Jan 2007

Hello all and a happy Febuary!

I have decided to overcome my fear of blogging because I have nothing very profound to say, and to just let people know I`m alive and doing well. I`m actually do better than just well--I feel like I am becoming more at home here, making more friends, gaining more ground in the spanish language, and developing a deeper awareness of the Spirit of Jesus in my life.
January flew by with another viaje misionera to Aguada Cecilio, where we visited folks, had a children`s meeting, drank lots of maté, went horseback riding in the countryside for a bit, and witnessed the beautiful thirst for God in the children who came to worship with us on Sunday morning.
(the children in Aguada)
The work in Belisle is now turned over into our hands, with me being somewhat the leader, as Pastor Juan Sieber has left to live in Illinois for a year. We visited a few weeks ago and made a number of new connections. We are hoping to visit again this Wed, bringing along three girls from our youth group. Not sure exactly what we will be doing, but probably just visit people again. I trust that God will continue to work if we just remain patience and faithful in doing our part of the work. Praying, visiting, being a presence in the town. There is one small bar/confiteria-resturant there where we might eat lunch, and a nice plaza to drink maté in. Please pray that this missions work may be fruitful and that doors may open for us to begin working with children in the town, possibly starting with English lessons.

(RAD with pastor Juan Sieber)
The four of us in RAD also got the chance to accompany the youth of Choele Choel to the national Mennonite youth camp in the province of Buenos Aires. There were about 180 youth who came (although I am sure there are many more who couldn`t come), and we stayed at a church camp that reminded me a lot of similar camps in the states. The weather was humid and hot like an IN summer too, with plenty of mosquitos, and a plague of flies. I really appreciated the worship times we had, especially one in the evening, when, after we were dismissed, nobody wanted to leave the presence of God. One kid picked up a guitar and started playing songs, and we worshipped in dim light, tears, and joy for probably another hour. It was a special time to meet new youth, even though not understanding much of anything the preacher said was frustrating. The theme was going to the extreme for Christ, but the preacher was too Argentine for us to understand--too many jokes, puns, and talked way too fast! A shame.

Life continues to be a combination of joys and challenges here. I am aware and thankful that I am really grasping the language more and more. That has happened so subtly, my learning of it, but I realize I am beginning to have meaningful conversations with people here. I am now able to talk about my faith, about God, about life with certain people, and feel like I can express myself. Not completely all the time, which is still a frustration, but I`m not as distracted by having to think about the spanish all the time I am talking.
I have begun doing more visiting of people in the church, older folks, and accompaning Frieda Erb on her visitations. I think this might be one new way God is calling me to serve here, in building relationships in this way. I enjoy it, and pray that the relationships I make may be fruitful and life-giving.
This afternoon, while attempting to survive the extreme heat (39 C, about 110 F), the four of us met in Leah`s apartment to begin a study time. We meet once a week for prayer and worship together, but now on mondays, I will be leading a discussion on the essay we are reading, by Susan Classen, A Spirituality of Service. I love the image she uses to show how God works through us in our service. Like the water system in the village where she worked in El Salvador, God is the source, the tap spring, and we are the pipes, carrying the water to the villagers below the hill. We are the pipes through which God`s love flows, and our actions are the water that comes out of the faucet. If we are connected to God, and in good relationship with our Creator, then the love we receive will flow through us in tangible ways. As young adults on a journey of discipleship and discovering what it means to be a servant for Jesus, we are looking to make clear our channels. To be aware of the things in our lives that may distract us, or clog us with bad spirit, or pull us away from God, and ask that God clean us and make us flow with the Spirit again. I pray that each day, we may be filled more and more with the Spirit of Jesus Christ, so that everything in our life may become a natural act of loving service.
In a few weeks, our RAD director Darrel Gauscho is visiting us. We pray for his safe arrival, and a good time of visiting and mutual encouragement. I`m sure I will have some heart-to-hearts with him, as he always seems to know how to probe into my inner soul.
We are also praying as plans are made for our missions trip to Caleta Olivia, a town about 2 days of travel south, to the southernmost Mennonite church in the world (I think). We still don`t know many details, but think it might be some sort of evangelical work, which also sounds vague and slightly scary to us. But, I`m trusting in God, as with every new and slightly scary or intimidating experience here in Argentina. Things always seem to work out, with God`s help. Oooo, and we might get to take a detour to see the penguin colony. That would be awesome!
I think of my return in 5 months with great joy, and anticipation. I know that God is preparing me for that time and for my future in general during this time. I`m excited to get involved again at Praire Street, working with the youth and children, and seeing how God has been working in Elkhart and through the church in the neighborhood. I pray a prayer of blessing, of energy and vitality to all my beloved brothers and sisters.
Here`s the Monday prayer from my Celtic Benediction (by J Philip Newell) prayer book that us four prayed during our meeting today:

In the beginning, O God,
your Spirit swept over the chaotic deep like a wild wind
and creation was born.
In the turbulence of my own life
and the unsettled waters of the world today
let there be new birthings of your Spirit.
In the currents of my own heart
and the upheavals of the world today
let there be new birthings of your mighty Spirit.

Bendiciones to all.
love, Andi

¡Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo a todos!

Apologies to all for not responding very well to emails and not blogging often enough. I´m on a huge guilt trip right now, because I haven´t been good in keeping in communication with people. One of my New Year´s resolutions is to write people and blog weekly. We will see how that goes, but I really need to do it, for my own sake, and for other´s.

These days I have been doing very well. I sort of feel like I (and the rest of the group too maybe), have moved into a new phase of our being here. Two months have passed, and I am finally starting to feel comfortable speaking in spanish, understanding more, making more friends, and feeling more at peace with God and being here. I´ve settled more into enjoying life here, searching for opportunities to see God, receive love, and give love, and not be as restless in asking questions of God all the time. I´m growing to love my host family more, and feel loved by them.

Although I missed my family and everything familiar at Christmas, in retrospect, Christmas and New Year´s here were good experiences of bonding with my family here, and learning how to celebrate Christ´s birth without all the familiar. God is creating some new work in me, and I feel myself growing into a person more rooted in prayer, filled with a deeper thirst to follow God, and desire to give my life over to service in the name of Jesus.

These days have also been filled with more activities (as will the upcoming months), which I think help me from getting bored (which are the moments when I also tend to get more pensive and down). The four of us were helping with the pre-adolescent camp of the church the past Wed thru Sat. We camped out with 54 kids (and many other adult and youth helpers, thank God) in tents on the church chacra (farm) right outside the town. Each day we helped as being team leaders, leading devotion times, joining in worship with the children, helping in the kitchen, accompaning them to the canal where we swam, and playing. It was a joy, and the constant talking with the kids was great spanish practice. It reminded me how much I enjoy working with children, and makes me want to help with kids´ camps when I return to the States. I remember these sort of church camps were formative in my faith when I attended them as a child.

Only one bad thing happened though....Leah got very sick on Friday with an episode of acid reflux/terrible stomach inflamation and pain. This was the third time she has had this type of pain while being here, but this time was the worst. With Amaris Sieber (the pastor´s wife who speaks English), we went to the clinic, and then the emergency room in the hospital. They were able to give her some medicine to calm the inflamation and pain to some degree (as well as an IV later), but it was so hard to see her in such pain. I then spent the night with her in the hospital, which was a bit of a surreal experience. The nurses and doctors were very nice, but being woken up in the middle of the night various times really confused me, and it felt like a dream. But, by Saturday noon, Leah was feeling much better, and we returned to the chacra for the end of the camp. Leah has medicine to take now, and a list of foods to stay clear of, especially the maté. Please continue to keep her in your prayers, for her physical healing. I really hope that the rest of our time here is sickness-free for her (and for the rest of us).

This week, I am looking forward to our trip with Juan Sieber to the nearby town of Belisle , where we will eat lunch, get to know more people in the village, and pray. It is exciting to be starting this new mission work there--I feel like it is something God is challenging me in (because I´ve never been involved in a church planting or such a form of evangelism), and yet is also preparing and equipping us with the tools of language and the power of the Holy Spirit to complete our part in the work of God.

On Friday evening, we will leave with a group from the church for Aguada Cecilia and Pailiman, in the campo, for the viaje misionero. It will be good to return to these places for a second time, now knowing more what to expect, and to build more relationships. The last trip was an eye-opening experience into the greatness of God, in the broadness of God´s love to all ends of the Earth, even to these isolated places. I am learning much about missions from people in this church--the importance of regular visiting and fellowship with new or isolated believers, the power of prayer to transform lives and situations that seem hopeless, involving believers of all ages in the mission work, and much more.

The rest of January involves us going to the province of Buenos Aires for the national youth camp, and the return of Delbert and Frieda. We might start up some form of Spanish classe with them when they return, but right now, we are getting some lessons from Amaris and one of the youth who we teach English to.

I sat outside my neighbor´s house this morning, sheltered from the hot sun by the thick green grape vines, heavy with fruit. In my devotions for the day, I meditated on the verse of John 10:10. "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly."

God has blessed me more than I can know, more than I can describe. When I come before Christ, giving to Him my burdens and all my worries, letting Him breath into my life, my eyes are opened to how abundant my life is. I give all my praise to God, for God has been good to me. I pray for moments each day when I am aware enough to taste the sweetness.

Abundant blessings to all this new year,

Andrea