Thoughts on Week 1

So it has been exactly one week that I have been in Argentina!! It took a plane ride from Raleigh to Atlanta then a ten hour plane ride to Buenos Aires. After that we went throught the passport line and customs line. With 31 people, the process took a little longer. It was also a new expierence traveling internationally, very overwhelming. Immediately we met the Stinters(people who live here for a year or two) and figured buses out. To sum it all up, it was hectic and to much to take in. Project is staying in a hotel, I have three roomates from SC and TN. It is in the middle of downtown, near public transporatation and a restraunt we requent called Scuzi. But all of these details are unimportant compared to the big picture of why we are here. As a project, our vision is to reach students on campus and build relationship with them. Also in this, reaching people who will continue on and carry our vision once we leave. This has been difficult in the past, so we hope our team can do better at building sustainable relationships. All of that being said, I want to talk about the first week some to put some background in. The second day we were here we walked around the city some and practiced some safety things. Here, they wear their backpacks on their front so that people cannot rob them. Riding trains and buses is never a comfortable expierence because there are so many people on them. Walking aruond in large groups you have to be careful about how loud you are. Stuff like that, and then we went to an Asado. This is like a barbeque but with a variety of beef and some chicken. It is a dinner where the beef is brought out tray by tray until you are full. There was also salad at ours, but generally bread is the only accomplanyment. The third day there was some more breifing time where we went of social behavior and history of Argentina. This was a learning expierence because the people hold onto their past. They internalize the events and it becomes a part of who they are. In America, the population often does not value the history and finds their patriatism in sports and other activities. After that we went and got transit cards, I include this because it feels so unreal to me. I have a subte carta and I use it everyday. How incredible this expereince is! The group went to Cuidad Universidad in the middle of the week. We met the Argentine students there and paired up with them to go sharing. This was a new expierence because 60,000 students is a low rough estimate of the size of the student body. Sharing, which was going and asking student about their life and how they got to where they are, was an awesome expeirence. The students were so willing to share their stories and their culture with us. They wanted to include us and get to know us as well. Even the other students in Vida Estudiante(what Cru is called here) were so excited to build friendships with us. That day was a gift. Four students ended up accepting Christ that day, but the biggest accomplishment was seeing the team work as a group in traveling and supporting one another for the first time. The whole expierence has taught me so much already. That I can only rely on God, He is the only source that will bring me through. I am in a different country, getting used to Castello(the dialect of Spanish), traveling in large packs of gringos(term for Americans), all while totally clueless. He has kept us safe and held me close everyday. It is easy to get frustrated and annoyed at the situacions I am not used to or push my envelope a little bit. It is easy to want to give up already and say this is a little to hard to take. In reality none of that is true. Frustration comes from trying to control my own life plan and getting upset when it doesn´t work out how I wanted it to. Annoyance comes from not finding joy in all situacions handed to me. Yes, this expierence is hard, but in no way is it something to complain about. It is a blessing to come and talk to people and learn their culture. It is a blessing to be on a team with strangers and see how we become more like a family everday. As I am in the word and I am seeing what faith being put into action looks like, I would choose no other life plan. There are many other choices that are much easier and many paths that would bring me to crossroad where I could look my own strenght. But what is the point in that, where is the growth? Currently this spanish keyboard is making typing this difficult, but what a learning expierence to figure it out.

The Time has Come!!!

So today is the day!!! I leave for Raleigh in eight hours, then lots of time in the airport and other airports and then I don't know what. This is a super exciting opportunity, currently I am nervous though. This is not generally something I encounter, extreme nervousness is flowing. Many things could be the cause of this. The biggest one could be the fact that my life is going to be in a different country and I have no clue what that looks like at all. The second could be thoughts back to Chicago. An old friend of mine and I watched The Vow today, which was filmed in Chi-town, and it brought back memories of last summer. Quick flashback time, almost about a year ago my mother dropped me off at Charlotte Douglass Airport and I was excited EXCITED!! I was super late, so it was crunch time. My bag was somehow under 50 pounds and the line wasn't too long to get through security. I looked at my mom and just started crying, in the airport-in public. We part ways and I'm standing in the line crying, what a cute moment. But anyways I make it through by myself and the journey was started. I say all this because tomorrow the same scene will most likely occur. But most of the team will be there and crying will not be a way I want to start this summer. Whaaaaaa!!! It's today, I can't get it through my mind. Six weeks in Argentina, six weeks in Buenos Aires, six weeks in another country: it can't be reality! Out of human nature, my mind wants to travel back to the familiar and find a place from last summer to figure out some of the discomfort and not knowing. That is not my place though, to know all and understand why things happen the way they do. A friend said to me today, "If I don' give God all my situations, I am not trusting Him."My thoughts are not coming together, to many emotions mixed with uncertainty. But please be praying for safe travels for the team and a solid first beginning, whatever that means. Thank you for everyone who is going on this journey with me, I greatly appreciate it!!! Next time I write to you I will be in South America, ohhhh myyy!!!!

Truths That Can't Be Avoided

Three Days away and I'm still running away from the concept that project is going to rock my world. See, this year I pumped people up for Chicago and told them of how God was going to strip them to the basics, but ignored the face that I was speaking to myself as well. Ignoring the fact that I was going to have to be honest with people and open up, but first be honest with God and let him into all those closed cabinets where the cockroaches grow. The cockroaches in this analogy being sin. Scary thoughts to admit to myself, much less the cyberworld. Another factor into all of this is complacency. An idea that mediocrity or even failure is acceptable, it is just a part of the life I am meant to live. Which is a major lie, but I'll come back to that point later on. Complacency is a major struggle I am dealing with right now. Coming of my sixth semester in college, my grades did not reflect what I am capable of. My grades did not one thing to glorify God and thank him for the blessing that ECU or the chance of education plays into my life. Yes, there were many positives to my semester. I learned how to be joyous and rely and his strength to keep moving. I did not let the world overwhelm me or keep me on the ground. But, falling in line with complacency, I did not work at all I was doing for the Lord and I did not let his light shine through my struggles. Yes, there was progress but there is still a massive amount of unattended sin that needs to be dealt with. In classic human fashion, I said this is who I am going to be and did not do so at school. This point leads me into the lie I am believing: that my human nature determines the life I am going to life. That my problem is bigger than my solution. I am going to fail God, I am only going to be human. As his child though, I am covered by the blood of Christ: I am made a conqueror of sin. I am called to fight every struggle I am given the hardest I can because I know that Jesus already won the victory for me. That doesn't mean that there is not going to be a battle to go through and see the glory of God in proper light to the wretchedness of people, but it means that letting the battle define me is allowing my sin to win. I let the battle of complacency win this semester, I got in over my head and I said, "OK, you take the wheel complacency." Some may be confused because earlier I said I learned how to rely on the Lord for strength everyday. That is true, I relied on him to get me through every situation and moment where I knew I could not do so. Did I give him control, did I give it all to him though? No, I held on the part that I wanted to do without his help. So my bus did not crash because it had an infinite source driving it, but it is now in the wrong part of town because I followed my own plan. First let me say that I have been praying for the Lord to reveal to me what I needed to be preparing for on project. I have also been avoiding my bible because I have been afraid of what he was going to tell me. So here it is, three days to start looking at the idea of complacency. It is time to start fighting again, it is time to take some names and get a little roughed up for the sake of defeating my own human nature and sin. I am not called to be of this world, just live in it. I am not called to be a failure or mediocrity: I am called to be a victor in Christ. I am called to shine the light of the one who redeemed me, and that come with hard work. That comes with and open heart. It comes with a soul ready to be taught. It comes when I am ready to fight to sit at the feet of Christ daily and yield to his plan, when I am ready to give him the wheel and say take me where you need me. I may not be ready for Argentina, but God sure has me in his hands. So bring on the purification. Empty me so I can be filled again!

Well I leave for Beunos Aires in 5 days. It is so close, it is so unreal. I will be living in Argentina for six weeks. AHHH! That is how I feel specifically. Anyways, I am creating this blog to keep people updates on the happenings of the trip and the work that is being completed. The trip is with Cru(campus crusade for christ) and it is called Summer Project. Summer projects are 2-12 weeks trips that happen globally every summer. Last summer I attended Chicago Summer Project for 10 weeks. Here is a snippet from my support letter that explains what Cru means to me and what it has taught me in the past year. "One of the student organizations I have been involved with is Cru, a campus ministry. Through Cru I have been trained and equipped in sharing my faith, and growing in my own walk with God. I engage weekly in community, worship, bible study, large group meetings, discipleship and pouring into women’s ministries on campus. In 2011, God has done incredible things in and through me. I began leading our weekly campus prayer meeting, which has been a great honor and learning experience. Other opportunities that allowed me to grow and serve were Big Break in Panama City Beach Florida, as well as ten week stateside summer project in Chicago. I want to encourage you to please look at my blog that has a few detailed entries on what I learned in the Windy City at, http://purpleandgoldpirate.blogspot.com/. Quickly, these are some of the major themes that transformed my views on God and how he looks at me: I am beautifully created in his image, because of the cross I can come to his feet and lay even the smallest troubles down, community was created to love and allow others to love you, and that He is a faithful provider and will never let you go or give you something without a way to handle it. Coming back to campus this has been strengthened with a Christmas conference and women’s retreat. God has given me a heart of compassion to reach the lost and unsaved, beginning here on my own campus." Ok back to Argentina, which I have spelled wrong about 10 times writing this already. I am headed there with about thirty people who I briefly met. They all live in the SE region of the United States and attend colleges in this region too. This is a fact that is wonderfully exciting. Last summer I was on project with people from Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana University, and more. Great memories, but seeing the friends I made is rare or nonexistent because of the distance. So living and traveling with people from my own neck of the woods is a details I am looking forward to. Also my major is Spanish, Hispanic Studies to sound fancy, so I have a heart for the Hispanic culture. Plus I can practice my Spanish, which is greatly needed. Finishing this up, I want this blog to be a regular outlet that informs the people who supported me or who are interested in the progress of my trip to be able to keep up. Technology has allowed for so many neat tools, including electric journaling. So "Hello!" to anyone reading, thank you for traveling this journey with me!