My new buddy ole pal Jenno is going to visit the site today so here's a big

WELCOME JEN!!!!!!!


Enjoy... ohhh and start from the bottom and work your way up.

PAPERS!

Papers... papers... papers.... ohhh and did I mention papers?

I'm doing my creative writing bit on my blog! It's gonna be interesting I think. God gave me the idea this morning!

Jeru sang at church yesterday and boy was it awesome...like in the true sense of the word awe... some... so many people were crying and Ryan couldn't even get himself together to preach at first! But then God delivered a great message through him which I am sure touched the hearts of many!

I was touched anyway.

I have learnt quite a few things lately... namely how humble I am to be before God. I realized that I should realize that I am really nothing. And that this world really does not matter all that much. But God chose to love me... He specifically chose to love me, and if He does not love someone else, then I am truly humbled because... who am I to deserve this love? I'm probably the worst person around.

I have been praying for my friends that they would come to see the life changing experience that I have had. But in a bid to be open minded they have become close minded... but human logic is often contradictory when someone does not want to do something.

All I can do is continue to pray.

Hello Lord,

It's me your child, I have a few things on my mind...
right now I'm faced with big decisions and I'm wondering if you had a minute cause...
right now I don't hear you so well and I was wondering if you could speak up?
I know that you tore the veil so I could sit with you in person and here what you're saying
but right now... I just can't hear you...

I don't doubt your sovereingty i doubt my own ability
to hear wha tyou're saying and to do the right thing
and I desperately want to do the right thing

but right now i don't hear you so well and I was wondering if you could speak uip?
I know that you tore the veil so I could sit with you in person and here what you're saying
but right now... I just can't hear you...

and someone in the back of my mind i think you are telling me to wait
and though patience has never been mine Lord I'll wait to hear from you.
Oh Lord, I'm leaning on you.
right now i don't hear you so well and I was wondering if you could speak up?
I know that you tore the veil so I could sit with you in person and here what you're saying
but right now... I think you're whispering.

Hello Lord - Sara Groves.

Take it easy!

Jesh

What a day it is today:

I slept last night after watching 2 episodes of smallville.
I'm trying to study, but my brother is in the next room with the music blasting
and I can't seem to concentrate... so here I am blogging away...

I talked to Joti today... still haven't found out how Fez is doing...
Should find out soon though.

I have been thinking alot lately about the future, as such I have been looking
at job opportunities in my field. It has been rather fruitful. Unfortunately nothing
is certain. I guess that's the way it is in this world.

Sometimes I just wonder what I would do without God.
And then I look at other people... and I think... Thank God I am not without Him.

Until next time.

Take it easy

Well... I'm back...

I've been back for more than a month now. It was an amazing time in Paraguay, I learnt alot and I have for more appreciation for Jeru's culture and for Jeru in general. Jeru's family was really great and I really love them very much. I recently applied for a Government Job that has pretty good benefits... I hope I get it cause I'm graduating soon.

Anyways.

I'll update soon.

Take it easy.

Jesh

I'm in Argentina right now... and lets just say that a monumental mistake has been solved, Thank God!

We're 200 km from Cordova!

Check out where we are.. we're in Santa Fe.

WELL... like i promised... i'm back with an update of last weekends activities...
Well the trip to Ciudad del Este was a long one and it felt like it would go on forever. I had a great time though... I was sleeping for most of the way and then woke up to this GIGANTIC dairy factory. The ice cream was sooo great there and they had everything that could be made from dairy from ice cream to yogurt to cheese and they all tasted exquisite! The yogurt here is AMAZING you can pretty much drink it... cause its that thin... but it tastes so good and its $0.68 for one bag of it... that's right a bag. They don't sell large amounts of yogurt and milk in big packets... they sell them in bags which you then cut and pour or drink. They also sold yogurt with cereals in a thing on top of the yogurt. Now that was cool. At first, I wasn't so keen on the idea of cereals with yogurt cause i'd tried it before in Canada and it didn't taste good at all... But the yogurt here... WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY (in a good sense).

Our first order of business on arriving at Jeru's sister's house was to go and see the Monumental Lighting of La Represa Itaipu (A Giant Dam, THE biggest in the world). It wasn't the typical light show that we have in BC which draw massive and at times violent crowds. Instead it was simply the lighting up of the damn... as you can see in this picture... It really gave me perspective that night of how huge that dam was. It was a pretty cool experience. In order to see the dam, we had to wait at the reception area while several buses were prepared. I think there was about 15 buses. The huge greyhound kind... not the transit kind. Everyone had to climb in them and they took us to the place where the light show was going to take place. While we were waiting, I made friends with a few guys who were there to keep the peace... If we had these guys at our fireworks. I don't think any of those punks would mess around and cause trouble. Anyways... so it went.. the light show was great.

The next day we headed over to this beautiful biological reserve with all kinds of cool things... "unfortunately" we were not able to take a ride through the forest where there were snakes. Other than that "unfortunate" event, the area was gorgeous! That's a picture of the whole family excluding Jeru's oldest brother and his girlfriend who joined us later that day. Of course lets not forget the beauty of the waterfalls. Gorgeous to say the least, it was like being in a tropical paradise, this is a picture taken by jeru's brother. As you can see... jaw droppingly gorgeous. Later on that day, I got into a go-karting accident. Let me tell you, those brazillian go-karts are by no means slow... and their brakes don't work properly. One guy completed this long track in like 21 seconds... I think the track was about 800-900m, with twists and turns and what have you. This left my left hand screwed up for a while, but it's feeling a lot better today. That was one of the reasons why the last post was so short.
Ohhh and one more thing, everything was free going to the dam on the buses as well as the rides and the biological refuge. In fact, they had little hotels at the biological refuge that were free as well and they weren't crappy either.

I'm off to Argentina this weekend and I hope to update you from there or what I get back. In any case, thanks for reading and as always...

Take it easy...

Let me begin by saying... ¡WHAT A TRIP!

This was a very intense trip, waking up everyday at 8 am in order to go out and do stuff... I almost got run over in the downtown of Ciudad del Este cause the drivers are nuts! I tell you it was crazy... and apparently... that was not a day where there was too many people... ha! I wish i had taken a picture of the madness but I was advised not to reveal the fact that I had a digital camera...

That place is really crowded because it's right next to Brazil and everything is SOOO CHEAP... eg. a dvd player and screen for your car... (Audio Vox) $80 ONLY!!! I couldn't believe my eyes and ears... It was crazy and those Brazillians would purchase 50-100 at a time for resale later in Brazil...

We went to this pizza place (hence the picture) where they sevred us the most extraordinary pizza... everything was pizza AND I MEAN everything... they had a pizza with sausage with a lot of stuff on it... look at the picture.

Next on the list is a visitation to what seemed like a tropical paradise!
IT WAS REALLY AMAZING... A SIGHT TO MARVEL... The picture is only like 1 of 8 pictures that would encompass the entire expanse of waterfall... on the other side of where we are is Argentina and we were in Brazil... Foz du Iguaçu... It was gorgeous and I had a great time there... more about the trip soon... tired and hungry now...

Take it easy....

going to Ciudad del Este (City of the East) today... will update from there if possible... 6 hours by car...

Take it easy

So... I've been really tired lately...

That's me on the left and Pauli (Jeru's Niece) on the right... She's sooo cute... she was sleeping like that and after we took the picture she started crying and then she turned and stopped... she's hilarious... i'll show you guys video when i get back.

I recently caught a cold and have had to take medicine... but I'm feeling great now... it was like one of those 24hr colds... the weird ones...

It's great to hear from even more people as I continue on my journey. I'll be going to see a large dam as well as waterfalls that dwarf that of Niagara. This place is amazing, everyday i learn something new. For example, the traffic lights turn yellow before they turn green as well as before they turn red... it's like their saying "ready... set... go!" I'm having a great time here, although, I have been the center of much attention in the public and in the home... when I walk into the food court in the shopping mall, so many people start staring... when they walk by me on the street they stare... on the bus they stare... i am actually becoming quite self concious... thinking my zipper is down or perhaps a booger (not sure how to spell it) outside the confines of my nostrils.

Here's a picture of Jeru and her sister while we were on the way to her uncle's house for what turned out to be a beautfiul and delicious BBQ!!!!!! or Asado!Anyways... I'm really tired and it's 11:30 now so i'm going to go to sleep... gotta go pick up mi plantillas mañana por la mañana. Hasta Luego mis amigos!!!!

Take it easy...

IT'S GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU GUYS!!!

THANKS FOR LEAVIN MESSAGES! (Mitch, Brian and Nic, and of course my wonderfully awesome brother whom I miss a whole bunch too... Everyone else who wanted to leave a message but never got around to it... Thanks!)

Things are going really well! I just went to Jeru's cousin's house the other day, the cousin who plays for Juventus... Man THAT HOUSE IS HUGE! It's got a tennis court and a pool and everything... But the thing I'm loving the most is Jeru's little niece... Pauli!
She is SOOO CUTE.... and she has the biggest cheeks EVER you'd just want to bite them... She looks so cute and when she smiles its sooo funny... I'll show you guys videos when I get back!

This country is full of physical insecurity and yet at the same time there is an overlying familial sentiment that seems to bind everything. Just this last Saturday, the house keeper, here at the house, was on the bus and heard one man talking to another man, later she realized that the man who was talking was actually robbing the other guy ... On a full bus, in broad daylight... So the other guy refused and got up and started walking to the front of the bus... And before she knew it.. The robber shot the man. And still no one did anything... And then the dying man crawled to her feet and begged her to keep him from dying after which pieces of lung or blood started coming out his mouth... The point of that gruesome tale is that we need to appreciate what we have in Canada... and learn from these people. I felt SOOO welcomed here in the church the first time I came... Everybody and I mean EVERYONE even those who could not speak English welcomed me! I was shocked... Everytime I'm in the car, i wave to people on the streets and they wave back even though they don't know me... the point is that there is still such camaraderie despite the distrust and physical insecurity that these people experience.

This place is far from gorgeous in terms of BC life... the roads suck and its really dusty... I just learnt that cars don't stop for you when you put your foot on the road... they actually come faster... there are no rules and some drivers in Canada (mainly Chinese and Indian) are blessings in terms of the way they drive compared to this place...

Poverty is widespread down here and new diseases everyday... I am truly amazed at the lives that these people lead... They are still so happy and welcoming despite their situation... In Canada... no one talks to me on the streets even though I wave. Everyone only cares about "numero uno." I urge you to look around today... Some people are not worth helping or welcoming into fellowship with one another... but some are... and we need to make a conscious effort to look around and start making Canada a friendly place where everyone is family!

On the family front...

things are going great with Jeru's family... I've had some good talks with both her brothers and with her Dad too... Despite the language barrier. I am able to understand a lot more Spanish and I can speak pretty fast now too... I've only been here four days and with all the things that has happened it feels like I've been here longer...

Jeru's sister is awesome! She is so nice and she's hilarious too... Her extended family (her uncles and aunts), according to Jeru, love me... and her dad apparently likes my personality... According to him, I'm "calm, unlike the rest of the family where everyone speaks really loud and has all kinds of hand actions and are constantly talking."

I must admit, I really had Jeru's dad pegged wrongly... I told myself on the Airplane that I had to be me... No matter what... I can put on some show after traveling for so long... I'm glad I can be myself amongst these people too... I really love all of them very much...

Her cousins man... There's this one named Diego... HE'S AMAZING witht he guitar... you should see how fast his hands move...
Jeru's church friends are really great too... one of them might be comin up to Canada in 2007 so hopefully he can meet you guys!

I love them all here... I really do!

It's a whole different life that it is back home... so much more simple, and familial, yet fraught with physical insecurities everyday.


I miss you all too... I wish you all could be down here... I met a Canadian the other day in Jeru's church and it was awesome... We hit it off... He lives in Abbotsford!

Anyways...

Take it easy

First official blogspot from PARAGUAY!

That´s right, after 26 hours of flying,
I´m finally here, it´s pretty great here!

Jeru´s family is awesome!

I will have more for you guys soon


Take it easy...

2+ hours before I head out.

I am very very nervous right now and I don't know what is going to happen...

I just want everyone to know that I love and cherish you all!

Take it easy and I will be updating it as often as I can... as the trip progresses.

Take it easy...

¡1 SOLID DAY!

That's right folks... come Tuesday, I'm one solid day away from going to the far away land.

Church was great last Sunday, just being there before God and just playing my heart out... that's what it should be like
when we worship... I also got the honour to play with so many talented musicians and singers this past sunday! Thanks to all of you!

VBS was apparently as successful as it could be. But we just have to continue to pray for those who have heard the word.

I'm going to miss my family especially... come to think of it I have never really been to another country without family around.

I think i'm going to have lots of fun on this trip... I'm going to cook for Jeru's family too... wish me luck on that one...

Packing has begun and will continue to the wee hours of the morning... It has been a good BC Day today. I hope the rest of you enjoyed it too.

Until later,

Take it easy...

Sunday Morning, 8:14 am

Got ready and going to church... but i can't find my guitar pick...
but i have time to blog...

Take it easy,

There are approximately ¡7 days left! I hope that everything is going well with you fine people... I on the other hand have been stressed out at the amount of things that I have to do to prepare for this trip.

We had to go to get insurance today, it was quite an experience. It was quite easy, but I got to realize how much of an insurance freak Jeru was. As soon as she saw the brochure she started asking if we should get this or that. She was grilling that insurance sales agent like she had just been arrested by the KGB. What an ordeal it must have been to survive that barrage of questioning. I hope she's ok...


Anyways!

That was today's adventure... and oh was it an adventure

OHHH I ALSO FIGURED OUT how to allow everyone to be able to leave comments... not just registered users... BLOGGER ROCKS!

Take it easy...

Hey guys... 8 days left... had a great football game today! We lost, but that referee really sucked when it came to refereeing the game... I'm hearing some "here heres" from my fellow team mates who are reading this.

So, I still have to pack and prepare for this trip. I am going to a "Travel Clinic" tomorrow which should be quite an adventure. I hope they don't stick too many needles in at once...

I am so tired and I have a 3500 word essay due this Wednesday... by God's grace I'll be able to get that and other work done before wednesday.

You know what guys, I thought posting on here was going to make it easier to write comments without signing up... but that is obviously not true... so please email me if you want to tell me anything! jnanthak@gmail.com


Take it easy...