July 2 Today was our day at Iguazu Falls Park and it lived up our high expectations. We caught the 9:20 AM bus to the park, arriving about 10:00 AM. Before we left, Mark arranged a speedboat tour of the falls. Once we got to the park we had to pick up our tickets. We were told when we arranged the tour that kids 11 and under were not allowed on the tour, but we thought (like all rules in Argentina) it was more a suggestion than a rule. In a country where sto...

July 1 Today was a day of transition for the group. We originally planned to leave Obera at 8:00 AM, but did not get off until about 9:30. One of the reasons we were late getting off was because we walked over to the original Olaus Petri church and the school they run (I have been misspelling Olaus Petri this whole trip... sorry about that). Our journey to the last stop of our adventure, Puerta Iguazu on the northern border of Argentina, took about 3 and a ha...

June 30 We had a free morning so we all slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, and walked to the Jardin de Los Pajaros (garden of the birds). It had birds and flora from all over Argentina (and other parts of the world). It was finally sunny today, so the walk in the park was quite pleasant. It was a bit cool today, as well. With the smell of wood burning stoves in the air, it reminded me of a beautiful fall day in Minnesota. After the bird garden we walked b...

Today was spent getting to know the congregation of Oleus Petri Lutheran Congregation in Obera. We went to a service at their borrowed church, where I gave a short Bible reading and Amy helped with communion. Ellie and Luke went with the other kids to their Sunday school. After the service we stuck around and talked with some of their parishioners. About 4 years they were kicked out of their church after the church council (who ran things like a dictatorship)...

Today we visited the area around Obera. The province Obera is in is called Misiones. It named for the many Jesuit missions that were built in the 17th century. The Jesuits built the missions for the native Guarani people. While the goal was to convert the Guarani to Christianity, the Jesuits did it in a respectful and peaceful manner. The missions were run as an almost utopia where the Guarani would have shelter, protection from slavers, learn trades, and ge...