Desde el Monte... Find A Husband

Previous installations of Desde el Monte...

Preface

The Beginning

Joy Bus

The Streets

The Beauty

Prayer (and a Poem)

The Culture

The Violin

Philosophy

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I had thought about just mentioning this couple in another post, but this story deserves a place of its own. 

Meet my friends Eduardo and Estela:

This lovely married couple was so nice to me while I was in Montevideo. I had come down to wintery Uruguay from the beginning of a hot Lubbock summer and managed to get a cold. It really was just the sniffles, but somehow Eduardo and Estela found out and brought me all kinds of medicines and comforts. That is how we actually met.

I saw Eduardo and Estela frequently over the last half of the trip. They spoke English, so we were able to have some lovely conversations. If I remember correctly, they were about the same age as me, so we had commonalities in our lives. They completely accepted me into their hearts and I was humbled by that unconditional love.

When it came time for me to leave Uruguay, our hearts were pained by the thought of parting. Estela begged me to stay in Montevideo, but I told her that I had to go back to Lubbock to do my internship and finish my Social Work degree. Estela said, "Then come back when you graduate. You can be a Social Worker here in Uruguay." Eduardo stood next to her saying, "Yes! Yes!". And then Estela said the funniest thing. She said, "We will even find you a husband!". 

I do not know if I looked like I needed a husband or if the Church of Christ get-married-and-have-babies bug had already infected the El Chana congregation. Either way, it cracked me up. I even considered it for a moment. I had not been very successful in relationships up to that point, so I wondered if having a husband that I could not fight with (because we did not even speak the same language) would be a good idea. He and I would only be able to look at each other and smile and nod, right? No fussing, no fighting, no break-ups. 

Seriously, my heart was so touched that Estela and Eduardo would want to take such good care of me. I ache that we live so far away from each other. I would love for them to meet the husband that God gave me. I know they would love him. 

That is the hard part of mission trips. You leave a huge chunk of your heart behind. There are many people in the El Chana congregation that kept a piece of me. Estela and Eduardo Baldaccini seem to have a big piece.

***

Tune in again next Sunday for another installment of Desde el Monte... (from the mountain).