Volunteering and traveling in Argentina to proclaim God's great love, and hopefully not getting sick along the way.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Bicis

Short for bicicletas. As in bicycles.

I had learned many things from Vanessa. One was how to eat an orange in Argentina. It looks like this:
Vane and I had several great conversations over the course of camp week in Chaco (camp was near Resistencia, the capital of the province) as well. We were paired together for devotionals, and always talked longer than our given amount. Then again, I love talking about the Bible, so that might have been more my fault.

After camp, I wanted to spend more time with her, and she suggested that we go for a bike ride around the city. Great idea. Only, it's really hot outside, so the only appropriate time is early in the morning. And when I say early, I mean 6am.

6am equals 5am for me, as I have only my two legs as a mode of transportation to her house. So first came the scary part of walking down the main street of Saenz Peña, alone, amidst some not so safe looking groups of young adults. Let's just say I said a lot of prayers during this time.

Vale la pena. This is an important saying, and it's more or less like our "Worth the wait" or "Worth the effort". Literally, it's worth the pain, in this instance, the overcoming of fears of the long walk alone. Let's add too, the fact that I had a late night before, sharing favorite riddles (that translate well!) and Truco with some of the teens and college students after church. They had dropped me off at the house at 2:40am.

Vane and I spent over an hour and a half roaming on the bicis throughout the city of 76 thousand people. I learned how to trust my fellow car, truck, and moto drivers as we had no sidewalks to make our tour. We talked about life; her future, my past and our dreams. We enjoyed the sunrise over thin strips of pink, yellow and purple clouds, and avoided some rabid dogs we watched attack another cyclist.

We stopped just short of an hour before I had to be ready to go to the countryside for a lunch with a family. In this short, but intentional moment, I shared about praying for the countries in the world through this book I've started called Operation World. It seems she will be joining me in this effort, and she is intrigued by the Middle East. She had no idea what Islam was, so I explained as best as I could.

I had to ride the bike I used back to the church that night. Taking the route I knew best, I shared the road with even more cars and cyclists, and this time, a couple horses as well. The talk about Operation World got me thinking more about my possible trek to another country on the other side of the world. That dream has not disappeared, and this ride down the busy street, watching cars fill in the spaces to be as crammed as possible made me wonder if I was encountering a glimpse of what that life would be like.

Vane said to me that night that she couldn't get what I had told her about musulmanes (or those who follow Islam) out of her head. She had been thinking about it all day. I suppose both of us have some full plates for our future. Please pray for us as we continue to trust God with our future!

Chau.

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