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...

Today we visited the area around Obera. The province Obera is in is called Misiones. It named for the many Jesuit missions the 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 get ...

We made it to Obera. After a 14 hour and 500 mile-ish bus ride we arrived in Obera about 9:30 AM. Thankfully the bus had fully reclining seats so we were all able to sleep. Once in Obera we met our hosts, Clovis and Mariela, the pastors at Oleus Petri Lutheran church here in Obera. They brought us to our hotel where we freshened up and had a conversation about what our 4 days would look like. They introduced us to Mate tea. Mate tea is the national drink of...