The Journey Begins: Gourmet Europe, Eva Peron and the Hearts of a Nation

Hello everyone! I made it to Buenos Aires!
So far everything's going great. My flight was smooth Wednesday night, and I arrived yesterday (June 25) with my luggage followed today! The people here are amazing so far and have been most hospitable. I'm staying with the Valdez family (Osvaldo, Laura, Marissa and Maria Laura), and they are all absolutely wonderful. The way they've opened their home to me and their hearts to the lost and the seeking (and to me!) here in Buenos Aires is amazing and I can't wait to get to know them better, and to join them in the work going on here.

Jared and Melissa (the other missionary couple I'm working with down here) took me for a drive around town last night and out to dinner. I've learned that everything here is very European, even the people. Actually, nearly everyone here is a decedent of immigrants (primarily Italian, Spanish, French, and I think Irish, but at the same time, everyone is uniquely Argentine. There is practically no indigenous influence on anything here. The architecture is very old and very French. In a lot of the buildings, the insides have been renovated, but the outsides have been kept to preserve history. The following is the Brazilian Embassy...

The people have also kept a very European taste for food, so most of the restaurants are gourmet. -not expensive, just amazingly tasty and well presented (oh, and no preservatives...yay).

I'm going to a youth event tonight for first time here. The Caballito church (where the Valdez family attends and works). I'm a little anxious because my Spanish sort-of leaves me floundering for words. However, Marissa assured me that many of the youth speak some English, so I should be okay. I can't imagine at this point, serving as a missionary in a country and not knowing the language (not knowing Thai, Chinese, Swahili etc)! For those of you who are or have been working abroad, my respect for you has now doubled... and I speak some Spanish even!

I am excited about getting to know the youth here. Marissa and Maria Laura may have to translate for me a little, but all the same, we'll be getting to know each other and worshiping and hopefully will all be growing a great deal closer to God in the coming weeks.

As it turns out, I'm actually not the only one from the US down here. There are three girls from Lipscomb that are down here working with the church's Let's Start Talking program. I think I'll be with them a couple of days a week. I think I'm primarily working with the small groups. However, it was kindof neat how many friends we have in common. In particuar, two of the Lipscomb girls grew up in the same small group as the Musick family. Even Marissa knows Ashley Musick (Ashley was down here a few years ago, and her aunt was Marissa's teacher at one time). Marissa took us for a walk through part of town (Recoleta) this morning. It's chilly, but very pretty here.

We visited the tomb of Eva Duarte Peron ("Evita") while we were out. It seemed an all but perfect overview of the Argentine culture. Eva was a commoner, yet was also powerful and very much loved by everyone here. She is buried in her family tomb, which is relatively plain, but very pretty. They sought a place where they could rest their weary hearts and found that in her. However, she was only a human, as we all are and the people here are still seeking respite for their hearts. As in Eva's day, there is a great deal of corruption on nearly every level of the government and in nearly every business here. A kid about my age tried to snatch one of the Lipscomb girls' purses while we were walking today. Everyone was a-okay and we were a little more vigilant after that. Crime is rampant, largely because people simply don't have a reason not to steal or cheat or lie. While the people here are loving and very lovable, they aren't sure who to love, and they almost have to be suspicious because people are very much out for themselves. For many, it's simply survival.

Generally speaking, people here don't know Jesus. They may know the name and may be familiar with some Catholic tradition, but people don't seem to know the man, or his heart. People here need to be told about loving others as ourselves, and about serving God and not man. Material goods are just material and God takes care of His loved ones (Mt 6:1-34). More than being told, they need to be shown, which is what the Valdez and Berryman families are trying to do here. It's very difficult here, but God is most certainly working. He is the God of this city; the city just has to wake, open their eyes and see Him. No gourmet feast can compare to the table of grace, and I think that so very many of the hearts here are just aching for it.

Please be praying for people here; the workers and the harvest. He who has ears, let him hear, and may God be sought, found, known and glorified here and everywhere. Thanks for reading and for praying. I'll blog again soon and let you know how the groups are going!