February/March Newsletter - Karin in Argentina

07-08 Argentina - Karin
Originally uploaded by YAGM

"Every authentic encounter with God makes a person less insular, less complacent, and more restless, more inspired, more committed to the world and humankind."

Anthony Gitten



Every morning on my three-block walk to work, I pass Cordoba´s garden. It sits at the intersection of Avenida Kenney and La Roca, where people pass by with frequency and immediacy, myself included. In the past seven months, I have acquired many saludos and smiles, three potted-plants, a handful of Valentine´s day chocolates, and a poster. I encounter God in Cordoba.


My mornings begin at the guardaria, a daycare center for 35 children providing support for surrounding low-income neighborhoods. I see God in Ana, my co-worker, who gives everything that she has to the children and their families. She spends over-time hours on chocolate bunnies at Easter, ornaments at Christmas, and handmade cards for Mother's Day. I see God in her hospitality, organization, and efforts to integrate me into her community in Comodoro by welcoming me into her family, her church, and her daycare center. I encounter God in Ana.

I see God in the food and support of Elsa, the cook, who is always nearby to help when I feel overwhelmed and who makes, I am convinced, the best food served at any daycare center in the entire world. I see God in our early morning, five-minute chats, where she talks about her sore muscles from the gym the previous night and I talk about my sore pansa, or tummy, from my dinner the previous night (which, proportionately, could have fed 5). I see God in Elsa´s efforts to bring home to me on those tough days, by making my favorite apple pancake recipe and cooking up personal Elsa favorites. I encounter God in Elsa.



I see God in the children, like Tiziano, who has a kick and catch that is bound to make him one of the greatest futbol players of his time, in Sophia who is shy but strong, in Mariano, whose smile could make anyone melt, and in Tomas, who loves to read and learn, and who can sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" louder than all of the rest combined. God is made clear to me in their simplicity and affection. I encounter God in the children.


I see God in the untiring patience and gracious teaching of Monica. She cares, she listens, and she shares her life with me. Even when it takes me mistake after mistake and sentence after sentence to articulate thoughts in Spanish, Monica listens. She is, to me, a face of kindness, concern, compassion, and understanding.

I see God on Saturday nights at Estudio Biblico, where ten or so neighborhood children gather together to learn, play games, and work together. I see God in the hours we spend jumping rope, drawing and eating cookies. I also see God in the service that follows, with the familiar melodies and chords of Holden Evening Prayer or La Oracion de La Tarde.

I encounter God in my next-door neighbors: Gustavo, Solange, Leandro (10), and Lourdes (8). I see God in the chick-flick and pochoclo, or popcorn nights with Solange, in the home-made pizzas of Gustavo, in the card games and laughter of Leandro, and in the drawings of Lourdes´ that cover my refrigerator. I hear God as we sit around and share laughter and conversation together, either over mate, or The Simpson's, or current political events. There is always an extra chair that sits around the dinner table. I encounter God in my neighbors.

So there it is, a year made up of small kindnesses, and endless encounters with the living God.

Que Dios te bendiga,

Karin