Otra Vez

I'm at it again, friends.

I'm a little slow at getting the word out on here- in February I will be returning to Argentina!

To recap,last fall I spent 4 months in Buenos Aires with the organization Word Made Flesh working among vulnerable persons who make their living on the streets. My experience those four months was unprecedented. It is unmistakable that those four months have shaped me for the rest of my life.
As I am preparing for the return it feels odd to prepare for an expedition that I can anticipate to be familiar and yet at the same time so different. The seasons will be different- summer turning into fall. The language will present the same challenge and beauty as it did before. The colectivos/ buses will be just as inconsistent. The subtes/subways packed yet even more stuffy due to the summer heat and humidity. I will interact with many of the same people but some are missing and the absence will be... strange.
It is in fact some of the familiars that bring me slight anxiety.
But more than these anxieties, I could do a back flip thinking about reuniting to dear friends, sharing a mate gourd, deepening in community, and continuing friendships that have clung to my heart strings.
It has been a real challenge mentally preparing for this new excursion. I feel the need to block out any expectations based on my last stay in B.A and that's been really challenging. I am so desperate for God to reveal His intentions in this upcoming experience, but He is calling me to step out in faith. Once again I'm face to face with my Maker and He's saying "trust Me" and as my head drifts from His gaze to stare at my feet I mumble a barely audible "OK."
But He gently lifts my head and holds my gaze.
And I will hold His gaze and place my hand over His heart to feel the beat between my fingers.

Un ano pasado

It might sound cliche but it's hard to believe that a year ago today I was boarding a series of flights that would take me to Buenos Aires Argentina; these little journeys were just the beginning of a 4 month journey with WMF Flesh Argentina. At times it feels like it was some sort of epic dream and yet it's those sensory reminders that bring the memories flooding back in full force. Cigarette smoke mixed with car exhaust. Mistaking a billboard with a bag of mulch as an add for mate. Hearing the rare but beautiful flutterings of Spanish speech. Walking down a strip of sidewalk, feeling the concrete beneath my feet.
In the past 8 months since I've returned these memories resurface at random moments. While some memories are prominent others sneak up on me and yet I'm finding that even the most prominent memories, those details of everyday life in Buenos Aires, have become muddled and fuzzy. I have taken to writing down some of these memories, trying to muster up as much detail as I can with the lapse of time.
I remember one night having a conversation with one of my fellow teammates about the impact that a 4 month stint of time can have, how in 20 years or so what we will remember about such an experience. Taking into account the big picture of life, the span of years and the handful of decades that are held in life, 4 months really is a small portion of the whole. But I think even accounting for that reality, we both agreed that something significant was happening, significant enough that I am pretty sure in 20 years I will be able to recall the joy, beauty, brokenness, and love that came out of those 4 months in Argentina.
A mis amigos- Walter, Adri, Jen, Jer, Mateo, Amanda, Jason, La Iglesia Bautista de Constitucion, la Iglesia en Bajo Flores, l@s bonit@s en Retiro- y a Dios gracias, gracias por todo.

Y el viaje continua