As we prepare to head back home to the St Louis area for a few months, we're soaking in all the details we can! Even as our minds are so full of what-to-leave, what-to-store, how-to-train, duties-to-fulfill in the months to come in the States…
We're soaking in our last looks at Argentina – for a while – as we prepare to leave all we have become accustomed to and the people who we’ve grown to love. How can it be April already? Didn’t we just get here and begin the learning and adjusting process? It felt like it would be months and months before April would arrive. And now it’s here.
We're memorizing the Alpina, our little house, and the way the birds squawk and chatter in the mornings. We're recording the lilt of the Argentine Castellano (say “Cahs-teh-SHA-no) accent in our memories and the faces of those we work with and worship with. We’re enjoying extra treats like empanadas, medialunas and mate! We're even listening to the bus drivers honking at one another and the murga drums practicing and playing, through the night, a couple of kilometers away.
It’s fun being on the other side of this six months! My, how things change. We’re now the experienced ones showing how to be good guests in this country, how to use public transportation, what the stores have, what to expect and enjoy in the culture, how to be content in another land. We’ve changed and grown in this time!
In spite of our language limitations, we have grown to appreciate this place and love our brothers and sisters here. We are not excited about leaving but our minds are starting to fill with thoughts of the coming days back home, the people and plans waiting for us, in the busy summer ahead. Still, also, there is a growing excitement for the opportunity to return in the next Argentine spring, with better language skills, to continue being a part of the team here and renew the rich relationships.
God has given us a great privilege to be part of HIS work in South America. And, while we’ve given of ourselves, we’ve gained so much more in return!
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