Keeping a Positive Gratitude

This past week, CFCI started a new after-school program in Los Galpones on Thursday afternoons. I absolutely love going there. The spiritual clash between light and darkness is so physically evident. I am so encouraged by the love I receive through the hugs of some of the children. Their hugs are so sudden, but the children hold on for so long. They are seriously the warmest hugs. Need I say again? They are so desperate for love. I have also seen love reciprocated very directly. One of the older girls gave me a note yesterday that said "Sara, I love you so much. Me, your friend, Paola." I have been told stories about the incredible heart-change in that girl. When CFCI first working in Los Galpones, she would say things like "Your food sucks, and I'm never coming back." Yet here she is, years later, attending every week and falling in love with the volunteers who love her so deeply.

We have also been helping with a group called "English Talk" every Tuesday, where people simply gather to speak in English about a predetermined topic for two hours. We have a diverse group of English-speakers from Wales, the UK, Australia, California, Michigan, South Carolina, and yours truly, New Jersey. With all of those accents, where else should someone go if they are aspiring to learn English? I love English Talk. I have already made some great friends there, and I am so excited to spend more time with them in the coming weeks.

This past Thursday, English Talk hosted an event called English Night. Pretty original, I know. English Night is an event designed to have everyone gather to spend time together, rather than to formally discuss in English. Lots of music and even some poetry were performed by people who regularly attend English Talk. I met a few people there who have actually never been to English Talk, and I saw a few older friends as well. (My "older friends" are friends that I met my first week in Argentina haha.) The night was incredible. I was especially encouraged by how easily I was able to connect with so many people. I really hope I get to see them at future English Talks! Please pray for opportunities to get to know them better and to share more about my faith with them, whether as a part of English Talk or apart from English Talk.

Lastly, we have started working in "La Municipalidad" this week. La Municipalidad is a department that focuses on politics and public relations in the city of Córdoba. Today, I was asked to translate a document from Spanish to English...(cue the gasp). I was really nervous at first because I am obviously not fluent in Spanish, but after the first paragraph, I got into the groove (with the assistance of Google Translate, of course). I learned so much Spanish through that task, and it was so much fun!

More encouraging than that, however, I heard someone singing on the other side of the office in another cubicle. I realized that they were singing "Nothing is Impossible" by Planetshakers in Spanish! I am not sure who was singing and if she would even proclaim to be a Christian, but the words of that song are so true and so powerful when you take them to heart. Please pray that that singer does come to mean those lyrics and can be a light in that office. I am personally so excited to continue volunteering there.

I am so overwhelmingly grateful to be here. I am in awe of how God is moving, the gifts He has given me, and all the avenues where He is using us. I know God has a lot to reveal to me during this time about Him as well as myself. Please pray that I continue my time here genuinely longing to know the Lord more deeply. Thank you again for taking the time to read through this long one!