~Celebrating God calling us to be missionaries...2015!~

~ In 2004 God called us to be missionaries. In 2004-2005 we did deputation, 2005-2006 we went to Costa Rica for one year to study Spanish {and tried to help out in the Holiness churches there.} 
In June 2006 we moved to Colombia to start working for Jesus there. We still work in Colombia through PRAYER, offerings, and serving the people and churches from a distance, and go to visit and teach/preach 2 to 3 times a year.  We have been working here in Argentina on and off since Oct. 2011.
So saying that, Back in 2012 Phillip decided that once a year our family should go to a restaurant of a different cultural food to celebrate God calling us to be missionaries. 
He takes this time to remind us of how SERIOUS this calling is, and that we must remain FAITHFUL to God in every part of our lives... even the little things.
So, around Valentine's day 2012 we did that for the first time.  We have done it every year since then around Valentine's day.
This year was no exception.
Phillip looked on line and found a French restaurant with decent prices, so we went downtown to eat there.
It didn't open until 8:00 P.M. so we stopped by and saw the "Puente de la Mujer" (Womens' Bridge) which our friends Leo and Caro had taken us to back in 2012.
We hadn't been here since then, so it was fun to see this fun white bridge and take lots of pics. :-)
 ~Here are Phillip and I with the Women's Bridge in the distance to the left of us in this pic.~

~And here we are getting a little closer to the Women's bridge.~

~And here are our 6 precious kids with the Women's bridge behind them.~

~Our oldest and our youngest with the Women's Bridge to their right.~

~I think it is so fun and pretty.~

~And here is our family with the Women's Bridge behind us....

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb. 14th, 2015~

After walking SEVERAL BLOCKS to get to the French restaurant...getting there at 9:00 P.M. on a Saturday night, we were sorely surprised and Disappointed to find out that since it was Valentine's day, it was Reservations only!  :-(
We didn't even know that they celebrated Valentine's day here in Argentina.
We knew our friends from the Chinese church knew about it, but figured it was because of their association with the USA.
So, we began to walk and every restaurant that we passed said the same thing, "Reservations only!"  :-(
We were tooooo tired, thirsty, hungry, and running out of time.... to walk allll the blocks back (14 blocks or more) to the McDonalds we had seen, and we knew that the other restaurants by the river would be too spendy...so finally we passed a Vegetarian restaurant.
Phillip went in and asked and they said that they were reservations only as well, but said that they would allow us to eat there anyways.
So, though it wasn't our first choice food wise, at least we could eat and go home before it got to late! :-)
It was a cute restaurant with a fun atmosphere, decent prices, and pretty good, but very different food.  :-)
~We sat up in the balcony of the resturant.~

~Mary and Sarah.~

~Kimberly and Noah.~

~Phillip and Elijah.~

~To save money we split 3 meals.
Each meal came with an appetizer, a main plate, a drink, and then a dessert and coffee.
Here was our very interesting appetizer.
Slices of melon, a piece of star fruit, some avocado, a special sauce with almonds, etc.  They brought us yummy dinner rolls as well.~

~Our drink was Mint-Ginger lemonade.  Very strong, but very good. :-) ~

~Our main dish was some kind of whole grain rice with blended greens, with some "meat balls" made out of soy? and served with tomatoes and beets on top.  They gave us oil and vinegar to pour on top which gave it a yummy flavor. :-) ~

~And here's our little cute chump...Abigail chewing on her hand, trying to help more teeth to come in.~  :-) ~

~If you look closely, you can see her 2 bottom teeth that I never can get in a picture.~

~She cracked us up when she put her passy in her mouth this way sucking on the ribbon.  :-) ~

~And this was our dessert.  "Brownies" (I think they were made out of figs and nuts) with ice cream, a chocolate or carob sauce, a sliced strawberry, a choc. covered almond, and a piece of a fig.  It came with a strong coffee and was pretty tasty.~

~Phillip encouraged our family to keep seeking after God and humbling ourselves so He could use us for His Glory.
Here is the fam in front of the restaurant as we were leaving.~

~And here's the "Vegetarian Restaurant" sign.~

~We passed this and it looked so typical Argentina (and European) and so fun with the tables and chairs outside that I had to snap a pic. :-) ~

Though our evening turned out quite differently than we expected, it was a very fun evening remembering God's calling and high responsibility that He has given our family.
~Heather~