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...

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 we 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 A...

A quick update as we about to head off to the bus station for the overnight trip to Obera. We spent the morning touring the Teatro Colon. The Teatro is one of the finest opera houses in the world and a source of pride for the country. We had a great tour in English and were all impressed the building. After the tour we found a place to eat and watched USA soccer lose but advance in the World Cup (yeah!). We ended our time in Buenos Aires back at the Casa Ros...

Another late start after a late night last night. This time it worked in our favor as the rest of our group arrived while we were eating breakfast. We are traveling with 5 other people from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. The group that arrived today consisted of one of our pastors, her husband and her sons (Beth, Mark, Nathan, Jacob), and another member of the congregation (Toni). Mark is also the director of Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry. ...