Familiar Faces

JD and I have been here for 7 weeks now and are building some wonderful relationships with people in the area. There literally isn't a day that goes by that we don't encounter someone we know, which is incredibly encouraging to us. Cordoba is a city of 1,000,000+ people and even though we only interact with a small part of it, we find our new friends everywhere.

For instance, there is Manuel, the man who works at the meat shop on the corner and runs out of the store every time he sees us to say "hello" and chat (he always wants to practice a few English words). We've learned that he wants to open up a choripan restaurant in the states - America would be a better place with one of these, trust me.

Then there are the three girls at the Panaderia; Eliana, Vanessa, and Jessica, who like to chat and giggle about this and that. Friends and church members in the area are usually walking around so we see them all the time. And then there are kids that we teach and work with at El Refugio or the Cultural Center that we see randomly on buses or in the streets of Cordoba.

There is also Virginia, a woman who works at the Grido Helado down the street - whom I am getting to know awfully well via my frequent ice cream trips. I have learned that her brother is here, but his wife and daughter are in NY because they cannot obtain the paperwork to get here. I also met her daughter the other day.

One of boys JD works with at the boys institute, Dario, came up to us the other evening when we were walking around Buen Pastor and said, "Hey, I know you!" We chatted a bit, and he was on his way again.

We learn more about their families and lives every time we walk out the door, and we are blessed to recognize and be recognized by so many people here in Cordoba. I can't imagine what it will be like at the end of our 9 months here, but I know that even saying goodbye to the girls at the Panaderia - my sweet-tooth suppliers - will be hard. I suppose the more tears at the end of our time here in Cordoba, the better.

Thank you, Lord, for the relationships you have given us and please help us use them to glorify You. Please also bless those we have the privilege of knowing and working with, and if they do not know you yet, prepare their hearts and use us to share You with them. We want to see them again someday, and not just here. En el nombre de JesuCristo, Amen y AMEN!