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

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Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The decision

One decision led to another. The first, was that Cristian's brother wanted to start giving more to missions. When he found out about me and what I get to be apart of in Córdoba, he decided to give me the money directly. I in turn, felt very humbled, and wanted to be a person of integrity in how I used the money.

First, it was to help the outreach in our neighborhood on Kid's day. So afterward, I made sure to send him pictures, and tell him a little about how that went.

When Cristian came to visit later, Walter had sent more money. A lot of money. And two weeks ago, was Mother's day. I ran out of time to be able to buy gifts for the girls at the institute, so I just made some personalized cards with a verse for each one.

They were so cute in how they would take each other's cards, sometimes commenting, "Ah! But her verse is better than mine!"

That's when the next idea struck (an idea, I admit that seems so obvious). The idea, that led to a decision to use all the money that Walter had sent. I found the Bibles at a local Christian bookstore and had every intention of writing the girls' names  in them, with yet another note. Yeah... ran out of time...

I'm never going to be that perfect missionary.

But I had also decided that it was more important to give the girls their Bibles instead of withholding them for another week. So with a prayer whispered to myself, I took them out of my backpack and started handing them over. I explained to them from whom they came, and they were ever so thankful.

I hinted toward Bible studies together, but they didn't seem to bite. But what I did hear, the next time we met together, is that they were reading each morning. On their own, together... One girl says she reads every morning, a little in the afternoon, and a little more before going to bed.

WHATT??!!?? WOW GOD... SIMPLY...

wow.

The Word of God will not turn up empty.

And so on Monday, I went prepared with my drawings. Remember how much they like to color? One girl had asked for a butterfly, and for those who wouldn't want to do that, I also drew a Despicable Me minion. Good times.

Two girls were there, and they quickly went to work on coloring. I would get to talk with them a little bit, but overall they were very quiet. "I think I am going to join you two," I told them. "What should I draw?"

They suggested a sheep. Ok, so I started drawing a sheep.

One of the girls left for a bit, and it gave me more opportunities to talk with the other. She opened up a lot more than she ever has. She shared a story most fascinating, one you might see in the movies. Her parents split, her mom threw her out onto the streets when she was 13. While she was staying at a friends' house, she went to buy something and met a young man.

"Love at first sight," she tells me, explaining how in the very hour of knowing each other, he held her hand. He asks to kiss her. He was 17. A month later, they were living together.

I come to find out that he also faced a lot of rejection from his family. They were both lonely souls needing rescuing. She got pregnant, and he got caught stealing. So while he is currently in jail, she lives here taking care of her son (who happens to be named Cristian), who she says now, that God has clearly made "her purpose in life."

It's a very, very broken story. And here she is reading the story of Moses. She understands that the Bible is important, but she couldn't explain to you why.

The other girl comes back and shares that she is reading about Daniel. I tell her that it's such a fascinating story, and on top of that to know that he was fairly young when the first events take place.

"But what about Jesus?" I interject.

They shrugged.

"Can I share with you what Jesus is all about?"

They listen. They aren't even coloring by this point. And hey, I had just drawn a sheep, so I use that as an illustration of what people had to sacrifice to cover up their sins before Jesus came along.

We talk a little bit about prayer. The prayer that I want to pray is one to make a decision of trusting in Jesus from now on. "While those other prayers about being thankful for the day, or grateful for their kids is important, this prayer is different," I explain to them.

They nod. I'm not sure if they understood completely, but honestly, neither did I in the moment of my first prayer with my mom.

I am praying for the Spirit to fill them up so they can know how wide and deep and long and high is the Father's love for them. I hope they can feel the life change. I pray that they are given a deeper understanding of everything they read. May November 4, 2013 be the new day for them. The day of the decision.

And may you, dear reader, may you recognize that even a little decision of giving towards missions on top of the tithe can literally change lives.

love and chau!