had a sore tummy last night but is doing fine today -
turning it over to you Emma from blogger desk on the left as we sit at the 8 yes only 8 computers in the internetparking garage!
Hello blog followers!
I thought I´d give you all a typical day in the life of C2Gers at world conference!
6:00 am. early morning wake up call. no one responds.
6:15 leaders try again. some responses, very groggy.
6:30 frantic shower/washroom dash, last ones remain smelly for another day
6:45 anyone going to wake up the boys?
7:00 anne bangs on door
7:02 all boys awake except Dimitri
7:10 try Dimitri again
7:15 again-we are fairly sure he is awake by now
7:28 Everyone in dining room but where is Dimitri? Dylan is sent to do the duty again
7:31 Yea! Dimitri! and Yea! 606 in 4 part harmony!
7:32 Surprise! mini hot dog buns and mysterios caramel spread with warm coffee milk ish substance - but our hosts are very nice and friendly in the morning and help us with anything, even in our early morning groggy spanish attempts. we are very thankful!
8:00 small group alphabet countdown and on to busses. Passport - check! Money belt-check! Name tag-3 people run back into rooms.
8:05 busses leave for conference.
8:06-8:40 terrifying bus ride to conference, past many local attractions including military air force training base, misc. fountains, south american football(soccer) museum, complete with soccer ball fountain, fair rides, and bus wheelies. EEKS!
9:30 youth or adult worship mad dash for best seats in the house! (or the field.....) Worship has been mostly great, but listening to translations requires a lot of brain power, and dialouge is geared often to adult in the main worship.
11:45 lunch!
11:55 run to cantina for helado! (ice cream..yum!) yes, lunch is scarfed in less than 10 min.
1:30-5 workshops or tours or naps upstairs
5:30-7:30 evening worship, including more translation head set mayhem for leaders and more relaxing and patience practicing for us youth!
7:30 headset return mayhem for leaders, and then braving the supper line
8:00 supper is done no matter where you are in the line, run to bus
8:30 still waiting for bus to leave. maybe tonight we will actually eat supper??
8:45 bus leaves.
9:30-11 general romping and games at our lovely home, rancho kokonto
11 1st bed time call attempt
11:06 most girls fast asleep.
11:30 boys room getting a late night leader visit-are us girls missing out??
12 everyone asleep until 6 the next days...
15 min. time limit over-quickly back to you Anne
great reporting Emma
until next time
buenos dias from all the c2gers at MWC
we are being stretched so much and it is so good
int the words of Fiona and Jeff - even the not great stuff is great because of all we are learning so we give thanks to God
Except for this which Emma will not say but you parents want to know - most everyone is well - the cold/hot changes in temperature have given us a couple of girls (Rebecca and Sara) with cold viruses/strep but they are both on medication and were well cared for at the MWC site clinic. Clara had a sore tummy last night but is doing fine today -
turning it over to you Emma from blogger desk on the left as we sit at the 8 yes only 8 computers in the internetparking garage!
Hello blog followers!
I thought I´d give you all a typical day in the life of C2Gers at world conference!
6:00 am. early morning wake up call. no one responds.
6:15 leaders try again. some responses, very groggy.
6:30 frantic shower/washroom dash, last ones remain smelly for another day
6:45 anyone going to wake up the boys?
7:00 anne bangs on door
7:02 all boys awake except Dimitri
7:10 try Dimitri again
7:15 again-we are fairly sure he is awake by now
7:28 Everyone in dining room but where is Dimitri? Dylan is sent to do the duty again
7:31 Yea! Dimitri! and Yea! 606 in 4 part harmony!
7:32 Surprise! mini hot dog buns and mysterios caramel spread with warm coffee milk ish substance - but our hosts are very nice and friendly in the morning and help us with anything, even in our early morning groggy spanish attempts. we are very thankful!
8:00 small group alphabet countdown and on to busses. Passport - check! Money belt-check! Name tag-3 people run back into rooms.
8:05 busses leave for conference.
8:06-8:40 terrifying bus ride to conference, past many local attractions including military air force training base, misc. fountains, south american football(soccer) museum, complete with soccer ball fountain, fair rides, and bus wheelies. EEKS!
9:30 youth or adult worship mad dash for best seats in the house! (or the field.....) Worship has been mostly great, but listening to translations requires a lot of brain power, and dialouge is geared often to adult in the main worship.
11:45 lunch!
11:55 run to cantina for helado! (ice cream..yum!) yes, lunch is scarfed in less than 10 min.
1:30-5 workshops or tours or naps upstairs
5:30-7:30 evening worship, including more translation head set mayhem for leaders and more relaxing and patience practicing for us youth!
7:30 headset return mayhem for leaders, and then braving the supper line
8:00 supper is done no matter where you are in the line, run to bus
8:30 still waiting for bus to leave. maybe tonight we will actually eat supper??
8:45 bus leaves.
9:30-11 general romping and games at our lovely home, rancho kokonto
11 1st bed time call attempt
11:06 most girls fast asleep.
11:30 boys room getting a late night leader visit-are us girls missing out??
12 everyone asleep until 6 the next days...
15 min. time limit over-quickly back to you Anne
great reporting Emma
until next time
buenos dias from all the c2gers at MWC
we are being stretched so much and it is so good
int the words of Fiona and Jeff - even the not great stuff is great because of all we are learning so we give thanks to God
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Day 3 at Conference
Another full day at conference today. This morning the power went out in the middle of worship. At first everyone was confused, then we all cheered, then everyone started taking flash pictures in the dark. The song leaders got up in the flashes of light and led us in some impromptu signing. Three songs later the power was back up.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Waiting for worship to begin a wonderful sea of MCEC red t-shirts.
After worship we had 25 mins to get rid of our translation headsets, down to parking lot for dinner and run a full block to our buses! Try that amidst a group of over 5ooo worshippers also very hungry!
Our Rancho is farthest out of town so we have to be on the buses first.
hola everyone
day 2 at Mennonite World Conference. Everyone is well (or at least mostly well : ) ). Taking in worship both intergenerational and a lively youth worship this morning which included pre-worship games in a big open field outside the large worship center.
Our stay at Rancho Kokonto provides us with a fun adventure as we travel by very speedy buses to and from the conference. Last night bus number 2 popped a wheelie!!! It took 45 mins to get into the city (our rancho is 20kms outside the city) but only 23 to return home - needless to say there will be stories to tell about bus travel.
ruth-ann and I are sitting here dropping you all a line while youth sleep, attend worship, visit the global village, find the snack booth and money exchange location, enjoy some sweet buns for snack time, make new friends, and I think some have told me that they have already found the internet cafe in the basement and have finally emailed home.
On Monday we had a chance to visit a local market down town. It was really cool - said many youth.
Parents you'll be very excited to hear that your youth have now done their first round of laundry - again another adventure as improvised clotheslines were rigged and youth developed a new appreciation for the amount of laundry done on their behalf at home.
We as leaders are really appreciating the attitude and spirit of our youth. We are blessed by their laughter and their insights into all they are experiencing. As you can imagine friendships are both solidifying and new ones growing daily.
We would not mind a large salad at this point and some fibre but perhaps a little less bread and bananas. Although even with the food adjustment we have to say how gracious and generous our hosts are everywhere we go.
It is fun trying out our very little Spanish and we learn new words minute by minute.
Things we're thankful for today - Rob the handyman leader, Maddy-Anne's personal PDA (personal data assistant in all things Spanish), much group laughter as we adjust to life in community, new games, that parents far from us have entrusted the care of their very precious young people to us, and from my perspective the best leadership team any coordinator could pray or dream of.
Heading off to afternoon worship but leaving you with the words of Joel - "I really miss my family, but not enough to let it get in the way of me having fun." Everyone agrees that this is a wonderfully accurate summary of how we all feel youth and leaders alike.
Miss all family and friends
so very grateful for all we are experiencing together.
day 2 at Mennonite World Conference. Everyone is well (or at least mostly well : ) ). Taking in worship both intergenerational and a lively youth worship this morning which included pre-worship games in a big open field outside the large worship center.
Our stay at Rancho Kokonto provides us with a fun adventure as we travel by very speedy buses to and from the conference. Last night bus number 2 popped a wheelie!!! It took 45 mins to get into the city (our rancho is 20kms outside the city) but only 23 to return home - needless to say there will be stories to tell about bus travel.
ruth-ann and I are sitting here dropping you all a line while youth sleep, attend worship, visit the global village, find the snack booth and money exchange location, enjoy some sweet buns for snack time, make new friends, and I think some have told me that they have already found the internet cafe in the basement and have finally emailed home.
On Monday we had a chance to visit a local market down town. It was really cool - said many youth.
Parents you'll be very excited to hear that your youth have now done their first round of laundry - again another adventure as improvised clotheslines were rigged and youth developed a new appreciation for the amount of laundry done on their behalf at home.
We as leaders are really appreciating the attitude and spirit of our youth. We are blessed by their laughter and their insights into all they are experiencing. As you can imagine friendships are both solidifying and new ones growing daily.
We would not mind a large salad at this point and some fibre but perhaps a little less bread and bananas. Although even with the food adjustment we have to say how gracious and generous our hosts are everywhere we go.
It is fun trying out our very little Spanish and we learn new words minute by minute.
Things we're thankful for today - Rob the handyman leader, Maddy-Anne's personal PDA (personal data assistant in all things Spanish), much group laughter as we adjust to life in community, new games, that parents far from us have entrusted the care of their very precious young people to us, and from my perspective the best leadership team any coordinator could pray or dream of.
Heading off to afternoon worship but leaving you with the words of Joel - "I really miss my family, but not enough to let it get in the way of me having fun." Everyone agrees that this is a wonderfully accurate summary of how we all feel youth and leaders alike.
Miss all family and friends
so very grateful for all we are experiencing together.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
KM 81
We arrived at KM81 on Thursday night. As expected we did not have access to the internet there. We spent two days doing tasks such as painting, cleaning and husking corn.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Passing the time...
This is our little corner of the Buenos Aires airport for 3 hours while we wait for our next flight.
Hi everyone - well Tobin, Meghan and I are sitting in the internet cafe in Buenos Aires waiting for our final leg of the journey to Asuncion, Paraguay.
First flight a little too turbulent at times for some of us but it was not long.\Flight #2 overnight was much better although we left late and arrived here 1/2 hour later than expected.Most of us have not had much sleep but everyone is in good spirits and enjoying down time as our first two transitions took a lot of time going through security etc.
While I am typing Tobin and Meghan are trying to download a couple of shots.
Arriving in Buenos Aireswas an interesting experience as we were unloaded on the tarmac and had to put face masks on and go through a screening with a camera that took our body temperature. we all passed but we have some funny pictures of everyone with their face masks on!!
One youth had some stomach sickness on our longer flight but is doing much better so not to worry moms and dads the kids are all ok!
Nothing or no one lost yet, we are seeing youth begin to build friendship connects as we travel. One of the bonuses of shared experiences.
We are grateful to God for all so far and as leaders are really enjoying getting to know youth, and each other more!
You would be surprised the things we are learning about each other
there is a good chance we will not be back online until Monday or Tuesday
First flight a little too turbulent at times for some of us but it was not long.\Flight #2 overnight was much better although we left late and arrived here 1/2 hour later than expected.Most of us have not had much sleep but everyone is in good spirits and enjoying down time as our first two transitions took a lot of time going through security etc.
While I am typing Tobin and Meghan are trying to download a couple of shots.
Arriving in Buenos Aireswas an interesting experience as we were unloaded on the tarmac and had to put face masks on and go through a screening with a camera that took our body temperature. we all passed but we have some funny pictures of everyone with their face masks on!!
One youth had some stomach sickness on our longer flight but is doing much better so not to worry moms and dads the kids are all ok!
Nothing or no one lost yet, we are seeing youth begin to build friendship connects as we travel. One of the bonuses of shared experiences.
We are grateful to God for all so far and as leaders are really enjoying getting to know youth, and each other more!
You would be surprised the things we are learning about each other
there is a good chance we will not be back online until Monday or Tuesday
Monday, July 6, 2009
Group Photo
Less than 48 hours to go... I can taste the reheated airline food already!
This is a picture of us at our last group meeting in June.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
well folks we are 3 short days away from flight time.
As I type many are already on their way to Paraguay.
Lodging is still being finalized for one of our nights, and our passports are sitting on my dining room table along with other important info.
Many are praying for safe travels for us as we journey together.
We are grateful for the support received from family, congregations, friends and Mennonite Church Eastern Canada.
Can only imagine at this moment some of the stories we will share throughout our travels
As I type many are already on their way to Paraguay.
Lodging is still being finalized for one of our nights, and our passports are sitting on my dining room table along with other important info.
Many are praying for safe travels for us as we journey together.
We are grateful for the support received from family, congregations, friends and Mennonite Church Eastern Canada.
Can only imagine at this moment some of the stories we will share throughout our travels
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