Dear friends and family,
We greet you in the name of the Lord!! How we wish we could be with you in person to celebrate our new and humbling vocation: We, along with our son, Jordan (and a new baby on the way!), have been invited to join the Word Made Flesh community as field staff in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
As many of you know, when we departed Lima, Peru, three years ago, we left a piece of ourselves there among the youth of the street. Never have we been so broken by the plight of the poor, so stirred by the tenderness of the hidden Christ among them or so challenged to rise up and dance upon the injustices of our world. In recent months, we have perceived the Lord's full release to return to the Latin culture we have come to love and to enter into the intentional life of full-time ministry among the poor in Buenos Aires.
Argentina is a country that has been devoured by economic collapse and political corruption in recent decades. These issues have led to a growing population of youth on the streets which is marked by violence, drug abuse, and rampant hunger and disease. Many children roam the streets, parks and train stations of Buenos Aires, in search of the love of a Father that they have never known exists.
We long to be His arms to hold them…His voice to comfort them…His presence to fight on their behalf. We want to walk alongside these young people, to follow them to the heart of God, and in so doing, to tend to the wounds of His heart that have been perpetuated by their suffering.
At moments, we tremble with the knowledge that this mission will bring us into deep solidarity with sorrow, but one particular memory from our time in Peru sustains us: We had arrived at the drop-in center for our first meeting with the street children in Lima. Upon our introduction, we were both nearly overwhelmed with the intensity of human suffering we encountered…the young people and children were thin and malnourished, their feet and bodies were caked with grime, and the stench that surrounded them nearly drove us to distraction. Our hearts sank with grief as we loaded them and ourselves onto a bus for a day retreat to the beach…away from their lives of pain. As we started driving, one of the missionaries began to worship with his guitar. The kids eagerly started singing, wide smiles flashing in their dirty faces. The singing became louder and louder; the drums were beat more fervently: and many of the kids bounced up and down in their seats with irrepressible joy. Tears began to stream down our cheeks…only moments ago, they were tears of sorrow, but they had become tears of profound joy at the beauty we had discovered–at the awareness of Christ among these forgotten ones. Joys are truly hidden in sorrows, and time and time again, we witnessed this truth while in Lima. As we prepare to go to Buenos Aires, we anticipate those moments of shared joy and beauty ever present among the poor and forgotten.
Many logistical details and needs will require consideration in the coming months, and we hope to include you in those specifics, but for the present, we just wanted to rejoice with you all as we move forward into this new calling. We truly believe that He gives beauty for ashes.
Expectantly waiting for His goodness,
Jeremiah, Jennifer, and Jordan Dean