Hola, mis amores!!
I hope everyone is wonderful! I miss you all so much!

This week was absolutely AMAZING. Jam-packed with class, Spanish, and more Dulce de Leche than I should EVER have eaten! And get this: my diet here consists of bread, pasta, potatoes, pizza, and dulce de leche on EVERYTHING, yet for some insane reason I am actually losing weight! It’s the miracle diet that every American woman wishes for – carbs, carbs, carbs, and a side of caramel sauce with every meal!!

School this week was also very lovely. We had awesome speakers from Argentina and Chile who told us some incredible stories and taught us about discovering what God has for our futures and obeying that calling no matter what – stepping out into the unknown without fear, because the Creator of the Universe is on our side! We also spent a lot of time studying the scriptures on ‘faith’: never doubting what the Lord has in store for us, and daily ‘walking in faith.’ God has been teaching me un montón de cosas (lots of things) both in class and during my time away from the base, and I am loving every minute of it!

On Wednesday of this last week, our entire school traveled into Capital for a huge Missions conference with missionaries from all over Argentina, and it was an awesome celebration! So awesome, in fact, that we had the pleasure of hearing Luis Pulau speak!! Luis is a famous all over the world, and I was shocked when he walked onto the stage! It was a gorgeous night, and so cool to be in the presence of missionaries young and old, all with the same calling and purpose!

The greatest part of the week, however, was my weekend “at home” with my host family and friends in Zarate. They are honestly the greatest blessing I have yet received in my 3 weeks in Argentina! A little background info: About 3 days before I arrived here in South America, my host sister Yamila (who has also decided to pursue a future in missions) was praying and asked the Lord how she should continue in her future, and 2 days later, He answered with a phone-call from YWAM. They asked if she and her family would be willing to host a girl from the United States that next week, and she said, “of course!” And apparently from that moment on, Yamila knew that the Lord had something beautiful planned for my time there. And the moment I arrived, I felt the very same thing. That weekend, I was able to attend a meeting of some of the youth of their church (our church), in which they were planning their first ever Missions Night. Our church has a gorgeous heart for missions, and many of the youth have recently discovered a passion for missions as well, so they began to plan a big missions night to further encourage the teens. But anyway – to make this story a bit shorter – the night of the meeting, I felt an incredible burden on my heart for the youth the church, and for walking with them and encouraging them in this missions movement. And over the past few weeks, I have been spending loads of time with them – going to events, playing guitar, sharing with them what I have been learning in my classes here at the base, etc – and God just continues to expand this passion in my heart for them. Truly, from day one, I felt this strange connection with each one of them, and my host sister was telling me today that they have all said the same thing – that we have a bond that is unfathomable by our mere human minds, but that is SO clearly from the Lord! So, as of now, I am not sure exactly how He is going to use me, but it is clear to me and to everyone in Zarate that God had been preparing me for them and them for me! It is SO beautiful to witness His perfect plan unfolding and walking IN FAITH, knowing that every step I take is in His hands!

I spent Saturday night with “my chicos,” (nearly all of the youth from the church are boys) and we managed to shatter my ‘staying-up-late record’ – which they are all SO proud of. We were playing guitar, singing, and goofing-off the entire night, and when we looked out the window, the sun was up and shining bright! We were awake until after 8:00 am, when we finally made ourselves go to bed!! We have a blast together, but on a more serious note, I’ve been getting to know each of their hearts, and have been absolutely blown away by the depth and maturity of even the youngest – Ivan – who is only 15 years old! They are amazing boys, and I thank the Lord constantly for blessing me with them!

I would love it if you could pray for a few things this week:
-First and foremost, for my host-sister Yamila. Yesterday, God told her that her journey into the world of missions is beginning now. It’s an incredibly exciting time for her, but scary as well. Please pray that she will be able to clearly hear God’s voice as He continues to reveal more details to her, and that the logistics of her future would all work out smoothly. Also, if you would pray for her strength and faith in the perfect plan God is unfolding. We are all SO excited to see what the Lord has next for her!
-In addition, If you would please pray for rest for me as I try to figure out a better way to travel to and from my “home” here. It is quite a great distance away from the base, and when my family cannot come get me themselves, I have to either take the train (which is horrid and dangerous), or take a taxi (which costs me about twice as much as anyone else, because they drivers – seeing that I am a foreigner – completely rip me off every time). So, it is a very tough situation, and something that I constantly stress and worry about. Please pray that I will put into practice what I learned this week and HAVE FAITH that God will work everything out beautifully!

Thinking about you all so much, and would still love to hear from you. Please forgive me though, if I do not return your emails right away. I have about 3 chances every week to check my email, and this week, our lovely internet was down the ENTIRE week. It’s definitely a battle, but I hope that sometime soon it will be reliable enough for me to actually get 20 or 30 consecutive minutes online to communicate with you all! (God’s definitely teaching me a lot about PATIENCE as well ;-)

Love you all so much!

Katie

p.s. Every weekend when I get home, my host family gives me a once-over evaluation to make sure I’m eating well and also to check-up on my language acquisition. And this weekend, as well as being told that I am getting too skinny, I was pleased to hear that my Castellano (Spanish) is far better than when I arrived! Praise the Lord – He’s allowing me to adjust so wonderfully!