ARGENTINA THOUGHTS...


So this is long overdue, and each day I promised myself I would write about Argentina, but each day I put off this daunting task. So I apologize, but it is here now. I have been back from Argentina for about 3 weeks now. I spent one last week in Belfast before coming back to the states. I arrived back in the states nearly 2 weeks ago now, but before I even begin with the emotions of being home…I’ll start with Argentina first!
So before I start I should warn you that I am going to go day by day because it is difficult for me to figure out what to mention and what not to mention…so I am going to mention A LOT! So I give you permission to skim it if you want, it is REALLY long, but for those people that want a detailed description HERE IT IS!

My Grandma Nancy asked me why it is that we went to Argentina and how did you help these people by being there? To be honest this question, which appears so simple, was difficult to answer. Primarily because I don’t know exactly WHY the Lord sent me to Argentina. I mean I can guess and assume, but it would be merely an assumption. I can say that the highlight of my year in Belfast was everything having to do with Argentina: the team meetings, the kids, the preparation, the fundraising, and the actual trip, all of it. I truly feel as though I found my true passion and gifting, plus I have always loved organizing. I fell in LOVE with the country and the people, and the Lord really gave me courage to use my Spanish, even if my sentences didn’t make complete sense! I truly hope that one day I will be able to see more of South America and return to Argentina.
But then I think…didn’t I really want to go to Africa? And how exactly did we help these people if we didn’t have a set project, and I know this was a question the kids continued to ask themselves. But then I think is that why we went? To help these people, to “fix” some problem, to accomplish a goal? And that isn’t why we went.
We were sent out to Argentina to learn more about this part of the world. To learn how other people live, to learn about another culture, to question our own cultural values, to learn the true importance of “being” and relationships. What does our culture value and do we agree with those values? Does America put more emphasis on production and efficiency than relationships? And how do we separate our cultural values with our personal values? So enough with all the questions…let’s get into the trip

So here it goes…well the travels began on the 1st of July at 6 AM, when we left Belfast heading for Dublin. We were to fly out of Dublin at 11 something and then fly to Madrid where we would then have a 9-hour layover…9 hours is a long time to be in one airport. The group consisted of Peter (age 26…an adult nonetheless!), Richard (18), James (18), Mark (17), Calum (17), Niall (17), Helen (18), Christine (16). Now the ages are slightly irrelevant, but just keep in mind there are 5 boys (not including Peter) and 2 girls. But I think it was during the 9-hour layover when I finally realized that Peter and I were going to have our hands full!

So we left Belfast at 6 AM on the 1st of July and flew to Madrid, Buenos Aires and then on to Salta. Arrived in Salta at about 6 PM on the 2nd of July (for those looking at a map, Salta is located in Northern Argentina) and this brings our total travel time to 36 hours. And if I can travel for that long, then I can do anything! All our bags arrived and we didn’t have any problems with our flights…it all worked out swimmingly.
So then Tuesday night was our first night in Argentina, and we stayed in Salta, which is a beautiful city by the way.

And then on Wednesday we traveled by bus up to a town called Tartagal, which is even further north, and near the Bolivia border. We arrived in Tartagal exhausted, and aware of the fact that we still had further to travel the next day …the kids were anxious for the “mission” part of the trip to start. But then I thought when does the “mission” start and end? Isn’t the actual trip merely just the beginning of something else…of a spiritual and personal journey? I mean what does it really mean to be on a mission trip? And when I think about it…my year in Belfast has been a mission trip in a sense. It has been a year of transformation, of developing a deep friendship with the Lord, a time to recognize the things I truly struggle with…and a time to work through those things. A “mission” to me means waking up every day and saying Lord how can I serve you today? I think when you are on a mission trip your days and life are centered on Jesus and filled with Jesus. It is a time to put all those Christian principles into practice. But isn’t that what Christians are called to do everyday? But enough of the questions and philosophical thoughts. You will find they are a reoccurring theme throughout this letter.

So Tuesday night we had a team meeting…that consisted of someone telling their testimony if they hadn’t done it before we left, some songs, and questions either random or about the devotional we did in the mornings, and then we would have a bit of a prayer session. The first night we had our meeting most of the kids prayed out loud, which I was really impressed by! But it was also the first time I truly realized just how little the girls actually TALKED. We had to start going around the circle just to get the girls to say something. We had to force them to talk and even then it was like pulling teeth. First off, this is a new concept for me…doesn’t it normally work out that the girls are the talkers and the boys aren’t so much? I know it’s a complete generalization, but I suppose I was hoping I would find it easy to talk with them and at times I just found myself at a loss for words, which is quite rare for me to be honest. But the Lord really worked in this situation, and by the end of the trip Christine had truly blossomed into a beautiful flower, and Helen was pitching things in every now and again without being forced.

And then we arrive at Wednesday…we woke up early and ready to start the day. We found out pretty fast that when someone says they will come for you at a certain time…they probably wont be there till about 2 hours later. But to be honest, we actually had no problem adapting to this and the kids were amazing at entertaining themselves.

We eventually arrived in a village called Pozo el Mulato, where we stayed for 4 nights in what I would begin to see was luxury…we had “real” toilets, and even if they didn’t flush we still had something to sit on, we had electricity in our dorm, and sinks even if they didn’t function properly. The village we were in consisted of the indigenous Wichi people who speak their own language, and the Creojo people who are of Spanish descent and speak Spanish. You can tell whether a person is Wichi or Creojo simply by their facial structure and skin color. The two groups of people are divided by culture, language, land issues….the Wichi people live off the land and are a self-sustainable group. However, the Creojo people are cattle grazers and the cattle are overgrazing and destroying the land the Wichi people have used for centuries. Also due to the fact that Spanish is not the Wichi’s first language they are denied many resources that the Creojo people have at their fingertips. The Wichi people need to learn Spanish in school in order to simply read their textbooks, and they are discriminated against in a number of ways. So the organization Asociana that we were working with is currently focusing their efforts on land right issues, and translating documents and rights into Wichi so that the people are aware of the rights that they do have to the land.

The Wichi people live mainly in Northern Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, and many people in Argentina would be unaware of the indigenous group that occupies the land.

So while we were there we painted the church, played volleyball, football, games with the kids, learned some Wichi words, showered with a bucket, slept on dirty floors, ate new food, blew some amazing bubbles, loved and laughed with the kids! In the village we learned how to cook our meals over an open fire in a gigantic pot, we experienced what it would be like to live without electricity, we learned to communicate with people even though we didn’t speak the same language, we learned that time truly is constructed and anything can happen! We got irritated with each other and were really challenged to be Christ’s ambassadors, not just to the Argentina people, but also to each other! We saw kids with little clothing and without shoes, we saw cacti and wild pigs, we saw God’s people who are blessed in the Kingdom of God, we saw mud huts with satellite TV, teachers who finished school at the age of 12, road runners, we saw girls freak out over a skipping rope, new born goats, and we saw true servant hearts.

And before we knew it the day had come when we would be saying our goodbyes to all the beautiful people in the village. Literally ALL the people in the village and surrounding area came to see us off and what an amazing thing that was!

So then our journey back to Tartagal began…we rode on a bumpy road for 5 hours in a truck before we reached our destination where we would be for only 3 nights. In Tartagal we painted and roofed the Sunday school room of a church. It was our translator Ana’s Church and she said they had been saving for YEARS in order to build a room separate from the church for Sunday school. The kids would normally just gather in the back of the one room church.

In Tartagal we were richly blessed by the people, real mattresses, and as usual good food! I was able to speak quite a bit of Spanish with the kids and had a conversation with a little girl that consisted of her inviting me to go to the park with her to swing on the swings…I was really confused considering I have no idea what “swing” is in Spanish so of course she drew me a picture!

So eventually we left Tartagal and headed back down to Salta where we stayed for a few days and explored a bit of the city. One of our nights was spent talking with an Englishman about his reasons for staying in Argentina and working for Asociana. The kids were really curios as to how he could give up the “comforts” of British life to live amongst the Wichi people in one of the villages. This man Christopher responded by saying what does “comfort” mean and what is comfortable to him may not be comfortable to you. Very interesting answer! One of the days we took a minibus up into the hills. And then we headed back on home…to Belfast.
As I said earlier my Grandma asked me what it was that we did for the people while there? Maybe we were sent there to that village because every Sunday at church the people in the village pray that visitors will come. Maybe it is something as simple as that, an answer to prayer. Maybe we were there to remind those people that the Lord hears their prayers, loves them, and answers them. But I truly think that it wasn’t about what we did for those people the few days we were there, it was more about what they did for us.

Our eyes were opened to a different culture, to a different way of living, to a different type of faith, a simple faith, a simple life. Isn’t that all we can ask for in life…that our eyes be opened to the goings on in the world and in turn that we can respond the way we are called to? A mission trip is a time to re-evaluate your own culture, your own values, your own comforts, and the things you deem important to you, a chance to re-evaluate your own faith and your personal relationship with the Lord. And that is exactly what we did while there.

Why is it that we get so caught up in the “comforts” of life that we lose sight of the important things? We spend more time on the computer, in front of the TV, or on the phone than we do in conversation and community. We have become an independent culture and are quick to think about ourselves and our needs, but what about others needs and why is it so terrible to be dependent on other people? Why do we have a difficult time asking for help, time, or money?

You learn so many lessons about yourself and your culture when you are away from the country you live in. The Western value of efficiency and production was so extremely blatant, whereas the Argentines place much more emphasis on relationships and people. It was okay if we didn’t have enough time to finish a job. People were so grateful that we were there to help and they didn’t have to do it themselves. The people we worked with Were much more interested in having us “be” with people than getting something accomplished. Our culture is so very task-oriented and how does that affect our faith? Do we value people the way we are called to?

Needless to say …Argentina is such a beautiful country and I would love to go back there, but the next time I think I’ll leave the kids at home!

So I will leave you with one question…what is it that matters to you? It is easy to say you don’t care about the privileges we have in the Western world and that you could do without all the technological advancements…it is much easier to SAY it than to act on it. How simple is your life? Do you realize just how blessed we are? It truly is the simple things that matter. Do your eyes light up when you receive a piece of fruit? Or
When you have a hot shower, or clean drinking water? Or something as luxurious as chocolate, balloons, bubbles or a soccer ball? What is it that you take for granted?