Greetings from Argentina

My blogs for the next year will mostly center around my seminary internship, which I’ll be doing in Resistencia, Argentina, with the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Global Mission Horizon International Internship program. The internship is the third of four years for me in my studies (pursuing a Master of Divinity degree) at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Greetings from chilly Argentina, where winter is finishing up, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s, and lots of clouds and rain. It may seem strange to those of you sweating in 90s and 100s that I broke out the winter coat, long underwear, and am clinging to a box heater. I am also sipping lots of mate, the classic Argentine tea, which I may actually like more than coffee.

Here’s the play-by-play of my last week… I left on Monday, August 13 from Chicago Ohaire to Washington DC, and that night I flew to Buenos Aires, arriving the next morning (Tuesday). I was picked up at the airport by the ELCA Global Mission South America regional directors and spent the day with their family. I was also able to meet the president and staff of IELU (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Unida – United Evangelical Lutheran Church), and to see some of downtown Buenos Aires (see picture). It’s true that the city has a European feel. We walked past a political rally (no, I didn’t participate), which was for Cristina Kirchner, the wife of current president Nestor Kirchner, who seems to be the current front-runner for the presidential elections to be held in October (an exciting time to be here).

I took the bus that Tuesday night, which headed northward for 12 hours as I slept, and then arrived in Resistencia (where I’ll be living this year) Wednesday morning. Pastor Raul Gleim picked me up from the bus station and I spent the first two with him and his wife in their house. Then on Friday after last year’s YAGM (Young Adults in Global Mission) volunteer took off, I moved into the house where she stayed. It is a little house in the back yard of a very sweet elderly couple’s house, and in the front of the house is the church office.

The terrain is flat and swampy with tropical plants and lagoons. Resistencia, a city of roughly 400,000 people, is a city of sculptures of all sorts of styles. The city centers around a very large plaza, Plaza 25 de Mayo (25th of May), which is the actual Independence Day of Argentina (and also my birthday). The culture here is distinct, especially as compared to Buenos Aires. It’s more laid back and they have a nice siesta in the afternoons. This is the capital and main urban center of the Province of Chaco. Chaco is home to many indigenous people, who are an ostracized minority in the country. Chaco is also one of the poorest provinces in the country. There are many children throughout the province who suffer from malnutrition. Because of these realities, there are many people that migrate to the city and settle on the outskirts.

So far I have been getting acquainted with my pastor/supervisor, who along with the other people I’ve met, has been very warm and welcoming. I have already gotten to attend a worship service at Misión Maria Magdalena (Mary Magdalene Mission), which is on the outskirts of Resistencia. The church has been a driving force for, and partner with, many social programs in the neighborhood, and the pastor works with a couple of social workers. There are hot meals for children, after-school programs, health programs, and several other programs the church is involved with. The other church I’ll be with is in Corrientes, a city of about the same size, which is across the Parana river. I’ll be preaching at both churches next week.

That’s it for now, thanks for all of the prayers and support you all have offered me.