Volunteering and traveling in Argentina to proclaim God's great love, and hopefully not getting sick along the way.

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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Lose weight, save the planet

This morning was a hot one. I didn't get that much sleep last night due to a much longer than expected visit with Romina. A good visit, mind you, especially in terms of laughing with Fabrizio as I not-so-surrepticiously stole his Leonel Messi trading card. (I learned that Messi's birthday is exactly one year and one month after mine, can you say meant to be? :P)

But I woke up sticky from sweat. Maybe we could do this another day? I thought of several excuses, from having only two water bottles to we have time when we get back.

The plan was to take a few trash bags to the outskirts of Las Violetas and to clean up. We had gloves just in case, and well, the three of us: mom, dad, and myself. And when push came to shove, I realized that this really was the best time to go.

On the walk over, dad said something about not being sure we would have enough energy on such a hot day. I immediately prayed for strength, and later found out that mom had said the same prayer herself.

So what did we find?

  • diapers. lots and lots of used diapers. there was even a couple hanging out in a park we helped clean who handed us theirs.
  • mom found a two-sided razor.
  • dozens of cups for Glup's ice cream.
  • i found a pregnancy test. no i don't know if it was positive or not because i couldn't read it.
  • broken lighters.
  • a needle.
  • plastic bags.
  • wrappers for all sorts of treats.
  • part of a knife.

"I just want to be an inspiration for people to realize they don't have to just throw something on the ground," mom said. I told her about this book I read that was good at helping me be self-conscious about my own mess, but that ultimately, the title needed updating.

As we had pushed in the heat of the sun, we found that taking short breaks every fifteen minutes or so would help us work. I could feel my muscles straining, a real workout taking place. Sweat literally pouring from my body. Yes, it's important that we Serve God, Save the Planet, but some people (especially nonbelievers), could use another motivator. Mom suggested that maybe it was good to keep the original title, but to add my two words somewhere underneath in bold letters. haha.

Ultimately, it felt great to serve in this way. I hope to begin a pattern in my life where I can clean up our plazas where children play. It should be a safe and clean place for them. It should also be clean for the sake of God's beautiful, and only, Earth He's given us. Chau.

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