We had kids' camp this weekend at the church. It was super fun. We had kids from three or four of our campuses attend. I think we had about forty kids in all sleeping and eating at the church. I had a lot of fun getting to know kids that I had seen around, especially at the San Ignacio mission, but hadn't really connected with til now.
Putting up decorations
None of the kids spoke English, so communication was a challenge at some points, but I have learned enough Spanish to get the most important information across. They understood me most of the time (I can't say I understood as much of what they said to me) Most of what I missed out on was the fun banter. In that kind of sink or swim environment, I was trying to pull out every Spanish word I knew. I am getting more confident at trying to put together sentences, even if I know that my tenses are off. Fortunately, some of the leaders, including the leader of the team I was on, spoke some English. So if I was lost, I could lean over to someone and say "Okay, so what is happening? My friend, Daniel, speaks good English and likes to translate, so he and his sister, Wendy, helped me out a lot. Fortunately, worshiping and dancing does not require a lot of Spanish.
worship
Most of the leaders at the camp were high school aged kids which added an element of fun and energy. One thing I have noticed since being in Mexico is how self sufficient kids are here. Even young ones. The high school aged kids at La Fuente run organizational meeting, organize dramas for VBS, designed all the decorations for VBS, and attended all of the VBS sites. Wendy, who ran the camp, is younger than I am. It is really interesting. Another example of how independent kids are here is that little ones only 3 or 4 years old came to camp and stayed the night.
During camp, we went to a local park and did field games and relay races some of which included water balloons. It was pretty warm, but we had a lot of fun. Before we went out, I noticed that all of the Mexican kids slathered on the sun screen which made me feel better about my own sensitivity to the sun down here. I’ve only had one bad burn so far, which better than John Mark is doing. It doesn’t matter how tan you are: everyone burns.
The little ones passed the water balloon, the older ones tossed them.
John Mark and I went with our friends, the Forgets, to the beach on our day off yesterday. We went about 30 min north to a tide pool and beach. It was the first time we had been outside the bay since we arrived. It was nice to relax after several days of running around with the kids.
We are doing well. We celebrated John Mark's birthday this week with dinner. It was fun. John Mark has been suffering from allergies or a cold. We are not sure which. We are still studying Spanish, hoping to have a grasp of at least the basics before we return (date still undecided). Please pray for health for both of us, especially John Mark. Pray that we pick up the language and are motivated to put in the time it takes to learn it. We are also still praying that the Governor will give La Fuente a piece of land for a church in San Vicente which has a huge new development and no Christian churches. Please join us in praying for a piece of land.
Blessings to you!
Moorea
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