I've been really blessed this week. I don't think that's necessarily because I was looking for truth, but there it is. On Saturday I met a couple from the U.S., Steve and Beth. They were here with their young daughter for a medical conference. Steve is an internist with a masters in public health and Beth owns a fair trade business. Steve has been to a Training of Trainers (TOT1) and is really excited about the CHE vision. You know when you meet people and you really share a similar vision and hope, how exciting that is?
Last night I got together with them again along with their friend Amy, a linguist who works with Wycliffe in Peru. More fun! They treated us to an excellent steak dinner.
I've been reading Jesus' words more lately, and love these verses that Dr. Luke recorded (chapter 12): Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Now I'm really new at this "missionary" thing. Sometimes I'm hesitant to talk about its blessings because of that. I've been reading Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline recently (thanks, Matt!) and he says that we tend to talk too much because we self-justify rather than trusting God to take care of our reputation. Sometimes I am also too silent about God's blessings, out of not wanting to be accused of being naive, but I think that's also wrong. So, enough justifying, here goes!
I sold a bunch of my possessions last year -- not nearly all, as my Aunt Char will tell you who has boxes in her basement. I'm also really starting to learn, with great examples from my contemporary sister-missionaries, to be more generous with what I have. And while sometimes scary, it's mostly really really fun. I also appreciate what I have, which is another great gift. I still have my CDs (thanks again to my sister Lorena for putting them into well-organized books for easy traveling), and so am listening to Brahms' cello sonatas right now. I not only was able to bring everything I needed with me, but I'm currently in a really well-furnished apartment. One of my church's community groups sent me a gift certificate for books, so I have some great ones here. I even received a bunch of fun things from the American couple as they were leaving town: fun US foods (oatmeal, almonds, Trader Joe's rice dishes) and their guide to Buenos Aires. It feels like Christmas all the time!
Here's my "drive-by" the Casa Rosada in MarchI've only seen the Casa Rosada (like the White House) once since my arrival, and that was just a drive-by. It was either too hot or I was too tired or not wanting to go alone on my days off, and so really haven't seen anything in this apparently gorgeous city. Well, more gifts today! I had to go downtown for steps in my visa process:
- Leave before 7 am (still dark here!) to pick up "lack of Argentine criminal paperwork" by deadline of 9:30, (and I've experienced that between 8 and 9 it can be physically impossible to squeeze onto the train).
- Copier at immigrations center doesn't open until "9 or 9:30, more like 9:30," so I go back to the train station to copy the "I am innocent" paper.
- Return to the immigrations center for my first attempt at turning in my paperwork, most of which is wrong. The church papers have to be sent to the Ministry of Religion first, the translations with apostille that I had done in the US are invalid when requesting a visa from in-country. Thankfully, my FBI paperwork from the US is not expired, which I had thought it might be.
- Got directions to the translation center -- back to station to get a bus.
- Bus I was directed to isn't exactly right, but will take me close by and the driver is very helpful. Plus (present!) we go by the Casa Rosada and other beautiful downtown buildings.
- Translation center only certifies the translation once it's done, and has a 4-inch thick binder with names of translators I have to call -- no directions, and a lot of the phone numbers are wrong. However, a Colombian woman is also looking, and she knows the city well and finds us a translator next door.
- Go next door and pay for translation of two documents, to be picked up in a few weeks.
- See subway stop nearby and take that (with one transfer) back to train station and then home.
- Accomplish a few errands on the way home -- I finally have rubber boots for my work in the Delta!
Another drive-by the Casa Rosada, also in March. Although this isn't the greatest photo, you can see some of how alive the Plaza de Mayo is. It was even more colorful today since Argentine's national day was two days ago, celebrating the beginning of their independence from Spain.
