[video]
So this past Thursday night, Brooke and I went out to our favorite restaurant in Tyler. And it was snowing. We had a great time, and went to a few other spots in town and then headed home. The whole time it was snowing. It was a great date. It snowed almost the whole night, and the next morning, we experienced a crazy sight for Tyler, TX. Now, for many people, including my wife who grew up in Nebraska, snow is not a big deal because it happens all winter. In fact, its actually annoying to most people. But for this Houston boy who only sees snow on the discovery channel or on a snowboard trip to Colorado, this was a treat. I snapped some pictures and then headed to camp for a video shoot we were making. The Shores looked incredible. Especially the dock. I am pretty confident that I won’t ever see it again this way. On the down side, we lost power in our house and didn’t get it for 2 days, so that put kind of a damper on things, but oh well. It was a crazy snow and we liked it.
[video]
(This will be my last entry for Argentina, and what I experienced. I have put this off for some time because in a sense, I feel like it isn’t over until I write about this last day. I don’t think I am ready for it to be over. This day had by far the most impact on me and I am confident the same goes for my team. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion to my trip.)
Argentina, Day 10 (the last day)
Last night ended up well. It was a huge turn a round. Except dinner was loco. Some had to wait to get food for a long time. I did had a warm shower last night! (oh yea!) Actually last night was by far the best yet with the amount of noise and the outside temperature. Gracias Senor! Thank you Father! Its funny, I barely hear the dogs anymore.. It’s amazing how you adjust to things. I have started having dreams with the Chicos in them. Very funny! I am excited to have a good night sleep in the next few days.
My last day here started with the best: Quiet time in the blue circle area among the Chicos. As always, this is an awesome time. We have been so blessed by who we have worked with here. It has been worth every hardship. The bed of mosquitoes in my corner, the sleeping arrangement, not feeling clean most of the time and so on. I love moments like sitting in this circle with my new friends this morning. Praying with them and putting my arm around Jose, and him doing the same for me. I love being able to pray with them. I love that when it was time for alone time that they all stayed relatively close. Meanwhile, the train rolls by and is very loud. It goes right by the wall a few times a day. It carries many people.
As I look around, it is shocking how a couple of the Chicos remind me of someone I know back in the states. I am grateful for this opportunity. I love these people! I hope Brooke is good and I am glad that she endures me being gone and supports me.
It is by far the coolest day as far as temperature goes. Thank you for the breeze! Oh yea, but my butt has never hurt so bad! haha.. I guess its from sitting on the ground or on benches for 10 days. And Marcos just came up and shared his matte with me. What a great memory, the matte. I love what it represents here.
As far as the day goes, it started off very slow. The morning was chill. We had Bible study, we ate and then we played games. I actually prayed to start breakfast. I was so nervous that I would get a word wrong. Some boys were still bad this morning. I jumped in with the tarp game. Elisa dominated as usual. She teaches the children so well! Then we went to do cheers in the grass. It was a good time to have everyone cheer. All of us did some cheers that we do at the Shores, which seemed well received by everyone. They love when we get krunk..
We had lunch and then outside again to take pictures and said our goodbyes to the children. Although nobody outwardly said this, I could sense, even in myself, that we were all going to be extremely relieved when these kids would be gone. However, words don’t express what happened next..
This kids got on the bus and instantly realized that they were afraid to go back to thier horrible homes, or lack thereof. I watched as one of Jose’s campers cried through the window, and Jose put his hand on the window and his camper returned it. They both cried. That was one of many interactions like this happening. It was a heavy scene to take in. We then followed the bus to the gate. You could feel the atmosphere change all around. We all had the realization of where these kids were going. We had all been worn out from loving on them while there were in our care. Little hands and faces pushed out the windows to waive to us and there were many tears. It was an extremely moving picture as I looked around and saw so many of us and the Chicos weeping. Powerful. Tanner then walked up to me and I lost it. I think I had been holding many things in and this was the break. Bessy somehow came up at the same time and I just hugged both of them and cried. Hard. It was a good, hard cry, for someone who doesn’t cry a whole lot. Little did I know that the waterworks were on for the rest of the day… It was an incredible moment. One that I will not soon forget. We then circled up and nobody said anything. You were either wiping your face or staring. I didn’t know what to say, and all I could think of was “muy bien” as I choked back more tears from seeing all the others. We then broke out in a song that we had sang with the children over the last two camps:
Tenemos tanto tanto tanto tanto tanto tanto para ser agradezidos,
Demos gracias al padre por… campers, and so on…
We have so much so much so much so much to be thankful for,
We give thanks to our Father for… campers, and so on…
It was a HUGE moment. Don’t forget that circle. I remember being next to Joni and seeing his tears hitting the dirt. Man.
We took some time and then met to debrief. It was hard because poor Hannah had a harder time translating. She has done so good, but we were all emotionally fried. It is a daunting task to lead a group of my staff and Artgentinians with a translator, or rather with someone who is trying to translate, and it isn’t her job. Luis helped out a lot, much to Hannah and I’s thanks. The main gist of our time was me wanting to explain that the Chicos can do camp, even without us. Bessy inturupted us with a phone call saying that the kids missed us. They were on the bus and the pastora called to tell her. Then we went back to meeting, and she got another phone call. She told us that this kids were back at the little church singing, “tenemos, tanto, tanto..”. We could hear them singing over the phone. It was moving. Many tears flowed again, all around. I remember seeing many fighting them back. I tried to get it together and said “Listen, this is why we do what we do…” Another big moment.
We then split to debrief in our own groups for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the Chicos went and jumped into the pool with all their clothes on. I was confused because I thought they were meeting, but then they did in the pool. I am amazed by how they blend fun and relationships with meetings. They know their priorities, and it shows. Our meeting was good, and then I thought we should take some pictures together. So everyone went to get their cameras. But while I was waiting, I decided to just go and jump into the pool next to all the Chicos meeting with Bessy. I ran in and they all cheered. My staff quickly clued in and followed! It was incredible. Then we all broke in this crazy pool celebration. Its hard to describe. It was this huge party where everyone was just overjoyed. It was truly amazing. Then we jumped out and started cleaning up and getting changed as we were going to leave in just a few hours.
Quick sidenote: I am learning the lesson of what not being able to fully speak does. By not being able to communicate clearly or understand the language, we couldn’t rely on the junk that come our of our mouths so regularly. It had to be our actions. No question. No debate. Actions before words. In the States, we can all understand each other more or less, and we use our words to appear different than we are, or to try to convince others of who we “really” are. But the truth it that it is our actions that display who we are, not our meaningless words.
After we cleaned, we took lots of pictures and spent time outside together during the evening hours. I wanted to take it all in, so I wandered a little ways a way at one point. It was a blessing to get that time together. (As I write I am sad because now it seems like that hour was just a few seconds, and it was such a blessing to all of us.) We then all went inside to eat one last dinner all together. Steak and Coke, what more could you ask for?? Bessy talked to everyone and said thanks. I got up to stand beside her. She cried. I cried. I told the staff while Luis translated about the situation in Argentina for CCI and Bessy. I thanked Bessy and her staff and said congrats to Bessy and Tito for their upcoming wedding. Hugo, the caretaker spoke and said that he has seen a lot of camps come through the property, but never one like this with this kind of people. He said, “A piece of my heart goes with you. My family will never forget you.” And I cried again. Many did. It was a combination of being touched and knowing that we were leaving. I had to explain what we were doing next, which was tough. I am finding that it is hard to lead through these kind of moments, when you are sad and wanting to process but it is your responsiblity to continue moving forward. Wow.
We got our stuff to the back area and waited for the bus. It was late. We realized that our flight was actually an hour earlier than we thought as well, so things go a little complicated. The bus finally got there about 8. It was good because we got more time together, but were worried about missing our flight home. I announced to say good-byes and so we started the painful process of saying good-bye and hugging friends for what could be the last time in this life. I made sure to kiss everyone, even if it was awkward. It wasn’t. We were all family now. I remember hugging Tito. I want to hug like he does. Jose and Andres were the hardest to say goodbye to because of their tears. Jose said, “Hasta luego” no “Chow”, meaning not “goodbye” but “see you later”. The Buenos Aires team went with us on the bus so we got a few more minutes with them I remember waiving goodbye was so hard as they followed us out this time, just as we had all done for the campers. I saw Jose and Joni wearing the blue headbands that I gave them and Agustina wearing the watch I gave her. I am sad to think about this.
The ride back was good, although we were stressed about making it to the airport in time. I handed out passports and briefed everyone on what the plan was and then prayed. We said goodbye to the rest of the Chicos from Buenos Aires, and Luis and Jessy. Sad again. But we had to get moving. So we dominated luggage when we got there and then ran like crazy into the airport. I remember turning and yelling at Tanner and John a funny phrase. It was a good moment. Everything actually went fine. Our flight was pushed back. Awesome! Security was fine, but the terminal was a bit stressful. I think I was just at the end emotionally. And I wanted to make sure everyone got back home safely. We all got on the plane and things settled down. Now we are heading back to Texas. Wow. What a phenomenal trip. I am so proud of my staff and thankful for this opportunity. It think I will sit here and cry for while and be grateful…
I am eager to get home to read my journals. I am excited to read them to Brooke and re-live this incredible experience. Thank you Lord. Gracias Jesus. Si Senor.
I can hear Elisa and Jose right now… “oh man!”
[video]
There was a big rain storm last night. I woke up like 1000 times. But it was fine. Its funny how every night I have a ritual of spraying my whole body, even my face, with bug spray. Then I lay on top of the mattress on the floor and hope I don’t sweat or get but.
…..
It is humbling to sit at the table with the Chicos Bible study this morning. I wish I knew what they were saying overall. I wish I knew of the depth of their love for Christ. These are being read:
Psalm 121, Proverbs 19:8, Isaiah 45:12, Romans 12:9, Jeremiah 33:2, Philippians 2
I am learning to listen. It seems like they are spitting scripture out to one another. I can’t tell if their study and conversations are similar to what we do or not. It is good to sit among them and listen. I think they are comfortable with me being there (probably because they know I don’t fully understand). I have done this a few times and really enjoy it.
…..
I have learned a few more phrases that I use often:
“Choca la cinco” (give me five) and
“Que quieres?” (what do you want?) this one is more like a joke….
…..
Today has been so hard, however, it is filled with joyous moments, nonetheless. The kids are so rough. They come from horrifying situations. Its hard to recall the day because so much has happened and the meals have been at weird times. The Chicos did their drama and it was very sweet. Agustina narrated. You can tell they improved their drama the way we did. Very cool. While the kids had snack, I found myself with the guitar, and before I knew it, Andres was teaching me a Spanish worship song. It was so great to learn and play together. We sang many times. Hannah helped translate the words. I love the lyrics. Here they are:
“La Unica Razon” (The Only Reason)… also known as “Eres Todopoderoso” (You are all powerful, I think…)
La unico razon de mi adoracion,
Eres tu mi Jesus.
El unico motivo para vivir,
Eres tu mi Senor.
…
La unica verdad esta en Ti,
Eres mi Luz y mi Salvacion.
Mi unico Amor eres tu Senor y,
Por siempre te alabare.
…
Eres Todo Poderoso,
Eres Grande y Majestuoso.
Eres Fuerte, Invencible,
Y no hay nadie como tu.
*****
The Only Reason (In English)
The only reason for my adoration,
Is you my Jesus.
The only motive to live,
Is you my Father.
…
The only truth is found in You,
You are my Light and my Salvation.
My only love is You Father and,
Forever I will worship You.
…
You are all-powerful,
Big and Majestic.
You are Strong, Invincible,
And there is none like You.
What an awesome song! It was a great blessing to learn this song. (You can see it on my facebook somewhere. I recorded it when I got home so Andres could see it. Its not very good, but oh well…)
…..
After that, I joined everyone else in the gym for some dancing to songs like “ymca”. It was very fun. Neal and I danced in the middle and us guys did this fun gorilla dance. I had no idea, but just picked it up. Hilarious. I got my iPhone out and played a few songs. Jeff finally arrived at the time the dance was happening. We had some great chats.
So Jeff and Laura and I had a pretty good debrief. He seems to understand what is going on. We are glad he is here. He has had a long journey visiting the other commission camping trips before us. After we talked, the day really MELTED DOWN.
Boys were running off constantly, especially during the treasure hunt. The Chicos would keep trying to help and go get them, but it wasn’t working. So we split the kids and cabins into 2 groups; one in the gym and one out on the field. I had a boy at the door to the gym (which is this huge metal thing just waiting to cut somebody) who would NOT stop kicking it and banging it. I literally felt like I was in Jurassic Park. We finally were able to talk with Bessy and the pastora explaining that this had to be fixed. We finally arrived at 5 o’clock snack (I don’t know how). Bessy gathered all of her staff and mine stayed in the dining hall with the crazy kids. My poor staff had NO idea what to do at this point. I told them to just hang tight…
I didn’t know how to get into the huddle because they started to pray so I just put my hands on 2 of their shoulders and jouned. When they finished, they just sort of let me in. We stood in a circle and talked, well, I listened. They talked about what the heck was going on. They arrived at teh fact that we needed to do teh camper agreement again. I thought this was a great idea. They also said that they were thankful for my staff. I told them that I was proud of them they best I could and asked them to not be afraid to ask us for help.
I then jumped into the dining hallto tell my confused staff that we were meeting outside asap. It was so funny because they had NO idea what to do. I told them to just hop outside and teh Chicos would handle it. It was a crazy moment, but looking back, its really funny. So we met and I explained to them the situation. I told tehm I was proud of them and the tears came. I was tired and emotional, and just overwhelmed with how awesome these people I get to work with ARE! “Stay in the game” “I’m here for you” where things we said to each other. It was a good time for us.
And the day has turned around. It has been pretty good since all of the madness. I ended up having a great conversation with Agustina and Neal about her everyday life at home. I have felt picked up. Man, we were close to a total meltdown earlier. I am so proud of my staff and the Chicos. They wanted to change the schedule for the day so that the children were ready to worship to keep it sacred, instead of just throwing them into it. So we pushed worship time back. I loved it, being led by the Spirit. Now they are singing and doing worship now. We will see how the kids behave tonight. It’s about 8:30.
I just watched Tito (Bessy’s fiance) pick up one of the troubled kids up from underneath the table. Man, his heart is HUGE! They are singing “cantare de tu amor por siempre” (I could sing of your love forever!)
[video]
I got some good sleep last night again. However, this morning, I could NOT get out of the fog. My energy is gone. Breakfast and cabin assignments were fun. Everything was well prepared, but I could not get out of my tiredness. I guess it has caught up with me. We had an awesome prayer time before the kids got here. I gathered all the counselors together in a circle and had some of them pray out loud. What a blessing! (That is actually where my little thumbnail picture comes from - I was playing with a beetle before we started praying.. haha) Finally the kids arrived late morning. And then it got crazy.
We found out that the church that was bringing the kids really messed up the camper list. We were told that they would bring 40 children, and it was more like 55. It was crazy. There were kids who were not on the list who had showed up, and there were kids who were on the list who had not come. And, the kids ages were not recorded accurately, which is a big part of assignments, as we want kids of the same age together. We literally had to get them in cabin groups and sit in circles while we went around and asked them each their name and age and then move them around as needed. Names and ages for an hour. Haha. But oh man did Agustina do a PHENOMENAL job! And all the staff were so flexible and just went with it. So good.
Then we did snack and then games. The children loved teh water in the bucket game that I was fortunate to get to lead. It was so fun to watch them get so excited about it, and even the staff did too. Both Argentina and American.
I learned the word “negro” today. Obviously, I knew it meant black, but I learned that they use it differently here. I think it could be literally equal to what we say in the States for a negative use, but I don’t think they use it that way. I think it is more of a “hey man” kind of thing. Fairly harmless if used among friends, as most things are with language today. On another note, Andres made me a bracelet. Oh man, what a blessing to receive such a personal gift. I kept trying to explain how thankful I was and that it was better than anything I could have purchased while here. Lastly, another thought: “Oh Man” is a fun saying that Elisa I think learned from Carrie. I love to say it with her and Jose. What a blessing it is to have little fun sayings that unite us and make us laugh!
Lunch was good, and then we were going to move to our singing and drama time. It was too hot inside, so we wanted to go outside. But Hugo (the caretaker) was mowing. So I asked Laura to go sweet talk him into stopping for us. It worked!! Then we went over to a corner of the field and wall area where it was all freshly cut grass. I don’t think anybody minded much, but it was very uncomfortable. I felt bad for Megan because she was sneezing and itching her eyes, so I tried to move as much loose grass away as I could, but I don’t think it helped. And then, to make things worse, while we were singing, people kept lighting fireworks on the other side of the wall. Again, though, I don’t even think the kids noticed. I think they are so used to chaos that it didn’t matter. Its amazing how we have constant hurdles to jump over here, like this situation. It feels like constant spiritual warfare. Its almost weird, but a joy at the same time to watch God work for us. Because even still, the singing was good, and the kids were mostly involved. And then our skit about Moses was incredible! It was 10 times better than the other time we did. I think the confidence was there for my staff and even for me, I knew better how to tell the story with Hannah’s translation. The kids laughed so much at the skit, and that was a blessing!
It is hard not to compare these kids to the last session though. These kids are way rougher. They come from extremely troubled homes, or no homes at all. Its crazy. We need to look past their attitudes and desire for attention and look inside to see hearts that are gentle and need Jesus desperately. I pulled my staff quickly to remind them of this. They agreed, although it was not going to be easy. Man I love my staff!! This is such a blessing to serve with them and among them. I just don’t get to do that much at the Shores with everything going on.
I am CONSTANTLY learning the language. They always teach me patiently. I now know why my good friend Joey was so transformed by going to Africa, or I guess I have a glimpse as to why. I am transformed from being here 8 days. Neal sits close journaling his thoughts. As I sit here and reflect, I am blown away by what God is doing in my heart. I miss Brooke, but I do not long to be done here they way I thought I would. I am content. I am with my staff. We do this together. I am joined by new friends that we have made here, and still want to know them more. I am blessed to see what God is doing among us here. It is a good evening.
Last thought of they day… Bessy just came up to talk with me about Jeff arriving at 6:30am tomorrow. And she told me that we need to take many American dollars to exchange for more pesos. She also told me that I need to send about 3 staff with her at about 5 so that they can each exchange money at the airport. This is because there is a limit as to how much an individual can exchange. I understand, but I do not want to have 3 of my staff get up so early. The MAJOR surprises to do not stop. Its almost comical. However, I need to be a peach - warm and fuzzy on the outside but solid in the middle.
I decided to wait out this early airport thing and hang tight before I made a decision, and luckily, Bessy decided to go a different direction. Awesome! (Even though some of my staff are so awesome and said that they would go if needed.) The evening wrapped up with some good conversations and fun. Our last full day is tomorrow.
[video]
Church, Shopping and Hanging Out
(I forgot to mention that there is a really funny story about Jose saying “what” really loud on the bus. Also, yesterday we saw a really scary black vampire in the market area that I would like to forget.)
Today, I am sitting in the small and hot church, somewhere in Argentina. It is very sweet to see the people’s hearts that are here. I sat with Agustina so she can explain what is going on when I don’t understand. She showed me her favorite verse. Very cool. More later.
…..
Church was very cool. But it was hot. I was worried about my staff, but they were champs! Daniel, the pastor wanted us to share, so I picked out a few staff to share, with Hannah translating, and it was great. I am pretty sure it was Brice, Kyle and Hunter who shared about their experiences so far. They did a great job. Then they had a few of the children that had attended camp with us share. That was good too. Lastly, Daniel wanted me to come up and share. So I went up with Hannah to say a few words and prayed. No problemo. I hope. We sang a few songs and then listened to Daniel speak. After, we hung around for a little but to have some juice and socialize. We then got on the bus to leave. The children waved goodbye. They left us with some empanadas and moonpie type of snacks. They were all good, and since we hadn’t eaten for awhile, they were much needed.
Every bus ride, I try to sit among our Argentine friends. I love talking with them, learning from them, and now that we are closer, we joke a lot. It is great. Jose jokes with tanner and Andres learns English with some of my staffers. I usually end up talking with Agustina, Esteban, Emi and Elisa. Its amazing how we have all warmed up to each other. The friendship seems very pure, but I can see how as time goes on, we all still struggle with the same sin and stuff, the way ALL friendships do. But, I am grateful to experience pure friendships here.
We arrived at the “Jumbo”, which is just like a mall, but with a HUGE walmart type of store in it. The whole thing is extremely influenced by an American mall, especially with what they sell. It was kinda weird. I felt as if the “shopping” days were close to tainting our experience for the worst. I could see the “I wants” returning in many of us. I walked around with Agustina, Elisa and Emi because everyone else ran off. Then I met up with Andres to jump on a laptop in a store to become facebook friends with him. That was fun. It was funny because the man who worked there came over and spoke English to Andres because he thought he was American. Haha.
I then sat down with Carrie for coffee and a nice conversation. We talked about life and all that good stuff. I enjoy my real life talks with my staff that become friends. It is nice when it goes to the friendship/mentor level. It is hard to break passed the staff/boss relationship most of the time in the summer. A few staff trickled in and it was good to see us sitting and enjoying each others’ company. Kyle came and sat down, which was great too.
We started to gather up to leave, and I ran off with Esteban to go get a Tshirt. I bought the same one he did so we could be shirt brothers. :) They all made fun of me. haha
We then walked a long time through town. We were heading to a market. I was fried. I learned how to say “I’m cooked” in Spanish. That was fun. I had some fun with Jose and Elisa as we walked in the back. And I would occasionally yell at JD a home alone quote which helped pass the time. We finally arrived at the market area, but it was not set up yet. So I lied on the ground with the others. The market finally opened around the corner so some staff got to get a few things. I stayed with a few of our Argentine friends. We then got on the bus to head back to camp for some good relational time. We swam and drank matte. Very good!
…..
The other group arrived back at camp with Bessy, Mariana, Ali, Marcos, Jony and Juli. It was so fun to greet them again! It was good to see Chris as well (Bluffs Director). We were not expecting the girls to return, because they said they would be done after their camp session, but it seemed like they all decided to come back! Very cool. It was a joy to see them all and the excitement between others. I wanted to tell them how good it was to see them, but couldn’t find the words very well.
We all hung out and then had dinner. Tonight, I did get close to melting down. I think it was because of the equilibrium and unity being thrown off with the other groups arriving, but I really don’t know. I think it was mainly because I am stupid and toxic. I was letting little things get to me which is ridiculous. And I was tired. Laura and Agustina and I planned the next 3 days which was good, and then I went out to play a fun soccer game with everyone. Then I as able to skype with Brooke which was so great to see her! It was fun to talk and introduce her to others that were walking by.
The night is slowly came to a close and we are settling in for another night on our beloved floor!