Por Fin!!
(translation: FINALLY!)
Hello all!
Please forgive me for not updating you sooner, but I JUST got internet for the first time here – it’s been quite a battle to get connected! I arrived in Buenos Aires safe and sound last week (after a very terrifying flight - we hit a massive storm as we flew over the Caribbean and I truly thought it was my last few moments on earth!) But, praise God! He allowed me to quickly get through customs and find my ride to the base once we finally landed! I spent one day and one night at the base here - with just the staff (so I spent a lot of time sleeping and reading)...but on Friday – the 28th, my host dad (mi papi) came to pick me up and take me HOME! My “second home” here in Argentina is in the city of Zárate – a lovely little town with the most amazing people I have EVER met – and my family – The Orozcos – have been such a blessing from the Lord! Mis papis are SO wonderful and from the very first day, they truly adopted me as their own daughter. I have 3 new siblings – Elías (who is just recently married and lives near us), Marcelo (16 years old), and Yamila (pronounced Sha-MEE-la, 18 years old – who has already become my best friend). I was SO worried and scared my first day in this gorgeous country, but I immediately asked the Lord to remove that fear and allow me to trust completely in Him to provide everything I need…and as ALWAYS, he answered my prayers 10-fold!
If you can believe this, it is already harder for me to write and think in English than it is in Spanish (or “Castellano”). Even as I write this, I’ll begin to write in Castellano and have to erase it and re-think in English. It’s so awesome! I’ll try to describe how incredibly different life here is: first of all, I must introduce you to my new love – MATE (prnounced MAH-tay). It is the national drink of Argentina, and is basically a metal vaso (like a coffee mug without a handle) filled to the top with loose tealeaves (Yerba) and sipped through a metal filter/straw. However, Mate is much more of an action than just a drink. It is all about fellowship and sharing (one person drinks it, then it is re-made and passed to the next person in the group, and so on for HOURS). It’s a beautiful tradition, and quickly becoming one of my very favorite pastimes.
One of the greatest differences here is the daily schedule – at least on the weekends when I am at “home.” Weekdays are fairly similar those in the states, but once the weekend hits, everything flip-flops. I have class from Tuesday to Saturday evening every week, and then Saturday night to Monday night is my “weekend.” When I get home on Sat, there’s usually a big group of teenagers from the church hanging out at the house (if I didn’t mention it before, mi papis are pastors, so there’s always a lot of activity at home) and we sit around talking a drinking Mate until usually sometime after 330 am, then sleep in until around 1pm on Sunday. And I have to confess to you that last night was my record-breaker, so far. My brother and I weren’t really tired when everyone else went to bed, and ended up staying awake until 5:30 in the morning, when we forced ourselves to go to bed (we still weren’t tired)!!!! Our church service starts at 7pm, and is AMAZING! The congregation is around one hundred people, and everyone is like family there. Such a beautiful group! And in fact, my first weekend there, they welcomed me SO well, and allowed me to be part of the service – I stood up in front of everyone and shared about my heart for missions and medicine (ALL in Castellano!) and then Marcelo (my brother) played the guitar (he is INCREDIBLE) and I sang three worship songs in English. They also brought me up front later in the service and the entire church prayed for me and for my first week at school, etc. It was a beautiful night, and after my second time there (this weekend), I already feel like I am a part of that church family! What a beautiful blessing, no?! What’s more, it is SO amazing to witness how perfectly God timed my arrival to this family, as Yamila (my sister) had been praying and praying just DAYS before I came, for some sort of encouragement in her own calling to missions. She felt the Lord call her to missions 2 years ago, but has had very little direction or encouragement, and so just 2 days after she asked for help, God allowed me to join their family, and now she and I are able to walk this road together – encouraging each other and sharing everything we are learning! In addition, the night I first arrived in Zarate, I had the privilege of participating in a meeting to plan the first ever Missions Night for the youth of the church (something God really laid on Yami’s heart), and the actual event took place this past Saturday. It was an awesome night, and I was SO excited to see how many teens showed up with a burden and passion in their hearts for the nations! God is SO amazing, and it is so beautiful that I will now be able to be a part of this movement and encourage these kids with what God has taught me through my own call to missions!
This updating is getting to be very very long, so I will try to wrap it up, as there’s not a whole heap to tell about the school aspect of my life yet. It was an awesome first week, though – and I was forced to quickly adapt to the hectic schedule during our school-week. We are up and eating at 7am (very tough after a weekend of staying up til the sun rises!) and have bible class, quiet-time, work duties, language studies, dance classes and meals from 7am to around 9pm! It is jam-packed every single day! My body is definitely still in shock, but slowly becoming accustomed to this new life. My fellow students are all so much fun, and I’ve loved getting to know each one of them. There are 5 of us from the US (all girls), 3 from Europe (Belgium, Holland, and England) and then rest hail from different areas of South America. We are 26 in total, and everyone gets along GREAT! My Castellano (Spanish) is coming along quite well since there is hardly ANY English spoken throughout the day – though I still have a LONG way to go before I can truly communicate clearly.
There are a few things that I will please ask you to lift up in prayer during this next week: First and foremost, that we students would rid ourselves of all distractions, and truly be “available for God” – for him to speak to us through our classes, training, work duties, relationship-building, etc. Second, that we would be able to clearly hear God’s heart for the specific places and families in our barrio (neighborhood), and exactly how we can serve them (whether it be through prayer or simply serving them in practical ways – yardwork, childcare, etc.) Finally, I ask you to pray for the youth of my church who are a part of our Missions group – that the Lord would daily increase the passion for the nations in their hearts, and that they would desire to live radical, adventurous lives for Jesus!
It has been an incredible journey so far (and I’m only 2 weeks in!) Throughout everything though, and above ALL else, God has completely sustained me and continues to teach me more and more about His heart every single day! What a perfect and beautiful plan He has! I am SO grateful to be here and can’t wait to experience all that God has in my future! Thank you all SO, SO much for your support! It is SO powerful to be able to tell my fellow students and my church family here that they have a huge group of brother and sisters in the states praying for them! I miss you all so very much, and pray that the Lord is doing amazing things in each of your hearts, as He is in mine!
Con el Gran Amor de Cristo!
Katie