Nonnative--a poem

Sometimes when I look at my daughters I marvel at how different their childhood is and will be from my own. I marvel at the privilege they have in being multicultural and multilingual. At the same time I sometimes wonder if they aren't missing out on some things. I'm sure whatever they're missing will be more than made up for in all that they've gained. Here is a poem I wrote about these thoughts.

Nonnative

I see her pupil dilate
And I think of how
     foreign it will be

                 distressed


I had the sun and sparse and hill
And dreams of the atom bomb rain
      on the attic roof that
              slept with me

But she has buildings and ruins and Spanish and a multitude
     of small voices voicing the personal history
     of Fulano


But there is a certain piercing crater on her earth

Here there is no blood no
     network no auto entender

Absent are the cousins and the grand
     tears tear
Also and especially dolorous is the great grand

For Adah was always there
And Adah always will be

Psalm 23: Bible Text Animation | BibleScreen.com

Upheaval

We are coming to love our newly adopted culture and country. As we spend more time here we get a feel for what the people are like, what their struggles are, and how the whole moral environment has been changing the last few years. In a way, they are not too different from us. Except, perhaps that the changes are more recent. Many seem concerned about the downward turn in both their economy (which has happened numerous times before) and in their values. But in the area of values nobody seems to know what to do.

"I don't believe in anything, but I'm happy."

In Buenos Aires there seems to be quite a growing culture of agnosticism and even atheism in some cases. God can use our ministry to reach out to people at such a key time. In the midst of such cultural, political, and economic upheaval, people seem ready to seek for answers in a world that offers precious few, and the ones they do offer leave us empty.

And no matter how hard our hearts, there is always someone God is working in. I’ve been getting to know a guy who sells produce at one of the local stores close to our apartment. We started talking about what it is we do here and why. He started telling me about his own spiritual journey and belief system. He said that he has tried out several religious systems and doesn’t like certain elements of all of them. So, he has taken some of the elements from them that he likes and told me that he believes that what is important is your faith and how it motivates you.

I started talking to him a little bit about those systems and told him that there is something Christianity has that all of those other systems do not: a God of love who made us in His image. While we wrapped up the conversation he stated that he would like to get a coffee with me some day. Please pray for him. From what he said it sounds like somebody had done him damage in the midst of his spiritual seeking. His name is Ariel, a poetic name for Jerusalem.

A Good Start

As I sit on our balcony overlooking our neighborhood I think back on our trip and marvel that in such a short time a new life can be started. Just a few days ago we were saying our goodbyes and packing. Now we are at our temporary apartment and will have to unpack at some point! We have had a great start in this new life and ministry. Our days have been filled with trying (and failing) to pull money out of the ATM (don't worry, we've got it figured out now), buying groceries, exploring the neighborhood, and having several meetings with the team. We are so excited to be part of this ministry!

But I need to talk a bit about the trip itself. In all of the craziness we got to the airport a little late for my taste - two-and-a-half hours before the flight instead of the recommended three. Making matters worse, I mistakenly thought we were to leave from the international terminal. When we did get to domestic departures with our ten bags of luggage, three carry-ons, stroller, etc., etc., etc. we had to shift our luggage around because many of the bags weighed two pounds more than the allowed fifty! Then we were informed that our first piece of luggage per person would not be free like our travel agent had told us. However, here is where we started seeing God at work. The guy checking us in told us that the luggage charges were actually going to be cheaper on the whole. As we continued weighing and re-weighing our bags to get the poundage right, he was working on getting some glitch worked out with our tickets. We were told that we accidentally had not paid for taxes with Air Canada! By the time he finished (two other people had to help him out with the glitch) all of our boarding passes were printed out and the tax glitch had disappeared. Sophie was running all over the place.

We finally got to our gate and had to get Sophie a bite to eat. In the process we were late boarding and were told that all of our carry-ons had to be stowed beneath the plane and retrieved from the luggage claim in Toronto! Our plane was already taking off late so our connection was becoming complicated. Within a couple minutes we were told that all checked carry-ons would be checked through to our final destinations instead of having to be picked up in Canada! This was a huge blessing because we already had too much to juggle with the girls and a million little items for the cold and the stroller and personal items that we did keep with us.

We arrived in Canada and the flight attendants were very sweet and asked us to wait on the plane for our stroller to be brought up, it being very cold on the walkway between the plane and the gate. We were nearly the last ones of the plane - a scenario that would repeat itself several times! We were able to talk about why we were traveling and where we were going and they were very attentive. One of them had vacationed in Argentina and said that she loved the place and the people. She thought that what we were going to do was wonderful. They had to call the immigration officers and ask them to wait for us since we were coming though customs late. Because of a misunderstanding I had to fill out a customs form that I should have filled out earlier on the plane. I was so nervous that we were going to miss our connection that I couldn't remember my daughter's names and botched the form in several places!

We rushed to our gate and had no problem getting to our plane on time. We finally sat down and were situated when a voice over the intercom welcomed us to our flight to Chile! Lluvia and I looked at each other in panic! I quickly showed by boarding pass to our flight attendant and she told me not to worry, we still had a connecting flight in Santiago de Chile and would fly on from there to Buenos Aires! Don't ask me how I missed that lay-over, but suffice it to say we were greatly relieved and a little perturbed at the same time. We would have to get off the plane and go through more metal detectors all over again with the girls and the stroller and our sundry items just to re-board the same plane! The flight to Chile wasn't a bad flight. And looking back we thank God that it was at night. The girls were asleep for the majority of it! We didn't sleep much, but the airport movement in Chile was uneventful, thankfully.

We got to Buenos Aires and breezed through immigration and customs without any problems. The immigration officer was even cracking jokes with us. Along the duration of our trip there were always people helping us in various ways.

We came through the doors to see the lovely faces of our team leaders and team members, as well as two people from our church here.

As we reflect on our trip a few thoughts linger.

• So many things could have gone wrong-really wrong! God was working out everything for our good. (All of our luggage and carry-ons made it in spite of the connecting flights.)
• Many times, in the midst of much uncertainty, stress, and fatigue, I had a feeling of incredible peace. Your prayers accompanied us all the way.
• In spite of the craziness there is nothing else in the world we would rather do!

Our team meeting in our apartment.

Thank you for praying for us and supporting us. Here are a few more prayer requests:

1. That God would use us for His glory in this place, bringing people closer to Himself.
2. That we ourselves would grow in our relationship with Christ this year both individually and as a family.
3. That we find affordable permanent housing.
4. That we find an affordable car.
5. Praise God for a good start!