Mission Voyage

Somebody said, ‘You never regret that you had a child, you regret that you didn’t’…

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And so it is third year in a row that we are able to come and see the enormous fair for South America – fair of international tourism. As usual, there was a national sector representing Argentina and its provinces; Brazil and Uruguay were a sector of their own; international sector with China and Taiwan present this year. National sector was by far the best. There were a dozen of national Queens gracefully walking through the ‘streets’ of the sectors. They were generous with smiles and gladly posed for pictures. Kids had fun chasing after them and getting them saved.

How was it? Colorful, noisy, crowded, fun witnessing, yummy snacks and refreshments, games, picture-taking, LOTS of walking, fellowship with other teams in the area. 15 souls to kids’ credit! Essa! (Hey, Aggie, you still remember your Portuguese!)

A humorous situation: when I invited kids to take a picture with Michael Jackson, they rushed to him at first, and then froze. The younger ones saw him for the first time, I guess. Olenka asked (not discreetly), "Mom, why he wears lipstick?", Beata kept studying his features, Daria looked sorrowfully at him, and only Aggie volunteered to take a picture. Both 'Michael Jackson' and I felt a bit awkward, trying to get kids to take a pic with him, while people were pressing in from all sides. 

On another occasion I asked a dancer from the South African stand to give me one of his souvenir bags. He promptly told something to the whole troupe, and then each one quickly reached out and grabbed every single bag there was around and clutched it tightly in their hands, looking at me quizzically. I tried to show them my intentions on my fingers, using simple English, and the 'mediator' was interpreting my signals each time, that caused great confusion among the dancers. Finally Dan, tired of my clumsy efforts to get the silly bag, wearily suggested that we speak different English, so I better let them be... So, I let...

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Phillip came here to stay for a while and have a look at Argentina. He is a Vietnam war veteran and ex-marine. He lives in an alternative community back in States, and it was interesting to see how other people live communally and how it works. That’s a different story, though. Here are Cookie’s first steps in handyman skills! How cute!

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Do you like tango? Or salsa? After watching many passionate dynamic dances with Latin-American rhythms, I came to this conclusion: in Argentina it’s all about legs, in Spain it’s all about arms, and in Central America it’s all about hips! See for yourselves!

Tierra Santa claims to be the world’s best and unique Bible museum with the largest Nativity figures, Creation pavilion and Crucifixion/Ascension scenes. You actually get to see Jesus on the cross and then being ascended to Heaven. The whole site is awesome.

The huge area of Tierra Santa is covered with artificial palms, replicas of ancient buildings, full-size figures of animals and people as was in the beginning of the 1st century in Palestine. You can see the Roman soldiers and normal folk, or visit the dentist set-up for Romans with the patient tied to the bench and the dentist with tooth-pulling tool (dreadful sight); you may sit on a chariot or trudge behind the cows with the shepherd boys; you can drop by the taverns and palaces; you can come to a place where the Rabbi reads from the Scriptures and peak over his shoulder. You may want to kick the Roman who treated Jesus brutally (but, of course, you aren’t allowed to do so).You can drink from the wells (at your own risk), and rest by the stones with other weary (fake) travelers, etc. etc. Then, you can travel uphill to Golgotha and see Jesus on the cross with Romans casting lots over His robe, followed by His ascension (you do not see the mechanisms and ropes, all that stuff. Plus light effects, and audio-visuals add to the veracity of what you see! )The whole thing pulls you in. For a moment you do think you are in a Holy Land.

The welcome attraction is a belly dancing group (that’s where your brain starts default-searching for records of belly dancers in the Holy Land’s daily routine). You are provided with helpful guides dressed to fit the scenery and are welcome to pay handsomely for delicious Middle East treats along with local foods.

Lovely!!! Kids had fun (adults, too!) and were able to talk and pray with the main dancers and a drummer. Below are some of the videos we took for our viewing pleasure. (For more fun shots from Tierra Santa, see our full album of Tierra Santa pictures).