While listening to my favorite praise and worship song, Mighty to Save, in Spanish I was moved to write about where I am at in my life. The line that really touched me was "Savior he can move the mountains. As I continued to listen I thought of all the mountains that are in front of me. There isn't just a mountain I see but a whole range of mountains. The most obvious at that moment was learning Spanish, it is so crazy to be in a country where I can not readily communicate; being the extrovert I am this gets frustrating. I also saw that I am part of a team of 8 that is full of different personalities and ideas that would be meshed together. These 8 are not my blood family but they are my STINT family and we bare that name as group. This group is who I will share everything with in Argentina. Learning to love and work with them for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ over the next year is yet another mountain. Also in the past few days I have taken a few bus rides and walks without the aid of someone to help me to find my way; on one or two of these I have taken wrong turns and had to really focus to find my way to my destination. It amazes me how large Buenos Aires is and how much I am learning about the set up of this city another mountain that lies in front of me. Then I considered how long I would be here and that I would not be able to be with my family and friends and how much I would miss them it is not going to be easy; but at the same time I have to realize the opportunities that I have here in Argentina that would never happen if I stayed in the states and I am encouraged by the students I meet here and that the Lord is letting me serve him full time here in Argentina.

There is a beauty to being able to see these mountains. I now that my God can move mountains and has moved so many mountains in the past. The support raising part of my STINT year was a mountain that the Lord has all ready moved. Now I get the chance to watch him move mountains in my life that seem almost impossible right now; but then I thought about what my mountains looked like in America. I saw that they were just as grand of mountains in America that I just choose to not climb and go back to my comfort zone and sit back and pull the curtains and not try to work with the Lord to conquer these mountains in my life. I feel blessed that I am here where I can clearly see the mountains and have no way to go back; than to be back home and feel that I had the option to not climb the mountains but to remain in the safe valleys of my life. So no matter what there are mountains in your life you just have to trust in God to help you to conquer them and that without him it is impossible to climb them. So as I leave you remember that our God is mighty to save and that he has conquered death so what are a few mountains to our God!

Ben Anderson

aka Shmando