October 2010
Dear Family & Friends,
I returned to Buenos Aires August 31 after two months in the U.S. The month of July included our WMF Staff Gathering in Nebraska, fun times with friends in Omaha, and sweet times in Toronto visiting my sister & crew! August was spent in California with family and friends. It was so good to see so many of you! As many of you know, my mom was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in August. I extended my visit about 10-days to have some extra time to absorb it all, support, and accompany my mom and dad during those weeks. I am so grateful I was able to be there for her surgery and her first few weeks of recovery. Very soon my mom will begin chemotherapy treatment, possibly paired with radiation.
Thank you for your love, care, notes, and prayers for my mom and family. I trust that all that support and prayer will continue to encourage and sustain each step of the way. We trust in God’s ongoing abiding nearness, grace, peace, and healing!
I have jumped back into life and ministry here in Buenos Aires. It was comforting and encouraging to receive such a wonderful welcome home from the WMF community, my Buenos Aires church family, and the children and youth we spend so much time with! (I also received a not so warm welcome from some final cold and wet weeks of winter here.) We also have a WMF Servant Team of four young adults serving and sharing life with us for four-months. It has been fun to get to know them these recent weeks.
The theme of our Staff Gathering together was STABILITY. The book, The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, was our primary guide for learning and challenge together. The theme was timely for me in understanding the primary role of stability in formation, spirituality, and mission. My generation and those younger tend to avoid commitment and settling into one place for too long. I think there is a fear that by putting down roots for the long haul, we will miss out on something…new experiences, new growth, etc. But, the wisdom of this book reminds us otherwise! Wilson-Hartgrove points us towards Benedictine spirituality and rhythm of life rooted in stability as our example. I am still reflecting on many lessons from the book and our Gathering.
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove uses the image of a tree, as one example of stability. He describes a “drip line” of a tree as the circle area on the ground directly below the circumference of the downward slope of the bending branches. This drip line is a pretty good sketch of how far the tree’s roots reach for water and nutrients to flourish. He says, “Stability depends on a tree knowing that its root system beneath the surface limits its capacity to send out limbs and produce fruit. In short, everything depends on the drip line.” How true this is for our own lives and the fruit we bear, as well.
As I return to Buenos Aires with the desire for deeper stability, I need to be intentional and conscious of my drip line. Please pray with me that I can continue to strengthen my root system that includes abiding, community, and mission here in my Buenos Aires neighborhood.
With love and gratitude for your frendship and partnership,
David