Puerto Madryn – Page 4

March 17, 2008

Back in Madryn – But Going Again

I guess it has been a while since writing something here. Life in missions seems to get really hectic at times. Even when I was travelling there seemed to be more time to write than now-a-days. At the end of every day, when I normally write something, I am exhausted and just want to sleep. Yet it is right at this moment that the people in whose house I am staying want to talk with me. So another hour or so of chatting and finally I collapse into bed, exhausted. The next day it starts all over again.

With each day like this, time for getting to the internet is limited and when I do get there, it is normally only enough to read my emails and answer just a few. The time available to write something more involved is just not there, and although a laptop would make things easier, I am yet to enjoy that luxury. So for now there will remain a 2 month gap. The events of Peru will have to remain written only in ink in my daily journal.

Now that I am back again in Puerto Madryn, there is more time to be able to write. However, in a couple of days I am on the move again. Bariloche is my destination, where a new YWAM base was opened one year ago. In Bariloche they are starting their first Discipleship Training School, which I will be helping in, and we will also be building a new room onto the house to help out with their need for more accomodation.

So here I am in Puerto Madryn, and three weeks later I’m off again. No wonder I love this life so much.

December 22, 2007

Stuck in the Bathroom

For the last two weeks I have been stuck in the bathroom and have hardly left. There from the morning until midnight most nights, and rarely a moment to eat. What has happened to me? Some exotic disease or a severe case of the runs? Nope. Building.

From virtually nothing we have made a bathroom in only a few weeks. Most of the time I have been working alone on the project, although at times Fabian and others have come along to help out. Their help has been invaluable. The following photos tell more of a story of the development of this new part of the Prayer House…

Preparing cement
Tues 11th: Gabriel and Juan Pablo prepare the concrete for the roof.

Getting it to the roof
Tues 11th: Helping get it up to the roof.

Fabian on the roof
Tues 11th: Fabian loads the roof with concrete over the foam bricks.

Tiling the shower
Tues 18th: Nothing beats matches as a gap measurer for tiling.

Fabian tiling the walls
Tues 18th: Fabian tiling the shower walls.

Wed 19th: Putting in the window. It is held there by cement.
Grouting the tiles
Thu 20th: Grouting the shower walls.

Lorena painting
Thu 20th: Lorena helps with painting the walls (yep, white walls).

Ernesto putting in the dividing wall
Thu 20th: Ernesto puts the dividing wall in between the shower and the bathroom.

There are more photos of how the whole thing looks as it is mostly finished… but I forgot to take them. Doh. They will come in another post later on as tomorrow I am heading towards Peru (also another post yet to come).

December 9, 2007

The Ships are a Comin’

Every summer our small-ish little town is inundated with cruise ships. These ships come from the north starting in Brazil and heading to Ushuaia and from the south starting in Chile and heading to Brazil. Every now and then there are international ships travelling around the world too. In every case the ships normally stay just for the day and our streets fill up with the thousands of tourists housed by those huge homes on water.

The streets of Madryn
The normally empty Sunday streets had people today.

Today was one of those days. We had an Argentine ship that came to port today.

The ship at berth will remain only for the day.

December 7, 2007

Break-fast

This week the students were encouraged to fast. After discussing it between themselves, a four day fast was decided upon. It was left to each individual as to just how they would fast, with yoghurt, milk, and fruit juices permitted should they so desire. Each day they were given the choice of breaking their fast, but nobody wanted to do so until their four days were up.

Praying to end the fast.

Today, their four days were up and it was time to break their fast. So at 5pm we had break-fast with the students. For many of them it was a significant time where God had spoken clearly into their lives, producing some deep changes in them.

Some staff also chose to fast during this time alongside the students. I did so for the first two days, but the heavy physical demands of building the bathroom required that I eat so the work could continue.

Allowed to eat again. Break-fast at 5pm.

November 27, 2007

A Busy and Dusty Road

Riding home from the city is fine during calm days and when there is not a lot of traffic. Being in such a dry desert zone, dust is a real problem, and the moment a car passes by on a dirt road, huge clouds of dust swirl up behind it. The end result of this is being covered in dust from head to toe… even to having dust stuck inside my ears. Not a very comfortable feeling.

Dusty roads
The road to the Quintas from Madryn.

So on days like this, the best thing to do is head for that tiny little trail that takes me away from this dusty road and gives me peace and quiet as I negotiate the remaining 3 kms to get back home.

November 2, 2007

Travelling again

Today I left Puerto Madryn on another journey. This time it was to Mendoza and then to Chile.

My bus to Mendoza. I sat just above the side door on this side.

This is the same route that I took just a little over two months ago when returning to Australia. This time however the snow was not a concern when crossing over the Andes mountains and aÂ three hour wait in Mendoza was all it took before I was on the bus to Chile.

Santiago mall in the middle of the city.

Arriving in Santiago early in the morning from my overnight bus, a strong black coffee is needed to get me through the day. There are a number of electronic errands that are only possible here in Chile. The little township of Puerto Madryn has none of these servicesÂ and Buenos Aires hasÂ exhorbitant prices that are truly unreasonable.

“Abrazos Gratis” = “Free Hugs”

During my wandering through the mall, I came across a couple of unusual types amongst the throngs of people. They were just standing there with big smiles on their faces holding large signs in the air that read “FREE HUGS.” Most people walked right on past, some smiling at the thought, others commenting on such an unusual sight. Every now and then somebody would come up to getÂ a hug, and the sign would be lowered for a moment. Each person that was hugged walked away with a big smile on their face. What a cool idea.

Road to YWAM Chile
Walking down the road to the YWAM Chile base.

At the end ofÂ the errands, a short bus trip took me to the YWAM base where I find Ricky and Rosy practicing for their wedding tomorrow. 36 hours of continuous travel, a day in the city withouth rest, and then suddenly I was roped in to help out with wedding preparations.

Wedding Preparations
Ruth and Louisa making candle stands. My job was finding the green stuff.

I didn’t mind. It was for this very reason that I had come.