Hello from Argentina!
It’s been awhile since my last post, so first lets catch up a little.
We spent 4 days at the beach of Chile in Viña Del Mar for our squad debrief. Debrief is basically a time to recharge before heading into the next month of ministry, and getting to be at the beach was so refreshing.
On Monday November 13th all 48 members of my squad plus our leadership team packed onto a double decker bus and drove 9 hours before arriving at the YWAM base in Mendoza, Argentina for all squad month. It was quite a change from the church we stayed at in Santiago, in other words, space is a luxury on the world race. I also had a realization that each month is going to be drastically different. I “knew” this, but you don’t really know anything until you experience it. When I walked into our dorm-like room packed full of bunk beds plus all of our giant packs… I was overwhelmed. However, perspective is everything. Also, being at the YWAM base has been amazing, and I can’t wait to tell you about it later on this month.
For now I am going to jump ahead to what I experienced this weekend, because after this weekend I will never be the same. I will try my best to capture with words. On Friday morning we were expecting to work in a soup kitchen, but we can never expect that anything will stay according to plan. They told us to pack a bag because we were leaving to go to an Indigenous tribe for 3 nights. They said “pack light and don’t expect to shower” and thats all they told us. Classic. I also got to experience World Race travel in the fullest. We all crammed into a mini motor home-looking van, the lady looked in at us with uncomfortable looks on our faces and she said, “dont worry, quick trip, two hours” or something along those lines. Our facial expressions in that moment said it all. Hahaha. Crammed, bumpy, no space.
Then we arrived, and my thoughts were that I would take the crammed bunk beds over this house any day. Wow, perspective. Dirt floor, open windows, bugs everywhere, smelly, dirty. Animals everywhere, which was a plus for me. Chickens, horses, more puppies, a duck. In the middle of the desert.
A little history, the Huarpes are an indigenous tribe of Argentina living in the Cuyo region. The word “Cuyo” means “sandy land” or “desert country” and thats exactly what it was. Dust. When I got back I think I was two shades darker than when I left, and it wasn’t from getting tan. The Huarpe people settled here starting in the 5th century CE. This is what gets me. This makes me emotional, because they don’t know anything else. They don’t have phones, internet, or TV. I will never be the same after seeing their living conditions. The way they get water. They travel by horse. For one woman, she said it takes her three hours to visit her friend by horse. These people are in the middle of the desert, and they haven’t had rain in a very long time. Mostly when we asked what we could pray for they would say rain, because that is how many of them get water.
One night while looking at a completely new sky of stars on a moonless night I had a thought. “I just wish I could fully capture what I see here for my friends and family back home” but honestly, even pictures couldn’t capture the brightest night sky I had ever seen, the feeling of standing in the middle of the desert amongst the Huarpe people, riding in the back of the truck speeding down bumpy sandy roads holding on for my life, holding beautifully hand-made crafts made by hands that have probably never held a cell phone or looked something up on the internet, feelings that I will never forget.
I am going to do my best to capture this race with my words, but it will never come close to the things I’m seeing, feeling, and experiencing.
One last story for now. We visited an elderly couple in the Cuyo village. We drank lots of Mate, a very traditional Argentinian hot drink. If you haven’t had Yerba Mate in a traditional Mate cup and straw, you haven’t experienced Mate (just saying).
The first thing I noticed when we arrived was the mans feet. They were dirty, his shoes had holes in them. Later just before leaving God put John 13 on my heart. I already knew the passage. Jesus washes his disciples feet. After that the man took a bucket and started throwing water on the ground. They do this to pack down the dirt otherwise it is just a very fine dust. I was like, dang. Is God asking me to wash this mans feet? I wanted to. All of the sudden the mans son rode up on horseback and it was time to leave. I tried talking with our translator but everything happened so fast, before I knew it we were driving away. I was SO mad at myself. I kept apologizing, I felt like I let God down. I wanted something miraculous to happen, my opportunity came, and I lost it. That is what was going through my mind. Then we ended up getting lost, and we had to turn around and go back. Yes! Redemption! We drove back to their house, I pulled the translator aside to tell her what God was saying. She immediately said no, that doing that would not be appropriate, especially for the man. Ugh! Again, I was frustrated and I asked God why he gave me that passage and put that on my heart if it wasn’t even going to happen. So. Much. Frustration. But then, God was like, “But you were willing. That is what matters.” Wow. I was willing to wash this mans nasty, dirty feet. Without any doubt in my mind, I was willing. Thats all that really matters.
I feel like I keep waiting for the “miracles” to happen, and God is trying to tell me that me being here on the world race and setting aside 11 months to learn how to be more intimate with him is a miracle, and I need to just be still and be with him.
I am learning and experiencing far more than I ever imagined, and this is only the beginning of the wild journey! Thanks for reading, I know it was a long one. Please pray for the Huarpe people, for rain, and for God to radically move in their lives so that they might know Him.
Romans 1:20 ~ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
