In the Kitchen Again...

I'm always looking for new dinner ideas overseas, and the other day, I feel like I hit the jackpot! Our oven was not working and it was going to be a few days before someone could come fix it. Of course in that moment, the only things I could think to make involved the oven, when in reality, we don't use it that much.

Today, I'm posting three recipes: a creamy pasta, chocolate chip cookie bars, and pico de gallo.

So, oven is out and you don't want plain pasta again, enter Creamy Spinach Tomato Tortellini! This recipe was ready in just 30 minutes, and it was so delicious...and really rich. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 bag regular sized Barilla three cheese tortellini (8 oz) or 16 oz fresh tortellini in the refrigerated section of your grocery store (fresh 4 cheese = amazing)
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic (I just cut up garlic cloves because I have yet to find a jar of this)
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon onion flakes
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

First go ahead and cook your tortellini and set it off to the side. Meanwhile chop your spinach up. Then heat a large skillet using medium heat and put the two teaspoons of minced garlic into it (or your fresh garlic with a tiny bit of oil). Sautee it until fragrant, just briefly. Then add into the skillet the petite diced tomatoes (undrained), spinach, salt, pepper, dried basil, and onion flakes. Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture begins to bubble.

In another bowl, combine the flour and half-and-half. Whisk until fairly smooth.  Add this mixture into the the skillet along with the parmesan cheese. Heat through and reduce the heat to medium low and continue to stir and cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Mix in the drained tortellini gently and you're done! Seriously, a delicious meal!!

 Second thing I want to share with you: an incredibly easy recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. I'm sure I'll make them again because they were no mess and few ingredients. Tasted like home :) So, you'll need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup flour sifted
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

First melt your butter. Let it cool for a minute, then add your brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Mix them all well. Then add your other dry ingredients gradually. Hold off on the chocolate chips!!! You don't mix them in. Blend well and pour into a 9x9 greased or floured pan.  Now you can add your chocolate chips, you top the pan off with them and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

And, if you're still with me, I made some Pico de Gallo to go with some tacos for lunch today and my friend loved them! I'm pretty sure it was the cilantro, but just in case, here you have this recipe too:

2 or 3 Roma tomatoes
1 sweet onion
1/2 -1 c. chopped cilantro
1/2 lime, squeezed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
<Feel free to add a jalepeño. I asked for one and since Argentines don't do spice, we don't have them here. I got another red small pepper in its family and I swear to you it was 5x hotter than a jalepeño! Needless to say, I didn't add it.>

Chop up the tomatoes (keeping the juices), then the onion and cilantro. Squeeze the lime over it and add your salt and pepper. Mix together and chill before serving. I also would like to add that I got all of the above produce for just $1.80 today! Just another thing to love about Argentina.

Tunesday Tuesday

It's back! After a while of mission trips and travels, I'm back with good music!

This song was new to me, but a favorite at AMP Summit in the DR and I'm happy to share it with you. My favorite part of the song says:

From my heart to the Heavens,
Jesus be the center
It's all about You,
Yes it's all about You

The DR: a Divine Retreat

I've always seen pictures people posted of the Dominican Republic when they were on their honeymoon and I can now confirm, it is just as beautiful in person as the pictures make it look. The water so blue, picturesque palm trees everywhere, and those sunsets... wow!!

But greater than the scenery was the content of my trip: a spiritual renewal which I needed more than I realized after only three months on the field. When I first learned in January that I would be coming to the DR for this retreat, I was a little sad that it was happening 3 months into my time here in BA, but I have to say, I was ready for a break from the city! To see old friends, meet new ones, and worship in our heart language was such a blessing. Not to mention our guest speaker for the week was David Platt, and if you've ever heard him speak, you know that man is anointed! I loved everything he had to say.

Rather than bore you with all my sermon notes (ha! as if David Platt would ever be boring), I will just share one thing that he started with one morning that was overwhelming in the best of ways. He had us write down what we thought God would say to us if we were sitting with him in a room all alone, head-to-head, toe-to-toe. We had 5 minutes to think about it and write it down... When time was up and Platt told us what he thinks God would look at us and say:

"I love you so much."

That simple.

Something about those 5 words and nothing else was just a weight lifting off my chest. Here I was writing down things that I had failed at, what I had done wrong....essentially condemning myself, and all I needed to know was that He loves me.

In Romans 8:1 Paul tells us that "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." What joy! I so wish you could have been in the room with me to hear all of his sermon's last week, they were so good for the soul. But really, he was just delivering truth from God's word, the ultimate good for the soul.

We were so spoiled last week. As I was in the jacuzzi tub on my hotel balcony (yes, that actually happened), I felt like I was eating from the King's table all week long. But the more I thought about it, this is a real life picture of how God wants to treat us. I'm not saying we deserve or should be staying at all inclusive resorts all the time, but God delights in giving us good things! [Luke 11:13] Can I just say it is so good to belong to the King of kings?

I can't finish this without giving recognition to the reason this was all made possible: YOU! Yes, if you're giving to Lottie Moon Offerings then you sent me there.  Also, I should just say that all of the other missionaries from the Americas said in all their years of serving, they've never seen anything like this put together. They had to save for this for 2 or 3 years to pull this off, so it's not like we're going to have this again next year. It was a big deal to all of us. So again, thank you.

Now for the fun part, pictures!

flying out from Buenos Aires, the city is overwhelming

mi familia on the beach :: all the Argentine M's got together one afternoon

I'm really going to miss quiet times like this

beautiful mosaic art

me and David Platt, nbd

full size rainbow that ended in the ocean :: Great is Thy faithfulness

hammocking on the beach?? Yes please!

sunsets were unreal here

resort at night

blessed to meet so many career ladies and hear their stories

seriously, so blue

local market

AMP FPO 1.14 :: the best Americas family ever

Late to the Party: THANK YOU!!

A few weeks ago, maybe even a month now, was the Southern Baptist Convention. There, they revealed that the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering was the highest ever recorded - $154 million. If we want to talk nickles and dimes, okay, pennies, it was $154,057,852.36. My mind is blown.  We passed last year's by 3.2%.  While that doesn't sound like a lot... when you're talking about hundreds of millions, that's 4 million dollars!! That's a lot of ministry needs and personnel you're supporting!! It's moments like this that give me hope in the American church that maybe they still care about missions and the work that is yet to be done.

I am humbled by the generous giving of people so that I can be where I am and do what I do.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

It's all for His glory.

If you'd like to read the full article I got these numbers from (and the below picture), please click here.

This picture was taken here in Buenos Aires on a subway of my supervisor sharing with a national. In a city of 14 million, we can't afford not to take every moment captive.

2 Worlds, 1 City.

For the faithful few that read this, I'm back! Sorry that it's been so long. Amongst all the sickness in June, I just didn't have it in me to write. I wanted to, but I just didn't know what to write about. I want everything I put on here to be authentic, never a front. So, I just didn't write. Last night I got out a my latest newsletter and in it I said I would talk more about what I've been doing with teams these last few weeks. I'm also going to use more pictures in here, so yay!

May 30-June 16 we had two girls from Brainerd church in TN come to work with Once here in BA that does a lot of work in Recoleta. These girls worked in the comedor soup kitchen daily, but also got to see a lot of Recoleta 4 times a week, at least. We had a lot of fun being invited into peoples' homes, being tourists on the bus tour. We even got to dress all fancy and go to a dinner & show in a downtown tango theater FOR FREE compliments of a famous singer that goes to Once. It was amazing. Also, we got to watch the opening Argentine world cup game in an open park with some Argentine friends!! I think these girls were really blessed by their time here.  I know I was.

I promise we were happy! Just trying out the STURGEON face :{

Mi querido Caminito

Before Amelita Baltar!

Outside of the theater, Tango Porteño

Watching the game, at half time, with the screen behind us.

Buenos Aires <3

I had about a week off before a second group to join us, this one from Clarksville, TN. 10 youth joined us in serving in Villa Lugano. This part of the city is known to not be as nice...They have the lowest average monthly salary in Capital Federal. A 180 from that of Recoleta, the highest in Capital. Only 15.7% of the population over 25 years old has completed 14 years of school in Villa Lugano and the surrounding barrios making up Comuna 8.

But.

Villa Lugano has something more than other comunas. Jesus. 21% of people in this comuna reported to be evangelical. Only 3.9% of the people in Recoleta reported to be evangelical. The people we served among this week may be poor in material things, but my are they rich in spirit and faith! It reminded me again of why I am here. For the people in Recoleta who still don't know of their need for a Savior, that their high rise with a view can't save them. And for the sweet fellowship, encouragement and prayer that I had with my brothers and sisters in Christ in their homes and shops. We serve Lord over all. He is sovereign over all.

I think the students really enjoyed being here this week, working with the youth of the church Parque Indoamericano. Again, we were blessed more than a blessing to them. The great thing about this church is that it is a mix of other countries, i.e., Peruvians, Chileans, Bolivians. So there was a lot of folk dancing and food eaten this week! You'll notice in the pictures the villas we were inside (at night, on a rooftop) and in a community house were we did a Bible study one night with kids.

Looking over Villa 20, one of the more dangerous villas in the city.

At their despedida, some of the Hilldale youth dancing!

The Pre-K class was learning about the World Cup in school and then watched it live!

Some of the girls from the church doing an Argentine dance for us.

Trip wouldn't be complete without some ARG v USA fútbol ;)

The thing I LOVE about my job is that I get to do this mission trip with the group, but at the end of the week, when they go home, I'm still here! I don't have to board the plane. I can go back anytime I want!! How exciting it is to be in this city day after day. God has given me a passion for this city as of late, and every time I leave the house I am excited just to walk the city streets. To HEAR the car horns blasting to the chant of the Argentine Mundial fever. To SMELL fresh bread baking. To SEE sunshine or rain in the midst of the highrises. To TOUCH the button on the collectivo when I know I've arrived at my destination. To TASTE the fresh milanesa that someone has prepared for me or I'm going to learn to make tomorrow. I hope no matter where you are in the world, you are passionate about the people around you, because they have an eternal destiny just like you do.