We are coming to the end of this month and I wanted to give an update on life here in Argentina. WiFi has been tough because the town we can go to to get WiFi is still a 30 minute walk and we’re not allowed to do it alone because of safety. I have learned though, that not having WiFi means being more present. Due to the lack of WiFi, it has been a struggle to post blogs so I apologize for being a little MIA.
This month we stepped into new teams (which I will have a follow up blog to introduce my new team to you before leaving Argentina) and it has been hard but also so sweet. I was definitely sad and uncomfortable going into team changes but the Lord gave me a lot of peace in the change. He continually took me back to training camp when we were put in our 1st team and reminded me of the peace He gave me and His constant reminder that He knew what He was doing and was in control. I saw the growth that took place in Fiercely Loved and I saw the bond of sisterhood that was built within us and it gave me anticipation and excitement for what was to come for this new team.
This month we had the opportunity to be the 1st World Race team to serve our hosts, Mama Viví and her husband Gabriel (Gaby). What an honor to be able to set the tone for future WR teams that will come and stay with them. We live on a plot of land with 3 little houses, a big building with the kitchen and mess hall, a fire ring, open space, a soccer field, volleyball net and playground. Mama V and Gaby run the children’s home for the organization, Adulam. Adulam has a heart for families with addictions, children who’s parents have either abandoned them or have been taken away from them due to an unsafe situation and more. We get the great pleasure of being with some of the kids who don’t have healthy parents and are here to [hopefully] be adopted. One of the struggles we see here is that all the kids here are sibling sets. There are 4 or 5 families represented and they range from 3-7 kids per family. Mama V and Gaby are passionate about not breaking these families up and also creating a home for them here that is truly like a family. The struggle that comes with that is finding a home for a sibling set of 3+ kids that range from the ages of 2-23 is extremely difficult. Please be in prayer for these young people as well as Mama V and Gaby as they continuously serve these kids with all they have.
Our time here has been pretty chill honestly. Most days are centered around just being with the kids. We play with them, we sit with them, we help do chores, we’ve taken over lunch and dinner dishes so the older girls don’t have to do them, and yesterday we even told the older girls that we were going to do all their morning chores so they could sit with the Lord and read.
Sometimes, in the afternoon, we just sit out on our patio and drink Mate, a very popular tea here in Argentina, and sometimes talk…and sometimes we’re just quiet.
As I mentioned in my last blog, we always get time during the day to sit and spend time with the Lord. Our team has made it priority and make sure and check in that everyone is getting that necessary time with the Lord daily. We also make time every day to do our team time, the time we spend together, just the 6 of us, uninterrupted (usually).
The other day we did an event for the girls, ages 11+, called Beauty for Ashes. Bre, one of the girls on my team, is the squad coordinator of BFA and it was the sweetest thing to see these girls sit and learn about their identity and to see Bre step into this position in such a sweet way that impacted every person sitting around the table. There were about 20 of us and we sat in a circle, each with a homemade journal in front of us. Bre started by reading the story of Esther as if she was her. [I had the great opportunity to translate for the event and it was so so sweet.] There were moments when I could barely hold my tears back and had to pause mid-sentence because of what the Lord was obviously doing in the hearts around this table. Bre continued with giving each of us time to write down a lie that we were believing of ourselves that we knew wasn’t true. We backed it up with scripture and opened a time of sharing. It was so sweet to see the vulnerability within the group but as the week has progressed, it has been even sweeter to see the smiles that we hadn’t seen, to feel the lightness within the girls, to hear more testimonies because they trust us, and to wake up in the morning and have girls running into your arms to say good morning.
Last Saturday we helped with a big fundraising event on the property and our main job was to just make sure all the kids were safe. It was a public event so it was possible for their biological parents to show up and we needed to make sure they were safe and no one left.
Sunday we went to the church our family attends and we stood up front, shared with the church what the World Race is, why we’re doing it and a little bit about what we’ve done for ministry thus far. We sang for the church and experienced community in such a special way. During the last song, my teammate, Mallory, whispered to me and asked me to tell the church something in Spanish. She said, ‘as we were singing, I had this vision of heaven. This is what heaven is going to be like.’ You see, this is what the race is…it’s a daily glimpse of what heaven will be like. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what your job is, what language you speak, or where you’re from. How sweet that on a daily basis we get a glimpse of the Kingdom when we are in community with other believers!
Finally, this weekend, we get to be part of, and help prepare for the Quinceañera of 3 of the sweet girls living at the home! We are so excited to be a part of it and have the opportunity to be here and celebrate their 15th birthday!
Life here is sweet. It is made up of smiles, hugs, mate tea, lots of bread and pastries, sitting in a hammock with 3 kids, sharing testimonies, speaking Spanish, loving and being loved by some of the most precious people I’ve ever met and experiencing Kingdom every single day. I wish everyone could experience a day here at Adulam…because a day here is a day experiencing Kingdom. I can’t wait to carry on these visions of Kingdom into my everyday life in the states when I return.
