English Camp

This week, I had the privilege of working with 3 young teachers, 2 seminary students, and 1 teenager from Charlotte, NC. It was an answer to prayer to have people all more or less my age to be with for. We were joined by a missionary here, Carol, as well as another soon-to-be missionary here, Mike. Each of the team had wonderful and unique gifts that really came out through the course of the week, in which we did an English Camp for kids during the day (we had about 55 kids) and a basketball ministry in the evenings in a local park (approximately a million kids come out for that). The team members helped me in the ESL class I taught in the afternoons, which varied from 4 to 15 people throughout the week. Last night, we had a true Mexican fiesta at the church, with a surprise visit from a legIT mariachi band. Pictures to follow.

Though I was very busy this week, I did have a little time to reflect. Among other things, I´ve really been impressed with the Mexican culture this week. I was talking with a really neat guy named Javier yesterday and he pointed out that it´s ¨no problem¨to live in your parent´s house your entire life. He lives with his grandmom, his parents, his brother and sister, and his dogs, and he sleeps on the couch every night, and it´s ¨no problem.¨ Rather, it´s a part of their approach to life, in which family almost always comes first. We Americans are so much more individualistic, materialistic, and independent than our neighbors to the south, and though it has made us richer, it´s also sapped our spirit, which is fed by by fellowship, by family, by community. As I think about my own life, I am most thankful for the times of true community I´ve experienced (such as at Ridge Haven and in RUF), while at the same time I grieve for what could have been so much more, and for the millions of people who have less community that I do. Young people are seeking to reinvent this paradigm via facebook and twitter, but these things... and anything else that isn´t real... are poor substitutes for having a dinner party, a barn raising, or (more remotely) a village fair. There are a lot of reasons why we don´t do these things (or do them much) anymore, not the least of which are a misplaced and overwraught sense of privacy, an underappreciation of fellowship, simple time committments, and the simple fear of man (and the corresponding insecurity). I am always encouraged when I see people getting together, making community, forging bonds, and my challenge to myself and to you readers is to be more intentional in your relationships. Indeed, the same can be said for our relationship to the Lord.

I have some more things I´d like to share, but I´ll close for now. Thanks for your prayers!