Friday, August 31, 2012

Llegué a mi nuevo hogar! I arrived at my new home!



Greetings, friends!  

 I have just moved into what will be my home for the next eleven months.  After a week of orientation with the four other YAGM volunteers (Kjerstin, Emery, Andrea and Kevin) and our country coordinator Krystle in the federal capital of Buenos Aires, we departed for our respective destinations yesterday.  Kevin had the farthest to go: a 14 hour bus ride to Oberá, Misiones, in the northeast near borders with Brazil and Paraguay.  Emery departed on the “buquebus” (ferry) for Montevideo, Uruguay, across El Rio de la Plata.  Us three girls are staying in the province of Buenos Aires.  Kjerstin in the federal capital (the city itself), Andrea in Jose C. Paz, San Miguel, and me in Villa Ballester, San Martin.  Andrea and I are in what I would describe as first-ring suburbs of the city, but where I live is fairly urban in comparison to the suburbs of the Twin Cities.  Everywhere I look I can see high-rise apartment buildings, and I am just a few blocks away from the train station.  I will be frequenting that station in order to commute to El Arca, which is located in San Isidro, another suburb or “municipio”.  
 

I am living in a residence for women owned by the Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Unida (The ELCA equivalent in Argentina).  The church offers the residence as an affordable housing option for single women of all ages, most of whom work, study, or both.  The residence is located right next to the church I will be accompanying this year, Santo Sacramento.  This morning I met some women from the congregation and helped them make the pizzas that the congregation always shares on Sundays.  They prepared a special small pizza for me to eat today, which was a delicious and warm (literally and figuratively) way for them to welcome me.

During my time as a volunteer here, I will help prepare for and carry out the activities that take place each Sunday at Santo Sacramento, with a focus on outreach work with children.  I am considering the possibility of forming a children’s choir, which does not yet exist.  I have no experience whatsoever in choral conducting, but I sure love to sing!

I learned today that the children who attend Sunday School here experience difficult circumstances at home.  They live in “villas,” or slums located something like a 10 mn train ride from the church.  The homes in the villas have been constructed with materials scavenged from the garbage such as tin and plastic, which makes it impossible for inhabitants to stay dry during the harsh winter rains.  The pastor’s wife told me with a heavy heart how sometimes the children arrive soaking wet, some of them without shoes.  For this reason, one of the church’s methods of outreach is to hold clothing drives.  The church also offers a free meal to the whole congregation on Sunday afternoons (the pizza I helped to make!) after worship, which has been a significant attraction for children from the villas.  Over time, however, Santo Sacramento has developed a much deeper significance for these children.  The congregation has fed them not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well.  This church has offered them love and encouragement to pursue their dreams.  Of course, I am saying this based only on what I have heard second hand.  I hope to develop a more genuine understanding of the relationship as I gradually get to know the congregation.  


I would like to teach you an Argentinian table prayer/song that our group learned during orientation:

Bendice Señor nuestro pan
Y da pan a los que tienen hambre
Y hambre a justicia a los que tienen pan
Bendice Señor Nuestro Pan
Amen

Bless o Lord our bread
And give bread to those who are hungry
And hunger for justice to those who have bread
Bless o Lord our bread
Amen

When I reflect on this prayer, I find that it summarizes nicely Santo Sacramento’s mission.  They seek to feed the hungry and to inspire members of the congregation to promote justice, all under the auspices of God’s love.  I am so blessed to be here. 

I have not yet met the people at El Arca (except for the director, Patricia, who I met yesterday).  My first day will be on Monday (labor day, ironically).  I can’t wait to meet everyone!  

Before I say goodbye, here are some photos of my new home:

The view from my room:


The church, as seen from the terrace


The church again

The women's residence from outside

The chapel inside the women's residence

A fragrant, unknown flower in the front yard

My favorite flowers: Irises!  (lirios en español)
Another view from the terrace: apartment buildings and a bridge that crosses the railway


More apartment buildings

Goodbye for now!  ¡Hasta pronto!

Lisa

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

La Aventura Empieza- The Adventure Begins


When I was considering applying for the "Young Adults in Global Mission" (YAGM) program this spring, I remember browsing the website and stumbling upon the phrase "walking together" and the word "accompaniment."  I found, expressed on the YAGM website, a philosophy that rang true with my being.  YAGM exists, in part, to give young adults from the U.S. the opportunity to walk beside global brothers and sisters in humility and compassion.  The intention of YAGM, a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is not to proselytize or to rescue, but to form relationships, broaden minds, and to collaborate with global partners in combating social injustice.  The Church wants its volunteers to come back "globally-formed and globally-informed."

So, I took the plunge and applied for the program.  Two months later, I accepted a placement in Argentina.  I have committed to a year of service, simple living, and undoubtedly amazing adventures.  I am so grateful and blessed to have this opportunity.  It excites me emotionally, intellectually (Spanish and culture yahoo!) and spiritually. 

I have two work placements, both in Buenos Aires Province but outside of the city limits.  In San Isidro, I will be working at "El Arca,"  a group home and workshop for people with developmental disabilities.  El Arca is part of the international L'Arche organization, founded by French Canadian Jean Vanier in the 1960s.  Check out the USA L'Arche website to learn more: http://www.larcheusa.org/  On Sundays, I will be leading Sunday school activities (most likely involving art and music) at a Lutheran Church in Villa Ballester.  I will also be living in Villa Ballester.

Tonight is my last night in Minneapolis.  Tomorrow I leave for a week-long orientation in Chicago, and then on the 22nd it's off to SOUTH AMERICA!  (Grover the flight attendant on Sesame Street anyone??)  I'm slightly frazzled, but in a good way. 

Thank you everyone reading for your support and friendship.  I'm so glad I know you!

¡Hasta pronto! (Talk to you soon)

Lisa