The Plot Thickens

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Are your appetites wet for season 2? I sure hope they are! I feel like the way this blog has worked out is similar to a television series where there is a plot and a story and several subplots on the sidelines and somehow it ties in all together. Some of you out there who have been following me from the beginning of time know all the plots and the subplots. You've probably noticed that in September before a TV series starts up again, they usually start to play the last few episodes from the last season just to remind people and get them caught up on what is happening.  So that is why I am writing you today, to get everyone on the same page so they can follow me properly and understand what is going on.

Alright so the main plotline is that last season I came to Buenos Aires teaching english and intending to stay only 6 months and come back to resume life here in Canada. But the church I was attending has been needing someone to teach english so I am going to come on board and work with the staff and students of Centro Estudios Nueva Vida (CENV). To date I have 40 people enrolled in a class and 15 on a waiting list. Looks like I have my work cut out for me and I don't see myself coming back to Canada until March 2011.

Although I have taught english before, I have never taught a group class to adults that have no experience whatsoever.  It thrills me and scares me at the same time.  Will I be any good at this? Apparently the books I am bringing are the best books in the U.S. for Latinos wanting to study english. But still I get doubts in my head and wonder if anything will come of my endeavors to see people equipped with the ability to speak english.  Only season 2 will tell what the outcome will be.

But with all that aside, there are a few other subplots that are going on. I mentioned to the team that we need one or two leaders specifically for the church branch I am part of at Centro. We are planted in the busiest city and on the busiest street in all of Buenos Aires so if the people from my church branch want to reach out to others, speaking english is not an option!  Good thing that there is one leader at Centro named Evelin Diaz who has had a desire to learn english for a long time. But she will be studying in her own home with some supplies I am going to give her.  Will she be successful in her endeavor now that she has the chance to fulfill her heart's dream of learning english?

A good friend of Evelin is Marisa. And if you have been reading my blogs, you'll know that her name comes up alot. She is the group leader of my first Bible group that I attended when I joined and she grew quite fond of me from day 1. Basically she decided that she was going to make friends with me at all costs and she would do whatever it takes to gain my friendship. Her method of attaining this prize is that she was going to kill me with kindness and shower me with love until I couldn't take it anymore. In the end her perseverance and persistence won and I began to cave in the beginning of Dec. She must have watched with pleasure as my hard exterior began to melt.

Life has not been kind to Marisa. Like me, so often she has felt left out in the cold looking at happy families together and just wishing for a moment she could have just a fraction of what they have. When I came into her world, it was as if a light switched on inside of her and she came to life. And together the both of us realized that we could find family with each other. But it wouldn't be without it's challenges seeing as we have different cultures, languages etc. Will we be able to overcome those barriers and at long last be able to fulfill the longings in each one of us for family?

Apart from everyone's personal goals and endeavors, there is one goal that we are all united in, seeing "Rock and Vida" realized. Rock and Vida is a rock concert that the church sponsors, finances, and arranges every year since 2005. It is always held in a public open air venue and it is completely free to anyone who wishes to come or happens to be passing by. It always happens the beginning of Dec to go alongside "World AIDS Day".  The rock concert is to create awareness against AIDS and it's deadly effects.

This last year I had the privilege of watching what a group of ordinary people can do when they are driven by passion. As we all know, Argentineans do not have alot of money. The average wage is said to be around $200 USD per month. That puts things into perspective! But nothing is impossible when people have a cause that they believe in. Literally, the church begins preparing for Rock & Vida in February.  Every Sat nite, they have "Rock & Vida" Cafe and it is a cafe with activities, entertainment and sometimes special guest music groups. All money from food raised at the cafe goes towards Rock & Vida. Not only that, many of the church members have pledged a certain amount a year to give to Rock & Vida. My friend Diana has pledge 200 pesos per year ($50 USD) to the cause.  This a classic story of ordinary people who come together cause extraordinary things to happen.  You'll want to tune in to the 2nd season to find out what happens to all our endeavors to realize Rock & Vida.

Not only that, I have my own personal goals and desires and there are things that I hope to do and things I want to experience during part 2 of my adventures there  Will I finally get to experience the grandness of Teatro Colon now that it has reopened? Would I get a chance to see Carlos & Alison dance tango together in Plaza Dorrengo in San Telmo? What will it be like to  celebrate my 30th birthday watching Eduardo & Kikki's tango show "Una Noche Ideal"?

And just like any TV series, there is always a new twist in the story that hasn't been previously mentioned. I'm not one for giving "spoilers" but I will say one thing here.  This morning I found myself emailing some developers who are developing several real estate projects in Buenos Aires in a ritzy area called Palermo Hollywood...

Tango 2 the Moon

Playing with My New Pal...Paypal!

OK, so people coming on here starting today will see a big shiny paypal button near the top of the site. I thought that when it comes to money, I had better explain all this.  I am not trying to cash in on people and make a quick buck. That is not the idea. But from being a person myself who has a very big heart and actually loves donating and seeing my money go towards thing, I know that there are many people like me.  And sometimes you get moved by something and you want to participate. I put that button up there so that people will have the opportunity to participate in this adventure.  And from being a donor myself, I know for a fact that some people actually really enjoy participating this way.

I'm going to very quickly tell my story so people who want to give know exactly what "participating" means. The story is that I came to Buenos Aires in Sept and needed a change in my life. I was participating in an intercultural exchange program where I would teach english to a woman in her home while the school arrange for me to have some board and lodging.  The program was set to end in March to which I would fly home to Canada.

But here is the interesting part, in Dec/Jan I began to realize that the church I was attending (Centro Cristiano Nueva Vida) needed someone to teach english.  So long story short, I got in contact with the pastors and the staff about getting english lesson started. It was something I thought would be small, maybe my next trip to Argentina I would bring some work books back for me and my close friends. Nothing big, or so that's what I thought.

Anyway, after multiple meetings, the pastor announces to the congregation about this new program in church to get people learning english. This was before I left. After I left and came back to Canada, I maintained contact with the people at the church and the staff and co-pastors work at the college the church runs. And the last count I heard, there are 40 people wanting classes with me and 20 more on a waiting list. Those numbers have me reeling! I still am walking around with my jaw hanging open some days wondering how all this has happened.

So, I am making plans to return early may to finish what got started on my first trip. This time I will be there longer, like 6-9 months.  And in this time, I will be teaching several times a week in my own class and helping in the classes of other teachers as well. I will also be helping the church in preparing for their biggest event of the year that happens in Dec called Rock & Vida. This is an event where the church brings in prominent rock and roll bands and they have the concert in a public venue in Buenos Aires.  The event is totally free to the general public.

Rock & Vida is to create awareness about AIDS and it's deadly effects. To learn more, just click on the label on the sidebar that says "Rock & Vida". All my blogs about Rock & Vida will show up. The church is working hard all year long to promote, prepare and finance this event.  The event. From attending the event last year, I can personally attest that the church has everything well arranged and sees to every detail of the event all the way from the artists, to making sure there are public bathrooms and food vendors at the venue.  And the church members are giving generously to make it all happen.  Honestly, this story sounds so much better in some of my other blogs. For a really good read, try my blog entitled "Alice in Wonderland". And another blog called "HIV Positive Pizza Party" is an excellent read too that sheds light on the church and what we are doing to make Rock & Vida happen.


 http://makingthesamedifference.blogspot.com/2010/03/alice-in-wonderland.html

http://makingthesamedifference.blogspot.com/2010/03/hiv-positive-pizza-party.html

So this is the story and the reason why I am setting up the paypal button if someone wishes to donate. There are many different ways you can do this. If you want to donate directly to Rock & Vida, you can do that. If you want to give to me personally, that's appreciated beyond words.  And if feel like giving to me but you want it to be at my discretion and you don't care what i do with the money, whether I donate part of it for Rock & Vida or I use it personally, you can do that too.

If you are very specific about your donation and you want it to be only for me or only for Rock & Vida, let me know. Just send me an email at makingthesamedifference@yahoo.com to let me know what your specifications are. But if you donate something and you don't specify and you don't really care what I'll do is that I'll use that money at my discretion. I might divide it between going towards living expenses and giving it to the church.

Just for your info to how it works is that any funds donated here, goes to my paypal account to which I transfer it to a bank account that I can access internationally. So I can draw from my Canadian bank account in Argentina and get pesos. And for your information, the exchange rate  for $1 CDN is 4 ARS so your dollar goes incredibly far in that country. For $10 CDN, I have been able to buy, yogurt, cereal, pop, pasta, sauce etc. at the grocery store.

 You can contact me anytime through email or you can fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page. I would be happy to answer any questions about me and what I am doing down there or questions about the church and Rock & Vida.  Or if you just wanted to use that form to say "hi" and share your heart about something totally unrelated to donations, I would LOVE to hear from you.  I really do thrive on my fans and readers support and I can never wait to hear your thoughts or about what is going on in your world.  Happy Easter!


"More and more I am finding that tango is not just a dance, it is a way of life in this city even for those that don't dance tango.  The city has a way of wrapping it's feathers around me to comfort and ease all loneliness and thoughts of home and the people there.  Like a mother hen, it soothes me safe and & warm under it's wing."

-Angelina

HIV Positive Pizza Party

“I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” - Oprah Winfrey

Those are the words that went through my mind as I sat there taking another bite of my pizza at Rock & Vida Cafe. All around me were the sounds of laughter and chatter. And every now and then, a group of people would burst out singing "Happy Birthday" as there were a few birthdays being celebrated that nite. By now you probably already have a question on your mind, what is Rock & Vida Cafe?

You may recall from earlier blogs that CCNV has a major event that they have been hosting ever since 2005 called Rock & Vida. It is a rock and roll concert to create the awareness of AIDS and it's harmful effects. This year, Rock & Vida was held on Dec 5 in the Plaza de Congreso right here in Buenos Aires. The concert is free and the church pays for the artists who are set to play as well as they arrange every detail of the event.

It has been barely 3 months since we did Rock & Vida 09 and already they are preparing for Rock & Vida 2010. Rock & Vida cafe is an event that they hold every Sat in the church. There youth can buy food and drink, play pingpong, dance Salsa and Merengue with some friends. And all the money raised through purchases of food goes towards Rock & Vida. After being around this church and actually getting the chance to see their inner workings, I'm beginning to see why they are so successful.

You see, Rock & Vida isn't something that they choose to do last minute at the spur of the moment. It is something they prepare all year for. And not just the youth here at Rock & Vida Cafe, the fact is that the whole church is in on it. Last week, I was here at Rock & Vida Cafe where we had a rock band come and play right here in the cafe. I was with my friend Diana and she was the one who told me the reason for the event. It is truly amazing how this church is looking after every single detail of the event. And what's even more amazing, the church members are giving whatever they can of their own free will to help make this event happen.

Diana herself told me that she has made a commitment to the church to give 200 pesos towards Rock & Vida. It is about $60 USD, which is ALOT for an Argentinean. The average wage here is 800 pesos a month ($200 USD). Sometimes more and sometimes less. Argentineans may not have alot of money but they sure to have alot of faith! Each individual may not have a big salary but the success of Rock & Vida and many other projects of the church is that they give faithfully and give whatever they can. And it all the giving eventually adds up bit by bit.

The church is also preparing in other ways. They are having Rock & Vida Camp in April to equip the youth with vision and purpose. I also remember about a month before Rock & Vida, all of us hit the streets and went out trying to get people to do surveys to see what they knew about AIDS. That was a real eye opener for me. Never in my life had I ever been part of something like that. In short, they are preparing one whole year to make those 4 hours of that one nite a success. I may not be able to be at some of these events the next few months while I am in Canada but I'm doing all that I can while I am here in this country. Even if it's just sharing a bite of pizza with a friend here at this HIV positive pizza party :)

d: day in Argentina

d:

So there has been this interesting question that almost always comes up at one point in my conversations with many of the church members here. And the question is "How did you discover our church?" None of them really speak english and although their name is well known within Argentina, they are virtually unknown outside of Argentina.

Honestly, how I felt when I discovered them must have been what it felt like when Christopher Columbus discovered the new world. They are growing church network of more than 30 000 people that is spread all across the country and is heavily involved in social justice and social reform in this country. They maintain good relationships with people at all levels of society, ranging from a government level all the way to people on the street.

It seems like every time I turn around, they've got a new project on the go, whether it would be feeding people on the street, arranging a benefit concert to create awareness about AIDS, bringing aid to a town nearby that's been affected by flooding. In the time I have been here, I have seen them send out 3 families as missionaries. So now we have 3rd world people who already live in a poor country sending out their people to other 3rd world countries even poorer than Argentina. CCNV sent a family to Ushuaia, which is in the south of the country in the region of Patagonia. Then the other two families got sent out to Uruguay and Bolivia, countries who's economy's are way worse than Argentina.

One their website states their mission. It literally says "Passion for people". And there is really only one message given every sunday. And the message is that there is a great cloud over society that is stealing hope. This is where the battle is against. Their battle isn't a political one where they stand up and protest outside abortion clinics. To them, their battle is against poverty, it is against hopelessness. It is against human trafficking in this country. It is against the things that are stripping people of their humanity.

But back to the question? How did I find such an amazing group of people? That story is very interesting. Long before I knew I was coming here, I already had developed a keen interest in Argentina. There is a popular Christian rock group named Delirious that I'm a fan of. And before I go further, let me comment that these guys play actual music and are professionals They break every stereotype that pops into your head of what you think Christian music is. If they weren't amazing as they are, they wouldn't have been asked to open for Bryan Adams or Bon Jovi. Just making it clear between you and me here :)

Now Centro Cristiano Nueva Vida has an event called Rock & Vida. It is concert with a variety of rock musicians to create awareness about AIDS I actually went to Rock & Vida this year and wrote a blog about it. The blog is titled "Rock & Vida". In 2006 they invited Delirious to play for them. It was an unforgettable night, so unforgettable that one of the youth pastors at CCNV decided to write a blog about it and put it on the Delirious website.

Along comes me a few years later, wanting to visit Argentina. Out of curiosity, I wondered if Delirious has ever toured in Argentina. So I go through all their travel diaries and look at all the countries they've been through. And sure enough, here is this blog about their nite at Rock & Vida in Buenos Aires in 2006 along with the name of the youth pastor as well as the name of the church. And the rest was history!

You may have noticed a little d: symbol at the top left of this blog. That is actually the logo of Delirious and if you click that symbol on the top left of the blog, it will take not only to their website, but you will be able to read the actual blog that was written about their concert in Argentina. This is the very blog that led me straight to the people here at CCNV. Interesting huh?

Selah

p.s. I found an AWESOME picture taken of the d: boys during their time here in Buenos Aires. I've put it at the bottom of the site. This picture of them was taken in Puerto Madero and it has 4 of the 5 band members standing tall and strong LOL Also I've made it so that if you click on the picture, it will take you straight to the official website of delirious ?

Rock & Vida

Dec 6/09

Fue la mejor!!! That is spanish for "It was the best!!!!" What am I referring to? I am referring to "Rock & Vida" the rock and roll concert that my church arranged for last night right in the Plaza del Congreso. I left the residence around 5:30. The square is only a 15 min walk from the residence across the highway. As I got there, I could see a huge stage had been set up with lights and everything. Already a crowd of people had gathered and there were portable toilets and food vendors all over the place. And in that moment, I thought to myself "My church actually arranged all of this......COOL!" It was quite clear that the church was quite determined to put on a good event and no detail got left out. Just so all of you know, that Plaza del Congreso is right in public, it is like saying we're going to have a rock concert in front of the legislature building.

I began the search for my friends from my thursday night church group. There were so many people and I kept circling the square but couldn't see someone. After awhile, I took a break and had a hotdog before resuming my mission to find my friends. Finally we were reunited in the square and after some customary kisses to greet each other, we chatted and caught up on how things have been. My group leaders name is Marisa. She doesn't speak a word of english but it is quite obvious that she has gotten very attached to me in the past few months. She is so caring and nurturing and always after our thursday nite group, she asks me if I understood what was said. At first I was very reserved towards her because in my life, it seems like many times I've gotton more attached to people than they are to me. But she's kept being so sweet and affectionate that I finally caved and started to open up and be loving and affectionate back as of this last thursday. There was no way that I could keep resisting after so many months of her hard work of being so loving towards me!

Another thing I found out about her last nite is that she LOVES rock and roll. And not just Christian rock, ALL rock and roll she told me. She loves "Guns & Roses" and AC/DC and U2 and anything that is true rock and roll music! Another girl I had a chat with last thursday loves rock and roll. Her name is Norma and she comes from a Christian family but has not been practicing for a long time. In the last 2 months she has decided she wants to take up the faith again and she is having a difficult time because sometimes the culture of church and Christianity is so difficult. So I sat and just talked with her and got to know her abit. And she loves old school rock and roll. Norma is a big fan of the Beatles, U2, Guns & Roses etc.

I told Marisa about my conversation with Norma and how it's a little bit of a struggle for her. And also said that the next time I talk with her, I'm going to tell Norma not to worry about what she doesn't understand or that people in church have a different opinions on things than what her other friends think. I am going to tell Norma just to be who she is. Whatever she is meant to learn, she will learn in her own time and in her own way and in a way that is natural for her. The reason why so many people (including myself) drop their faith totally is because they feel pressure from other people to be like everyone else in the Christian community. I know I almost did so I can sympathize. I chose to stay and stick it out even though I had been hurt by things in the culture of Christianity that is more or less man made. Once you've been hurt by people who share the same faith as you, it is REALLY hard to stay. Everything within me wanted to quit right there and it was so tough to stick it out. I never want Norma to have that experience and Marisa agreed that the journey has to be natural for Norma. Whatever she is meant to learn as she comes back to the faith, the lessons will come to her. This is another reason why I love this church. Here I am standing in the middle of a square in an event my church has arranged to make people aware about AIDS. I am talking to a group leader who loves rock and roll. And she also agrees that pressure shouldn't be put on people to be a certain way or conform to man made standards. I think my religiousity detector is sitting on a shelf collecting dust tonite!!!!!

The event then started and the first of 3 rock bands got on stage. And I would like to say here that although these bands are Christian, here in Argentina....rock is ROCK! It is not some watered down Jesus music that calls itself rock and roll. It is quite obvious to see that the musicians are in every way professional and polished in their craft and in true rock style it was LOUD! And the crowd was loving it! Another thing the crowd was loving was food. There is nothing like an open air concert that makes one hungry so to keep the crowd happy and well fed, Marisa grabbed a tray of sandwiches and walked through the crowd to see if anyone would like one for $2. Here in Argentina, at an event like this you will see people walking through the crowd with trays of sandwiches or soft drinks or other snacks to keep people well fed as the nite goes on. She handed out the sandwiches to the people who are bought one while I took care of the money.

At 8:30, the sandwich tray was almost all empty so we handed in the tray and the money and she gave me a kiss good bye and had to leave. But she left me with another lady from our church named Paula. I stood there in the crowd with Paula as the night went on and at one point between bands, our pastor got on stage and talked about making a difference and that we can be the ones to change history. It was so cool to see our whole church out there in public, wanting to make a difference and being so blatantly obvious about it. Paula was so sweet, at one point she left for a moment and when she came back, she had bought a sandwich for both of us. I was only a little bit hungry so I ate abit of it.

Paula then had to leave but I stayed until the end of the event. As I started to walk back to the residence, there were alot of street people that had come out and set all their stuff out so they would have a place to sleep for tonite. All nite long, I had been thinking about that half eaten sandwich that i had put in my bag. I kept thinking that I should give it to someone on the street. As I passed by one the buildings, there was a middle aged man there and for a moment, he looked into my eyes and I looked into his. And I could see that there was an absence of hope. In that moment, a gentle voice spoke to me that said "Give him the sandwich" So I fished the other half of my sandwich out of my bag and handed it to him. He thanked me and I went on my way.

I guess all these past few weeks and months of hearing sermons about touching society and reaching out to the people of Argentina are finally getting to me. It may only have been a small act but if I can't do something small for someone in the moment when I feel I am meant to do it, how will I ever be able to do something big? Everything begins with something small. For example, I have been doing Big Brothers and Big Sisters for about 5 years now and every week, I took out a girl that was assigned to me and we did activities and games. It also taught me alot about listening and being sensitive to other people. Looking back, this volunteer work really changed me and shaped alot of who I am. It was something small and not alot of people knew.

But one day as I was reflecting on my life, I realized that what I learned from Big Brothers and Big Sisters equipped me for what I am doing now with Gladys in our lessons. In our lessons, I have to plan what we are doing at the same time be sensitive to the person's want or needs. I have to prepare lessons if she wants structure but also be prepared if she wants the lesson time to be more open and less structure. I have to watch the other person's progression and look for moments while we are together were I can teach them or use an example from life to help them understand what I am trying to say. My point is that a large part of my success right now comes from all those hours of volunteering with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. All the skills that I needed for the activities with the little girl are the exact same skills that I am using right now in my classes with Gladys.

You never know in life what the littlest thing that you do, where it's going to take you. In all my wildest imaginings, I never would have thought that everything I was learning through involvement with Big Brothers and Big Sisters would impact my ability to be a great teacher of English. So who knows where the simple act of giving a sandwich to a guy on the street is going to take me?

Church of Rock

Nov 15/09

No, the title in the subject line isn´t "Church of the Rock". I´m not trying to make any Christian connotations here. By the word "rock", I mean "rock and roll". There is a movie called "School of Rock" and it is about this guy who turns all the classes in this school into lessons on rock and roll. Well, as of last nite it appears that I am attending a church who loves rock and roll music. Let me explain...

The church is holding a free rock concert on Dec 5th right in the middle of Plaza del Congreso. The event is called Rock & Vida and it is also a concert to bring awareness to the AIDS epidemic and it is part of our fight against it. Last night there was a huge party in church to promote the event. What I will tell you is that I have been to church and church events my whole life and never seen anything like it. Again, it broke every stereotype of people´s idea of a church event.

The event started at 10 last nite and the entry cost 25 pesos. And I can tell you right now that the price was every bit worth it. The event was located in the church´s main building that is located just outside the main city. It is the building I described earlier in another email as being very basic, like a warehouse with the walls and floors being made of concrete.

It was like having an event in an old warehouse or a gym but one that has a stage. There was some games set up for kids and there were some decorations in place. There were also some stations where you could by juice, pop, or water all night long. Above us, someone had set up one of those spinning disco balls and there were colored lights and music and music videos playing on a screen above. The ambiance actually was more similar to a night club or a bar. But I had no idea what I treat I was in for.

I knew I was in for something special when all of a sudden, some girls who were cooking in the kitchen would come out every so often with plates of empanadas, mini pizzas and all kinds of treats. They would walk around the crowd and offer them while people were mingling. There was a guy and girl who were MCs who were overseeing the entertainment that would be going on all nite long.

It was a blast. It was beyond a blast actually! This church actually knows how to have a good time and they really like rock music. Maybe it´s because our pastor is a musician himself and is a fan of many of the groups that have shaped American pop culture such as the beatles. The entertainment began when someone turned on music from the 70's such as the Bee Gees "Staying Alive" while some guys danced in front of the whole crowd to that music.

Later that night there were some musicians that got up on stage and began to play. It looks like it´s 3 or 4 guys who all play bass and electric guitars and they did a jam and it was awesome. These guys were definitely very professional and very well versed in their instruments. Before the jam, each one of them did one those things where they make really hot noises and sounds with all the cords on their electric guitars. Then when they all jammed together, what can I say? It was one hot rock concert they were giving!

The type of music they were playing and they level of professionalism that they had is easily the kind of music that you find in a club or a bar. When it is friday nite, you want something to do and you hear that there is a gig in town. Or there is a hot club where you and your friends want to go for drinks and as you settle in, there is a band playing on stage.

More shows of talent that nite was when a girl got up and sang. She was dressed quite "Burlesque" from the era where I think they had "flappers" She sang some songs from that time period and it had a real broadway sound to it. It didn´t take a genius to hear that this girl is very far advanced as a singer. Her level is one that you expect to hear when you buy tickets to see a broadway show.

There were more acts and more fun that night. The MC´s had the crowd dancing to "Rock Around the Clock". Some musicians got up who I have seen do the church music for the services. They actually did a live version of the "Staying Alive" and it was awesome. As you can tell by now, the theme of that night was rock and roll. By the time the event was one, it was 2:30 in the morning.

Everytime I discover something about this church, I grow to love it more. The thing that I love most is that that this church has not fallen into the trap of being in a box. When it times to be serious and pray, we do that. When we want to make a difference in our city, we dive in with our whole hearts into the mission. And when it is time to have fun, we really have SERIOUS FUN!!!!

I love it that these musicians can totally get up and do spiritual song stuff on a sunday and then play "Staying Alive" and embrace pop culture and there is no religiousity about it. They don´t feel that just because they've embraced a faith that now they are limited to a certain kind of music or a way of doing things. The church fosters and encourages people in their craft and to do really well. I have never been in a church that are big fans of rock and roll music and pop culture.

Another thing that I am loving is that this congregation is making itself relevant to the people, and the city and the times. They are actively involved in the city and working tirelessly to bring hope and solutions to the people of Buenos Aires and the people of Argentina. Social work and social responsibility are part of the fibres that make up the church.

They don´t just sit in a building on Sundays with a fake smile, talking about how wonderful life is and how horrible those people who don´t go to church are while ignoring the pain and suffering that is going on in society. Or when confronted with people´s pain, they don´t stand on a soapbox and preach to others and throw Bible verses at them.

No, CCNV is a church that loves to get it´s hands dirty and make itself relevant to the people and the times. And it should be no surprise to anyone that I ended up in a church like that. People who know me, know that I am deeply spiritual. I am also a philantrophist who wants to use my life to make a difference. I am also someone who enjoys life and people and this playground called earth.

The laws of attraction dictate that we attract the things that are like us. All my friends know that one minute I could be in church or having a great spiritual experience, and then the next minute when that is done, I might get a call from a friend asking me if I want to hang out and have a drink (or maybe half a dozen drinks......let´s not talk about that) and I´d be like "Sure!!!!!!!" I am not in a box and it should be no surprise (keeping the laws of attraction in mind) that I ended up in congregation that has a similar mindset.

One of the greatest revelations I ever had as a person while back in Canada is that spirituality and philantrophy are tied together. If we claim that we've had some kind of great experience, encounter, or enlightenment, the greatest evidence of that is that our hearts should expand to want to reach out beyond ourselves and touch others. Because the very nature of love is that it goes beyond itself and ventures outward.

I will never understand people who spend all their time in church or people who seek spirituality and read lots of books and spend lots of time in meditation or at conferences and when I speak with them, they have no care for the world outside of them. If the basis of all belief systems is love, then logically the more time I spend with "God" or some higher being (whatever you want to call it), then the more I should feel love and a desire to expand beyond my world.

The relationship between rock and roll, spirituality and philantrophy is very interesting. We aren´t the only people that for us, rock and roll and social responsibilty are related. Bono, the lead singer of U2 has been campaigning for years and has been deeply involved in the area of fighting AIDS. When I got up this morning, got out a little book I had bought in Canada. It is called "on the move" and it has Bono´s speech at a prayer breakfast accompanied by photos of his first ever trip to Africa.

I know that this man has been criticized and accused of different things when it comes to his motivation for his involvement in the fight against AIDS. But reading that speech inspired me and there is no doubt in my heart that this man´s heart is in the right place. What should society prefer that he do? Sit around with his millions of dollars and talk about his luxurious lifestyle? After all, thats all a rock star is supposed to do right? Looks like Bono decided a long time ago to burn the box that society would try to put him in.

And because of that, millions in Africa will have a chance at a future :)