River-water

"Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink." John 7:37-38

Christ truly is the living water--whenever I am thirsty, He satisfies my soul. When I am dry of energy, patience or joy, God calls me back to the river. All I need to do is believe and drink.

This past weekend, I was renewed in many ways. On Friday, Delbert and Frieda took Leah and I on a 2 1/2 hr drive to General Roca, a city of about 80,0000 people. There we visited Piroli (I think that was his name), the pastor who helped start the first mennonite church there. We also went to the city´s poorest neighborhood, where all the street were dirt, and the houses small cement constructions. The Choele church has sent a missionary couple to live in that neighborhood, I think. The lady, along with another woman, run a tutoring program for niños. Frieda needed to visit, because she coordinates such church initiatives. This program, which has only been running for about 6 months or so, has about 20 kids who attend. Leah and I got the chance to help teach multiplication (in Spanish!), and see how God is ministering through this program. It is so much help for these kids, most of whom have parents that are separated, working and not at home much, and often don´t get enough food at home. We must pray that the church in Gnrl. Roca will get more involved with this initiative and that there will be sufficient funds so that the children can be fed at the school. At the end of the month, it gets hard to buy enough bread and dulce for them.
On our drive home that night, back to Choele, I was admiring the gorgeous night sky, when I suddenly heard my mom´s singing voice. In shock, I asked Frieda what CD it was, but soon realized it was Prairie Street´s music team CD from 2001. I started crying. For the next hour, I spent a blissful time in prayer, tears, and worship. It was such a gift to feel so close to home in Spirit, even as it was the first time I really realized how far away from home I was.
The next morning, Saturday, as I went jogging on the small island in the middle of the river, the familiar songs kept cycling through my mind. I belted out the familiar tunes (after making sure I was alone on the island ) As I dipped my feet in the Argentine Rio Negro, I sang "As I went down to the river to pray." God is so great. I was so thrist for God, and physically coming to the river was powerful. That night, at the youth reunion in the small yellow chapel, we sang "No hay nadie como tú"---"there is no one like you". I felt at that moment God´s hand blessing me and the whole gathering of believers. I continue to see the Spirit moving in our lives here (and I include the RAD team in the church here).
Times I´ve experienced God this week:
-memorizing the Lord´s prayer in Spanish--"El Padre Nuestro"
-talking on the phone for the first time with my family on Saturday
-Clara (host-mom) sharing with me the history of her family, and how she came to faith
-all the times I share maté with friends, and new acquaintances, and am welcomed and loved here. I love that in Argentina it is culturally acceptable to just stop by a friend´s house unannounced to visit--relationships take priority over "things"
-the first real rainy days at the beginning of this week reminded me very much of home. But, rain is rare here. That´s okay. I like the heat of summer (isn´t there a blizzard right now back in Indiana?)
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the immense love of God, and the water of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
In love,
Andrea