It´s All About the People

When in the United States I frequently find myself asked, “So what was the best thing about your cross-cultural experience? What will you remember most about your time in Honduras (Costa Rica, Lithuania, etc.)?” My answer has always been the same: “the people.” And it’s true. When I think about Lithuania I remember Megan, Ela, Melissa, Feruza, Suzanna, Robin, and Matt. When I think about Greece: Dr. Rediger, Costas, Kara, Bethany, and the couple from Corinth I met at the concert. Honduras: oh, so many faces, faces come to mind. And whose faces will I remember when, years from now, I think about Argentina? I’d like to paint a picture of a few faces that have been especially prominent in my life during the past few weeks, those of Angel, Sandra, Ben, Tomás, Paola, and Erica.

I’ve written about Angel and Sandra before: they are a couple that I met during my first week here through a casual conversation about the religious and political environment in Corrientes. Since that time, I have begun to tutor their daughter Guadalupe in English and meet with them on an informal basis once or twice a week for long conversations on a great variety of topics that almost always include religion and politics. Sometimes our conversations begin late at night and last even later into the night, and I have been invited to stay for dinner on more than one occasion. I’ve recently had the opportunity to pray with the couple as they struggle with the difficult and chronic illness of Sandra’s father. Angel has told me that my friendship has been a great encouragement in such a time as this—it’s not frequently that he encounters someone eager to talk about faith. I’m encouraged that he’s encouraged: honestly, I feel that I am receiving the greater blessing through this friendship. It’s not just about practicing my Spanish; although, that is an added benefit. It’s not even about the insight that they provide into Argentine life and culture. It’s really about people, brothers and sisters in Christ, reaching across the barriers of country, culture, and age that would normally divide us to find deep connection in what we have in common: a love for our Savior, a need for that which gives our lives significance, a desire to understand our world better, commitment to our families and friends. What a blessing to be able to bow my head with these individuals and pray in my second language to our God who knows all languages and orchestrated this moment long before I was born! What a blessing to share pictures of our families and loved ones, to laugh at the way we’ve changed over the years, and wonder with some excitement and not a little apprehension what the years ahead hold. This is a family that has become very dear to me indeed.

It was while talking to Angel and Sandra one morning that a young boy named Benjamin approached me and a new friendship was born. I realize that there are some very ambitious young people, but I was still surprised when this 9-year-old boy told me that he wanted to study English with me, and on his summer vacation no less. Through further discussion, I learned that he actually wants to study linguistics or teach languages when he grows up. I also learned that he lives with his mom and sister; his father has been out of the picture for quite some time. Ben doesn’t make eye contact when he talks with people, and although he has big dreams for the future, it is my guess that he also has fairly low self-confidence, and I sense that he endures quite a bit of teasing from other kids. Soon after this initial conversation, we began English lessons at his house, joined by a brother and sister who live next-door, Tomás and Paola. We have occasionally been joined by other kids too, sometimes having as many as 6 or 7 in our group, but these three have been very consistent in showing up with their notebooks and pens ready every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Really it wasn’t my idea to meet so frequently, but they initially wanted to study 4 days a week, so I brought it down to 3 and offered that we meet in my apartment one of these days. Although they sometimes lack focus, these kids are fairly studious and amazingly sweet—they just grab my heart, they really do, especially Tomás who always greets me with a big smile and hug. I have made it a habit to pray with them before we end a lesson, and initially this felt strange to them, but as I have encouraged them to think of prayer as conversation with God, they have more than warmed up to the idea. The other day, I almost forgot to pray, but Tomás piped up, “Vamos a orar? Quiero orar hoy.” Not only did they want to pray themselves, but they also wanted to include Alice in our prayers, so we all sat down in a group and prayed together. It was short and simple, and I think it probably brought even greater joy to God’s heart than it brought to mine. What a beautiful thing is a child’s heart, certainly the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (Luke 18:16).

I spent a majority of my weekend in Buenos Aires with two other very special little girls: Augustina and Catalina, the daughters of Erika, a friend who invited me to stay with them for the weekend. My friendship with Erika began in a rather unusual way—at the bowling alley actually. I had gone to the mall with the California team to escape the midday heat of Corrientes and while at the bowling alley, I ran into Erika (I think that it was in the bathroom.) and her daughters. She was holding the Spanish edition of The Purpose Driven Life about which I made some kind of casual inquiry. Conversation developed over the next twenty minutes or so and ended with an exchange of contact information and an open invitation from her to visit if I was ever in Buenos Aires. Not knowing how serious this invitation was but willing to take a chance on a friendship, I emailed Erika a few weeks ago to let her know that I would be coming to BA to attend a wedding and wondered if I could spend a day or two with her. Her response was quick and very warm: not only was she very willing to have me stay with them, but she even happened to have Monday and Tuesday off of work, making her free to show me around the city. Although one of the missionaries questioned the wisdom of staying with a person that I had known for little more than 15 minutes, after prayer, I decided that God was offering me an opportunity that I needed to take advantage of.

So I boarded a bus to BA last weekend and set off on my own, for the city of 12 million. On Sunday afternoon, one of the missionaries in BA dropped me off at Erika’s apartment located a classy street in the very middle of the downtown. It took little time to realize that I was exactly where God wanted me: Not only did I have a great time seeing Buenos Aires (wandering though barrios la Boca, San Telmo, and Puerto Madero), but even more importantly, I had some very special conversations with Erika about faith, the person of Jesus, and the nature of true love. After nine years of marriage, her husband had recently left her and their two girls; and although he continues to provide financial support, money’s not really what she needs most. How anyone could leave such a beautiful and smart woman and sweet little girls is beyond my comprehension, and if it makes me mad, I can only imagine the kind of anger and pain that she must be struggling with. But it certainly makes one’s heart sensitive to God. Because we’re all essentially looking for love that won’t fail and a sense of purpose and significance that goes beyond day to day living and yet permeates the daily living too. The door was wide open for me to talk about the way in which Jesus has fulfilled these needs for unfailing love and greater purpose in my life, and I suggested that she get to know the person of Jesus through the gospel of John. I pray that God will continue to work in her life, comforting her heart, and holding this small family together. I also hope that we can continue correspondence and see one another in Buenos Aires again within the next few months. And to think that I could have passed up this God-given opportunity…

What beautiful faces. Yes, these are what I will remember most fondly from my time in Argentina. It really is all about the people.

Erika, Catalina, Augustina, and I

Catalina enjoying flowers

Ana (a dear woman with whom I stayed in B.A.) and I

David and Ruth Ann Martin, missionaries in B.A. and I