Dear Friends and Family,
We trust that this letter finds you all resting in the compassion of God. Without a doubt, that is where we are resting and finding strength. We have been back in Argentina for about ten weeks now after our leave of absence, and we are re-adjusting to the rigors of living here again.
Jeremiah and I spend our days alternating between three primary focal areas: spending time with the youth of the streets at a nearby train station, language studies and caring for our own children. Our ministry here is in its initial stages, and our time spent with the youth of the streets is directed toward developing trusting relationships with them at the train station or a nearby plaza where they spend their afternoons. We play games (UNO is a real favorite), drink mate (a very popular Argentine tea), dance, play (Jeremiah comes home with his arms sore from tossing so many kids into the air), help teach them basic-very basic-educational skills (many cannot read or write, but are desperate to), and just generally "be" in their world. It is such a privilege to be invited into their community. Sometimes while we are there they inhale glue to stave off hunger pains or drink cheap wine to soften the reality of their situation, and sometimes they don't. We see them as so special and sense God's special tenderness toward them, and we are pained when we see people walking by their little groups with scowls of contempt or, worst of all, complete indifference.
Recently, we have begun to invite some of those with whom we have developed relationships to our church for a bi-monthly overnight stay. During these times, we share meals together, play games, and have (such as computer or life skills and Bible studies). These times are profoundly important to us and we are hopeful they will create the space for undistracted times of intimacy. Please pray with us that it might be so!
In regards to our language acquisition, most days we are content with our progress, but we definitely can use concerted prayer! We have discovered that our "weakness" in communication teaches us the difficult, but tremendous art of being truly present among those who are suffering. In reality, our presence-and therefore, the presence of Christ-communicates volumes more than our words ever could: Whenever I (Jen) come to the train station, little Maria races toward me with a brilliant smile. I often cup her small face in my hands, and we do our usual exchange of basic phrases. She stumbles through her few words of known English, and I through mine in Spanish. And then we just look at each other. We are present with each for these few special moments, while something deep passes between us, before she races off to play with the other children. Words are not always necessary to have communion with one another.
To fill you in on the most favored topic of our children, we will have to reign ourselves in lest we bore you with too many details!! These days Selah is cruising around, holding onto furniture, and babbling up a storm. Her first word, spoken recently, was "hola." Not "Mama," or "Dada," just "Hola." Jordan, too, is becoming accustomed to the Spanish language and is spending intentional time with a good friend of ours, Lorena, to encourage his language acquisition. For the first several months after we moved here, Jordan showed little to no interest in learning Spanish and, for the most part, seemed to avoid non-English speakers. We have prayed, as many of you prayed with us, for the wisdom to help accompany him through this transition, and Lorena has been the answer to that prayer. It warms our heart to hear Jordan chattering in Spanish with her as they interact. We see him opening up more and more and beginning to approach Argentine children at church or parks to play with them. Please continue to pray for our children as we recognize that they also shoulder the burden of our family's calling to the children of the streets of Argentina.
Before we leave you, we will share with you one final piece of news: We are expecting another Baby Dean to be added to our family next March! We are overwhelmed with thankfulness for another beautiful blessing.
We love you all,
Jeremiah, Jennifer, Jordan, Selah, and Baby D