Bienvenida

I arrived in La Plata on Saturday! I am very excited to be here and to unpack my bags, literally and figuratively. My housemates had a party for my arrival, complete with pizza and music. I ducked out early to sleep, but they sounded like they had a pretty good time.

Sunday evening I went to my first culto, or worship service, at my church placement. They are small in numbers but great in welcoming hugs and smiles. They have received volunteers before, so they all kind of understand what I'm going through right now. Maybe even better than I do.

I've been kind of struggling with what it actually means for me to be here at all. The fact that I have a blue passport is kind of a big deal, in that it gives me the freedom to travel pretty much anywhere I want to go. Sometimes I feel like being here is just showing off these things that I have, simply by being born in a certain place, that people in most parts of the world do not.

And then I remember that I didn't just decide one day that I wanted to leave my friends and family for a year and move across the world. I was called here. And I believe that the God who called me here will make something good out of it. I have to.

Sometimes that still feels selfish and silly, and I think those times are when a welcome banner or a reminder from my housemates to eat dinner mean the most. Being welcomed by a community in some ways makes God a little more tangible.

Welcome Amanda