Unusual escort

You might not have known, but Argentina really likes to take advantage of any reason for taking a day off of work. Like this Monday we have “Dia de la Bandera” (aka. Flag Day). Now, to be honest, I don’t really even know when Flag Day is in the United States. Anyways, that all is to say that this Monday was a national holiday and no businesses were open. So a few of us girls, Becky, Courtney, Sarah and I decided to get out of the city of a bit. We went to this place called Sierra de la Ventana; it’s about an 8 hr bus ride away. Of course, we waited til the last minute and got the plain old seats (normal bus seats) instead of the semi-bed ones. These are a killer. Didn’t really sleep the whole way. To me it seemed to be below zero in the bus (but we speaking in terms of Taylor…which may not mean that cold.)

We had told the bus driver that we needed to be dropped off at “Base Campamento” (a camping ground where we were staying) and the bus driver said, “No problem.” But before we knew it we had passed the place and ended up at the terminal. He promised, though, that he would get us there. And boy did he! Everyone else got off the bus, and the bus driver backed up as if to personally take it upon himself to get us there! (As you can imagine, we were laughing at this idea of a personal escort.) But little did we know that he was going to take us a few blocks to hand us off to the POLICE! Yes, the police. There was a police truck waiting for us and the bus driver told us to get off. The policemen threw our “packs” in the bed of the truck and we four girls squnched in the back. We were all thinking, “Are you kidding!” It was unbelievable! I thought to myself, “Only would things like this happen to us.”

So at 6:30 in the morning…bright and early in the morn…(although it was still dark outside)…we got in and had a casual convo with the two policemen listening to Robbie Williams play in the background. Talking about priceless moments. This was definitely one of those worthy for a Mastercard commercial!!!

The only sad thing is that we forgot to get a pic with them. No worries. Let’s just hope that my memory lasts long so that I can forever laugh about this one.

JOY to be grasped

Sometimes I don't understand why it is so hard for me to really embrace the JOY set before me. I am reminded of the passage of 1 Peter 1:8-9,
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
I recognize my sin, confess it....but then I stay there. What does repentance really look like in the life of a believer? Someone really walking with the Lord? I mean I would consider myself walking daily with Him. I talk to him. I pray. Ask Him to help me in my weaknesses. And He does help me, but I do constantly find myself falling back into the same sin...and gosh, it is frustrating. I think my being conscious of this saps me of my JOY. I truly believe in 1 John 1:9 that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Moreover, I see that I stand before the throne of God blameless, righteous and purified from all filthiness and sin because of Christ's blood shed for me. I give thanks that by the blood of Jesus, I can "draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22). But I think that what I really struggle with is believing that....
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)
I pray that God would restore to me the JOY of my salvation daily as I fall before His throne knowing that I cannot and refuse to live this Christian life by my own strength. It is the divine power of the Holy Spirit in me that will give me all that I need for "life and godliness" and HOW I desire to please Him and let off the oh so pleasing aroma of Christ...as I am being transformed daily.

It's been since November

Okay, so really, I have no time at all to do this blog...I have been writing all day on my prayer letter...so my friends the creative juices have all run out. I'm juice-less. Nothing to give tonight. I'm not sure how much I'll have to give here in the next couple of months. It just depends on how often I have the "ganas" to write. We'll just see.

I was just reading my fellow members blogs and thought...gosh, I should get back to it...but I am thinking about changing the name of my blog. Not like it's a bad name or anything. I mean "Argentine Praises" is nice. I picked it because of the double A kind of rhyming thing...you know. But I like my other friends' blog names better...like Meekers "Cerebral Profusion", or Courtney's "The Inner Workings...", or Kelly's "Short Spats, or Mel's "Filled to the Measure", or Jason's "An Ode to Existence", or Becky's "Flighty Thoughts". Basically, mine is boring. I will see what I can do to change it.

A Deep Thirst

In observing people from afar whether it is from my window which gives me a bird's eye view onto the bustling street below or whether it is from a park bench in Plaza San Martin, in engaging in 30 second to two hour conversations with them, and in sharing meals, drinking mate or eating an ice cream with them, I feel I am getting more of a glimpse each day of what it truly means to be Argentine. Aside from being surprised by the amount of pregnant women and elderly couples that are out in public daily, I have noticed something in the faces, in the eyes and in the demeanor of the Argentines that tugs at my heart. In a country where the public figures and leaders of the government, economy, and even religion have many times over deceived and disappointed them, they have little really to believe in or to put their trust in. After the incident a few years ago in their economy in which the peso lost about four times its value, Argentina has suffered from significantly more poverty and unemployment. From the cyclical corruption of their political leaders stemming from decades past to the most recent decline in their economy, their country as a whole has taken a beating, and you can see it their faces. Every day I walk down the streets in La Plata, I see an intense need and deep thirst within the souls of the Argentines for something more. And I respond in my heart....There is something more! There is someone in which you can unhesitantly put all your hope and trust...and that person is Jesus Christ!

The more time I spend here in La Plata, the more my heart grows for the people here. The more I talk and interact with the culture, the more I want the country to know of my Savior! My prayer and specifically the prayer of my STINT team is that more students, the future leaders of this country, come to personally know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior so as to help guide Argentina in the HOPE that is only found in Him!

Ministry Miracle

The other day I had my first go at getting to know more of the university here in La Plata. Like our universities back home, the Universidad Nacional de La Plata is broken up all around the city into about a dozen different "colleges" (or "facultades"). This past year, the STINT team had a table in the Facultad de las Humanidades (humanities) where they advertised English Club, which is currently held three times a week. The hope this year is to expand our ministry to as many other facultades as possible, especially considering we have 13 on our team now instead of 6, including our director, Mauricio, and his wife, Analia. With my interest in art history, I set out to get to know the Facultad de las Bellas Artes (Fine Arts)--the make up of the students, their interests, attitudes and openness to talk as well as the facultad's atmosphere and physical environment.

So I went to one of the three buildings which houses the Facultad de Bellas Artes, praying all the way there that God would use me, that the Holy Spirit would guide and move in me, and that I may meet a number of contacts. Once I got to the building, I investigated the area around it through people-watching and observing where the students hang out outside class. As I was walking around, I noticed four girls sitting together on a bench outside the kiosko directly across from the building talking. So I decided to approach them. I introduced myself and told them that I was just trying to get a feel for the campus of Bellas Artes as I work with an organization called Vida Estudiantil which works with university students. It turned out that they were high school students at the Colegio de Bellas Artes whose names are Micaela, Magali, Florencia and Daniela. They were so very sweet and so excited to have a new friend from the United States! We talked for quite some time and then they invited me to their sculpture class. It was great! I met the entire class and it was quite a sight as all the students gathered around me like show-and-tell!

After learning a few techniques in sculpture class, I found a cafe nearby to "tomar un cafe" and have my quiet time. Little did I know at this moment that I would meet an amazing contact! As I entered, I noticed that there was only one person in the cafe and she was studying a few art books. I couldn't help but ask her what she was studying, and from then we started a thirty minute conversation! She was a professor of Art History at the Facultad de Bellas Artes and after hearing about my degree in Art History, my internship at Christie's, Vida Estudiantil and my interest in getting to know the students of Bellas Artes, she invited me to come talk to her class! So of course I went, thanking God for this incredible opportunity!

When I entered the classroom, filled with all sorts of graffiti yet lacking enough seats for the class of 25, the teacher, Monica, introduced me to the other teacher and to her students. For the next 30 minutes, I talked in front of the class about my background, my experience as an Art History major, my impression of Argentina, and, most importantly, about Vida Estudiantil and about what I was doing in La Plata. I said that I am here with an organization that works with the university students of La Plata and focuses on three aspects of a student's life: the academic, the social and the spiritual. To explain the academic aspect, I explained that we offer English Club three times every week to anyone who wants to come as a service to help the students improve their English skills. With regards to the social aspect, I said that Vida Estudiantil holds events such as dinners, soccer games and even opportunities of community service where one can get to know other students in La Plata. To explain the spiritual aspect, I mentioned that we have meetings every Thursday night where our Argentine director, Mauricio, gives talks on topics relevant to a student's life and where students who want to know more about having a relationship with Christ can come to learn more and share in fellowship with other believers.

As a result, some students asked some questions about "the spiritual aspect" and in response, I practically shared the gospel with the entire class! I got over 15 contacts from the class and am in the process of getting back to each one.

This is simply a JOY to share with you all! I attribute it all to the Lord as He guided my steps and my words the whole day! I have many more stories and I look forward to sharing them with you!