Sunday, October 23, 2011

Desde el Monte...

1998 is lifetimes ago for me now... thirteen years, but several lifetimes for me. So much has changed in my life. I wish that I had written more down about the happenings of 1998, but I'm sure that I thought I would remember them forever with crystal clarity. Sadly, that is not true. And now I know if I don't put some of those memories into writing, I will lose them forever...

I went to Uruguay in 1998. I went as part of a mission trip to support the Church of Christ congregation, El Chana, in Montevideo. The theme was Desde el Monte... a Montevideo  (From the mountain... to Montevideo). I think this was based off of some scripture in Matthew, but I cannot find any of my notes that tell me which scripture. It could have been the Sermon on the Mount. Maybe not. The theme could just have been a cultural reference to the fort on a mount outside of the city that was prominent in Uruguayan history.  It could have been a reference to something that happened on the Mount of Olives or any of the other hills that surrounded Jerusalem. I don't know.

For the foreseeable future, I will be posting memories of that trip here on Sundays. Mostly, this is just an exercise for me to get all of those memories down before any more of them fade; but the memories should be shared in case they can be of any help or encouragement to another. I will be contacting a few people that I know from that trip to see if they remember more - or maybe they even have written descriptions of the trip - and would like to share. 

I will also be sharing some photos I took on that trip. The unfortunate truth there is that I was an even worse photographer in 1998 than I am now. It is possible that at times (like today) I will share photos that I have found on the web in order to give you a clearer idea of I was seeing when I was in Uruguay. 

This will be an interesting journey for me (and maybe you?). I pray that when I come back down from the mountain that I am a changed person.

Look into the distance. Across the bay, on the hill, stands 
La Fortaleza General Artigas, the last Spanish fort built in Uruguay. 

2 comments:

  1. I have no memory of our going to Uruguay and I knew you then. Are you sure you went?

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  2. @BD Hahahaha! Yes, my love, I did go. It was not long after we saw each other in Seattle. 1998 was a very busy year for me!

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