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Scorpion under my pillow

That is a rather unusual sounding exclamation, but it is exactly what happened to one of our workers here in YWAM Puerto Madryn. Actually, finding a scorpion at all is rather uncommon here, so when he found one underneath his pillow we were all quite concerned. However, in my four years of living here this was the first scorpion that I had ever seen, either inside or outside of the base.

The scorpion we found

Por Juan-Pablo however, was not so convinced. While he had been sleeping, he pushed a hand underneath his pillow. Suddenly something moved, causing him to withdraw his hand quickly. Thinking it was something unusual (for this area) such as a cockroach, he raised up his pillow to brush it away. It was only then that he realised the danger that had been awaiting him. A scorpion (see photos) was hidden underneath.

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Farewell to Palma Real

Today we said goodbye to a team of four workers from our YWAM base. They are heading into the jungle in the south of Peru for six months, to relieve a missionary couple there who have not had a rest for over five years. Our team will also be working towards starting new ministries and other activities.

The Palma Real team (L to R - Vicky, Yolanda, Maricruz, Paul)

The village where they are going does not have electricity nor running water. Purchases of groceries has to be done every month by travelling in boat to the nearest large city/town, called Maldonado. Each month they will also be able to respond to and write emails to everybody. Outside of this singular monthly visit they are very isolated from the world.

Foods eaten in this area are quite different to what we would call “normal” foods. Things such as monkey, turtle, and grubs of all sorts are common here. Tropical fruits are also, naturally, very abundant. It is a challenge, but each member of the team, through prayer, is convinced that it is worth making the sacrifices to be able to help the people there, and to continue the work being done by the missionary couple.

These guys would love any support you are willing to provide them. Please advise me by the contact form for further details on how you may support them (prayer, giving, letters of encouragement, etc.).

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Pedro and Yanina’s Wedding

A couple from Puerto Madryn had become good friends of ours, and through us they became good friends of many in YWAM Puerto Madryn. As a result, when they decided to get married they wanted to get married here on our YWAM base. So we decorated everything and prepared it for the happy couple, and the ceremony took place outdoors on our base. Here are some of the many photos of their wedding, and the subsequent reception in a private room in the city:

The wedding ceremony

The wedding ceremony, complete with red carpet.

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Felling Trees

Over the years that we have been in Puerto Madryn, some of the trees have not been able to survive the harsh conditions. Not only is there little water, lots of wind, and harsh winters, but there are also a lot of nasty borer-type bugs that burrow into them and kill them off slowly. As a result there were a number of trees that were actually starting to become dangerous, so it was time to bring them down.

Pulling the trees down one by one

The first tree took out the power lines to our main building.

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Crash, Bang, Down and Out!

The boys in the morning, after the eventIt was almost 1.30am in the morning and I was still on my last processes of getting to bed and asleep when there was an almighty crash. At first I did not react to it as it was likely something falling out of a cupboard or something like that. The guys in my dorm, which sleeps 12 of us, are somewhat disorganised and these sorts of things often happen. But then I heard a faint call for help, “Rob, can you please turn on the light!”

It was time to investigate.

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Back to Base – Corrientes

The Corrientes YWAM base

It was a long-standing promise that I had made to my friends that one day I would return to my old original YWAM base in the north of Argentina. Even though it was my first contact with YWAM and a place where I still have many friends, Corrientes was not a place that I really wanted to return to. However my promise to return still remained, and I believe in keeping my word. So it was now a place that I needed to visit a some point in the near future. Little did I know that this visit would turn out much more pleasant than I first imagined.

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Getting Higher on Internet

To get internet out where we are, we needed to set up a wifi connection between us and town that allowed us to access a broadband internet connection there. This was first done with a 6m pole that we mounted at both ends of the connection. Although this worked well at first, the connection at our end was not working as well as it could, so it was time to make some changes.

LookingToTown.jpg

Looking down towards the city (shimmering glow in distance) from our YWAM Base, 6km out of town.

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