A Humbling Conversation With an Argentine Friend

The following is a conversation I had with a friend of mine from Argentina on Facebook.  I will post the original comments (in Spanish) and the translation, in case my translation is sloppy.

Me:
"Quieres que lo diga en espanol? Tengo un blog que he empesado hace poco para compartir mi opinion sobre lo que esta pasando en los Estados Unidos ahora porque siento que lo que esta pasando es que estamos perdiendo la libertad que hemos disfrutado y no me puedo quedar en silencio. Tengo que hacer cualquier cosa que pueda para avanzar la causa de libertad y la primera cosa que puedo hacer as tener un blog."


Do you want me to say it in Spanish? I have a blog that I started a while ago to share my opinion about what is going on in the United States right now because I feel that what is happening is we are loosing the freedoms that we have enjoyed and I cannot remain silent. I have to do whatever I can to further the cause of freedom and the first thing that I can do is to start a blog.

Maria (from Argentina):
"Estuve leyendo con el traductor de Windows, no es muy bueno, entonces no podía estar segura de que las opiniones de tu blog fueran tuyas...
Me parece muy bueno que lo hagas, los ciudadanos tenemos que participar, pensé que en los Estados estaba todo bien...
Acá, Joe, está todo mal...es tan triste, creo que siempre seremos pobres, con mi esposo trabajamos y no logramos salir adelante, nuestra casa está más rota que cuando vos estuviste acá, no logramos ganar más que el dinero justo como para la comida y algún gasto fijo, pero NADA MÁS, no logramos crecer económicamente. Ultimamente nos sentimos muy desanimados porque ya no sabemos qué hacer para salir adelante... De todas maneras, CREÉME, que Ustedes están mejor!!! Nosotros no podemos comprar ropa para nuestros hijos, tampoco para nosotros; nosotros tenemos que calentarnos con la misma salamandra q vos conociste, con leña y en los cuartos de los niños hace frío, tenemos frío para bañarnos; nustra heladera está rota, nuestro auto viejo está roto en el taller hace más de un mes y no podemos arreglarlo, Jesús va al trabajo en bici con todas sus herramientas (sólo tenemos una bici para toda la familia)....etc, etc, etc.....
No quiero que llores por nosotros!!!jajajaja....Quiero que disfrutes de lo que tenés, porque aunque en USA pasen cosas que no te gustan, aún vivís en un país donde es NORMAL tener calefacción, donde es NORMAL ir de vacaciones, donde es NORMAL lavar los platos y la ropa con una máquina....DISFRUTÁ, DISFRUTÁ, DISFRUTÁ AMIGO. Sabés que siempre hablo en chiste, pero esta vez NO! He meditado mucho y pienso que algo habrás hecho de bueno en la pre-existencia para haber nacido en un PAIS PRIVILEGIADO.
Contale a Suzanne cómo vivimos aquí en Argentina y DISFRUTEN, DISFRUTEN, DISFRUTEN y, claro, sigan luchando por un país mejor."


I was reading with the translator on Windows, it isn't very good, so I can't be sure that the opinions from your blog were yours...
It seems to me very good what you are doing, we, the citizens, have to participate, I thought that all was well in the Sates... Here, Joe, it's all bad... it is very sad, I believe will always be poor, with my husband we work but we cannot get ahead, our house is more broken than when you were here, we cannot make more than just enough money to cover the food and some fixed expenses, but NOTHING ELSE, we cannot grow economically.  Lately we are feeling discourages because we do not know what to do to get ahead.... In every way, BELIEVE ME, you are better off!!! We cannot buy clothes for our kids, or for ourselves; we have to heat ourselves with the same little heater that you saw when you were here, with firewood and in the kids rooms it is still cold, we have cold water to bath ourselves with; Our fridge is broken, our old car is broken and has been in the shop for more than a month and we cannot fix it. Jesus rides his bike to work with all his tools (we only have one bike for the whole family)... etc, etc, etc... I don't want yout to cry for us!!! hahaha... I want you to enjoy what you have, because even in the USA things are happening that you don't like, you still live in a country where it is NORMAL to have a heater, where it is NORMAL to go on vacations, where it is NORMAL to was dishes and clothes with a machine... ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY FRIEND.  You know I am always joking around, but NOT this time. I have thought about it a lot and that you must have done something food en the pre-existence to have been born in a PRIVILEGED COUNTRY.
Tell Suzanne how we live here an Argentina and ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY, and of course, kepp fighting for a better country.


Me:
"Maria, gracias por contarme su situacion y ayudarme a recordar cuan grande es la bendicion vivir en este pais. Se sin duda que tengo una vida muy bendecida y espero que cada persona tuviera la misma vida que yo disfruto. Agradezco mi Padre Celestial cada dia por la bendicion que yo tengo de sostener a mi familia y la bendicion de tener un trabajo. No creo que merezco una vida tan bendecida porque siento que no he hecho ninguna cosa para merecer la bendicion de vivir en este pais y tener la seguridad que tengo. La razon por la que empece mi blog no fue para quijarme de la situacion economica de este pais ni mi sitacion economica pero empece mi blog porque yo creo que estamos perdiendo nuestra libertad. Los que gobiernan este pais estan dandose mas poder sobre nosotros los ciudadanos. Poder para quitarnos la libertad de escoger lo que hacemos con lo que ganamos. Poder para quitarnos la libertad aun de saber la verdad de lo que esta pasando en este pais. Aun estan luchando para quitarnos la libertda de prensa y la libertad de hablar criticamente del gobierno. Estan intentando cambiar la sistema de nuestra gobierno a comunismo. Si perdimos la libertad en los Estados Unidos no se que pasara a la iglesia ni a la causa de libertad en el mundo. Se por cierto que las fuerzas de satanas estan luchando para quitarnos la libertad porque si sucedan no habra nada que les impide seguir destruyendo la familia y la iglesia. Le digo esto porque quiero aclarar que no me estoy quejando de la situacion economica en que me encuentro porque se que es la libertad que disfruto en este pais que hace posible la verdad de que, si me esfuerzo y trabjo todo lo que puedo, es possible salir adelante en la vida y ser exitoso. Pero aun mas importante, es la libertad que disfrutamos en este pais que nos da el poder para establecer el reino de dios y compartir el evangelio y tomar el mensaje de la libertad de nustras almas al mundo. Creo que la guerra que mepezo en los cielos entre el bien y el mal sigue hoy con el mismo furor y yo quiero luchar por el bien y por la libertad en cada campo de batalla que puedo tanto espiritualmente como temporalmente."

Maria, thank you for telling me about your situation and helping me remember how great a blessing it is to live in this country. I know without a doubt that I have a very blessed life and I wish that every person could have the same life that I enjoy.  I thank my Father in Heaven every day for the blessing I have of providing for my family and the blessing of having a job.  I do not believe that I deserve such a blessed life because I feel like I have done nothing to deserve the blessing of living in this country and having the security that I do.  The reason that I started my blog is because I believe we are loosing our freedom.  Those that govern this country are giving themselves more power over us, the citizens. Power to take away our freedom to choose what we do with what we earn, power to take away the freedom even to know the truth about what is going on in this country.  They are even fighting to take away the freedom of the press and to criticize the government. They are trying to change the system of government in this country to communism. If we loose freedom in the United States I do not know what will happen to the church or to the cause of freedom around the world. I know for certain that the forces of Satan are fighting to take away our freedom because, if they succeed, there will be nothing standing in there way to continue destroying the family and the church.  I tell you this because I want to clarify that I am not complaining about the economic situation in which I find myself because I know that it is the freedom that I enjoy in this country that makes possible the fact that, if I put forth the effort and work as hard as I can, it is possible to get ahead in life and be successful.  But, even more importantly, it is the freedom that we enjoy en this country that gives us the power to establish the kingdom of God and share the gospel and take the message of the freedom of our souls to the world.  I believe that the war that started in heaven between good and evil continues today with the same fury and I want to fight for good and for freedom and every battlefield that I can both spiritually and temporally.
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This conversation that I had with Maria is humbling.  It hurts me to know that my friends in Argentina are suffering through the difficult trials that they are.  I pray that I may never forget the blessing that it is to live in this country, the richest and most blessed country in the whole world. I also pray that to have the courage to do whatever I can to further the cause of freedom and to lift all of Gods children to the standard of living that I know He feels we deserve.  That lifting cannot come through government entitlement programs but through the goodness of our hearts, through charity, which is the pure love of Christ, and charity cannot be mandated, that was Satan's plan.