Dear prayer and ministry partners,
It is amazing to think that this year is coming to a close and that four months from now our family will have been in Buenos Aires 3 years! Also, it is hard to believe that Amani will be a 1 year old on December 5. She already has 6 teeth and has all the energy in the world. Adriana and I ask ourselves can a little child really have that much energy? In other news, I am preparing to facilitate some discussion, small group interaction and time of silence, solitude and prayer at a spiritual retreat. The faith community we attend organizes it every year and this will be the first year that our family will attend. My prayer and hope is that, besides the ton-o-fun we'll have, all of us who attend can experience God's loving and healing presence in solitude and some cool prayer practices. The retreat will take place on December 1 and 2.
As I read and re-read different books on spirituality in preparing for the retreat, I ask myself what relevance do these spiritual practices such as prayer, solitude and silence have to do with the upcoming Christmas season. The biblical narratives surrounding the incarnation describe some very amazing events: the angel's announcement to Mary and her amazing response, her visit to Elizabeth and Mary's song, the birth of the Jesus and the visit from the Magi and the shepherds telling them of their experience with the angles. We read of Mary's posture and response in the midst of all of this in Luke 2:19, "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." According to one writer, solitude of heart is "an inner quality or attitude that does not depend on physical isolation…It seems more important than ever to stress that solitude is one of the human capacities that can exist, be maintained and developed in the center of a big city, in the middle of a large crowd and in the context of a very active and productive life. A man or woman who has developed this solitude of heart is no longer pulled apart by the most divergent stimuli of the surrounding world but is able to perceive and understand this world from a quiet inner center."' Mary gives us an example of solitude of heart that can challenge and encourage us to remember and reflect on God's life giving work in our lives. May God grant us the desire to pursue and cultivate this solitude of heart beginning with this Christmas season.
Please pray for the new WMF staff members that will be arriving to Buenos Aires early in 2008: Jennifer and Jeremiah Dean with their two children Jordan and Selah and David Bayne. Pray that God's life and grace would envelope them as they enter into this new season of their lives. Pray also for our family as we enter into this new phase of community and ministry with them. Please pray also for God's provision and grace in the lives of two youth that are expecting a baby in April and are choosing to walk a life-giving path in life.
Thank you for loving us and blessing us in the unique ways that you do.
Peace,
Walter
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' Nouwen, Henri J.M., Reaching Out, pg. 25-26