Bienvenidos a Uruguay

Week 39--

I wish this week was "Week 33"... because "thirty-three" in Spanish is "treinta y tres," and that's EXACTLY where I went this week: to the Uruguayan Department of "Treinta y Tres." Speaking of numbers... I would just like to throw out there that I've now been in Uruguay/South America for nine months! That's a "full-term" baby in the womb!

This Friday, a small group of people from my young adults' group at church traveled to Treinta y Tres for a little "mini-mission." (Although my friend Lindsay's host-padre, Eduardo, likes to say that the words "mini" and "mission" can't possibly go together porque "no tiene sentido," "it doesn't make sense...) I use the word "mini" in the sense that we were only there from Friday night until tonight, Sunday... but Eduardo is right: missions can't be mini, because through them come great fruits.

Unfortunately, due to my sleepiness from the bus, I will only be touching on two of these great fruits in this blog post.

FIRST FRUIT: A local family, "la familia de Laura," invited us to dinner Friday night. They welcomed us with so much joy and love... and I cannot stop thinking about it. As we walked in the door they greeted us with the biggest and most genuine of smiles. Their authenticity, purity, and selflessness, through their service and joy-- that is what struck me the most. They lived a very humble lifestyle... but they still prepared a feast for us. They hadn't met more than half of us... but they still treated us like family. And they did all of this so naturally... without even thinking twice about it. They showed me the face of Christ, through the way they treated us and the way they treated one-another. Before we left today, Laura said to us, "ya son una más de la familia." Basically: you all are our family. Gosh, I want to be like "la familia de Laura:" full of genuine joy, love, and selflessness.

SECOND FRUIT: While spending time with people in the community, door-to-door, we came upon some incredible stories of faith: people who endured incredible suffering through incredible faith in the Lord. We met one man in particular, who is currently battling cancer, who explained that his reliance on the Lord has helped him to accept his cross of cancer, and to bear it with confidence and joy. He has put all his suffering in the hands of the Lord. Wow. Talk about easier said than done... Fast-forward a bit to our ride home on the bus: I call it, "the bus ride from hell," although, en realidad, it wasn't that bad because I was with friends and we had lots of fun together. It's just is funny to call it that. ANYWAYS... So lots of unfortunate things happened on "the bus ride from hell": screaming newborn babies, lots and lots and loooots of traffic, pooping newborn babies... but the worst was the following: two men got in a little "tiff"on the bus. One man (we'll call him Pablo) had purchased a ticket for seat "x," but the other man (we'll call him Juan) was sitting in Pablo's seat. Juan's seat was seat "y," right next to seat "x," and there was no one sitting in seat "y." Pablo told Juan that he was sitting in his seat, but Juan responded, "All the seats are the same, you can sit in seat 'y'." Pablo responded, "No, I purchased seat 'x,' and I want to sit there." Juan didn't move. They started raising their voices. The bus drivers had to intervene. Still Juan sat in Pablo's seat and Pablo remained standing, refusing to sit in seat "y." Then the bus drivers stopped the bus, and the police got on the bus and dealt with the men. The two men were going back in forth... blah, blah, blah... and then the police made Pablo get off the bus and go with them to the police station where he then missed his connecting bus to another Department. So who was right? Pablo or Juan? WHO CARES! Although I personally think Juan should've just moved over to seat "y"... that's not the point of the story! The point is: it was so sad for me to see this whole scene unfolding before my eyes. The pettiness of it all. I wanted to march back there and say, "Look... I just met this man dealing with cancer. And he is JOYFUL! He is striving to live a Christ-like life, and he is JOYFUL! You guys are fighting over BUS SEATS! or PRIDE! Or Whatever you're fighting over!... and see where it is gets you?! I'll tell you where: A.) Kicked off the bus and in the police station where you will then sit and miss your connecting bus... or... B.) Still sitting in seat "x" surrounded by people who all think you acted ridiculously and are so annoyed that the bus had to stop for your childish behavior." Although, like I said... it's so much easier said then done--I think I'll choose the joy option, thank you very much!

RECAP OF THE TWO FRUITS I PICKED FROM THE GREAT-"MINI"-MISSION: Authentic love, joy, and selflessness is contagious... it's what Christ showed us through His life, death, and resurrection, it's what "la familia de Laura" showed us through their welcoming hearts, and it's what I want. By placing everything in His hands, although "everything" may include intense suffering, I can become more like Him... and hopefully grow in this love, joy, and selflessness that I want so badly. By placing everything in His hands, and by striving to be like Him, I won't get caught up in silly, wordly things... like bus seats... and be kicked off the bus by the police to then sit in the police station and miss my connecting bus. Rather, I'll be peacefully on my way to where I'm striving to go.

And now... fotos! (Fotos creds: mis amigas Noel y Flor de mi grupito)