Valentines Day

Hello! Its been a long week, with lots to tell!

This week the YWAM team arrived in the youth rehab centre. They are a team of 10 with people from Spain, Peru, Colombia, Brasil, Chile and Argentina. They have been doing a drama and devotion in our normal group times as well as joining in the workshops, (Woodwork, English, Gardening, I.T., and Cooking.) The kids have loved having them around, having chats, playing football and generally sharing their lives with them. It’s been good to see and be a part of. Please pray that the kids will be able to see something different in their lives, something that they too want.

I had a Spanish exam on Thursday, listening and writing, I haven’t got my mark back yet for writing but I got 75% for my oral, I actually got every question right, but took too long on a couple of questions. Shame! But just shows that when I listen properly I can understand everything! On Tuesday I have my grammar exam, please pray for me! This is the section that I failed last time and had to take again. My exam is at 6:30pm ARG time, 9:30pm UK time on Tuesday.

On Friday night I had a ‘Quince’, a fifteenth birthday party. Here in Argentina the girls become women at 15 and the boys become men at 18. So 15 is a big party for a girl, almost like the USA with the ‘sweet sixteenth’ parties. In the church here at this age you also are expected to have your confirmation. This ‘quince’ was a girl from the church called Gisel, she was dressed in a white ball gown style dress almost bride like. The party began with the ceremony where the pastors explained what a confirmation was, and then she said her vows and received a necklace to represent her pact with God. After the ceremony we had a dinner, three courses. Empanadas (mini Cornish pasties) then Chicken with rice and salad then ice-cream. After the dinner Gisel danced her ‘first dance’ with a boy from the church, a samba I think someone said! And then there was a ‘folkloric spectacular’ a traditional dancing show, where girls and a boy from the church were dressed in traditional dress. It was very well practiced and they were very good. Through the evening there were two bands, one Christian cumbia band (I can’t explain cumbia, its a genre of music we don’t have in the UK!) and the other the worship band from church. As the ‘quince’ was half ceremony half party we also had times of praise and worship through the night. Gisel presented her top 15 friends with a special present, of which I was one! And i had to go on the stage and light a candle for a photo with her! Then there was a kind of ‘throw the bouquet’ game where all the single girls (and me) had to go on the stage and pull a string from bowl at the same time, the girl who had the ‘15’ charm is the next to have romance, or something like that. The night in was really good fun but very tiring. It started at 10 o’clock at night and finished at 4:30am!! I left at 3 because I was absolutely shattered and most of the events had passed by then. It was great not just to go and be announced as one of her top 15 friends but also to see how this tradition plays itself out in my church.

God has been talking to me a lot this week, challenging me and strengthening me. Especially in the area of relationships, with people in my house, in the rehab centre and with people back in England. It is all very challenging at the moment but I am learning more and more about myself and about God. Pray for me in this area.