Countries – Page 15

January 10, 2007August 8, 2017

The Day the Truck Broke

It was amazing really. After travelling around the country for two weeks with Brodie (see his blog: Jellycan), the truck broke only once I got back home. By one day. Oh, and it is not my truck either – sorry Mike.

I had returned home and during our travels the engine had been missing and getting worse, so the next day I headed out to our neighbouring town of Trelew, about 60kms away, to get it fixed. The computer that Ford in Trelew had would tell us exactly what was causing the problems… but I never got there.

This is the truck that just broke.

While driving on the main highway there briefly came a noise for a couple of seconds that then disappeared. It sounded more like the wind than the gearbox, until it returned again only seconds before a bang. At that point a puff of smoke came out from around the gearstick and smelt distinctly like powdered metal. The motor suddenly revved freely. 5th gear was gone.

With 5th gear gone, I tried changing to 4th and discovered that it still worked. Now because I heard no other bad sounds, I figured that the box was still ok and I had all the other gears. It was likely that only a part of 5th had broken and was now sitting out of harms way on the bottom of the gearbox. I was half-way and decided to continue, partly because turning on this busy route was not a good option and partly because the damage seemed less than I was soon to discover.

On reaching the service stations outside Trelew, I slowed down and shifted into 3rd gear but there was nothing. A freaky feeling hit me at that point. I tried 2nd, nothing. 1st, nothing either. There were no gears at all other than 4th. By this stage I was going slow, and realised that if I stopped I may end up stranded completely.

Not knowing the town in which I was in nor any workshops where I could take the car, I prayed about returning to my home town, now 60kms away. After prayer I felt sure that it would be safe to proceed, so at 80km/h I nursed the vehicle back to Puerto Madryn. There were no unusual sounds, no strange smells or other problems, and I arrived safely.

The next problem was where to go. To take the truck back to where I am living would not have helped to repair it, so I took it to the only place I knew of – the Ford dealership. This is the most expensive place in town. They gave me quotes of from $6,000 to $8,000 pesos and a minimum of three weeks to do the work. It was looking pretty bad.

Today however, I moved the truck to another workshop where Raul will start work tomorrow. They have quoted somewhere around $4,000 to $5,000 pesos depending on what they find when they open up the gearbox. So by this time tomorrow we should know just how severe the damage is. Currently we are thinking that maybe one of the main gears has disintegrated and the rest of the box is fine…

…but until we look inside, nobody really knows.

December 27, 2006

Vacation Time

At 2pm we loaded the truck and climbed in. Final goodbyes and we were off, the adventures had begun. The long straight roads through the Patagonian desert with views of unending plains of tiny thorn bushes provided little to break the monotony of our eight hour journey to Maca’s farm in Neuquen. It was here that I was catching up with Brodie and where we would be spending Christmas.

Christmas Eve
Carol was still back in Puerto Madryn, a decision that we had made together beforehand. This would be the first time that she and I would spend so much time apart, but with a lifetime together ahead of us it did not seem such a difficult decision at the time. Now, during Christmas celebrations with Maca’s family, it seemed a lot harder.

A complete goat was cooked up on the Asado (BBQ) and then devoured on Christmas Eve between us and the two families present. A small dish of lettuce and tomato accompanied our meat meal. At the arrival of midnight we toasted our glasses to Christmas and gave everyone a big hug, wishing them a happy day and God’s blessings. Then came the part we were all waiting for.

Fireworks
During the afternoon we had driven around town, buying up bunches of fireworks in preparation for this very moment. Now we were ready to see the results of our choices. With lighters in hand we grabbed our bags of pyrotechnics and moved away from the house, pulling out the smaller ones first. They were of all sizes and although we had no idea what they did, we were pretty convinced that the more they cost the better would be their display. So the expensive ones we left for last.

For the next forty minutes the skies were lit with dancing, exploding, and multi-coloured lights. On the ground there were three of us running in and out of the danger zones to set up the next rocket or bomb or whatever happened to come to hand at the time. Loud bangs and clouds of smoke surrounded us. Some of the dogs had scurried as had some of their owners, but mostly we had a crowd of very happy onlookers. And we were right – the bigger and more expensive fireworks let off the best displays ever.

Christmas
Christmas day dawned for us at sometime around midday, awaking to the smell of lamb being cooked on the asado. It too was complete, and provided us with far too much meat to finish even between the two families and us. The salad this time had been reduced to only lettuce, as there were no more tomatoes available. A lazy day out by the lake, throwing myself into its freezing cold waters and then warming my icy body in the rays of the sun filled the afternoon. The remaining hours of daylight (until around 9pm) spent in the plaza of the nearby local town. Dinner was all of the meat left over from the previous two asados. No salad was left by now.

On Tuesday morning we farewelled Maca, loaded up the truck, and headed west. It was just Brodie and me now, and we were looking for adventure.

December 17, 2006

When Sunday Became Monday

Something went wrong in my head today.

I rose at 8.30am with my alarm, dressed and drove to town to pick up my mail. Arriving, I discovered that the post office was shut – and everything else too. I was confused, so I checked my watch. It said 9am. I then wandered over to the post office door and checked their hours. The sign told me that they open from 8.30am. “Could it be that they are late today?”, I wondered, “But where are all of the people waiting outside?”

Still confused, I checked my watch again. One time recently it showed the wrong time, so maybe it had done it again and I was here are some unearthly hour of the morning such as 6am, thinking that it was really 9am. I grabbed my mobile phone and checked the time on that. It agreed with my watch. That made things really strange, because it received the time from the network and was never wrong.

Then slowly it dawned on me. This was not Monday at all. It was Sunday. My day to sleep in, and here I am, still half-asleep, the day after our big drive from Buenos Aires, totally confused about which day it was. Sunday had become Monday… just for a moment.

Doh!

December 16, 2006

A 17 Hour Drive to Puerto Madryn

After our final week in Buenos Aires, we packed up our truck, piled in and trundled off towards home. It was 6.30am when we finally hit the road, and after many bumps, trucks, turns, and tolls along the way, we finally rolled into our home in Puerto Madryn at 11.30pm. Seventeen hours of journey along the road, although not all of it was driving.

Yenny and Maca on the wall at the beach of Las Grutas.

Breakfast
It was sometime around 8.30am that we rolled into a small town looking for breakfast. Nothing moved fast in this town, not even the traffic lights. Bicycles meanded at a tottering pace in front of us in the middle of the road, people scuffled slowly across the road blissfully unaware of all approaching traffic. Even the bicycles stopped and waited patiently at the traffic lights, with not another vehicle in sight. It was as though time did not exist. Needless to say, that our breakfast was very relaxing once we adjusted to the fact that it was going to take a long time to be served.

Our road-trip crew. (L to R: Me, Carol, Maca, and Yenny).

Lunch
We ate lunch at a big service station at sometime around 3pm when we needed to refuel. Before this nobody felt very hungry. As usual, each meal was accompanied by a large cup of coffee, just the juice to keep me going. The only driver, I had been exhausted all week, so grabbed an early night last night to try and recover for today. It worked well, but the coffee was also helping to ensure that I remained alert for the entire journey. That too was working well.

So after some coffee, a meal, and various chocolates which of course were purely to help the coffee in its effects, we refuelled and hit the road once again. Each tank of fuel costs us $120 pesos and takes us about 400 kms. Not a great economy, but where we live the cost is subsidised by the petroleum companies in our state and costs us considerably less.

Carol standing on the cliff watching the fishermen.

Las Grutas
In planning the journey, we had thought about stopping at various places for the night and enjoying the local beaches. That was until we discovered that the local beaches did not exist where we had friends who could host us for the night. So instead we planned to stop in Viedma and enjoy the beaches nearby, but once again a missed turn along the route meant that we were a long way from Viedma, and the sun was starting to quickly run out.

Finally at the beach at Las Grutas.

Looking at the map once again, we saw that the next beach that we would pass by was at a place called Las Grutas. This is very close to Puerto Madryn (about 2hrs) but is also a very popular place. Having never visited here, and hoping that the late setting southern sun would hold out long enough, we pointed our noses towards Las Grutas with the hope that we would arrive in time to see something. We did.

We arrived just as the sun was setting. So heading to the beach, we sat down in a small kiosk and enjoyed icecreams and watched the beautiful views of the setting sun. It was a perfect way to end the daylight hours.

Our vantage point to watch the final moments of the sun.

Arriving Home
Finally, with the sun set but still with a lot of twilight, we headed home. Another two hours on the road and one state crossing and we are entering into Puerto Madryn. Over the city are fireworks which we can see from our vantage point as we descend from the plains of the highway to the coastal township we call home.

It was 11.30pm exactly when we finally made it through the doors, and although my three companions for the journey had been able to sleep along the way, I was exhausted. Bed had never felt so great. Even better though, was that here there are hardly any mosquitoes, no humidity, and no heat. Sleep came very easily indeed.

Sunset over the beach of Las Grutas.

December 15, 2006

Wedge and Shirley Alman

Our second week in Buenos Aires was a week of teaching by the two people who founded YWAM in Latin America. Wedge and Shirley Alman are a couple who came to Latin America and told them that they could be involved in missions during a time when all of the traditional mission agencies were saying that they never would be.

At almost 80 years of age, this couple had many stories to share with us, but the most important thing that they shared was something called the Open View of God. More information on this can be found in the book by Gregory A. Boyd called “God of the Possible.” This challenges the traditional view of many churches that God controls all evil and uses it for His purposes.

The week was run as is any other normal week on a YWAM base, with our students involved in the daily running and maintenance of the grounds, cooking of meals and the rest. The weather was very hot and muggy with gadzillions of mosquitoes out to suck our blood at night. Sleeping was very difficult during this week especially.

During the week I had the privilege of driving down the largest avenue in the world, the Avenida 9 de Julio in the middle of Buenos Aires, where the Obelisk is located. The best part of this however was the motorway interchange that brought me down onto this avenue. The motorway is elevated from the ground and the interchange brought us commanding views over the entire city and avenue. It was worth returning for a second view. Of course the heavy traffic that is typical of such a mega-city was ever present during our time there too.

Overall the week was great, and we were thankful to have remained for this extra time in Buenos Aires, even though it meant we were away from our home in Puerto Madryn for one month.

December 7, 2006

International YWAM Conference

After two weeks in Colombia, we are now back in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This week there is a conference involving all of the YWAM bases in what they call the “Southern Cone” which includes the countries of Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and of course, Argentina. Staff and students who were able to travel the distance are now gathered here in the muggy warmth of a Buenos Aires summer day.

Looking down the crowd to the stage from the back of the tent.

Under the large temporary tent, we squeeze in the 600 or so attendents as we all listen to speakers, musicians, artists, and others throughout the day. Everything is translated into both Spanish, and English, as many are here who can only speak English.

One of the only things that was not translated was the worship times.

One of the highlights of the week is when Wedge Alman spoke. He was the man who brought YWAM down to the Americas in the 1970’s. Before this there was no YWAM bases anywhere south of the United States. An older man these days, he still has the fire of life in his eyes and this can be felt in every one of his messages too.

Wedge Alman (on the right) with Steve Bishop (left) translating him into English.

November 26, 2006

Colombia – First Impressions

A welcome sign and committee was present for us when we arrived.

It is now one week since I arrived in Colombia, and although it still maintains the feel of South America, it is very similar to Australia in many ways. The traffic however is not.

The Traffic
Many have mentioned the reckless way that people drive in Buenos Aires, and having lived there for some time I can agree that they are reasonably reckless. Here in Bogota however, they are completely wild and there seems to be no order other than to squeeze into any available space during peak hour traffic. To tell the truth, I actually quite like it, as this is how I always wanted to drive. In Australia it produces extremely angry drivers, but here it is the norm and what most people do.

Stuck in yet another traffic jam amongst the foothills of Bogota.

The In-Laws
Alright, the real reason for me being here is to meet my future parents-in-law and to place before them the idea of marrying their daughter. In Latin America, there is a much stronger relationship between the father and daughter and sometimes letting go can be dramatic. Many people had told me stories of father-in-laws that tried all they could to stop the wedding from happening, so it was relieving when I finally arrived and discovered that God had already paved the way.

(L to R) Carol’s Dad, Carol, Jorge, Carol’s Mum, Me.

One of the wisest things that happened, was that Jorge my leader in YWAM Puerto Madryn, came with us for the first part of our stay. His presence and (good) opinions of me helped to greatly calm and assure Carol’s dad that I was a good guy after all. We spent some special moments full of tension as I broached the important topics of already being engaged to Carolina and then later on, about how and when we would be getting married.

With God forging the path, everything went very smoothly and I have been accepted now as part of the family. In addition, friends and family have offered to help us out with the wedding preparations, including all of the paperwork that I need as an Australian before I can marry a Colombian girl.

Together now with the approval of the family.

November 12, 2006

Enroute to Colombia

Yesterday I was in Puerto Madryn.
Today I am in Buenos Aires.
Tomorrow I will be in Colombia.

Two weeks in Colombia actually. To get to know Carol’s parents and family and to see a little of her country. Our flight stops in Peru and Ecuador on the way, so we get to see the main cities from the air.

Flying over Ecuador
Looking out as we fly over Ecuador

Dos semanas en Colombia de verdad. Para conocer los padres de Carolina y su familia y para conocer un poquito de su paÃs tambiÃ©n. Nuestro vuelo pararÃ¡ en PerÃº y Ecuador antes de llegar en Colombia entonces podemos ver estas ciudades del aire.

November 12, 2006

The Time Between

Well, it has been a while since I updated this blog. What has been happening since Corrientes?

Carolina
The first and most important thing that has been happening is that I have met a beautiful girl from Colombia. Carolina was a student on the outreach in Peru that I was leading and since returning from Corrientes we have started to spend a lot of time together. More news on that shortly.

Introducing Brodie to Carol via MSN Messenger

Building a House
That’s right, I have started to build a house. No plans, no permissions, simply find a corner and start digging the foundations. The only complication is that I have no idea how to build a house over here. The advice I have received so far is somewhat conflicting and I am still struggling with the basics of the foundations but there is progress happening.

Digging the foundation trenches for the one roomed home

Teaching in Trelew
A couple of weekends ago I was part of a team that went to our neighbouring city of Trelew (1 hour away) to work and teach in a church there. We worked solidly for two days with the children and youth, also teaching adults in the evening services. Many of the children were impacted by the stories that we told them about our different nations (Latvia, Australia, Colombia and Argentina) and enjoyed our interactive teachings.

Translating Quickly
In YWAM we have a Discipleship Training School which is bilingual. There are two of us that translate the teachers, which normally is from Spanish into English. Most teachers pause while we are translating, which helps a lot, but some get so excited in what they are teaching that they completely forget. So in cases like this, we are both learning how to simultaneously translate so that the English students do not miss out on important parts of the message. It has been a challenge but also very enjoyable too.

So that is life down here in Patagonia Argentina. The weather is warming up now, and during the day we can normally take our coats off. Soon the beach will be filled with people as this sleepy town starts to bulge with tourists during the summer season.

November 4, 2006August 8, 2017

Engaged

That’s right. Last night after dating Carol for almost two months we are now engaged. A lovely girl from Colombia, I first met Carol in the team of students that I was leading in Peru, and by the end of our time there it was obvious to everybody that there was something happening between us. Shortly after our return to Argentina from Peru, we started dating.

Engagement flowers
Carol and me just after announcing our engagement with a bouquet of flowers from my brother John and Moira.

Brodie (my brother) also has mentioned something about this.