You're not going to believe this, but...

Well, Jennie and I are stranded in Dallas. After waiting on board our airplane for about two hours, the captain announced that they decided that "this plane is inoperable."

Apparently, the weather monitor was broken on the plane. In other words, they said that there were some storms in the northern part of South America, and that we did not want to fly without our weather radar - it's not safe.

I'm all for safety, and glad they caught it before we took off.

We did not want to participate in another "Oceanic Flight 815" if you know what I mean.

Anyhow, at least American Airlines is putting us up in a nice resort hotel overnight and giving us all some vouchers for free dinner and breakfast. Nothing beats egg rolls at midnight! (Actually, a lot of things beat eggrolls at midnight, but this is not a blog for pessimists!)

So, we called Dave & Ruth Ann to let them know that we will not be leaving for Argentina until tomorrow at 11:00am. That would put us in Buenos Aires around - get this - 11:00pm on Thursday night. We'll miss the first half-day of the retreat.

Thanks to those of you who are indeed praying for us. Apparently God protected us from a bad plane and some bad storms. We're grateful, and ready to get some sleep. The picture above is of our "resort" as we arrived here a half hour ago.

We love you all, and are grateful for your prayers and friendship. Time for some free egg rolls (room service food) and some sleep.

Underwoods-not-quite-in-Argentina-yet.blogspot.com

That's right, we're in Dallas. A two-hour layover. My last post was rather brief, cause they called us to our plane that very minute that I posted!

Anyhow, a few more details about our trip...

RETREAT - we land at 8:10am Argentina time (an hour ahead of Ohio), and we go right to lunch and then off to a 3-day retreat with the missionaries there. We are looking forward to meeting all the people we have heard about, and hearing about how they are doing and what God is doing in their lives.

I am going to speak at three evening sessions, each one dealing with the issue of LOVE in our lives.

Jesus calls LOVE "the greatest of these..." It's crucial to the great command (Matthew 22:37-40)... It's the first-listed fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5).

So God has laid it on our hearts to bask in, reflect upon, think about, study, discuss the kind of LOVE God wants us to experience, strive for, and share in our relationships.

Does God love you?
Do you love God?
Do you really love any people in your life?

Those are the issues... three main sessions on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.. and then breakout sessions and discussions each morning. Lots of free time and recreation time too. They even have these things called "siestas" - which is like a scheduled nap. Sounds like a great country!

And... we're off!

Thanks to Mark Coleman, for driving us to the aiport. His wife Connie is having a baby tomorrow, and my man still helps us out. Gotta love it! Thanks my man!

Leaving so Soon?

Tonight, we got to pack and play with Allie and Luke. Leaving them is going to be the most difficult part of our trip to Argentina. At least Jennie is coming back after eight days. The last few nights, they have enjoyed standing next to each other on little stools and singing and clapping together. Priceless!

Today was a whirling dervish of "tying up loose ends," "running around like chickens with our heads cut off," and a veritable cornicopia of other cliche's. The previous sentence is full of words I rarely use - not sure where that came from. It was a busy day, nonetheless.

We fly out tomorrow afternoon, and the excitement is starting to hit our stomachs. You know - that kind of excited, nervous, pumped-up feeling that you feel before you go to Argentina? Yeah.

In the midst of running errands, I got to talk with God about some of the things related to our trip. If we have our eyes and ears open, I know he's going to have some surprises and some great memories in store for us.

Our church staff prayed together today like we do every Tuesday, but it was sweet to have them praying for us, our trip, and for our baby-on-the-way (yes, the one currently in "Mommy's Tummy" - as Allie calls her). We're not sure if it's a boy or girl yet, but Jennie is now 12-weeks pregnant, and the baby looks great. Don't worry, the doctor said it's fine for Jennie to travel, and we're in an area with some great health care options.

I also hear that Argentina is famous for it's world-class meat. Yikes.

And for it's obsession with the "tango." Also Yikes.

I probably should have borrowed my friend's Manu Ginobili jersey. Manu is a famous pro-basketball in America, but he's a hero and legend for his native people from Argentina.

At this point, we are mostly finished with packing. We shaved Luke's head tonight, and I shaved my head. He cried much more than I did, but afterwards, he celebrated the fact that we both got haircuts together.

Jennie has never been out of North America (besides our honeymoon, which does count, right?) - and I haven't been overseas really in about ten years. This is going to be a blast. Again, thanks for reading, and please do let us know if you're dropping by this blog.

I'll leave you with this verse that has been on my mind lately...

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says to Peter, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Yes, God's church prevails. It's part of the definition of the word "church" as God sees it - victorious over all the forces of evil. Victorious over the devil and demons and sin and violence. The Gates of hell will not overcome what God is doing worldwide in His church. Gotta love it.

We're headed to Argentina!!

Welcome to Gary & Jennie's trip blog, travel log, and journal updates for our trip to Buenos Aires for short-term missions. The people on the left are Dave & Ruth Ann Martin, missionaries with GBIM (Grace Brethren International Missions) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Long-time members of our church, Dave and Ruth Ann sensed God's call to full-time missions work in the late 1990s, and have been serving Christ with a team of missionaries there for a while.

Jennie and I will update this blog on a regular basis throughout our trip, or as we are able.

A trip like this has been "in the works" and planned by our missions team at Grace for several years. We've wanted to send a pastor/leader from our church overseas as a way to encourage and help missionaries, research future opportunities, and also to keep our hearts focused on God's worldwide command to "make disciples" (Matthew 28:19-20).

We leave Columbus on Wednesday shortly before 4:00pm, for a layover in Dallas and then a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thanks to many of you who are praying for us and would like to hear the things God is going to do and teach us through this time!

It would be great if you could post comments after you read some of these, just so we know who is praying and see if you'd like to hear about certain topics or people we encounter on our trip.

Since it's Monday night, we're about to start packing and getting ready. We're hoping to SKYPE with Dave & Ruth Ann tonight and get the latest updates on what we'll be doing in that southern hemisphere...

With love in Christ,
Gary & Jennie Underwood