Cordoba Population

3.216.993 Cordoba Province

1.315.540 Cordoba Capital – This is not including the Greater Cordoba area which makes up the majority of the province population. 

You can find the article here: http://www2.lavoz.com.ar/Nota.asp?nota_id=236558&high=censo

However, there seems to be some discrepancy. Many people have written in saying that they were not visited during the census.  Could it be that those who took the census were “vagos” or lazy?

Here are the top three answers of my friends that cared to take a guess:

1. 1,735,000 Sofi Martinez

2. 1.750.000 Marcelo Grandi

3. 1.794.000 Don Dinnerville

Special mention: Scott Jackson guessed the Cordoba Province at 3.18 million

you guys are smarter than me.

Thanks Sweets for 4 beautiful years

Lots of things happen in four years: a presidential term, a college degree, preparation for the world cup, preparation for the olympics… just to name a few. Many things have happened in our lives also the last four years: An awesome honey moon in Margarita Island, a move to Argentina, two beautiful kids, developing a new sending ministry, you’ve made 100’s of baked goods for 100’s of visitors, and the start of a new church… just to name a few… and we have been together through it all.  You are my soul mate. You have prayed, loved, cleaned and created a home for our family through the beginning of establishing a life together.

Marriage is not always filled with the things that we dream of, oh so foolishly, all of our adolescent lives.  There is that little thing called “reality”. But when I reflect on the connection that we have with each other that says, “I could never share this with another person, not even close to the same way that I do with you.” I know that our love is growing, and changing and becoming a beautiful life-long true love!  I love you, Sweets!  Happy Anniversary.

I found this video online from another American’s blog that reflects the life that we live, well sort of… but really it reflects your love for me that I love so much.  With you, I know your faithfulness everyday.  With you, I know I will be lifted up.  You make me a better man. Life is a dance.  Thanks for being my forever partner!

Ok, so you don’t smoke, but you are smokin’!!

You are still and always will be my Lily among thorns! (Song of Solomon 2:2)

2008 Argentine Census

The doorbell rang at 9am this morning, which is early by Argentine standards on a mandatory stay-at-home day. Today is not a vacation day, but businesses are closed for the 2008 Census.  It was really early especially since our last guests left at 10:30… all of which had just popped-over or were a continuation from drinking mates in the Paseo del Buen Pastor.  Then we had to get something to eat and get the kids to bed. 

When I heard the bell ring, my first thought was, “Did I invite someone over that I forgot about?” My second thought since we live in a house with direct access to the street was, “Just open the window part of the door and see who it is.”  We have had some robberies in our area lately. 

So I opened the door… oh yes, the very reason we were ordered to have someone home today.  Thankfully, it was the census lady.  As she was asking me the standardized questions and and telling Coen, “Que lindo nombre! Que precioso! Que bonito!” I asked her what she thought the population of Cordoba is.  She said, “tres millones” or 3,000,000. I think the population is over 3 million.  I think Cordoba is at 3.25 million which is a huge increase from the 2001 census.  I think Buenos Aires is 16.5 million. We will see.  We should know for sure in two days.

Does anyone care to “wager” a guess?  If you comment with your guess, I will put the top three guesses in another blog entry. 

Tell me your name, where you are from/live and what your guess is for population of Cordoba and Buenos Aires. 

Below are the results of the 2001 Census

Rank	Core City	Province	Pop.	Rank	Core City	Province	Pop.	view • talk • edit Buenos Aires Córdoba
1	Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	12,789,000	11	Resistencia	Chaco	377,000
2	Córdoba	Córdoba	1,372,000	12	Santiago del Estero	Santiago del Estero	357,000
3	Rosario	Santa Fe	1,242,000	13	Corrientes	Corrientes	345,000
4	Mendoza	Mendoza	885,000	14	Bahia Blanca	Buenos Aires	304,000
5	Tucumán	Tucumán	789,000	15	San Salvador de Jujuy	Jujuy	298,000
6	La Plata	Buenos Aires	732,000	16	Posadas	Misiones	287,000
7	Mar del Plata	Buenos Aires	604,000	17	Paraná	Entre Ríos	268,000
8	Salta	Salta	516,000	18	Neuquén	Neuquén	255,000
9	Santa Fe	Santa Fe	493,000	19	Formosa	Formosa	229,000
10	San Juan	San Juan	453,000	20	Catamarca	Catamarca	196,000
2008 estimate[1]

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Largest_cities_of_Argentina“

Baby boy saved by dog

A dog named “China” in a rural area near La Plata, Argentina found a crying baby boy who had been abandoned in a field by his 14 year old mother.  The hero dog with great care carried the baby boy about 50 meters to warmth around her six little puppies in 37 degree weather. The doctors said that if the baby was not taken out of the field he surely would have died very quickly.

 

I am reminded of how God finds us and cares for us, even adopting us as sons.  We are out there in the world separated from His love and warmth, suffering and dying, and because of His great care He brings us into His bosom and gives us the love that we need.  

 

Thank God for “China” and Thank you God, for You!

Our kids…

You hear the phrase that kids are a lot of work.  Well, maybe they are if it is done the right way. It is not easy to be consistent to discipline them, and even in the discipline to do it with love and not out of frustration or tiredness, etc.  Disciplining them with love and encouragement while showing them what is expected of them is really admonishing them, and gives them the foundation they need at a young age.  Isn’t it the responsibility of the ones who desire to be parents to guide their children in the way they should go? Children are a blessing.  They bring unexpected joy to our lives, even when they have a little innocent mischief.  Cookies are very tempting aren’t they?

It is also very important to encourage your children, even when they are small and you think that they don’t understand you.  They understand more than we think. 

Sometimes I find myself so proud of our two that my eyes well up with tears.   Often times, when I pick Coen up from his daily two hour daycare experience and see how well he plays, even in his second or maybe first language of Spanish, I tell him that I am so proud of him for being such a big boy.  Every night he prays for the other kids in his class by name.  That should make any parent proud.  The same goes for our 10 month Chloe bear.  I always tell her how proud I am when she pulls herself up or crawls from one end of the room to the other. In fact, I look for opportunities to admonish her by rooting her on as she crawls to me and then lift her up and call her my baby girl. 

Thank you, Lord, for this great responsibility.  Make us worthy of this great calling.

Psalm 127

3Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
         The fruit of the womb is a reward.
    4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
         So are the children of one’s youth.
    5How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
         They will not be ashamed
         When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Oil is up 30% this year

In high school (88-89), I paid $.97 at the pump, and I drove a 74 Chevy Nova with a 350 / 2-barrel. It was a sweet muscle car.  Since then I have always had a 4 or 6 cylinder car, because pump prices kept increasing. Now it costs me $20 just to fill up my 5 gallon lawn mower gas can.

 

The liberal pun dents say that if we conserve we will save enough supply of crude oil to bring prices down.  They also say that even if we drill it would take 5-10 years for it to increase oil supply.  Some conservative pun dents say that if we drill off-shore we could see oil within one year.  

To me, there are three real issues:

1)      We have a dependence on foreign oil.  Putting our children’s future in the hands of other countries no matter the industry is not good for our economy and for our children’s children.  Unfortunately, the world’s oil supply is controlled by leaders who hate the US and would love to see our demise.  

2)      Other countries are already exploring and drilling off of our coast.  International waters start only 50 miles offshore.  Countries like China and Russia are already setting up shop off of our coast.  Both of these countries have much lower drilling standards than we do.  The battle in congress should not be, “Should we drill?” It must be “how do we drill first?” to protect the environment more than other countries and improve our economy by increasing supply and less dependence on foreign oil.  Why? Because tomorrow we will just be buying the same oil extracted from our coastline from countries that have little standards at a much higher price.

3)      Gas prices are at $4.00 partly because of the Futures market.  We invest today based on what we think the market will do tomorrow.  Even if it takes 5 years or 10 years for our oil supply to increase, IF we begin drilling today, prices will go down NOW because of speculation on the futures market.  Liberals would prefer to wait, go on vacation (with their million$, their gas-guzzling private jets and their big gas guzzling SUV’s like Al Gore’s), meanwhile Freedom and Capitalism is under attack.

 

Why not drill and conserve? It is the only solution.

Conquering Lion

Lauryn Hill sings a song she wrote shortly after coming to know Christ, called “Conquering Lion”.  The song says we should “Give Him the victory!”

Psalm 92:1-3 says, “It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.”

This morning I thank God for His love and care.  He is the conquering lion for every circumstance in our lives as we put our trust in Him!  I give You the victory that You have won for my son Coen and his recent stay in the hospital.  I give You the victory for people that are hearing Your good news here in Nueva Cordoba.  I give You the victory for the lives that have been touched and even turned back to You as a result of praying to You, our Awesome Conquering Lion.  Bring healing to all that need You.  Give grace to all that need it.  Let us see you conquer more for Your glory!!

Gas prices…

With high gas prices continuing to rise, it is not a good time to raise funds for missions ministry.

I have a plan that could lower gas prices and provide money for missions.

Let me first define the problem. It seems that the problem is a combination of two issues:

• Country leaders like Argentina-friendly Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and others from Muslim countries are keeping prices high to make huge profits and to ruin North American economy.
• Oil companies are making record profits by keeping the prices high and will not invest in North American refineries because they know that they will not profit in the long run as “oil” may be the least desired energy source, due to new alternate fuels being developed.

The truth is Americans are finally paying what other countries have already been paying.  In most countries, personal transportation is seen as a luxury. 

Most families have maybe one economical 4-banger car.  In contrast, most American families have at least two cars, like an SUV for mom and Dodge Ram for dad, unless they have teenagers who are driving age who sometimes drive the 4-banger economical cars.  Three cars to a family is unheard of, even among the affluent in South America, and even in Europe.

 

Now is a great time for True Believers to make a difference. 

I am not suggesting that you flood the market with your gas guzzlers, although it may not be too bad of an idea. I am suggesting, decreasing your gas spending by at least 10%. You may even gain respect from your “environmentally conscious” neighbor, and open an opportunity for the Gospel. Do you really believe that Hilary, Barrack or even fighter-pilot John will be able to magically lower gas prices? Their campaign promises are just plain dumb.  If I were in the States, I would be looking to buy a good horse, and not trusting in a donkey or an elephant.

 

Decreasing your vehicle usage by 10% would require limiting frivolous trips just to take a cruise around town or to pick up a “couple of items,” and maybe even walking more. It might even do your physical heart some good.  The 10% that you don’t pay in gas could then be invested in God’s kingdom.  Invest that 10% in MISSIONS.  The result would be two-fold:

Ø      It would make all of those godless people lower their prices because the market would be flooded and too much supply would be sitting around.

Ø      God would be glorified because the US church would still be sending missionaries and keeping missionaries on the field. 

 

Right now many missionaries are in danger of not being able to continue what God has called them to do.  My family and I have decided to stay in Argentina by faith, believing that our friend’s souls are more important than our children’s future education or our retirement or even our present comfort. God already knows how He plans to keep us here.  

 

In one month, we will have been here for two years.  So much has happened during that time that has made us want to give up.  Praise be to God for the grace He has given to keep us here. Praise be to God that even despite the hardships precious people are coming to know Him personally. Praise be to God that we are making disciples as Christ has commanded us to do. Praise be to God that by His grace, He will have the VICTORY in Cordoba and in ALL of Argentina, even to the uttermost parts of the earth. 

What is truth?

Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?”  Many today are asking that same question.  Last night after English Talk (a program we do every two to three weeks), I went out with a smaller group to get ice cream at 2am (early for Argentine standards).  A girl we had just met, who is a psych student, started talking about how we have a part of us that is supernatural; it was kind of “new-agey”.  I don’t think anyone understood her argument, and it wasn’t because our English Talk had turned into Spanish Talk.  So I began telling her and everyone else who hadn’t understood her that our soul is eternal and therefore “mingles” with the supernatural… (I was look for a way to have a basis to share truth).  I don’t even know if I understood what I was saying at that point… then our conversation went towards “her argument” being the way she sees things so therefore it is true for her…

 

Now we were getting somewhere.  I told her that there has to be a standard by which we begin to develop our belief.  Those standards are absolutes that cannot change.  I think it is like that for all things that are essential.  We can’t change scientific law to change the results of the hypothesis.  Natural laws are constant, set by nature and therefore have validity everywhere. The natural law is supposed to lead to happiness, but not necessarily morality.  So ultimately, it is necessary that we are governed by Divine law and grace. I told them that religion was man’s attempt to figure out God and try and understand Him and impose our version of divine law, instead of having a relationship with Him made possible by His grace. It is an error to trust in Man. So I was explaining (very briefly, as if to say this is a conversation that should be on-going) that God has a standard of Truth and we need to find that Truth.  In fact, we are obligated to find out the Truth of every law. 

 

As we left the ice cream shop, we decided that it would be great to continue philosophizing and an agnostic became a little more open to knowing Christ. This morning, I have decided that it is time for me to dust off my philosophizing skills since I am beginning to meet so many psychology students.   

My wife is the greatest in the world.

It is a challenge for anyone to survive in a foreign country on a very limited budget and without a framework of others who have gone before us.  Kristen, however, takes everything in stride.  She can tell you that a “cup equals approx. 223 grams” like nobodies bizness. She manages our home and family so well.  She has found her niche, even though she would say her niche is really interior design. She was excellent at that too before coming to Argentina as missionaries.  Maybe she just excels at everything she touches.  Let me give you an example of how awesome she is:

For the last three nights, we have had unexpected guests for dinner.  On Monday, Bruno showed up about 6pm (which is still merienda “tea time”).  He was in serious need of bicycle repair, so I went and pulled my tools out of the basement and about 10 minutes later, he was ready to get back on the road. I was thinking that he was on his way to go somewhere, but he stayed. So I offered him some mate.  Four hours later, a quick walk to the university to buy a book for Bruno’s psychology class, a conversation about the failures of marxism and capitalism (because of the wickedness of man’s heart), and a chance to share about Christ and His kingdom as the only true solution for man’s problem, we ordered empanadas and watched the rest of the NCAA basketball final. Bruno, Scott and Marcelo, who had come over to watch the game left after 1am. On Tuesday, Laura came over because she wanted to “ask me something”.  I thought, “here is the chance we have been waiting for… she is finally interested in something spiritual.”  What she really needed was some help with a class assignment.  After trying to share Christ with her and many times being deflected into other things… i was pretty tired and ready to just chill. At this point, she had been there about three hours. Kristen noticed that I was tired and not only made dinner, but ended up helping her with her assignment, while I got Coen ready for bed.  Laura left after completing her assignment and getting her belly full with a great albeit modified staple from the greatest super mom and wife in the world.  Then last night, we invited a couple of people over for merienda. The mate and criollos came and went.  It was the perfect end to a great afternoon.  Then merienda slowly but surely morphed into the dinner hour.  My great wife was not even phased.  A couple of people turned into 7 for dinner, including big boy Coen, not counting Chloe-bear, who needs some attention from time to time.  I was thinking… “maybe we should order some pizza or something.”  Meanwhile back at the ranch, i mean kitchen, Kristen was whipping up some Chicken Tetrazzini, enough to feed our troops.  One would think that the meals would have become less and less… but she has the attitude of “saving the best wine for last.” Go Kristen… thanks Jesus for your example.  Well, we will see what Thursday night is like.  Maybe we will give her the night off. 

If you want to be blessed… try out some of her recipes in our cookbook section.