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

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Te vas??

This is an important question.

I sat, waiting for the director of the institute. She had work to attend to, but with a smile only slightly off symmetrically due to her lazy eye, she said she would be right with me. So I waited, and the one and only Maria Luz came over.

Head tilted, she looked at me with a sense of familiarity. I smirked back, "My how you have grown, child!" She patted her black and white polka dotted skirt. "Yes, that is a lovely outfit you are wearing," I said.

Eventually more little ones came, all trying to impress me with their toys. A new one, Guadalupe, adorning a Cancun, Mexico tee, offered me a miniature mate--a toy cup with cotton to serve as yerba, and a broken pencil to serve as a bombilla.

For now, there are 8 children and 4 mothers. Alejandra is back with her son Lucio, and she is pregnant again. Gladys came over and we talked a little. She will be going to high school this year, which comforts me greatly.

The time came to talk to the director. She was open to us coming back. "They are so bored here," she tells me. "They ask me what to do, and I say they can go out back." I explain how we primarily want to spend time with them sharing mate and making handcrafts. Slowly the memories of the past year and a few months come back as to why I am a part of this ministry. I am reaffirmed that this is where I want to be as I watch the kids fight with each other a little, and the mothers sit quietly in their own places.

I am not their Savior, but I know Who is.

I had been thinking about this primarily because the team in OM is slightly stretched in its ministry in Cordoba. A couple work with el Refugio, a couple with Luz Urbana, a couple with some teenagers in another neighborhood completely, and me and maybe another, with the orphans and teenage mothers. Part of this has to do with the need for more workers; partly it is because we hope to encourage the local church to take over the ministry if at some point we are no longer available. Would it be better if we consolidated? Would it be better if I combined with others to serve somewhere else?

Yes. And no.

So we go back to the title of this blog post. A question that impacted me most yesterday while re-watching The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The end scene, which I've talked about before, where Reepicheep says goodbye to his friends and enters the Country of Aslan. I couldn't hold back the tears as the thought of saying goodbye to my Argentine friends began to appear much more of a reality. I know, I know, I still have a whole year...

..but I don't. It's already almost March. It's already almost May.. where I'll be turning 26!! and next thing you know, it's time.

Me voy? Sí, en un rato, nada más.

There will be people here, there are people in the States, that I will never personally see again on this side of eternity. But these are happy tears because at least we will meet again, although I have no idea what that looks like (if we'll even recognize one another).

Además, since I have so little time remaining, I want to make the most of it. I want to fill my schedule with service for my God, trusting that He will give me the strength that I need to continue. The creativity in handcrafts, the help of other workers, the perseverance when times are tough. The director and I placed a tentative schedule of when we can visit. Three days a week this year. Here we go...

I gave the customary kiss on the cheek to all the little ones and their mothers. Guadalupe's brother Benjamin looked up, "Te vas?"

"Sí, pero vuelvo." Yes, but I will return.

"Ah, bien," he says as he continues with his toy.

How do I make the most of it? How can I be less selfish; give more of my time and love? I think of the words of Paul who says in Philippians, "I will rejoice, even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God.." Translation: even if I'm being completely used up, it is my joy.

"Because, this is a very great adventure, and no danger seems to me so great as that of knowing when I get back to Narnia that I left a mystery behind me through fear." - Reepicheep

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