Wednesday, October 29, 2014

This is Halloween (be the jack o'lantern)


Grant & I, Halloween 2000?

 Imported holidays/traditions are interesting because they force me to evaluate not only what is normal, but what is right (the church jury is still out on the Easter egg debate, but if it’s chocolate, it must be right). I’d heard ‘Halloween is of the devil’ just enough times around here to get me thinking and involve my English class in the discussion of whether a Christian can celebrate the 31st.

Here’s where the discussion might get interesting: I celebrate Halloween. Pragmatically, I like candy, costumes, pumpkins, small adorable children wandering my neighborhood, and homemade donuts. Theologically, I find it redemptively in-line with the Christian ideals of generosity, interaction with the little ones, and a way to mockingly take death down a notch: light shines in the darkness brighter than any jack-o’lantern and Christ has defeated death forever...

BOO!


"Let's raise a cry against Halloween
Unfortunately, all of these reasons are likely to get lost under the shock of “how dare you?” I’ve never taken this reaction too seriously (after all, it’s been used in my family not too many generations ago to prohibit movies, makeup, or pants). I ponder this while I scroll past “protest Halloween” memes from here and Harvest party announcements from there: both from equally sincere believers with a similarly deep and real relationship with Jesus and- let’s face it- who probably coincide about 98% on doctrinal and theological matters. 
Church Harvest Party


What’s the difference, then?

I’m convinced it’s mostly contextual and cultural. When holidays hop continents, some aspects get lost and added. The innocence and community of the Halloween I grew up with gets lost in translation somewhere, and all that trickles through are horror movies and dark pumpkins. Christians here, being the generally conservative and reactionary group that we are, tend to reject it, and in that rejection, even demonize it.

It’s not wrong to reject a cultural practice- Christians have been doing that for centuries when they decided that it was not in line with their faith in their context to participate in the Coliseum, alcohol, nightclubs, or makeup. These rejections, however, should not define their faith (“Church-of-Jesus-who-turned-water-into-grape-juice” just doesn’t have a transcendent ring to it).

Christianity has always been a bit out of step with culture- and that’s part of its intrigue. A person who participates in a kingdom that’s “now and not yet” isn’t always going to go along with her culture’s status quo; someone who pledges allegiance to another King can’t heil Hitler or Obama or Cristina; someone who is awaiting a great banquet isn’t going to stuff himself with holiday candies. The conservatives are right when they say that light and darkness don’t mix.

Last year's jack o'lantern:
light in the Americas
But the light and darkness to have to touch at some point. There is no use in lighting a jack o’lantern and keeping it inside a well-lit kitchen. The light must shine in the darkness out on the front steps, finding places to illuminate. The light shines with redemption’s love.

However you celebrate or protest tomorrow, do so as light.


The light shines in the darkness; the darkness has not understood it and will not overcome it
-John 1:5 

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Five random firsts

By now, most of you have seen that I got my ears pierced- just another one of many first time experiences I've had here in these past month. I realize that since I don't get to talk with you most days, these firsts which would normally come up in conversation...don't. So, without further ado, some debatably notable "it happened in Argentina" moments:

1. That one time I bought mint-smelling soap thinking it would make me smell "fresh". Reality: it makes showering smell like a cough drop. Yum?

2. Or when I sold pancakes advertised as waffles because a) the waffle iron broke  b) most people here don't know the difference between pancakes and waffles and c) we were raising money for a speaker. Best quote from that day? "I have no idea what a waffle is, but I think I need one". Yes, yes you do.

3. Going to a guest lecture event here means that, about 5 minutes into the presentation, everyone breaks out the mate and yerba. This works well for coordinated people who can multitask. For me on Tuesday, I spilled the hot water and tea all over the floor and my bag. They told me they would never invite me out again. I think they were joking...

4. Today when I couldn't pronounce the word 'biodegradable' and sheepishly passed the bags out with a 'y'know, good for dogs and stuff'.

5. Singing 'Let it Go' at the top of my lungs in the park in front of a big cardboard boat. (The skit went well- thanks for your prayers!)

Just some happy, random moments of life!

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Coming Soon! (Palermo Update)

Imagine this entire post in a dramatic-movie-trailer-narrator-voice

Recently, in Plaza Armenia...
Balloons. Keychains.Video with little arrows.
Selling waffles. Buying speakers. Talking with "the regulars"

Just kidding, don't imagine the rest of this post in the movie trailer voice. It's way too vague.

What's with the waffles, you may ask? With a broken iron, we made pancakes with waffle batter and sold them as waffles to raise money for a nice battery-charged speaker, which we'll be inaugurating next Sunday for a drama/puppet skit. Part of Plaza Armenia is shaped like an amphitheater and several itinerant groups take advantage of that fact to perform music, do magic tricks, and clown shows. We thought we'd use it to do a skit.

Several drafts, rehearsals and a cardboard boat later, we'll finally get this show* on the road...er, park.

Pray with us:
-that the Holy Spirit would speak powerfully to the hearts of our audience, young and old
-that many would listen, respond, and choose life with Jesus (the crux of...everything)

Thanks!






*Synopsis "El Crucero de Jesus" (Jesus' Cruise)
Three people- a bum, a boxer, and a snob try to get on a cruise ship advertised as "the adventure of a lifetime". All try (and fail), until a little girl comes up, asks to get on, and climbs aboard. The cruise, as it turns out, is life with Jesus, and the child shows the other characters how they can get aboard, too. Spoiler alert: a parody of "Let it Go" is involved.
Not my most nuanced work, but I am very thankful to my experience with "Circle Time" in Backyard for writing children's ministry skits!

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Bureaucracy flow chart!

This, at any rate, is how I think the paperwork process in Argentina works, keeping in mind three important observations:
1. Bureaucracy= the inefficient working of people on dangerously low levels of coffee and happiness. 
2. The US is NOT part of MercoSur, which means that, while the process is longer, the lines are shorter, and you'll wait in them with Canadians and Germans, which is orderly and fun. 
3. The disconnected lines might be on purpose...





Sunday, October 5, 2014

Would you still? (A letter to 8 year old Jill)

Hello, 8 year old self (I know you're in there somewhere, because a few months ago, you started writing a journal- consider this the most recent entry),

A lot of things can happen in 15 years, you know, and it makes me feel impossibly old. When you play dress-up or make up stories, the maximum age you envision yourself is 16- practically an adult. Trust me, by 16 you may have a driver's license, a summer job, and the beginnings of another language, but not much else in the adulthood department. By 23 you still haven't gotten married or your ears pierced, so you should be happy to know that.

You still like rainy days.

You never do end up running away from home. Home is a good place, and you'd only leave for the adventure of it. Writing from Argentina, the adventure hasn't left you, and neither has home.

You'll have braces for longer than they tell you, and you'll forget about your retainer after a month.

You'll never make another friend quite like Amanda, although every friend you make will remind you of her in some way, and you won't ever take them- or life- for granted. You still enjoy plenty of "alone time".

But enough of this hypothetical telling you past-future things. Because right now, I'm writing a children's ministry skit and I want to ask you a question:

Would you still? 

I think you know what I'm talking about. That evening in your Newport bedroom (the walls were still pink, and you probably had a stuffy nose, like I do now...some things never change) when you prayed and "asked Jesus into your heart". On the one hand, you had no idea what you were getting yourself into. But then again, does anyone really know?

If you knew that simple prayer would define the next 15 years (and, God willing, more) of your life, would you still have prayed it? If you knew it would take you to The Dalles and Tennessee and Argentina and the ends of the earth, would you still have said yes?

I suspect you knew about as much as an 8 year old could, and maybe even more than this 23 year old does. But still...if you knew the years that I've lived now-  every tear, trail, anxiety, decision, homesickness, move, grade, friendship- would you still have decided to follow Jesus?

They told you it was absolutely free, but did they tell you it will cost you absolutely everything? 

Just a curiosity ;) Look forward to hearing back from you,

Peace, Jill