Friday, February 18, 2011

Viva a la Argentina!

It is crazy to think about all the places that FFA can take you! Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to Argentina through the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers program, ILSSO. It was an AMAZING time! If you are ever elected as a state officer, please go! You will not regret it! This blog is my attempt to capture and share the "Ah hah" moments I had while abroad!

Ah hah momento numero uno - I serve an Awesome God! One of the last visits we had while abroad was to Iguazu falls. They are the definition of legit! While I was taking pictures, I realized that they did not begin to capture the beauty and awe inspiring nature of the falls. As I stood in awe, it clicked as to how AWESOME my God is! I am surround on all sides by amazing people, beautiful jungle, and awe inspiring waterfalls! How blessed am I? The fact that one person created all of this...simply amazing. I could NEVER in a million years given all the tools in the world have created something so beautiful, but I know someone who did! I stood in awe not only of the breath taking sites, but of the fact that I serve an Awesome God!

Ah hah momento numero dos - Just because there may be a language barrier, does not mean there will be a communication barrier! I can not speak a lick of spanish, so you probably can imagine how nervous I was about being able to communicate with the locals. If you are having trouble imagining, well, I was more nervous than a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs! All those fears were put to rest once we meet this man. The man in the middle is one of the many amazing Argentine people we had the chance to get to know. He told all of us to always remember our Argentine grandpa! How cool is that? Even though he did not speak english, his passion and love for agriculture and his family along with his compassion for all the young people invested in agriculture came across just fine. Ah hah! Communication is not just words, it is much more than that. It is the love and other emotions behind the words! It is our body language! It was a sincere smile coupled with a hand on his heart as he told us he was our grandpa! Now that is communication! I didn't need to speak spanish and they didn't need to speak english for us to understand and communicate with one another!

Ah hah momento numero tres - All we need is love! In the 6 hours at Miami International, I had plenty of time to explore! This is what I found! All we need is love! Why is it so easy to love Starbuck's coffee, your new pair of jeans, and George Straight, but so hard to love your neighbor? Instead of judging one another, give LOVE! Instead of talking about someone, give LOVE! Instead of disliking one another, give LOVE! How different would you and I be? How different would the world be if we gave love? Please join me in giving LOVE so we can find out! All we need is love!