A Day in Argentina - Ayuno

"'Breakfast' means 'break the fast that you did overnight, when you were sleeping (weren't eating).' I just assumed that 'ayuno' means 'fast' because it comes from the word 'desayuno' (the spanish word for 'breakfast')." 

Last night, that's how I explained to my roommate how I knew that the word "ayuno" means "fast." Today, the entire school participated in an all-day "ayuno." And it was incredible. We started the day with a personal devotional time for an hour, then had a corporate worship/prayer service for two hours. 

After that we split into our classes (1st years, 2nd years, etc.), and prayed as a class for an hour. I thought it was amazing how natural everyone in our class was about praying corporately, with only ourselves guiding us. No one was assigned to direct our prayers; we just prayed as the Spirit led us.

An hour passed like it was a few minutes, and then we reconvened as a school to have a full-on IBRP chapel service. Today's chapel service was unlike any other service I have attended. The worship was so full of energy and joy from the Holy Spirit, that the students were basically calling for encores, and the worship leader did as they requested. We went three or four songs past the normal worship set.

The speaker for today's chapel was a former missionary to Argentina; he's now working in the national Assemblies of God World Missions office. His sermon was about King David and how he gained strength from God when everything was terrible (1 Samuel 30:6). He compared David to the students, saying that there will be times when we want to give up because everything is terrible. Instead, we need to ground ourselves into God, because He is the best friend we could ever have, especially during terrible times. Once he finished preaching, we had an hour and a half of personal prayer time to end our day of ayuno. 

God revealed many things to me about my fears today. I won't bore you by delving into all 7 hours of my time with God. Instead, here are some sentences God gave me to proclaim over myself; I hope they will encourage you as much as they encouraged me: 

For when I fear what others think of me: The only One who matters is the God who created me. When I'm doing His will, I feel secure because my identity is in Him. I'm not afraid.

For when I fear being used (in ministry) until I'm empty / too tired to keep going: God always gives strength to those who do what He's called them to do. It's called compassion. When I'm doing His will, I'll have an abundance of compassion, always. I'm not afraid.

For when I fear being injured: My Father is always with me, protecting me, and filling me with compassion. When I'm doing His will, there's nothing that can stop me. I'm not afraid.

For when I fear doing the wrong thing: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and only through Him who gives me strength. When I'm doing His will, I'm doing the right thing (there's no way I could do the wrong thing). I'm not afraid.

For when I fear my fears will hinder me from advancing the Kingdom: I am not the sum of my fears. God is preserving every word I speak for an appropriate time. When I'm doing His will, He's making my words and the meditations of my heart pleasing to Him. I'm not afraid.

Before today, I had a lot of fears I didn't realize I was holding onto. Today, and from now on, I will fear no more.

In summary, I leave you with these wonderful lyrics from Mercy Me (aka - my new life song):

Greater is the One who is inside of me 
Than he who is living in the world. 
There'll be days I lose the battle 
Grace says that it doesn't matter 
'Cause the cross already won the war. 
I am learning to run freely, 
Understanding just how He sees me, 
And it makes me love Him more and more.

Same Same But Different

Language aside, being here at IBRP is very similar to my first few days at SAGU. Everyone is super friendly, they all want to know who I am, where I'm from, what I'm studying. But bringing language back into the matter, being here is so different! There are students from many different countries (Uruguay, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina) and that's just a from the ones I've met! Most are from Argentina, but I predict there will be many more countries to add to that list as the weeks progress. Since there are so many countries represented here, there are also many forms of Spanish as well as different cultures. So, I won't only be learning Argentine Spanish and culture, but instead I will learn most of the South/Latin American cultures and styles of Spanish! As one of the students put it, I will know how to communicate in almost every Spanish-speaking country. So exciting!!! It will be a lot harder than learning just one form of Spanish, but I'm very much up for the challenge.

A view of the building I live in, and "El Parque," which is the courtyard between all the buildings on the IBRP campus. :)

A worry of mine is failing in the teaching of this English class. I know it's what I want to do - I love teaching, I really do - but I'm not sure I'm ready! I don't feel prepared with adequate training or materials for formal teaching; I'm much better at informal teaching. But, I will try to instead look at it as an opportunity for growth and valuable experience! And I will lean on God wholeheartedly because I know for sure that I can't do all of this (learn Spanish and teach English) at the same time without His strength and wisdom. Please pray for me as I embark on this specific endeavor. Also, I would appreciate any and all advice and/or materials that any of you English/Spanish teachers are willing to give.