Life on Sesame Street

The other week my friend and teammate, Matt, stopped by to help me with a home repair - my front door was scraping the floor whenever I opened and closed it which produced a horrid sound. The wire he brought for the job wasn't thick enough so he went to my friend Angela's plumbing supply store on the ground floor of my building to see if she might have something we could use. When he returned with the necessary item he commented to me, "You live on Sesame Street!"

And I have to admit that he's right! I DO feel like I live on Sesame Street! 

No, there's no Big Bird walking the streets nor an Oscar the Grouch hiding out in the trash can!  You won't find Elmo or Cookie Monster here, either (although my neighbors are starting to love the cookies and cakes I'm sharing with them).  :)

But after a year of living on Orinoco Street I'm starting to develop some really good friendships with my neighbors and it's starting to feel like home. 

The street is kind of the shopping street of the neighborhood. There are several bake shops, multiple restaurants and cafés, a grocery store, numerous hair salons, a fresh pasta shop, a laundromat, several hardware stores and a handful of other small shops scattered among homes and apartment buildings along a four block segment. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the ice cream shop!!  And Kadee's veterinary shop is just half a block from my apartment too!

The ambiance is delightful and it's the "happening place" on fair-weather-days. The fact that we're less than a block from the beach helps as well! 

When I moved into my apartment fourteen months ago, I knew I wanted to invest in building good relationships with my neighbors. And I marvel at how wonderful and life-giving that process has been!

• Dardo and Janelle and their dog, Olivia, live in the apartment next to mine. They've invited me into their home on several occasions and we chat several times a week as we see each other on the sidewalk.
• Angela runs the plumbing supply store on the ground floor of my building and she has become a dear friend. I stop in to say "Hi!" every day and we spend time together one evening of the week.
• José owns the electrical repair shop directly below my apartment and he and his employees greet me when our paths cross and I enjoy sharing my latest baking project with them fresh from the oven. Plus, they came to the rescue when my front door was accidentally locked from the inside several weeks ago.
• Monica and her husband, Señor del Pianno, live in the house next to my building and I have been spending an hour a week visiting with Monica so that she can practice her English. She has been an English teacher most of her life but her memory and speech were adversely affected after a brain injury several years ago her. We talk about life as we combine English and Spanish, laughter sprinkled among our profound conclusions.
• Rosa, her husband and middle-aged son live next to the del Piannos. She used to be a librarian and enjoys using her English with me whenever she can. Our faces light up when we see each other and she always says the kindest, sweetest things to me that just make my day.
• The staff at the veterinary practice have been so helpful as I added Kadee to my life several months ago and she loves to visit them. Their friendliness and availability have been a blessing to me as I adjust to being a pet owner.
• The managers at the neighborhood supermarket greet me as I enter the store - I am now one of their recognized "regulars".
• Each morning when I take Kadee for her first walk of the day, a doorman at one of the large apartment buildings on our route greets us with a broad smile and a gregarious wave of the hand that warms me from the inside out on a cold day.
• Several fellow dog owners always stop for a chat when Kadee and I are walking down the street - comments regarding the weather or how we're doing fill the quick but friendly interactions.

Yes, I feel like I'm living on Sesame Street. And it feels GOOD! 

My building - my apartment is on the top left half of the building.

Kadee enjoying a walk on the beach.

My friend Angela with the coastline of my neighborhood in the background.

XXOO -- Besos!!

Besos!!  (i.e. "kisses")  

You hear it and see it all of the time here in Uruguay. People greet each other with a kiss - placing right cheeks next to each other and making a smacking noise in the air. Men to women. Women to women. Men to men. One kiss. A clasp of the arm or a hand on the shoulder. It's the standard way to acknowledge someone and give a greeting. And when you arrive at someone's home, or a meeting, or a restaurant - almost anywhere, really - you have to great EACH PERSON with a kiss on the cheek.

In the U.S., we shake hands and give hugs.

In Holland, they use THREE kisses - right cheeks, left cheeks, and finally right cheeks again. (whew!)

You also say "besos" to each other here in Uruguay as you say good-bye to each other - in person, over the phone, in a message or letter.

Everything's "BESOS!!"

In the beginning I didn't quite know what to do with all of these kisses. It seems rather intimate for someone who's used to thinking of kisses in a romantic way. Luckily I had twelve years in Holland before relocating to Uruguay so one kiss now seems easy.  ;)

I had two aunts who always signed x's and o's at the bottom of my birthday cards when I was a kid. Kisses and hugs... A symbol of warmth, of affection, of care and concern. I think of these symbols when I place my cheek next to someone else's or say at the close of a conversation "Besos!"

Warmth...

Affection...

Care...

Concern...

Upon greeting...

And in parting...

Think you could do it??  Give it a go! :)

San Geronimo: Yeah you guessed it -- by Becky

During lunch, we left the house waiting for the spackling and concrete to dry. (It had nothing to do with the fact that Uruguay was playing Italy in The World Soccer Cup.)

Side note: The World Soccer Cup means Soccer teams from all parts of the globe will play various teams who are also from all over the globe, unlike certain countries who have "The World Series," when it is really, "The State's Series."

In order to get an accurate flavor and charm we go into town to a small community building to eat and watch the game. Upon arriving we are greeted by one brown, black and white dog that sits by the door wagging his tail and squeezing between our legs in an attempt to enter the building.

Inside their are several men watching soccer on a t.v. We join in and order ravioli, and pizza, cokes and fanta (The pizza here is similar to toast with tomato sauce and a slice of mozzerala cheese cut into rectangles.) After taking a few sips from my soda a large fly appears out of no where (its winter time for pete's sake) and immediately begins swimming in my soda bottle. Do I need a new bottle?

Phil grabs a fork and manages to nab the drenched bug. I decide soda is too expensive and I'll drink it floating bug or no floating bug.

We continue watching the soccer game until Uruguay bites their way to victory.

San Geronimo once again by Becky Hess

Tuesday we hope to prep and patch the walls in the main room in order to begin painting. 

We move all the furniture into the middle of the room which requires big muscles. Which one of us has the muscles? Phil, the teacher, with the mind of an engineer helps us stack all the items as though we are completing a puzzle. Afterwards he brings in a tarp which he found in the work room. This fits over the piled furniture as though it was custom made. We do a jig and a high five.  

Hoping to get the spackling and concrete to dry Phil tries to get the fire place going. < All you boy scouts would be proud of Holly's wood carrying skills.> Along with Phil's ability to get wet trees to burn. On a side note someone with the initials of MP threw a dry gourd into the fire creating a blast that made my guitar sing and me scream. Will the concrete ever dry?

Life in San Geronimo by Becky

Monday night, 11:15 pm time for bed, unfortunately the bathroom began spurting water all over the floor, fortunately Marilyn is a get-her-clean- type of woman. 

Fill up warm water bottles as our bedtime heat source and try to begin snoring. Awake before the sun, which isn't difficult as the sunrises at 7:45 am. 

Will we have water and a working shower?

No. Grab a bucket. It works just like a good Haitian shower. 

For some team members it becomes the first shampooing in a sink. 

This trip has been good for exercising creative problem solving.   

San Geronimo: A Note from Becky Hess

Monday's here. Time for San Geronimo. Awoke before the sun, packed up, checked out the ATM for pesos. For you banking folks, the ATM's in Uruguay are inside a small room. Once inside the door locks.  Imagine needing to take out $3500. My hands shook as I typed! (Don't worry Jack it's basically $150 US.)  Transaction completed? The switch at the side of the door is key to get back to the car.    

After exchanging money we stopped for groceries for a variety of foods. Around here we have enjoyed lots of roasted meat minus vegetables. The idea of 5 fruits and vegetables a day isn't characteristic for Uruguay. Yes Mom, we grabbed broccoli, carrots, onions, peppers, tomatoes, bananas, mandarins and apples.

Here's one of the meats for an Asado (barbecue). 

 At the grocery store one can buy rugs, electronics, and earrings along with all the food. After loading the groceries we high tailed it to San Geronimo (Phil's driving so he's not afraid of all the local drivers who decide stop signs are optional).

Eucalyptus trees shedding their bark line the driveway, Holly and I hop out of the car to smell the flowers, and take pictures. In the midst of winter, arrays of colors catch my eye. Yellow, pink and  red pops out from the green background. A German shepherd barks protecting her pups and the house. I keep hoping she won't decide to take a bite out of me. 

Today we began prepping for tomorrow's work, moving furniture, made beds, cleaned the kitchen, and bathroom, cooked and cleaned again. Sang, prayed and ate together. What will happen next? 

Demolition Begins. Good night!

Hospitality in Uruguay

Day 1: Hospitality in Uruguay by Phil Hostetter, 
traveling team from Neffsville Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA

We arrived in Montevideo yesterday, mid-morning and have been surrounded by Marilyn's friends and co-workers (Matt and Toni Daniel's family) since we landed.  Friendly faces welcomed us at the airport giving us an enthusiastic beginning  for this leg of the trip. 

This morning, we gave the gifts of the tools from our Vacation Bible School children to Matt & Toni Daniels, and Ms. Marilyn. Wish you could have seen all the joy and smiles. It was like Christmas morning! Or hitting open a candy filled piñata and all the love falls out. Thank-you VBS kids!  Matt picked up the tools, showed his children these "new toys," inspecting them, and started talking about all the projects we will be able to do this week. Starting with VBS kids giving. Thanks for caring. Your dollars and coins last week helped buy these gifts. Pat yourself on the back - as Matt says a, " BIG THANKS!"

When we arrived at Marilyn's apartment yesterday, we met her neighbor who owns the store downstairs (Angela). Later on Matt spent some time with us giving an overview of the work of missions in Uruguay and Christian Associates' part in God's work here.  This is a widely secular and un-churched area of Latin America. 

Which accentuates the connection we had through the wonderful experience of worship with Marilyn, Matt & Toni's set of friends, listening to their spiritual journeys and sharing their personal struggles, singing and praying together.   We had to adjust to their pace of life since most evening meals and activities start after 9:30 or 10:00 pm!  I (Phil) went to bed this morning at 12:30 a.m., after spending hours talking with everyone in the group along with Matt and Toni after everyone left!

This morning we had the opportunity to worship with Marilyn again at the English-speaking international church that she attends, and listened to Becky preach to our group about the openings hospitality provides to allow God to speak in our situations.  Christ's Church was a very welcoming group, and we found them reaching out to a group of sailors from Ghana and Sierre Leone who were stranded in Uruguay due to an unfortunate situation where they were treated badly. 

We have received overwhelming hospitality from Marilyn and her friends here, and we have graciously become part of her community in such a short time.  Marilyn's friends have helped us feel right at home and loved, even though we don't speak the same first language. Thanks for praying! 

Tell me about San Geronimo House!

Several years ago, my colleagues Matt & Toni Daniels had the opportunity to purchase a beautiful home about 45 minutes outside of the city. (We all live in the capital city of Montevideo.) The former owners were Christians and their children were hoping that the home and property could continue to serve as a place for people to spend time with God. And that was Matt & Toni's vision, too!

San Geronimo house is located in the middle of a eucalyptus forest. You have to take a dirt road off of the highway to get to it and then you drive in a lane that is lined by these big trees.

By the time you pull up to the front of the house, you feel like you're in another world!! And that's just the feeling that people often need as they leave their work, their home and the many things that might be heavy on their minds and come away for a day, several days or even a week!

We've had some really fun birthday parties at the house! There's lots of space to go for a hike in the woods, play games on the grass and eat cake with ice cream!

We also hold retreats and workshops at the house as well. There are three bedrooms with lots of bunk beds and two bathrooms so up to 15 people can sleep in the main house. 

But the house set empty for several years and so there are a LOT of repairs that need to be done: the bathroom and kitchen plumbing, painting the walls, fixing the leaking roof...  All of that takes money and people to do the work...

Several people from my home church in the States will be arriving on June 21st, 2014 and we're looking forward to painting the living room, entry, hallway and hopefully one of the bathrooms as well. Also, we hope to finish the plumbing changes that were needed in the one bathroom. I'm looking forward to having them here!  They'll be staying till the 29th in order to celebrate my birthday with me!  (yeehaw!!)

San Geronimo House is a great place to rest, play, hike, pray, learn, grow and spend time with God. We want to make the property ready for all of these things! Thanks for your interest!!

I want to see faces!

I came to Uruguay because I sensed a real love for the people here. And I think God gave me that love...

When I arrived at the end of February 2013, I only knew a handful of people... but in the past 16 months I've met a lot of really neat people and made some really great friends.

Let me share them with you now:
Matt and Toni Daniels and their children Allie, Matt and Anne

I work with Matt and Toni and I like to play "aunt" to their children. Just last week I spent two days with Allie, Matt and Anne while their parents went away to celebrate their anniversary. :)

There are three young couples who I have grown to love very much. Two of them have had babies in the past year and one of them should be giving birth in August!  Yes, three little girls in total all within a year and a half!

Craig, Alejandra and Emma

Ignacio, Stephania and Maria Pia

Eva, Diego and the soon-to-be born Sophia

And then there's a hodge-podge of other people who have become like family to me:

Anna Ruth has adopted me as her daughter - which makes her my Uruguayan mother. I lived with her my first three months here and I appreciate being able to spend time with her - she always listens to my stories and responds with lots of love and wisdom.

Alison and Diego are like my older sister and brother. They live in the same neighborhood as I do and so we sometimes meet for lunch or run errands together. I enjoy spending time with them because they make me feel loved!

Angela is my neighbor and I get to see her every day. She looks out for me and has given me lots of information to help me adjust to this new place. I am grateful for her friendship!

I met Silvia during my second week in Uruguay and we become close friends almost immediately!! Her son Michael is 10 years old and he's a lot of fun to hang out with.

There are a lot more people I could tell you about but I'll stop there for now. :)

I came to Uruguay because God gave me a love for the people - I am so glad He did!

But what I hadn't anticipated was that God would also give other people a love for me.

These people are now very dear to my heart... and I hope they experience God's love for them through me.

Tell me more!!

Now that you know where Uruguay is located, let me share some other details with you.

Everyone speaks Spanish here. 

They say "hola!" to say hello,

and "adios!" when they say good-bye.

When they are ending a phone conversation they say "besos!" (which means "kisses")

and when they want to say I love you, they have to say "te amo!"

And the money is different, too. They use pesos instead of dollars. And 1 dollar = 22 pesos. 

Since a lot of cattle are raised here, Uruguayans eat a lot of beef.  One of their favorite dishes is a chivito.  It's kind of like a hamburger but it's thinly sliced beef instead of a beef patty.

Another favorite dish is the milanese - similar to a German schnitzel. You can order a milanese made of beef, pork or chicken.

And Uruguayans don't have gas grills in their backyard like a lot of Americans do. Instead they have a parilla - it kind of looks like a brick fireplace. And the meat is grilled over wood coals from a fire. It takes a lot of skill to get the temperature just right to cook the meat slowly yet keeping it tender. 

Uruguay is in the southern hemisphere - that means it's on the opposite side of the equator from Pennsylvania. It also means that our seasons are opposite from what you have. So, while you are enjoying the summer right now and spending days at the swimming pool, we are experiencing the beginning of winter and I am wearing a scarf and heavy jacket when I leave my house. It also means that when you are celebrating Christmas around a fireplace in the winter, Uruguayans are spending the holiday at the beach in their swimsuits because it's summer here! Imagine decorating your Christmas tree in your shorts and flip flops!  

Tomorrow I'll tell you more about why I came to Uruguay and about the people here. So check out what I share with you then!

URUGUAY? Where's THAT??

Uruguay...  

Where's that?

What part of the world are you talking about?

And how do you pronounce it?

I admit that I needed to look at a map to find this small country when I first heard of it. I guessed right that it is in South America --

-- just below Brazil and to the right of Argentina, with the Atlantic Ocean along its southern border. In fact, Uruguay has some beautiful beaches...

And it's known for its ranches and cattle, too.

I'm looking forward to telling you more about this beautiful country and my wonderful friends here! 

"Si Dios quiere..."

Si Dios Quiere…

If God wants…

Lord willing…  

I've heard this English phrase often in the past from my grandparents’ generation but I never gave it a lot of thought. It’s a biblical concept… but it often falls to the wayside among a generation that has an independent mindset and a view of the world full of control. 

Lord willing…

Last weekend my refrigerator died.  Friday morning its contents just didn't seem chilled to the usual level. And after being away all day, I was eager to check on the items in the freezer when I got home at ten o’clock… still cool to the touch but definitely thawed. And the motor didn't kick in when I turned the thermostat to a colder setting.  Dead…

Other missionaries had given me the small antique model when I moved into my apartment at the end of May. A pale green, Mitsubishi made in Japan…  a good brand that had served me without hesitation for the past nine months. I was surprised that it suddenly was on the fritz.

Monday afternoon the repairman arrived. He had been recommended to me by the wife of the pastor of Christ Church, the English language church I attend on Sunday mornings. I was impressed by his professional attitude (and the fact that I could actually understand his Spanish – we were able to communicate without too much difficulty!). He began to check out the refrigerator and after several minutes he was able to get the motor to run. But the cooling elements in the freezer compartment didn't seem to respond. He tried several other “maneuvers” but to no avail – there was no temperature change evident.

A good fifteen or twenty minutes passed as he tested this and that. He began to explain that refrigerators of this age sometimes just gave up the ghost without warning… that I most likely would need to purchase a new one… that a miracle might be necessary for my old icebox…

I explained that as a Christian, I believed in a God that can perform miracles… but maybe not this time or with my refrigerator. He chuckled and shared that his grandmother used to always say, “Si Dios quiere” – meaning “If God wants.” I smiled and said that sometimes my prayers turned into “Por favor, Dios, quiere!” (Please, God, want to!”).

We both chuckled at our light-hearted interaction and then he said he wanted to check the cooling element in the freezer one last time. He opened the door and looked inside and then motioned for me to come have a look myself… the metal tubing was white with frost! My refrigerator was working! We were both a bit dumbfounded at the moment and then he gathered his composure and said he’d continue to check various parts of the appliance to see what the problem might have been. In the end, he replaced a sensor and the fridge has been working fine ever since.

God has been teaching me a lot about faith lately. He seems to want me to trust Him in new ways – with all of my heart. This experience with the refrigerator and the repairman is just one of several examples of how He has been impressing me with His “more than I ask or imagine” extravagance. I am not always a fast learner… but He is still willing.

Si Dios quiere…  

Thank You, God, that You are willing!