some 18-19 years ago, my dad went to this town, and was asked to pray for a couple who owned a grocery store. at the time we were living in argentina and working with Harvest Evangelism.
in april, we made a pit stop at a grocery store in the aforementioned town, and discovered it belonged to the same family, the kohn's. as a group we were invited up to the office. it was a big happy reunion. turns out, that the family now owns five grocery stores, and a big store similar to costco. needless to say they were well off... VERY well off.
the family is so nice, the parents, filo and gladis, are extremely hospitable and generous, and they have three children... two girls and one boy. the two girls are married, and their son is just a year younger than i.
so i went to go stay with them for a couple of days. and i lived literally in the lap of luxury for a few days. i left on sunday, and boarded a bus for the short two hour trip. i slept the entire way in true fairlight fashion. gladis picked me up and gave me a tour of the town. not much to see, really, the main avenue had the stores, the internet cafes, the cafe's, plus the huge dilapidated hotel that sticks out like a sore thumb. there isn't a movie theater - which is their biggest complaint, but there are club. there is nothing in this town. but their family is here, and their livelihood too.... therefore what does the rest matter?
she took me to the house. everything, and i do mean everything is accented in gold. there are floral arrangemnts everywhere you look, the table is perfectly set for a formal dinner, the parlor is carpeted (which isn't common), and the list goes on.
we went to church in one of their bmw's. afterwards was dinner... served by the maid. i have to say, at times it was awkward for me, like when i started to help clear the table. apparently, i wasn't supposed to do that.
when i woke up the next day, i had my breakfast already prepared... or already sliced... peeled apples, bananas, and strawberries; vitamin C pill; glass of mineral water; and orange juce; not to mention that the bible was already opened to correspond with the devotional of the day. i didn't know what to do with myself. therefore i did what any person would do... i went and laid out next to the pool and read "the Shack.".... hmmm maybe i COULD get used to this life.
i also had the opportunity to teach in an english institute. and i LOVED it. they put me to work, i interviewed the kids and asked them questions in english like "what's your favorite music," and "what do you want to study" (i got the normal answers of neurosurgeon, lawyer, and other super high achieving professions. i had so much fun. the kids got to ask me questions as well. i am pretty sure my favorite was "do you like chickens?" i loved getting to know all the kids ages from 8-17. i may or may not have found my argentine calling...
i didn't stay long in saenz pena (thankfully they abbreviate the name). gladis and her daughter were going my direction anyways, so instead of taking the two hour bus ride bike to resistencia i went with them... in the spacious beemer.... that didn't go less than 200km/hour... translated to about 135mph. it was a thing of beauty - we passed EVERY car, and got to resistencia in an hour and twenty minutes.
now THAT'S the life...
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