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!