by Eugene Park

So why do crazy things happen to us?

So we stayed at the airport that night, knowing that we had a flight the next morning at 6:30am. We got in line at 5am, checked in our luggage, and then boarded the plane. So we are thinking, “Yes, we are finally going to Tucuman.” But then someone came over the intercom and said that we are going to be delayed for a while. And they kept on getting on the intercom telling us that we can’t leave yet. Then finally, after siting on the plane for two hours, they told us that the flight was cancelled. Oh yay. So we went back and went through the whole process again and they booked us on the afternoon flight that was going to leave at 3:30pm that afternoon. So we stayed at our same spot in the food court again. I think the security guys were wondering why we were still there. Someone even overheard one of them ask another security guard, “Son los chinos de ayer?” Translation: “Aren’t they the Chinese from yesterday?” I guess they didn’t notice Cesar.

So we just hung out at the food court for another 4 hours and then Eduardo came to eat lunch with us. Before we left for lunch we tried to check in our luggage. But then we found out that our flight was cancelled again. Eduardo went around to the different people related to the airline and asked what could we do. We finally rescheduled our flight for the next morning again at 6:30am.

So to help us get over the disappointment of not leaving, we went to Siga la Vaca for lunch. Siga la Vaca is an all you can eat place with all the meats you want on an open grill. Yes, we enjoyed it.

We weren’t going to stay another night at the airport so we got hotel rooms. And after showering for the first time in 3 days, we walked around downtown to the usual spots we typically go to.

The next morning we got to the airport at 5:20am and found that the place was packed with people trying to get to Tucuman. Even though things were rushed, we were able to board the plane and this time we actually left! Finally!

Seeing Pastor Jorge waiting for us at the gate was a nice sight to see. We went to the hotel, dropped off our stuff, and then went over to his place and enjoyed some awesome asado steak for lunch. It was also a great time of fellowship together as both his family and the Barrionuevo family got to share with us the highs and lows they have been experiencing. For six of the team members, this is the first time they got a chance to hear about the ministry in Tucuman.

That night we went to the church and they had a welcoming service for us (the one that was supposed to happen two nights ago). There was a time of singing, team introductions, and then I shared with the church the different reasons we come to Argentina: to preach the gospel, support the local church, and support the leaders of the church. Then afterwards we had the traditional empanada dinner. It was really encouraging to see the team engaged with the people of the church and talking with them. Even though I see it year after year, it’s still surprising to me to see how fast people become close to one another. Some of the team members didn’t even speak Spanish that well but did their best to communicate. Although it was delayed, it was a great start to our time in Tucuman.

Thanks for reading. Keep praying for us! Hope to give another update soon!