Where Did the Time Go?

So where did Easter go?  I was thinking today that I haven't written in a while, so I looked that the last time.  It was eleven days ago.  I wrote about some of my thoughts and experiences during Easter.  Eleven days have past, and I have done little out of the normal.  I have played a little soccer here and there.  I have went to my classes.  I have completed my homework, which last week was a hectic week.  I had a lot of homework to accomplish.  There were several essay and projects due on the same days, so I was a little stressed, but lucky the Argentina culture played in my advantage.  That is to say, due dates all less strict.  This saturday we went out to a café to watch the River game, and then later we went to a movie,  well I elected to go home, since I was feeling sick.  I came down with the stomach flu.  I missed church Sunday, but I got to chat with my wonderful parents instead.  I am still recovering, but man do I feel better.

I forgot to say that I was illegal one day.  Friday before my temporary visa expired I went to immigration, but it was closed.  They told me that I could come back monday in the morning, so I did.  When I arrived I talked with someone, went to wait in line, waited an hour and half, only to get told that I was in the wrong line.  So I went to where I belonged and the process took twenty minutes.  I would of been done in twenty minutes, but instead the process took almost two hours.  However, I am not illegal now, which I suppose is the plus side.  Other then that one excursion.  I didn't really do anything those eleven days since Easter.

However, some of the most important things I have been doing have not involved places I have gone, nor people I have met, but literally who I am.  Two Sundays ago, the question "Who am I?" resonated in my mind.  The message did not have this theme, nor did any of the songs, but I found not get the question out of my mind.  As I began to ponder about it, I came to some difficult conclusions.

While I was able to say the truth about my identity in Christ, I did not live day to day with such an identity. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone.  I am a son, child, friend.  I am loved, perfect, holy, and cherished.  I am wanted, desired, fought for, and died for.  However day to day I lived by the opposite.  I am a failure, I am an error, I am unwanted, unloved, and undesired.  I have no value.  How did such lies become the roots and foundation of my identity.  Over the past several days I have found myself confronting the very essences of who I am.  I am learning of the strength I have in Christ, the power of prayer, and how to live on the edge of the Spirit.  I have surrendered things and in the same moment vowed to fight and uplift them.  I have removed things from my life only to replace them with the truth.  I am righting wrongs and repenting.

I am a child of God.  I am HOLY.  I am HIS.

So as I sit in a library, I hear the tapping of keyboards, a man in the corner that reads aloud every day, and the quiet rumblings of the streets outside.  I have written the last letter that may never be sent, and the pain no longer bears so heavy.  Instead the joy of honoring God has begun to uplift my spirit.  I have sat and ponder where my time in Argentina has went.  I have realized that for each one us here, we have all had different experiences.  In many cases we went to the same places, met the same people, but the story that God is writing in each one of our lives is uniquely different.  The small moments of his province, where we can see his face and his hands working are different for each one.

I know this blog was meant to be about what I am doing in Argentina, but I cannot help but write, what He is doing in Argentina as well.  I will say we do have plans to come.  A possible adventure in Uruguay.  Also there might be an Yguazu trip coming as well.  There is only nine weeks left in this show, which I can't believe, so stay tuned for the next episode!

Easter thoughts

Thougths before Easter...

After playing soccer in the park I went home, rested a little, and then had Grupo de Vida.  Felipe, a good friend and a faithful brother, made dinner for us.  We did not sure eat together, but we shared life.  Laughing, joking, and enjoying one another.  Afterwards we took turns sharing things that we are thankful for, things that we adore about God.  I sat SILENT.  I sat thinking about all my sin and all my failures.  I sat thinking about my frustrations with relationships and how I all to often maintain attitudes, which may be best described as ugly.  In those moments that I sat silents, as others shared about people coming to Christ, about how their family problems draw them closer to God, and about how God continues to provide for each one of them, an image came to my mind.  I remembered the time I came crying to my brother asking if I could wash his feet.  I remembered crying with my parents over my sins and failures, when light was shred upon them.  I remembered the cross, which my Lord DIED upon.  

I am an ugly boy.  I refuse to use the word man, because I do not see myself as a man.  I see myself as a wandering boy, confused and lost.  He does not know how to handle the emotions he feels, nor does he understand how to fight the battles in front of him.  So he sits scared.  He sits idol and scared in a corner hoping someone will see him.  Hoping someone will rescue him.  

The lesson that God continues to try and teach me, but my hard head does not seem to want to learn it, is the fact that I have great power.  I have the power to say no to sin, because I have died to it.  I have the power to transform lives, because God uses me daily.  I have the power to live, and live life to the fullest!  All too often I neglect the power that exists within me.  The Spirit, that raised Christ from the dead, lives in ME!  I can live without longing for something I do not have, because I have EVERYTHING I need for this life and the next.  A lesson I still have not yet fully learned.  I have not learned to tap into the power that already exists in me on a daily basis.  

I once believed that as humans it is impossible to live a holy life here on this Earth.  My opinion has begun to change.  I believe that we can be holy on this Earth.  (And, yes.  I am taking aobut before the return of Christ.)  “Be HOLY as I AM HOLY!”  We are commanded to be holy.  Living daily and completely in the power of the Spirit we can find holiness.  It is a grand challenge, but it is my challenge.  As a believer it is my goal!

What I have been up to.

So I have past the half way point of my trip.  Still alive!  It is strange thinking I am half way done, when this trip has felt so long.  It seems that every day drags on.  Not that I haven't had fun or haven't enjoyed myself, actually the contrary is true.  I have probably enjoyed myself too much and had too much fun.  I am kind of thankful that the trip has seemed slow.  It has given me a good opportunity to relax, process, and learn.  Hang in there mommy... I will be home before you know it!

So last monday was a vacation day, so I didn't have class.  I took the day to rest and ended up going to a park to play fútbol.  Actually I seem right now to have forgotten what I did Monday.  Not sure if I was even alive that day.  It may come back to me...  Okay I had to draw a diagram of what I did for the week, but I figured it out.  I didn't go to a park Monday.  I went out with the Merinos (Brittney's family), Andrés, Tyler, and his family.  We toured the city a little bit.  Ate lunch, and afterwards I went to soccer practice.  Which is a story in itself.  The subway was not working, so I walked twenty-five minutes to the train station.  My twenty-five minute trip from down town ended up taking fifty minutes, but I arrived although I was a little late.

I went to classes Tuesday.  The classes were kind of boring, but afterwards I went to the house of Fernando.  He had his birthday and we were invited to celebrate with him.  He ate a delicious asado, which is like a cow-roast.  Literally they cook about every part of the cow and then eat it.  I enjoyed most almost all of it haha.  I skipped my classes Wednesday, and then thursday morning we set off for a small town outside the city (San Pedro).  We went camping for the night and hung out.  Just enjoying each other's company, walking through the small city, eating, and drinking mate.  It was a good time, and then we returned home the following day.  Saturday I went to the park to knock the ball around and then once again I helped in the children's sunday school class.  And back to school and soccer practice as normal this week.  

Good times here in Argentina... there is more I am able to write, but for now I will leave it there.
Chau

Entry #17

Thoughts leisurely stroll through my head as I sit in one of the small grey chairs that were placed neatly in rows waiting the entrance of the bride and groom.  A simple melody floats from a piano, which is accompanied by a sweet girl in a elegant purple dress.  Casually she elects each note, and strikes the keys with precision. As if I was constructing those sweet tones out of air, my hands mimic the touch of each key.  Restlessness can be felt in the air as the crowd begins to grow and seats are filled.  There is not a pause in the melody, which continues to stroll amongst the people.  From the back of the crowd, a man emerges, who is dressed in a formal black jacket and pants, which from the creases, I would suggest, have recently been pressed.  He walks to the small stage and greets the crowd through the microphone, urging the crowd to finally be seated.  Moments later with the crowd seated the bride and groom enter, walking slowly to the same soft melody.  With what strength he has, he helps his bride to the stage.  She has grown frail over the years.  The years they have spent working, raising their family, and glorifying God have not always been easy, and in their late years their bodies have begun to feel the wear.  This is not the first time they have been wed.  This is not the last time they will be wed.  Each day for fifty years, they have elected to wed each other.  Each day, while there may not have been a grand ceremony, they were bride and groom choosing to marry.

The golden wedding, which I attended last night was magnificent.  The story of how they were married, found Christ, and raised a marvelous family was wonderful.  The video of old photos with the interruptions from the bride and groom were both funny and lovely.  I fell in love with  with the violin and piano gracefully playing.  I could not help, but thing fifty years is a long time.  My heart began to stir as I thought of same opportunity and challenge, that one day, God willing, I will have.  

After cleaning up and leaving the church at one in the morning, Brittney, Andres, Krystal, Pablo, and Melody, and I went back to my house to play cards.  We played cards and games till five in the morning.  We decided to play Euchre and then a trivia game, which I am no unable to remember its name.  I happened to realized I cannot stand how the U.S. uses the U.S. Standard System.  Why on Earth do we have our own system?  I don't understand.  I am on this rant because the game had trivia questions about distances and area and depth, which obviously I failed at because I don't understand the systems.  

Then decided to go to Mc Donalds, but we did not eventually go to Mc Donalds.  Well we actually were standing in the drive-thru, but did not order anything.  This is actually kind of an interesting story.  We went to a Mc Donalds, that we thought was a 24 hours Mc Donalds, but it was a 24 hour drive thru, so we thought about taking a taxi through it or walking though it, but sadly we did not do either.  We decided to get a little something to eat and go to the river to watch the sun rise.  As we all sat cold, eating food that really was not that great, we marveled at the beauty and glory of God.  Melo pointed out that we are at the second dirtiest river in the world, and still somehow it was incredibly beautiful.  Thankfully Andres had is camera, because we took a ton of pictures.  Most were good, some were strange, and the rest were simply goofy.  It was a long night, but a good night.  As Andres said in Facebook, we have a new record.  "8 a.m."  Thankfully Monday is a holiday.  I may be able to rest a little then.