I hope that you enjoyed the first part of this adventure and are
ready for the next, as we will continue on either way. The countryside
showed us much in the way of the Father's movement and might-as we moved
into the second part of our journey, those same themes were also
present. So here my friends is East Asian Aventures Part Two.
The
second part of our ministry involved leading a youth camp for 5 days.
We worked with a program over there called "A Future Without Alcohol,"
and many of our kids came from families who struggle with many things,
such as alcoholism, in their homes. Around 40 kids plus our team and
other staff piled onto a bus headed out to the camp, which was located
in a beautiful valley about an hour and a half outside of the capital.
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| The beautiful valley where our camp was located. |
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| Camp Kids and Staff |
After
settling in, we had our first session. Some short introductions and a
lesson on Abraham from the Book ensued followed by a blessing for our
meal. Not all together that shocking, unless you have never heard the
Good News before. We found out later that night that while we had been
under the impression that these kids would be fellow believers they were
not. This meant a lot of re-working for the curriculum we had
developed. We went back to the basics and taught lessons from Creation
to the Son- a synopsis of the Word as it were. In addition to these
lessons we taught on drugs, alcohol, tobacco, abstinence, and abortion.
It was a blessing to pour truth into the lives of these young people.
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| My team: TNT |
For
the camp we split into 5 teams- each with a color, name, and slogan.
Each group had a translator and one or more Americans on it. I was on
the pink team, lovingly called "TNT." Our slogan was "Be
careful we can explode any time." It isn't perfect English that's for
sure but it was good enough for us. I think of my team often and where
they are now. I wonder if they still think about camp and the things
they learned there. Only the Father knows that and I lift them up to Him
often- I would ask that you do the same. After each lesson we would
split into our teams and dig into the content. The kids were able to ask
us questions and give us their thoughts. During our time at the camp
several brothers came from the capital to share with us. They offered an
invitation into the family of the Father after their messages and we
had an overwhelming response. Over 7 students were added to our number
over the course of the week. Now there is a study group of these kids
that meets weekly that gives them support and helps them grow in their
knowledge of the Father.
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| Singing praises |
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| On of the national brothers who came to speak |
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| Response to an invitation into the family of the Father |
When we weren't teaching lessons we lived the camp life. This included
tons of games, meals, and activities. While the kids do love games we
play here, like volleyball and basketball, they also participate in some
activities that seem rather foreign to us. For example, we played a
game that involved sandwiching a rusty nail vertically between your palm
and the palm of the person next to you. Eventually your whole team
formed a circle with each person helping hold up 2 nails. We then had to
run (or walk quickly) from one end of the basketball court to the other
and the first team back won. Needless to say we were all very glad we
were up to date on our tetanus shots and luckily all emerged unscathed.
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| Games... |
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| And more games! |
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| Games... |
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| This boy nicknamed me "Jimsey" which means fruit in their language. |
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| Anuka- Studying the Word |
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| A scene from a flash mob they performed for us |
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| From left to right: Anuka, Me, and Angela |
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| The National Staff (From left to right: Midar, Tamera, Ziya, Tulgaa, Nima, Zorgoh) |
Getting
to know the kids was an immense joy. It was definitely a struggle for
all of us at some point as we attempted to build relationships with
people we couldn't communicate with verbally. There was so much we
wanted to say and ask that we simply couldn't. This forced us to use a
language of a different kind- one of love, which knows no language
barriers.
I learned a lot about working cross culturally,
which includes both good and bad aspects. It also stretched me as a
leader learning how to lead a group struggling with culture shock. The
best part about the camp was seeing the Father work in the lives of
those around us as He used us- though we are weak and imperfect- to
speak truth into this culture of darkness.
That wraps
up Part 2 of my East Asian Adventures. Next up is the finale (Part 3)
covering the rest of our trip. Thanks for reading!
