That Begs the Question

Retiro, the bustling downtown Buenos Aires train station

A few months ago I read that Jesus said, "Give to everyone who begs from you." I hadn't remembered seeing that before, and now that I live in a huge metropolis and have people begging from me daily it seems relevant, so I looked it up. There it is, in Luke chapter 6, tucked away in a very familiar passage about loving your enemies and turning the other cheek.

So, how do I do this? And what do I give? I can't say that Jesus didn't understand my situation -- it's clear from the Bible that he encountered lots of beggars, and it's also clear that some people back then spent all their money on alcohol (one reason why giving money seems wrong in most situations). In Acts 3 Peter and John meet a man who begs for a living since his legs don't work. They say that they don't have any money, but do have something they can give him -- and they pray for him to be healed, which he is.

Well, I do always have some money in my purse, so I can't exactly say that, and I don't think that God is going to use me to heal everyone I meet on the street. So again, what does this mean? I was talking with my friend Paul about this yesterday. He lives in an intentional community in a poor neighborhood in St. Paul, and along with his wife Libby has tried several different approaches. He said that Peter and John gave the man in Acts 3 what he really needed.

Here are the different scenarios I regularly encounter:

• On the sidewalk in a busy shopping district a few blocks from my apartment is a woman with no legs, seated with her hand out, saying to all who pass, "Help me, please."
• On the sidewalk a few blocks up from first woman I frequently encounter another woman who says, "Help me, please, buy something that I have." The first time I passed by I bought a small box of bandaids, but a few days later I didn't need anything that she had, so what should I do? She wasn't just selling things, she was saying, "Help me."
• On the city train, in addition to the vendors and the musicians, there are people who give a speech about their family's dire straits and ask for money or give to all the passengers a slip of paper regarding their needs (the latter happens more frequently if they are deaf or blind), occasionally accompanied by a picture of a saint, then they pass through the car a second time collecting the slip of paper and donations.

I think that I should probably try to engage the first two women in conversation, and I think that I haven't done so out of not wanting to look foolish, both to them and to the people around me. After all, the first woman is frequently chatting with the blind man five feet up from her (he sells things and doesn't ask for money) and doesn't seem to want to engage in conversation. Also, what would I say to them? But if I walk by without saying anything or giving anything I'm not doing what Jesus said to do.

If someone specifically asks me for something, then I have the opportunity to purchase it for them and possibly enter into relationship with them, but in the third situation described above they are people who are busily "working" the train and also don't seem to want to be interrupted. I could travel with granola bars or sausages or something to offer to them, I suppose? In Minnesota I used to keep granola bars and juice in my car to give to the guys who held up signs at traffic lights saying they were hungry.

Two situations I encountered yesterday, one where I mostly liked my response and one where I didn't:

• A woman outside the supermarket yesterday asked for help. I asked what she wanted and she said that she needed a chicken. I offered to buy her one and she said that they were cheaper in her neighborhood if I would just give her the money. I said, "I don't give out money, but I'm happy to buy you a chicken." We went back and forth a couple of times, and I ended up buying her a chicken. When I came out of the supermarket she was talking with someone else and there didn't seem to be the opportunity to really have a conversation with her. She said, "God bless you," and I just said, "May God bless you too, ma'am."
• As I was out running errands yesterday a man that was standing on the sidewalk started to talk to me. I believe he was starting to tell me the story of his woes, but before he started talking to me he checked me out, head to toe. That's not uncommon in this Latin country, but I felt somewhat indignant and justified in ignoring him and walking by with my "city face" on. I started to tell God that he hadn't come to earth in female form and so hadn't had to work with that, but then I realized that Jesus, since he frequently hung out with prostitutes, was surely looked at lewdly but didn't focus on himself -- he saw the image of God, albeit tarnished, in the people around him.

Above are Gaby and Nora, with me and Luisa below, when we got together at Gaby's two weeks ago to make "sorrentinos" (like large tortellini) as a fundraiser for the Orlando's to go to the Nicaraguan internship. The filling we're using in these photos is Swiss chard and ricotta with a touch of goose liver for that special something extra.

Fliers

When we're not busy playing with kids, we're intensely planning things -- here's Nora serving as the "cebadora," the one who serves mate to keep us going as we plan a vision seminar for the Libertador Church.

And here I am, hard at work under the "winter" sun.

Here are Alejandro and Marisa (she's from Baradero, they've both taken the first two steps of our training and are actively involved in the community) along with Nora and Gaby at our latest planning meeting in Baradero.

In my last post I wrote about a conversation I had with one of the kids in a neighborhood we're working in. Several people responded to that and I'll try to include other similar stories. However, I'm still trying to figure out how and what I can respectfully share about other people's lives since the issues they're dealing with are pretty personal.

Fun fact: I don't have a mail box, so everything comes under my door. Lots of fliers come, too, advertising local shops. This week there was a run on spiritual advertising. Slipped under my door two days ago was a newsletter from the local Catholic parish. Inside there was a pamphlet advertising the "Miraculous Medallion." It said, "Do you need a favor/grace? Pray to Maria for it!" It went on to offer a book about it complete with the bronze medallion for only U$S 5, with phrases such as, "This medallion has already helped many people. It can help you, too!" and "The Mother of God said, 'Everyone who wears on his neck this medallion will receive great favors.'" Underlined was written, "The Miraculous Medallion is a powerful shield against the designs and attacks of the demon. Father Gabriel Amorth, the most famous exorcist in Italy, declares that it's 'a good protection against the devil to wear the Miraculous Medallion.'"

Yesterday there was a flier advertising the ancient art of reading coffee grounds (I thought it was supposed to be tea leaves). For a small fee someone will read coffee grounds for me and give me "the answers and the sense of direction you need." In a free paper I got on the train last week there was an article about the big festival to celebrate Saint Cayetano, the patron saint of bread and work. There was a line 12 blocks long to get into the sanctuary where he is celebrated.

One of the latest sermons I've listened to on-line is about Genesis 11 and 12. Richard Dahlstrom notes that in Samaria, where Abraham lived before he heard God and left for an unknown land, the culture was polytheistic and worshiped the “three Ps”: power, provision, and protection. Dahlstrom notes that those three Ps are still idols in the church today, but don’t have anything to do with real Judeo-Christian faith. He discusses a Simpson’s episode of Protestants vs Catholics where Bart converts to Catholicism which leads to a pastor and a priest playing, “My God can kick your God’s butt,” and contrasts this with the inspiring lives of people who left comfort to follow God and love people: Henri Nouwen, Martin Luther King, Paul Brand.

God’s call to Abraham in Genesis 12 “is a movement from many gods to one, and a movement away from self-preservation to service…. Our obedience to revelation will result in us being a blessing.” Which paradigm will we follow? If we really trust God for our provision and protection we can pour out our lives for others.

Family Life

Silvia with some kids in Baradero after toys were handed out to celebrate Children's Day.

Having conversations in the areas I work can be challenging. Family relationships are very complicated, with many men having multiple families and kids moving around a lot. Still, family is a very talked-about subject in this culture since most kids spend a lot of time with their families and have lots of siblings. In Baradero last week I met Juan (not his real name), a pre-teen who never wanted his picture taken. I tried to strike up a "light" conversation with him, and it went as follows:

Me: So, how many brothers and sisters do you have?
Juan: I don't know.
Me: Are you joking with me, or you really don't know because you don't all live together?
Juan: No, we don't all live together.
Me: How many are in your home?
Juan: (Thinks for a minute) Five.
Me: With parents? Or five kids?
Juan: Hmm...we're seven all together.
Me: Oh, do you live with your mom and your dad?
Juan: No, with my stepfather and stepmother.
Me: Oh, really? I have a stepmother and a stepsister. Where's your mom? (I wasn't sure that I'd understood him correctly, because I've never met anyone who lived with two stepparents.)
Juan: She lives in another village. My father is in prison.

Blessed

I bought a guitar today! Julie sold some of my uniforms for me in Arizona and I used that money plus a little extra to buy the above guitar and the slightly-cushioned case -- 10 pesos cheaper for the snazzy red color! They threw in the two picks you see. It is even made in Argentina! I'm so excited for this, I've been wanting to get a guitar ever since I got here and finally got some good music store advice from my friend and colleague, Monica. I'm not a great guitar-player, I just play some chords, but I've been missing making music, and also found that I really missed the guitar in my personal worship time. And yes, you can find pitches to tune with on the internet!

This week I took a ferry to Uruguay to renew my tourist visa. It was a wonderful day -- cool and stormy-looking but with no rain. I had lunch with a tour group and sat with a Colombian woman. Interesting weather perspective: she told me that her home city, Bogata, is always cold and without seasons. When asked how cold, she said, "Well, nowhere near as cold as this!" Dear reader, it was in the high-50s.

So, here I am with our first sight of Uruguay in the background. When this picture was taken I wasn't aware that it is of the historic part of town. After my city tour I sat right on the edge of the peninsula you see in this photo.

Above and below are pictures of where I sat along the water at the tip of the peninsula. It's funny: I've lived alone for 11 years now. I've really noticed the alone-ness here in Argentina since I still don't know very many people and sometimes spend several days in a row at home. When I was on the ferry and the city tour I was thinking that I find traveling tiring. When I've visited places with friends I much prefer finding a coffee shop and sitting there for hours and talking. The ferry also made me think back to being on the MERCY ship in the Philippines, which was a blast primarily because I was living in community, working and eating and living with other people. Then I had lunch with Laura, the woman from Colombia, and she couldn't believe I live alone (she lives with her parents). So, I was thinking that I'm just kind of crazy, and of course I'm having a hard time being alone because it's not natural.

And then I found this spot. I sat here and listened to music on my I-Pod and heard the waves and prayed and read Scripture and felt incredibly alive and full of the presence of God and not alone at all.

Below is the flag of Uruguay as seen by night on the ferry:
Fun fact: people here don't seem quite as caffeine-conscious as we are in the States. Three of their principle hot beverages, mate, mate cocido, and coffee, are all high in caffeine, yet most people can drink them into the evening. I can't sleep if I do that, so I've taken to traveling with herbal tea sachets in my purse since it can make people uncomfortable if I'm not drinking. Once after I had said no to coffee at 8 pm and casually mentioned I couldn't sleep if I had it that late, someone at our meeting said, "I know you're a doctor, but I mean, have you ever asked a doctor if that happens? If drinking coffee late at night can really keep you awake?"