Eduardo, 19

Cletis had gotten to know a group of younger folk from the hostel. I seemed to keep up with the older generation. From a Canadian guy who had been hurt by his ex-wife, to an Italian who was encouraged by the work I do, wanting to invest in a children's home in Brazil work permitting, to a French couple that always cooked something interesting each evening.

But one opportunity arose for me to converse with the young Brazilian Eduardo. He had sat down for lunch at my table, while I was reading the Bible. Naturally, he asked what that was about. I explained that I like to read, and this book is particularly interesting.

Subject changed, and he asked if there was anything going on between Cletis and I. I reassured him with a laugh, that there is no "onda" there whatsoever. We are traveling together because we work together. Once again, got to explain the reason I am in Argentina at all, which stems from what God first did for me.

"Would you like to know my theory on life?" He asked. Sort of with a smirk, with a desire to press my buttons and get me angry. Little did he know..

As he explained his theory, I told him that it sounded a lot like this television show I had watched recently called Battlestar Galactica. Speechless, I explained the basics of the show, and he nodded. "Yeah! That's kind of it! I can't believe someone else has already thought of it and even made a tv show out of it!"

It made me chuckle a little bit. I remember thinking that I knew all there was to know when I was 19. Reality can bite.

But then he said to me, "You know though, I think God is trying to speak to me. I just don't know how to listen."

"Go on," I said.

He told me of a time when a random old woman had told him that he needed to be careful. His girlfriend wanted to hurt him. That evening when he was visiting her at her house, he found a knife in her dresser drawer. She was embarrassed that he found out. She was planning on attacking him.

I know it's a strange story, but there was nothing in his face to show that he was lying.

"And there was this one time," he began, retelling an account in which he had gone hiking in Brazil and had gotten lost. In desperation he yelled out, and a fox appeared. It blocked him from a certain path so he went to another. The fox followed him, blocked him, and followed him until he was back in a safe place.

"What could it all mean?" he asked.

Eduardo said that he prays all the time. He doesn't always know what to pray, but he does it all the same.

I told him that maybe the very book I was reading would serve him well. "In a way," I explained. "In a way, the Bible is the other half of the conversation. We talk to God through prayer, and He talks to us through his Word." (I intended the double entendre, but I am unsure if he followed.)

I told him I would get him a Bible if he really wanted, and we again looked at me in disbelief. "You would do that?!"

"Por su puesto!" I smiled. And he wrote his mailing address for me. Now to find a Portuguese Bible.. haha.

He always smiled when we saw each other again, and even made an effort to sit with me a couple times more to talk about the day. You could sense the difference between him and the others, versus wh

Naty, 27

During an asado at the end of a 4x4 tour of the mountains in Ushuaia, I got to know a young woman named Natalia. While the others busied themselves with conversation about English, a conversation that I have gotten pretty tired of myself, Naty and I talked about where we've traveled, and the languages we know.

She mentioned Hebrew. Then she mentioned that she'd been to Israel. I was quick to put two and two together and she affirmed. Yes, she's Jewish. We talked about the culture a little and finished up the meal. On the way home we realized we were staying in the same hostel, so we mentioned grabbing a bite to eat for dinner much later on.

While I was hanging out in the room, reading, Naty knocked at the door.

"Hey, sorry I can't make dinner tonight. I ran into a couple of Israelis in our hostel and they invited me to a Shabbat."

I was overjoyed for her, and then timidly asked, "You think it would be okay if I came? I've always wanted to go to a traditional Shabbat."

She was shocked. I assured her that if I couldn't go, since I'm a Christian, I understood. But I had so much curiosity!

She checked with her friends, and I joined her for a beautiful Shabbat in the middle of Ushuaia. No, they didn't speak Spanish. The sixty or so present spoke only in Hebrew, in which case, I understood nothing. However, I loved it all the same, embracing the beauty of the community that chose to meet despite being from other parts of the world, on vacation, etc. etc. I enjoyed listening to the message, and most, listening to the young men, adorned in their yamakas, singing and reading Scripture.

I was a little tired though, and apologized for my need to leave early. Two hours had already passed, and there was no telling how much longer it would take. Not to mention that the only plans for afterward were to go to a bar, which doesn't exactly fill me up.

The next day, I had gone to Laguna Esmerelda and came home with a stomach ready to eat, and eat well. Specifically, the famous King Crab of Ushuaia! I had to coax Naty to come with me, only because she didn't want to spend too much money to go out to eat. I reassured her that I had a friend (Friend!) who had blessed me and I wanted to use that money to bless her. So she acquiesced.

I asked her more questions about the Jewish culture. I was able to coincide a lot that I had already learned through a former roommate, as well as other studies of the Bible I had done. Which is when, after all the explaining had been done, she said to me,

"What do you believe any way?"

As shocked as she was on Friday, I had to hold every excitement inside me. "As in, what I believe as a Christian?"

"Yeah. I have no idea about any of it. Can you explain it to me?"

Umm.. YEAHHH!!!!!

And so I progressed through the basics, but also used the facts of the Old Testament to show the need for the Savior Jesus. I added how important it was for Jesus to resurrect, so He could give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. "And I know the Holy Spirit is real because in all of this time that I have been talking with you, I feel His power giving me the words and making it clear."

She nodded. "It's all so fascinating," she said. She told me she had never known about Jesus, and that she wanted to study more about Him if possible. I pointed her in the direction of the Bible and how it helps me to understand God's character in general.

We finished up dinner and didn't get to talk much more during our time together. Nonetheless, it was an amazing conversation, and I was able to give her a bracelet with the colors that express the salvation story. I added a note thanking her for her time and for all I learned from her. She wrote me back before she left about how it was a pleasure to get to know one another.