Ahoy Mate!

Let me take a minute and tell all of you about one of my favorite things in this country...mate.  Mate (pronounced MAH-tay) is a drink sort of similar to tea.  It is a very social drink (not alcoholic, for all you baptists who just gasped) and almost always is included when friends get together.  It is served in a gourd usually, which is called the mate.  The actual leaves are called yerba (SHER-ba), meaning herb.  So the full term is yerba mate, but is usually shortened to mate.  You drink it with a straw, called a bombilla (bome-BEESH-a).
This is how it usually goes down, germ freaks beware.  There is one gourd, one bombilla, and one server.  The server pours the yerba into the mate, shakes it a few times to get the dust out, places the bombilla in the yerba and down to the bottom of the mate, then pours a few drops of very hot water onto the yerba until it becomes saturated.  The server then sips it down.  The server always takes the first "hit" of the mate because it is the strongest.  He then pours more water on the yerba and passes it to the next person and they sip it down.  When they are finished they give it back to the server and he pours more water on it and hands it to the next person.  This goes on until everyone has had their fill of mate, or until the leaves lose their flavor.  You can also add a sprinkle of sugar on the yerba before you add the hot water each time, but I prefer it without.  In summer months, it is made with cold juice (or what they call juice...more like tang really).
This drink was made popular by the poor people in Argentina because it has appetite suppressants in it so they would drink it when they were hungry.  It also has stimulants in it, the main one being caffeine (cafeina), but in mate is called mateina.  The coolest thing to me about this is the fact that EVERYONE takes it EVERYWHERE.  Anytime I am on campus, at a park, or just out, there are always groups of friends sitting around drinking mate.  I'd say about 8 out of 10 students always have a thermos on them.  It seems as if having mate on you is as much of a necessity as clothes themselves...or maybe more so considering the lack of clothing on some people.  Anyways, I definitely plan on bringing the tradition of mate back to the states with me.  So my friends who are terrified of drinking after people (I am not going to name names, but you know who you are) will just have to get over it and experience the delightfulness that is mate.

JM

Meet my Stint team

Ben...pondering

Ben Anderson-  A first year STINTer, Ben is a graduate from East Carolina University where he got his undergrad in chemistry, and master's in economics.  By the end of our time as roommates together, I feel like I will know more about ECU football than 80% of it's graduates.

Teeefany

KatieKat

Tiffany Holland-  Tiff, also a rookie, went to UT Martin and got her degree in Music and Psychology.  She got her master's from Middle Tennessee State.  She also spent some time as a professional Telephone Pictionary player. 

Katie Williamson-  Katie is from Niceville, FL and went to Florida State.  She majored in Spanish there with an emphasis in funny youtube videos.  This is also Katie's first year to STINT. 

Did I mention Jessica could grow a mean 'stache?

Jessica Ward-  Jessica went to North Carolina State and majored in Math Education.  She will be returning for a second year this year and I will be leading alongside her.  I have been dubbed as the guy version of her...seeing as she is awesome/hilarious, I'll take it. 

Cari

Cari Walsh-  Cari is a Clemson grad and will be returning for a second STINT year this year.  Her spanish is crazy good and she has a secret dreadlock, which is awesome.  We also share a passion for the Office.  

Oh, hey Garrett

Garrett Bounds-  Garrett will finish up his degree in Mechanical Engineering at Clemson in December.   He truly bleeds Clemson orange and I am excited to see how the mix of Maroon, Orange, and Purple will light up our apartment. He will be joining the team in early January and I anxiously await his arrival.  

Colea

Colea Henderson-  Colea is finishing up at UNC Greensboro this fall in Instrumental Music Education and will be "climbin through our windows" (inside joke) with Garrett in early January.  This semester she is student teaching so lets keep her in our prayers. 

Delicate

Kimberly White-  Kim, or "delicate" as I have recently christened her, is a graduate of South Carolina and got a degree in Exercise Science.  She will finish up her 2nd year this year and head back to the States on November 1st.  She will be sorely missed. 

Alexis

Alexis Joffe-  Alexis is  a graduate of North Carolina where she got her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.  Because she is a journalism major, I am self-conscious about writing this for fear that she will find mistakes in it...not that she would say anything.  She is also finishing up her 2nd year in BA leaves us with big shoes to fill.




Welp, there is my team.  I hope this gives you a little preview as to who they are, but just so you know, they are all great.  Thanks for reading and  more to come soon.

JM

First 2 weeks

FIRST TWO WEEKS

Well I’ve got about 2 weeks under my belt here in BA and it’s had its ups and downs for sure.   First off, I got sick the first night I got here so that was definitely not a good experience.  It was also a little overwhelming because we had a lot of briefing sessions, I didn’t have a roommate, the city is so different from Mississippi obviously, and also getting settled (groceries, unpacking, etc.) was a hefty task.   We still don’t have a refrigerator or internet but both of those things are in the works and should be taken care of soon.   Week one was definitely a tough one and very humbling.  On a lighter note, I did get to go to an Argentine church on the 12th with my co-leader, Jessica.  It was such a great time and really lifted my spirits.  A typical service there starts with small groups.  There are usually two or three groups with about 15 or so people in each and they all talk and discuss what they were supposed to read for the week.  After that there is a sermon and then some praise and worship time.  It was so great to get to experience this and while I know I want to look around a little while for a church, I know that this particular church is something I would definitely enjoy and benefit from. My favorite time was the praise and worship time.  It was all in Spanish but it was so great to see people lifting up praised to God in another language and feel His presence in the room.  It was just what I needed to lift my spirits for the week.

 Week number 2 was a lot better.   Ben, my roommate, arrived Monday morning (13^th) and it was great to see him again and to have someone in my apartment with me.  We also got to go on campus a lot more that week and I’m beginning to get the lay of the land.  The campus that our main presence is on is the Agronomics campus and it is great   It is kind of like an escape from the city because there is a lot of nature, animals, etc.  I’ve also joined a local gym, met some of my neighbors, and am really beginning to adapt to the culture.

I’ve gotten to do some evangelism on the Ag campus and it has been great.  I have had several deep spiritual conversations with people and hope that some of the contacts I’ve made will be receptive to the gospel.  The people are very lost and are very timid to get involved in a religion because many are against the Catholic Church and associate all Christians with catholicism.  They are not, however, timid to have a spiritual conversation so that has been a blessing and has made evangelizing and sharing the gospel easy.  I definitely feel like a big movement could take place while I am here or soon after because there are natives here who are believers and I feel like have a desire to grow and have an impact.   I can’t wait to get to know more people on campus and more of the people in our movement (Vida Estudiantil).  One of the great things about BA is that there is potential to have an influence on all of South America from in this one city.  The University of Buenos Aires is free so people from all over the continent come to take classes here and we meet people from everywhere.

The weekend of the 17-19 we went to La Plata for a training type thing.  It was directed toward students in Buenos Aires, La Plata, or wherever who want to share their faith, make disciples, etc.  It was a very informative weekend with many seminars that were helpful.  Also, it was great to interact with the La Plata team again as I havent seen them since we got off the plane.  The most encouraging thing about the weekend to me was to see around 40ish people that are native spanish speakers that want to share their faith and make a difference.  It was so great to see the same desire in them that I see in my STINT team. 

Prayer Requests:

-quick adaptation/language learning (I started language class on Monday the 20^th) and that my team and I would not feel too overwhelmed

-that God would direct us to a leader on campus who is receptive to the gospel
-guidance and wisdom for Andres Castro; he is a new student director for Vida Estudiantil (Campus Crusade here) who evangelizes with us on the agronomics campus. 


Thanks for reading.  My apartment will get internet this weekend I believe so more posts to come soon hopefully. 

Hasta luego,
JM

Wrap it in Maroon and White

 I know this post is a little late, but the weekend before I left was definitely one of the best ever and I couldn’t have scripted a better one to go out on.  It´s definitely something to write about so I´ll hit on the highlights:




Cappe’s Lunch- Over the past year or so I’ve been privileged enough to be involved in a tradition with some guys in which we eat at Cappe’s steakhouse every Friday for lunch. This was always something I looked forward to during my weeks at school and coming back for it one last time was no different. I got my usual: chicken and dressing, sweet potato casserole, green beans, cheese grits, sweet tea, and a free banana pudding (thanks to our awesome waitress, Cherish). The food was just as good as ever and so was the fellowship.



Little Dooey’s Dinner- For dinner Friday night a bunch of us ate at my favorite Starkville dining establishment, The Little Dooey. I know this doesn’t sound like a highlight, but unless you’ve eaten at Dooey’s you probably wouldn’t understand anyway. I promise there are more exciting things to my week than food.

Friday Night Surprise- Later that night I was surprised with a party by about 60 of my friends as I walked into my friend Danielle’s apartment for what I thought was going to be some relaxing, hangout/catch-up time. I have never had anyone surprise me with a party so this was so exciting for me. The apartment was packed with people, there was food, but my favorite part was a book that my friends made for me. It had pictures of me and my friends in it and nice notes that people had written for me, wishing me luck. I am so blessed to have such wonderful, thoughtful friends and I don’t know that I have ever felt so loved in all of my life.

Me and some friends at the tailgate

State v. Memphis football game- self explanatory



TSUN loss- I try not to relish or find joy when TSUN loses but sometimes…well, every time I just cant help myself. I am in no way trying to rub this in anyone’s face, it was just part of my awesome weekend.



Tailgate Party- not only was I surprised once this weekend but my parents also put together a surprise party at our tailgate. They organized it as I was making one of my “social laps” around the junction and all my friends were there when I got back with a cake that looked like the flag of Argentina. It was another great part of my weekend.



The Weather- absolutely couldn’t have asked for better weather for football.

Erin Andrews Encounter-  yes it is true, I saw Erin Andrews in the airport in Atlanta.  I wasnt sure if it was her at first, but after stalking her for a while I knew it was.  Here is the picture to prove it for all you doubters.


Ok so maybe I didn’t spare yall the details but everything was just so great this weekend and I absolutely could not have thought up a better one to go out on. I am so excited to be in Argentina but will definitely miss many people. Once again I’d just like to say how thankful I am to have been blessed with such wonderful friends and family.



JM