Zip-Lining!

On Friday, I went to a town called Piriapolis. We went there because some friends told us about this park that has a huge zip lining course that's actually the longest in South America. We got to piriapolis, which is a really pretty beach town, at 11:30. We went to the tourism office and were told that the place was only about 10 blocks away, or at least thats what we thought. We walked about 2 km and then stopped for lunch then walked about another one until we were able to find a lady that told us we were about 3 km from the place we were looking for. We hadn't seen any taxis or buses so we decided to keep walking. We finally got to the mountain the zip line was on, but then found out that it was on the other side of the mountain. We were so tired of walking, so we decided to call a taxi. We finally found the place at 4 p.m. and then went zip lining. It was really fun and we drove up there with the workers in the back of a jeep which was also really fun. The zip line was about 800 meters long and I was going so fast that my eyes were watering by the time I finished. It was really fun, and the view was amazing! We got a ride back into town and took the bus home. It was an incredible trip, and the thing I like most about going on trips like these is bonding with the friends that I go with. It's kind of like we're a team, and there's few things I like more than the camaraderie that a team brings. We had to work together and go through all of that ridiculousness together, and it definitely brought us closer together.

The Orphanage

Today I was able to go serve at an orphanage in town. It was absolutely incredible and I loved every minute of it! As soon as we got there all of the kids came running up to us, ready to play. I was one of only two guys who went to the orphanage, so naturally all the little boys ran at me to rough house. It was so fun playing with them, and trying to stand up as five of them were grabbing at my legs trying to pull me down. Then I started picking them up and carrying them around, which was a bad idea because then they all kept asking me for piggyback rides and I was dead tired after like the first 15 minutes there. So I decided that we should start playing soccer because that involves a lot less physical effort from me compared to the other games we had played so far. I also got to go to the nursery and hold and feed some of the infants. Overall, the day was absolutely amazing and it was such a blessing to get to play with all these little kids. While I was there, I started to think about how fun and good the trip had been, but I also realized that I get to go back to my nice, blessed life, but these kids don't have parents and they have a rough future ahead of them. This thought broke my heart, and while I realize there's not a whole lot that I can do for them right now besides loving on them for a few hours, I know that doing just that at least makes some difference. As I was with them, I was talking with God in my head about all this, and what I got from Him was almost like the love we were giving them was a deposit. It will help them grow up knowing that they are worth loving and worth caring for even if their parents aren't around. I hope and pray that each one of these kids can be raised well, but statistics show that's probably not what is going to happen. I feel called to these kids and orphans in general, and I've began to pray that God will give me wisdom on how best to help them in the future.

This verse has come to mind a lot as I've been thinking through all of this: James 1:27- 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.

Iguazu Falls

Here they are. These waterfalls were just amazing and even pictures cant really capture the glory of God that was just so abundant and evident in my time at the falls.

Iguazu Falls

This week, I'm travelling in Brazil and one of the things I have gotten to see is the Iguazu Falls. Its a huge network of waterfalls that spans 1.7 miles wide. It's absolutely breathtaking! When I get a chance I will put up a picture. Another interesting things is that we got to visit a Guarani village, which is an indigenous people that have been living above the falls since before the settlers arrived in Spain. This whole trip has been incredible!

Spring Break

So I just posted all of my spring break photos on facebook today and it reminded me that I've been slacking on updating my blog. About 3 weeks ago, 7 of my friends and I started an amazing adventure that I will never forget. We started out by going to Buenos Aires for the day. We found a starbucks there, and I had a Dulce de Leche Frappuccino. Dulce de Leche is like the chocolate of Uruguay and Argentina and I must say that this frappucino was the best one I've ever had and if they had it in the Starbucks in America, I would certainly be an addict. I guess I should be thankful they don't. From there, we took an overnight bus to Mendoza, Argentina. The bus was first class and it was probably the nicest ride I have ever been on. They had wifi on the bus, not to mention an incredible meal. Our first day in Mendoza, we went white water rafting on class 3 and 4 rapids. It was extremely fun and extremely hard work.

See what I mean.

After Mendoza, we took a bus to Santiago, through the Andes mountains. It was breathtaking. From Santiago, we went to Lo Valdes, which is a lodge in a secluded valley in the Andes. It was absolutely amazing and I am going to have to make it its own blog because it was just too good! Basically, for those four days we hiked, ate together, read, watched movies, and just relaxed. It was definitely the coolest thing I have ever done and I would love to go back there someday. We stayed in Santiago for a night before we went to the airport. The hostel we stayed in was one of the hostels you hear about that make you afraid to stay in a hostel. We're talking stains on the sheets, sketchy building, terrible breakfast, and even the top part of a bunk bed breaking. We were all extremely thankful that we only had to stay there one night! The next day we flew back to Montevideo. This trip was absolutely incredible and I really can't say enough about what a good time I had.

Futbol, the playing kind, not the watching

Last week I signed up for the YMCA here, but its actually called the ACJ (Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes). It has everything! The building is like 6 stories tall, and it has a huge variety of things to do and classes to take, but let's be honest here...I signed up for one reason one reason only, and that is soccer. I came to the decision that it would just be stupid to come all the way down to Uruguay, the country that one the first ever World Cup and is bordered by Brazil and Argentina, the countries that produced the two greatest soccer players of the previous generation, and then not play soccer. So I coughed up the money and joined, but then I was so bogged down with homework and other things last week that I never actually made it to the ACJ (story of my life). Anyways, this last week I was able to make it. It was a little nerve-racking since the building is huge and everyone there speaks spanish and I didn't know anyone there. I had to ask someone where the gym was that they play soccer in, and once I finally found it my nerves didn't stop there. We lined up on a wall and there were 4 captains that picked teams. I got picked and still nobody really talked to each other. We started playing and I suddenly realized that I haven't played soccer on a wooden floor in forever, and that everyone I'm playing with is really good! My nerves persisted for most of the night due to the captain of my team who was really competitive and had a bit of a temper. After about 45 minutes, he got really upset and kicked a ball into the stands and they asked him to leave. After this, I was able to settle down and do better. I ended up scoring two goals and having a good time, but I'd still like to be a lot better...like A LOT better but we'll see what happens. Right now, I'm just content with getting to play the sport I love.

Cumpleaños Feliz Carlos!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm pretty proud of myself because this is the third blog I've posted today, which is about 3 more than I've posted in the last month.(I know, I've been slacking) Yesterday we celebrated Carlos' birthday (if you don't remember or haven't heard about him, I wrote a previous blog about him). Abbey bought him a cake, and we invited him over so we could celebrate with him. He is still such an amazing reminder of so many different things in my life. Every time I see him, I think about the shirt he gave me, and his amazing love for the word of the Lord, as well as his tremendous heart for others. I was really encouraged because I was able to carry on a conversation with him, and while I didn't understand every word, I was able to understand enough to have a conversation. He was extremely surprised by the cake, and Abbey bought "magic" candles which kept relighting themselves and made us all laugh. It was just so nice to see the smile on Carlos' face and know that we were able to make his day special.