Friday, September 25, 2009

24 Hours

24 hours ago, I was hurriedly packing and cramming all of my stuff into suitcases, boxes and garbage bags. Now, I'm on staff with the DTS in Ensenada.
In the last week, God has been doing interesting things in the TJ DTS. Due to beginning with samll school of 10 girls, our leadership began wondering what was going on when 3 of our students cancelled or requested to be transferred to the Fall DTS in Ensenada. After several days of long meetings, prayer and conversation, the leadership team decided to combine our school with the DTS in Ensenada. Many of our students were surprised, but have agreed to transfer an hour further south. We don't know what God has up His sleeve, but are trusting His faithfulness.
Interestingly enough, throughout the last year I have always had a sense of peace when I am at our Ensenada location. In the last several weeks, that peace has come back very strongly. Last week, I spoke with Rob, the DTS director in TJ, and Jim, the base director about what had been going on in my heart. We were processing what that could mean or look like and waiting on God to speak into the situation when our studetns began to be directed elsewhere and the decision to combine the schools was made. When Tym, the DTS director in Ensenada informed my leaders that he was in need of one more femail staff memeber, they asked me Wednesday afternoon if I would consider helping with the DTS in Ensenada. I said yes. AS the DTS students arrive on Saturday, I moved down last night, got unpacked, and am getting caught  up to speed  as much as possible before the school officially begins on Monday. 
While there are certainly challenges with all the rapid change, I feel that God has His hand in all this. He's a master weaver of lives and circumstances, and I'm learning to trust His judgment : ). Right now, it's off to a meeting and a new adventure!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

El Grito


The fifteen-passenger van whips around another corner, and I brace myself against the seat and try not to land on Elsi sitting next to me. Johny chuckles from the driver’s seat up front, and turns his attention to finding a parking spot in crowded downtown Ensenada. After parking the van, the six of us weave our way through crisscrossing pedestrian traffic and vendors with their carts selling elote (cups of corn with butter, salt, and hotsauce), caramel apples, cotton candy, and shimmery red, white and green Mexican flags in an impressive array of sizes. A teenager offers to paint my cheek with the Mexican colors, and I barely have time to offer a polite “No, gracias” before hurrying after Susie’s retreating head. The energy of celebration pulses in the air, trumpeted by little horns and whistles, bright lighted booths selling tamales and chicharones, laughter, and mariachi music pumping from the stage area. It’s September 15, Mexican Independence Day, and it seems as though all of Ensenada is on this street for El Grito (The Shout), the sound of freedom.
On the main stage, huge banners lead up from the platform to a second story balcony where the formal ceremony will take place in about an hour and a half. Large video screens allow the crowd to participate in the pre-ceremony festivities. As we work our way closer to the platform, a young girl gets up and sings acapella in a high clear voice, a traditional Mexican love song. Right on her heels and in a furl of black ranchero pants, billowing stripes and swirls of color, a dancing group flirts, begs and tip-taps their way through several traditional dances from the state of Colima (Susie and I decide we need to find out how to sign up ; ). All the while, the whistles toot and people applaud and catcall.
I try not to trip over a plastic cup rolling around between a maze of people’s feet as we find the rest of the group representing YWAM’s 3 locations in Mexico. We’re an interesting bunch, more than a few nationalities, languages, and races represented, but all of us laugh, attempting to dance to the lively folk music and getting to know people we don’t often get to spend time with. And after a presidential speech piped in from Mexico City, the Mexican National Anthem and several other localized political ballads, we join as the Mexican Declaration of Independence is read and the crowd screams, “VIVA!” in response.
Just as the excitement reaches its peak, we’re directed to turn around. After a second, the dark night air is broken by high pitched shriek. A second later, a riot of color explodes and sparkles in the sky above us. We crane our heads back and applaud like the delighted children in front of us as firework after firework sounds the independence of Mexico.
After a few minutes of chatter and more mariachi music and dancing, we round our group up and head back to the base. In the midst of preparing for DTS, it’s worth the crowds, the parking, and the neck ache to celebrate the culture and heritage of a country I get to share.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Sportin' a 'Tude




I knew Chad's sermon for the MA kids was really meant for me, but I doubted he knew that. "I will not give the Lord a sacrifice that cost me nothing. . ." The verse inched under my skin as I sat in the plastic chair in our make-shift worship hall. I had the sneaking feeling that God had something to say about it. I began to think of all the things I could sacrifice to God. . . my future, my desires, you know. The big things. But as Chad got down and I went up with the rest of the worship team to do the last set, it hit me. I'd been complaining all week about being assigned to Mission Adventures this week. I had my excuses: we have a lot of work to do with the DTS just a few weeks away. It's an evangelism team and the role of translator feels way bigger than my skill level. I had plans for this weekend, and I was on the worship team and Saturday breakfast prep already. It would take days away from the work week next week, days I couldn't afford to loose. But I couldn't find a replacement. So here I was. And as I picked up my mic, I knew the thing God wanted. My attitude about this week of translating. It's easy to think about sacrifice when it's in the future. But what about tonight? "Okay fine. Just for You." But as I said okay, my heart began to change. And my heart changed, my whole week changed. The first day, I didn't have to do much translating. All the kids at the orphanage we were working with were out of the building, so we deep cleaned the kitchen while the guys on the team cleared a lot to be used for youth rallies later. The next day, my friend Susie went along to help translate so I got to do a lot more relationship building with the team and the workers at the orphanage. By the time my heavy translating day came on Monday, I realized I was having a lot of fun. I loved the kids on the team. I loved the orphanage and the pastor we were working with. And I had had a great example of a translator the day before and my Spanish was warmed up enough that I enjoyed translating for the kid's program. God blessed me by removing some of the things that I was insecure in. He didn't have to do that. But He did. And He didn't have to give me an amazing group of students to work with. But I was so impressed with their flexibility. Their outreach location got changed at the last minute, yet still the words I heard out of the leader's mouth over and over were: "How can we serve you? Yeah, we have a program. But what do you really need?" or "Give me the dirtiest job. I want to get it done for you." Whether it was moving rocks in the burning afternoon, or scrubbing cup after cup in the kitchen, or moving a pile of rotting trash and old Depends, I saw them stretched. And I saw them fight, and make up. I saw them serve in situations they weren't planning on. My "sacrifice" ended up being a blessing- to me. Instead of coming away exhausted, I felt refreshed. And as we learned to serve together, I made a passel of new friends. Sometimes, our sacrifice isn't the actual action itself. It's our pride. My rights. My time, right now. God knows the right things to ask for, eh? Because he knows once we get over ourselves, our lives are whole lot more of a blessing to everyone-including ourselves.