Almost 4 month mark!!!

Dear fam and friends! Wow...it has been such a long time since blogging! I didn't realize how hard it would be keeping up with this blog. Finding a computer for the length of time needed to blog is like finding a needle in a haystack...ok, maybe that is an exaggeration, but still, it's a bit of a challenge. Needless to say, I am thrilled to be able to catch you up on this past month and a half :)

Entering Into Summer

We are now officially entering into summer. School gets out this Thursday for the kids and the weather is sooooooooooo hot and humid. We, like the rest of our neighbors in the Villa, don't have AC. Even stores, our Church, the schools, the busses, etc don't have AC. And while cars are rare, those that do have cars, certainly don't have cars with AC. It's a new experience for me. At home, when it's absolutely unbearable outside, you just go inside, hop in your car and crank on the AC or go swimming in a pool. No so much the same story in the Villa. Let me just describe a little bit of a typical day and night so you can better understand the picture I'm trying to portray to you. We walk everywhere and also take the bus when needed. Imagine a bus loaded full of people, standing room only, no AC. Sweaty bodies touching one another and the smell is well, you can imagine! Then, as you enter the Villa, this vile smell of rotting garbage and waste fills through your nostrils and you don't want to breathe in, but you are forced to. YUCK! Everyone warned us that summer time in the Villa smells the absolute worst. All the garbage that fills the streets and rivers begin to take a toll in the heat and humidity I think. The first couple weeks of summer, I kept thinking, ''Oh it's not that bad. It will be better at night when the sun is down.'' hahahaha...no! At night, the room for us girls is very similar to the feeling you get when you open up an oven...all the time! The boys always laugh and tell how how sorry they feel for us with these huge grins on their faces!! And the mosquitos have a hay day with us. When we wake up, it's a guessing game to see who has the most bites and where. The mosquitos seem to love my face and my hands! It's sooo weird! I wake up weekly with enormous eyes, totally swollen and hands that look like I should weigh 400 pounds! hahaha. Anyway, I make light of it now, but our neighbors, who are more or less accustomed to it, really are struggling right now. We notice that the violence among the people has absolutely increased since the weather has become so hot. They are just more aggitated now and so uncomfortable all the time. I have a whole new respect for my neighbors now, that's for sure.

Thanksgiving in Argentina

What a blessing to be able to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, with 4 families from The States. SO HUGE! My sweet friend, Lilly, took me as her second daughter to her friend's home for turkey day. What a treat to be surrounded by turkey, green beans, stuffing, corn bread and pecan pie AND people speaking ENGLISH!!! One of the families had lived in Phoenix for 4 years and knew all of my favorite places from home and it was really fun sharing our stories of The States. The people here, always tell me, ''Belen, you are soooo American!'' And I'm always asking them, ''What does that mean?'' Well, after Thanksgiving, I saw what they meant! haha...We really do have our own culture, for better or worse. But, it was so beautiful to actually feel part of a culture for once. Here, I stick out like a sore thumb most of the time. There, I was one of them.
However, during the night, we all got into a very deep conversation that really got me fired up. Naturally, they asked me lots and lots of questions about my missionary work here. When I shared with them that I live in one of the Villas, their mouths dropped open and there was complete silence. Then one of the women explained to me that each of them are there because their husbands work for the American Embassy and have been stationed in Buenos Aires for a few years. The American Embassy pays for them to live in ULTRA protected homes, with 24 hour security guards and alarms. Their kids all go to American schools here and are chauffered to and from their school to their home. She said she was absolutely SHOCKED that I am living in a Villa and alive and she began to explain to me how bad and scary ''those people'' are and that I should think twice about staying. I was so offended. And I didn't hesitate to tell her so. I explained how ''those people'' are my friends. How ''those people'' are mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. I explained their daily life, their daily battles, their daily temptations and challenges. I explained how Jorge, father of 3 teens, wife passed away and left him with everything, alone. How he works from 4:30am until 6pm monday thru Saturday with Sunday off. How he rides his bike into Capital, which takes him around 3 hours of bike riding each and every day. He is beyond exhausted, and when he comes home from work, he has to cook and clean and help his kids with their homework. The word rest is absolutely foreign to him! She began to explain to me that if he really wanted he could get a better job. And I hear that so often from people. I myself used to say the same thing. But, I'm here, as a living witness, and I see perfectly clear, that these people DO NOT have the opportunies to get a better job. They are absolutely blessed to find a job picking up garbage, making sandwiches, cleaning houses. The way that the people outside of the Villa treat them and how they speak to them is really terrible. No respect. And they have this look of disgust on their faces. This woman went on to tell me that yes, this might be true, but that when she smells them and looks at their dirty clothes, how can she not react that way. I understood, because at times, this is a temptation for me as well. Yet, Jesus has made it clear, that He is alive in the poor. And when we are able to look past their smells, their dirty faces and clothes, we find a beauty that is not of this world, a beauty that belongs to God.

Eating with Sergio

Sergio has been friends with HH for 12 years, the whole time we have been in the Villa. He lives on the streets and has since he was a teen. He is wicked intelligent and a blast to talk to, always making jokes :) One day, Francisco and I went to where he was sleeping in the local garbage dump to visit him. There was 4 old men, very filfthy in the middle of one of the local garbage dumps. The smell of dirty diapers, mixed with their meat cooking on a grill made out of something they found from the dump, surrounded us. We got into a great conversation with all of them, about serving the poor. Sergio explained that he knows very well he is poor, but that he is convinced that God has a Kingdom filled with every luxury he has ever imagined waiting for him in Heaven. He said this with absolute confidence, and it inspired me so much. Here was this man, with NOTHING to his name, and he had such confidence in himself and most importantly in God. He was not ashamed that he lived on the streets, not ashamed that he has nothing to his name, that he doesn't have a degree, that he doesn't have a job, etc. Instead, he is Sergio, a poor man on this earth, but rich in his heart. Here he was, preaching to Francisco and me and were putty in his hands. He then invited us to eat with him and his friends. Now, all you doctors and germ freaks beware...don't freak out...hahaha...I will admit, my first thought, was "NO!" There is no way I'm eating this food. I actually saw the meat drop on the ground and they brushed it off with their hands and put it back on the grill. I figured if I ate their food I would be sick for days. And Sergio must have been able to read my face and he said to me, "You accept food from those that are rich. Will you not accept food from the poor?" WHOA...what do you say to that?? I told him he was right and we shared a meal together. I will have to say, it was actually better meat than I have had since being here...honest to God. And, I didn't get sick. Sergio told me, that the poor, that he himself, don't need our pity. And that this meal that Francisco and I shared with him meant so much to him. That it showed him we don't see ourselves as different or better, but as equals in the eyes of God. Sergio gives me more than I can ever, ever give him.

The girly girl in me

I just read my journal from when I first arrived...and compared it to how I am now. It was really cool to be able to read and see visibly, the transformation the Lord is working in my heart. And not just spiritually...I mean the fact that I hand wash my clothes, walk around the house barefoot, don't feel a need to wear makeup and blowdry my hair every day (and for those of you that know me...you know how big of a deal that is!). But in this too, I am convinced that each missionary has their own gifts, their own unique personality they bring to the Villa...including me. And while I am absolutely becoming less and less "princessy" I am still a girly girl at heart. And so, I decided to embrace this and use it to reach out to some of the girls that are a bit more difficult to reach out to...the adolescents!! haha...One day a few weeks ago, I decided to have a "girl only" day for permenancia and it was a blast! We listened to music, talked about boys and how silly they are, painted our nails and braided one another's hair. It was so simple. Before, these girls would behave so badly for me during permanencia, but now, we have this bond. They trust me and know that I'm here for them. On Thursday, Melu, one of the girls, is coming over to do her nails with me and she is so cute...she has literally reminded me every day for the past week so I won't forget :) It's a neat to see how God uses literally anything for His glory...even nail polish :) hehe

Final Thoughts

As we all are preparing for Christmas, I keep you all in a special place in my heart in prayer. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Please keep praying for all of us here, especially during this time when we are so far away from our families and friends for Christmas :) I love you and miss you dearly...xoxoxo