Let's Go

I should probably write a post before I forget everything that happened this week.

Well, after last time I wrote, I went to Maranata for the therapy session. This time her husband's aunt died. So again, no show. I can't even remember what we did. Thursday I passed with people at a friend's house. We ate delicious lasagna for dinner and then celebrated our friend's birthday at midnight. Friday was his birthday BBQ and we ate the whole leg of a cow (the shank?). I could tell that's what it was. And it was delicious. A few of us stayed a really long time and just hung out. We watched Clic later and one of the couples told us their plans to go to Cuba. Can't say I wasn't a bit jealous since I'm not ALLOWED to go to Cuba (dang governments!). Then returned home. At midnight on Saturday after grupo de jovenes, we sang happy birthday to my brother-in-law here. We spent Sunday at his family's house in Funes and watched the World Cup finals. And the storm outside. It was really a lovely day. We were late for church, but whatevs. After church, we went to Nicolasi (?) for another friend's birthday dinner. The cake was delicious.

Monday when I went to Maranata, I didn't really have a plan. I had been praying about it, but still had no idea. So I flipped through the Bible and ended up in Romans. After reading it once through, I decided we should do a Lectio Divina (a Latin way to read the Bible [read 3 times through. the first time, you listen for words or phrases that stick out to you. the second time, a picture or scene. the third, for something God has to say to you]). I think it went pretty well, despite the fact that directions were misunderstood and a few people never had anything to say. (Oh also, one of the women who passed through Maranata's program already showed up, so there were 6 women). All week I had been thinking of a silly team building exercise we did in Alpha called "the human knot". So I decided we'd do it. Turns out that they loved it, and one of the women who is not a believer actually got a lot out of it. Beatriz asked if there was a specific purpose for it, and when I just shrugged and said no, Gabriela politely said that yes, there was. And she proceeded to explain a significant purpose to the activity. I honestly can't remember (I don't think I fully understood) what she said, but I know it was pretty profound and had to do with helping each other. So I'm glad God used that. Oh my gosh! I almost forgot to add that they asked if I knew how to use "la maquinita" (little machine) for hair. I assumed they meant a straightener, so I said yes. Before I knew it, they had pulled out a hair trimmer thing and wanted me to buzz Ivana's head! If you remember correctly, she was the 17 year old cocaine addict with most of her hair gone. I felt very unqualified to do such an important job. I knew it'd be very hard for her to lose the little hair she had and the bangs that hid her baldness when she wore her hood. I figured she'd feel ugly with no hair. I felt bad. At one point, when there was so little left to be done, she stopped me because she couldn't do it anymore. But I told her I understood that it was scary, but there was so little left to do, she might as well let me finish. She did.

Tuesday was my host dad's birthday. He turned 60. We had a delicious dinner and watched "La isla siniestra" or Shutter Island. During the movie, his dad called, lost and unable to remember how to get home. So he and Mabel left to go help him. But it's okay that they missed the movie, because apparently he had the whole thing figured out within the first 15 minutes! And I'm not exaggerating-- I looked at the time on the movie! Am I the only one who was completely taken for the whole movie?

Wednesday finally brought Vanessa to the therapy session. It was not at all what I expected. It was just them telling her how they were really doing. But Guillermo told us there was yet another new woman. She was addiction to alcohol, cocaine, AND pills. Basically anything people are addicted to here, she was on. She happened to be the women I saw passed out in front of Maranata a few weeks before. She had shown up to her interview drunk. Well she is now the fifth resident of the women's house. And she slept through basically all of Wednesday and Thursday while I was there.

Thursday I was yet again confused about my GSP. After deciding to change topics, I now have been given the name and number to a pastor in the Toba community. Sounds like I should be going back to that topic? Argh. This is so confusing. It also means I'd again need access to the university library here. This time though, I've spent time twice with the sister of my brother-in-law here. She's studying English. I sent her a message on Facebook to see if she'd be willing to help me. (Please God, guide me?) But back to Maranata. I was encouraged to play the guitar and sing the songs I had taught the women. The guitar I played was none other than the one our group gave Maranata four years ago, the first time I came to Argentina. We had all signed the guitar and wrote a little message to them from all of us. But after years of use, only the message and two signatures remain. And part of my last name. :) It was a pretty cool experience to use again an object that had been significant in my time in this country. Beatriz apparently met a man on her last venture out of Maranata and has a date next Friday, but nothing to wear. She pulled me aside and asked if I had anything she could borrow. I guess they aren't supposed to be borrowing clothes and such, but it was okay to use new clothes that had been donated. I'm thinking about just donating the stuff I let her use, since I plan on buying new jeans and sweaters anyways. The only thing I'm unsure of is my boots. I would like new boots.  But I'm also going to be in Buenos Aires next week and might want them.. Or maybe I'll find new ones there. But that's not guaranteed. Oy. What am I thinking. It's just a pair of boots. They're hers. I'm also thinking about getting all the women scarves. I also promised Gabriela that I'd bring facturas on Monday because she misses those quite a bit. The only bread they use is hotdog and hamburgers buns. And they just eat them. I can see why she misses them. And because they've been so loving and hospitable to me, inviting me to stay for lunch several times, I want to make them lunch. I'm thinking a macaroni&cheese casserole? Sounds good to me. And possibly somewhat easy? I'll have to look up recipes. Anyone got any recommendations for an easy "American" dish?

I also want to cook for my family here. I'm just afraid of screwing up. Maybe when my parents come, my dad can make tacos. I love how I've never mentioned that to him, yet I'm posting it in a public space. (So how 'bout, Dad?) And then Mabel can cook for them.

Well, this brings me to today. Frida (our dog) has had three seizures, and the day is still not over. We are preparing for Ricardo's surprise birthday celebration tomorrow (the host dad who turned 60). That's about it. I need to go shopping. Get new jeans and new sweaters. Either tonight or tomorrow. It needs to happen.

Also, I guess today is the coldest day of the year? I'm not so sure of that, but everywhere minus Rosario and probably Buenos Aires got snow. I'm glad I don't have to deal with snow; although, it's just as cold without it.


That's it. I need prayers for this stupid research project. How to go about it, what specifically to study, how I will get the help and materials I need, etc. Thanks, friends. I appreciate you. (Also, you should leave comments on recipes. :] )



EDIT** oh. my. gosh. I can't believe I forgot to say that Argentina passed a law to make same sex marriage legal. So there you go. Also, the law included the right for these couple to adopt.

**EDIT 2** Dani agreed to help me with my research project! She's one of two people I know who speaks English, and she's not creepy, so I'm SO glad she's on board! Now if I could jsut figure out what I need to be looking at more specifically...

Eventful

Since the last time I updated everyone, there are two new girls at Maranata. And one of them is really just a girl. Ivana is a 17 year old cocaine addict with a 5 month old baby girl. She is practically bald with some hairs on her hairline. It's hard to explain, but i think this is due to the cocaine use? Can it make your hair fall out? The other came two days later, so I didn't meet her until Monday when I went. Her name is Gabriela and she also is a drug addict. I'm not sure which drugs, but Guillermo (one of the directors at Maranata) made sure to mention to me that they were, because it's a different recovery process for them. I imagine scenes from movies with the addicts either curled up in a ball and crying and wailing and crying or clawing at themselves. I saw the scabs on Gabriele's elbows. It must be a brutal recovery. But they are wonderful. I didn't get to talk to Gabriela as much because this was the first time I met her. I got to spend some time with Ivana both Wednesday (her first day) and Thursday morning. Yesterday Victoria, Ivana's baby, was there. It was kind of hard to watch. There is nothing there adequate for taking care of babies. Ivana lined a crate with a illow and a blanket and set Victoria in it. Later, I heard her crying, so I went out to check on her and found she had fallen out of the box because she was up so high and there were no sides to keep her in! I can still see her squirming little body faced down and awkward on the ground. I guess she hit her head a little, too. I arrived first to the situation and picked up the poor precious thing, just to hand her over to mother. She slept for a while on Ivana's bed. When she woke and began to cry, Ivana went to pick her up and almost hit her head against the door frame. I'm worried for that child. Everytime she cries, she's fed milk. Is that really what she wants every time? Somehow, I don't really think so.. I suppose this is why 17 year olds aren't ready to be mothers? They made a makeshift high chair for her with the frame of a high chair and a belt strapped across her body. She kept falling sideways because it didn't touch her upper body. The poor thing..

Other than all that, today was more difficult for the devotional because the two new women are not Christians and so don't really want to hear something from the Bible. I'm going to have to start doing other things. I read recently in one of my books for class (Gracias! by Henri Nouwen) about how much weight the phrase "God exists" carries. Maybe I'll talk about that with them. But that won't be a long conversation. Oy. I don't know what to do. I finally ate lunch at Maranata. They'd always ask if I was going to staying for lunch, but it was always day of and didn't tell the family I wouldn't be home. So on Thursday I told them that I need an invitation before day of. They immediately said, "Okay, Monday?" It was nice. I've seen some of what they have to cook with, so I will admit I was a little worried about the quality of the food I was going to be eating, but bit the bullet and ate it. It wasn't too bad. Wasn't the best thing I ever ate, but I'm pretty sure that was probably the first time I've eaten carrots since being here. After lunch I took a picture of them. Beatriz was funny; she kept saying she looked old and fat, so I promised her next time, we'd do makeup and such beforehand.

I don't think I mentioned what happened Thursday either.. So I'll do that. It was a hard day for Beatriz. She missed her family so much. It was the first time I'd seen any of them cry. And she completely let me, didn't try to hide anything. I didn't really know what to do, so I sat next to her and just rubbed her knee, probably like I'd do to any of my other friends if they were feeling down. Early she had shown me a book of reflections. I remembered a page of "Emergency Numbers" or something like that. It was a list of Bible verses to look at if you were feeling a certain way. So I flipped to that page and showed her. I don't think she'd ever looked at it before. So we looked at a few together. I think that helped. I also wrote down the lyrics to "Me viniste a rescatar", the Spanish version of the song "Came to my Rescue" by Hillsong United. And I sang a little bit of it to her. Then we prayed and I left. Monday, they told me they'd given the lyrics to one of the guys in the men's house who plays the guitar. They also told them I had a good voice. I think that was unnecessary and slightly embarrassing. Haha. Oh well, I had told her I'd bring my computer so she could her them sing the song. So I did and she liked it a lot, she already started to memorize it, even the melody after hearing it only a few times! I thought that was cool. She said it touched her. And I was glad. :)

I was able to do that on Thursday because I've started allowing God to be a part of my day. I have to say honestly, that I wasn't giving him much room. I kinda left him in the States. I saw him a few times here, and then didn't give him the time of day, literally. But now I've started reading that Gracias! book by Nouwen (It's about his time spent in Bolivia and Peru, trying to figure out if that was what God wanted for his life. He's got lots of challenging thoughts. Some things I can relate to, being in the same context [alone. abroad. trying to figure out what God wants from me]), and he encourages me to surrender each day to God. I've also begun reading My Utmost for His Highest daily. I received the book as a present a few years ago, but never really got into it. I definitely didn't bring it with me, but there's a site online that posts each day's thoughts. I know it's not much, but these things help to make everything better. I've felt less homesick and alone since incorporating these. I still don't open my Bible much, but that's always been a problem for me. Maybe now that I'm changing direction with devotionals at Maranata, I can continue reading on my own time.

After Maranata, I came home and had about 20 minutes to change my sheets and breathe for a moment, then left again with Mabel to go shopping briefly and then meet everyone at Plaza Pringles (I know. Pringles, right?) for the march against gay marriage. They said the reason for the march was "for the family", because children need a mother and a father (part of the pending law would be legal adoption to married same sex couples). I have to tell you I was SO conflicted about going. I'm not sure where I stand on all of this, but I thought I'd go because my family was going, and it'd be a cool thing to see here. But I wasn't prepared for it to be as hard as it was. I mean, I think I agree that marriage should be man and women. But I don't think a march is a good way to win people over on this topic. I think public demonstrations can actually alienate people because there is no personal conversation that leads to understanding. I also felt a bit as if I were betraying my gay friends by even being there. I had to hold back tears every once in a while. I finally decided that I was there as a participant observer for my learning, that way I didn't have to deal with it at that moment.

But a blog I read recently talked about how so often Christians say "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner" while not doing the same. Or bashing people over the head with the Bible, which half of them don't even care about because of these Christians who don't practice love. During the march people were raising up their Bibles as they walked, waving them around. I felt so uncomfortable. It made me sad. I could probably go on and on in circles about this and never really get anywhere, so I think I'll stop there. 

In other news, I'm changing the topic for my research project. I have yet to make contact with the Toba barrio, and there is very little material to support any research I do. That is a project best spent in years of study. It's too much to do in a month. So instead, I'm going to align my research with my internship. I've noticed that there are by far many more men than women taking advantage of Maranata's resources. Granted there are way more beds for men, the women's beds aren't even filled up. So I'm thinking about discussing the gender difference in substance abuse in Rosario. Yea? Sound good? I found a book that I was able to download for free (thank goodness) that even has a chapter specifically dedicated to the problem in Argentina. So nice. And I can use the directors and inpatients at Maranata for interviews and such. It will be much easier to organize. (And I don't have to spend time with creepy friend from church in order to use the library here.) So now that I've made this switch I just have to get on it and actually start doing it. Pray for that motivation and wisdom/discernment to know how to go about conducting interviews and such? Thanks.

ALSO, I read that the Teatro Colón is the second largest opera house in the southern hemisphere (after the Sydney Opera House). I decided we should check it out and that if there wasn't an opera playing, we (my parents are coming to visit for a week at the end of this month) should at least get the tour. Turns out Don Giovanni will be showing only one night while we are in Buenos Aires. So after briefly discussing the idea, I bought tickets for the opera! A little less than $60 a person. $220 pesos. I love the exchange rate. 3.9 or so right now. Anyways, I bought them online while talking to my mom on Facebook. She told me that, immediately, the bank called the house for fraud alert. haha. My response? "Go team." Makes me glad to see our bank system working so well.

Well, I wrote part of this blog on Monday, then Tuesday I continued it, which is why it all says "yesterday", and this morning (Wednesday) I woke up to finish it. So all "yesterday"s refer to Monday. Thank you.

Oh yea, and since today is Wednesday, I'll be going to Maranata again for the therapy session. The last one didn't actually happen because the women was sick or something? So I just got to hang out with the girls (Malisa, Beatriz, and as of that day, Ivana) and we did exercises together. That was fun. But yes. Today I will be sitting in on my first therapy session. I'll report on that soon.

Chau, amigos! Nos Vemos!