Sunday-Monday ramblings

Sunday was church all together. I slept like a brick that first night and woke to a knock on my door. It took me a few minutes to process that it didn't fit in my dream sequence and then to convince myself to open my eyes. Chachi came in to ask if I'd like a cup of coffee, which Vero brought up shortly after, made the Argentine way-- instant, creamy, and just the right amount of sweet espuma (foam). It's all in how you add the water to the coffee and sugar mix, just a few drops at a time, while stirring rapidly.

Church was so lively! Lots of singing, dancing, and saludos (greetings), supported by a rooted teaching.

(Bad taste to record in church but I wanted to show you)

Some people spoke about their experience on the mission trip and two sisters performed a choreography to Coldplay's "Fix You," as they relate it to God's response to the loss of their third sister. This is the evangelical baptist church that adopted BAICA a few years ago when the school was dropped by Network of International Christian Schools (NICS). The pastor of the church is head of the board, so I was glad to hear him preach and get a feel for his demeanor.

He based the sermon on Matthew 13:44 (the parable of the man who discovers treasure in a field, buries it, then sells all his possessions with joy and buys the field) and how it relates to "serendipia divina" (divine serendipity). If I remember correctly, the main points were that each of us is searching for something (think the pursuit of happiness), whether we know what it is or not, that God sometimes intervenes to give us something better than we could've imagined, and that divine serendipity is a call BY God FOR God. Just like the man in the parable, when we find  a relationship with Jesus (the treasure, the kingdom of heaven), we realize that it's lo más valioso --worth much more than anything we could save for ourselves (all our possessions) and we respond to that with joy, listening and following God's call.

Personally, "God's calling" has been a phrase I've grown up with and eventually got sick of hearing. It sounds churchy and vague, a seeming excuse for Christians to do what they want under the guise of being "called" to buy such-and-such a car, to marry so-and-so, and to quit whatever job they had. But I have a new perspective on it. My whole issue with "God's calling" was the deciphering part-- until I realized it's already been deciphered. Jesus already spelled out God's calling: love God, love others. That's our calling. It's really that simple (and yet so difficult most of the time). Now, I think when we understand that as the calling, then of course the spirit can and does lead us to strategic specifics.

My point is that when we focus on that core calling, the details fall into place. They can be exciting, enchanting, begrudging, etc. but they're most of the time pretty superfluous. The specifics of your location, career, whatever don't really matter in the big picture. Sure, to us, environment can feel like it matters a lot. It's easier to enjoy yourself when you're around your best friends instead of strangers, just as it's easier to worship in church than when you're stuck at the airport. The details of our situation can either help to remind us of or distract us from our calling, but we often get caught up in them. I'm not convinced God cares if we paint the house red or blue. If we trust that God's in control, then we can relax a whole lot and focus on just being open to him. And if we're genuinely trying to experience him through showing love to others, God can use us anywhere.

Anyways, after church, I met an overwhelming amount of people, including some other teachers at BAICA!
We stopped for takeout, ate together at home, relaxed by the pool, and then went to la feria in town.

On Monday, the school director picked me up from Vero's to have lunch with some BAICA staff--

from front left to back
Flor, the kinder director
Andy, the school director (the first person I spoke to at BAICA)
Katie F. the 5th grade teacher from Oklahoma
Kate S. the 4th grade teacher from I forgot
Becky, the 1st grade teacher from Kansas City
Me
Naty, the primary school principal (the one who hired me)

It was a really nice lunch, aside from the embarrassment of everyone trying to figure out gluten-free menu items at a milanesa (breaded, fried meat sandwich) restaurant. Afterwards, I rode with them to BAICA where Naty gave me a tour and introduced me to all the office staff and anyone wandering the hallways. The last stop on the tour was my 2nd grade classroom! The excitement hit me then all at once.

The rest of the day was free for me to set up my room. And then a little panic hit me. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe a bare room like a new dorm for me to decorate and fill with my ideas? But since I'm taking over mid-year, the room was... overfull. Suffice to say, I spent the rest of the afternoon pulling out books of all different genres, sizes, and levels going all different directions from the shelves and stacking them in piles on the floor. 4 days and counting...

Then the head primary teacher/6th grade teacher Donna from the UK met me and we walked to a new cafe where we waited for Courtney, an ESL teacher from Pennsylvania.



Everyone has been so accommodating and kind! My only complaint is I've got an allergic reaction, but if that's my biggest problem, things are just fine :)