Two blogs in two days

I would like to introduce you to a drink called mate (pronounced "maw-tae")...it's this funny tea that everyone, and I mean E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E drinks around here. Let me explain...there is a small round cup and a long metal straw, as you can see in the picture. The mate tea goes in the cup, then hot water and sugar goes on top and you suck it through the straw. This drink is for sharing - the person with the mate drinks it, refills it from their handy thermos and passes it to the next person...this process can go on for hours, or until the hot water has run out. It's more of a social event than a simple cup of tea. You can see people almost anywhere with their cup and thermos...people working in stores have their mate behind the counter, people sitting on the subway sharing a cup, people in the park...and believe it or not I saw two police men sitting in a police car drinking...yes you guessed it...MATE!!!!





I often find myself in coffee shops these days, and I must say that getting a cup of coffee here is quite exciting. I had this cup today, all I ordered was "un solo cafe" it cost four pesos (a little over $1)...so the waiter guy brings: two cookies, water in a pitcher, a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, AND my coffee!...What and experience! and you get all this stuff everywhere you go!!!


P.S................................

My baby brother matthew turns the big ONE SIX on novermber 22...be sure to wish him a happy birthday! Love you matty!!!

Ashley

The Good Samaratin

Okay...this is lame, I havent posted a blog in almost a month!!! sorry...so much has happened and I never seem to get to a computer. Well I have a story...
So my leaders, Helen and Christian were walking home from our base one night when they ran into this man…He looked frightened and exhausted and he asked them for help…He told them how he had never been in the city before (buenos aires)…he had been working in the jungle for 3 months…12 hour days for only a few pesos…his employers decided to pay after six months or something….so this man had NO money.
He was travelling back home because he had just received news of his sons death, he had been bitten by a poisonous snake and didn’t make it…
Carlos, this bewildered man was trying to find his way through the city – he had never even seen a taxi before…he had no money and was not sure how he was going to get to his home in the country….All day he had been asking people for help, but the streets of Buenos Aires can be very cold.
Helen and Christian knew that they were to help Carlos….so they got a taxi and took him to the bus station and bought him a ticket, they also sent him some money and contact information (they couldn’t get his phone number because he doesn’t even have a phone)
A few weeks ago Carlos called again, he was once again in Buenos Aires, he had been in the hospital because of a heart attack, the stress from his sons death most likely caused it…..he had once again no money and no place to go…We as a school prayed about what we should do, we weren’t sure if this man was really in need of help or if he was now using the generosity of Helen and Christian to his advantage…in the end we decided to put together any money or clothes or things we felt we should give to Carlos and once again sent him on his way………This poor man seems to have one bad thing after another happen to him, if you could keep Carlos in your prayers that would be great.

Ashley