Next stop--Córdoba

Argentina Series: Day 14-15

Actually I arrived at the Colle's the evening of the 14th day. Juan was waiting for me at the bus terminal and the rest of the family at home.

They welcomed me with a wonderful dinner prepared by chef-son Guillermo.

Daughter Lorena (pictured here with her fiancé, now husband) gave up her room for the night.

We attempted the impossible--catching up on 40+ years of life in one evening! Photo memories helped. It was great to become acquainted with the younger generation, all grown adults establishing their own careers. Their married son was not there.

Juan has been a faithful pastor for all these many years, and is also an accomplished artist. A few years back I gave myself a birthday gift, I purchased one of his paintings that brought back happy memories of youth--a landscape of the sierras where our church camp was located. I have greatly enjoyed it in my office at the university.

I admired his work all around their home and also visited his studio.

(You can visit his website.)

Here he is pictured with the painting he gave us of Yehudi Menuhim which we treasure.

Mirta, his wife, insisted I take some of her grape jams.

Laden with gifts and precious memories, I left the next morning for a visit to a university that has wonderful programs for international students--Universidad Blas Pascal. I met the resident director of CC-CS in Argentina, the office staff, some current students in the program, a host mother (who grew up near some well known missionaries, the brother of martyr Nate Saint), and the president of the university (who had heard of Juan Colle, my friend, because his brother is also an artist of reknown).
They gave me a tour and thorough overview of the program, including attending a literature class. From what I saw, I highly recommend it to college students with intermediate competence in the language to experience either the intensive Spanish month-long program or an entire semester abroad.
I recently cane across a great prayer by the seventeenth century mathematician/physicist/theologian, Blaise Pascal, whose name the university bears:
"Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, since I do them with Your power; and little things as though they were great, since I do them in Your name."