One of the things I was at last week, instead of my home was a…
Youth Conference
For 2.5 days my kids participated in the type of youth programming I had my whole life. I remember all the weeks of vacation bible school with college kids doing puppets, music, silly games, or even when I was older going away to summer camp, weekend camps, attending a youth group that always planned interesting social activities. Even our elementary school had theatre/music/science groups visit. I can’t feel sad for my kids though, I’m sure they have a lot of things I would have liked during my childhood, like, oh, the beach. At least they appreciate how special it was, I always wanted to be more entertained as I got older.
1.My girls call me “tia.” This was perfect for the first sermon. The speaker talked about obedience and your attitude…he used “TIA” as his acronym. Totally, Immediately, Happily. He was a great speaker, and whenever he made a pouty face, or any other example of how teenagers react it looked just like one of mine. It was hilarious.
2. On the second day of the youth conference, some local government officials came to check it out. We sang the Mexican nat’l anthem, and did patriotic things (I need to relearn those lyrics!) This bothered me. I almost felt like the dignitaries were there to make sure we Christians are “safe, not a threat.” Our churches today prescribe to nationalism, and while we shouldn’t be at odds with our govts and authorities, we shouldn’t be seeking their approval either. I want to say a lot more about this, but I’d just be ranting.
3. There were a LOT of kids at the conference. But it was one of those few times that our kids have had to compare what they have to what the people outside of their community have, and unfortunately the majority seemed like middle-upper class kids. (based on hair style, clothes --skinny designer jeans!, cell phones.) The kids we brought don’t have as much as the others, and they looked a little out of place. I suppose it’s a normal teenage thing to realize other people “seem cooler” than you, but one of our girls cried because of it. She had worn an outfit that her mom had made her wear. I wanted to tell her it didn’t matter, but that wouldn’t have made her feel better.
4. I got talked to about a slit in my skirt. That shocked me. Maybe they thought I was a rebellious teenager and didn’t see that my bracelet said “lider.” Really, I had forgotten I was wearing it, and was sitting half Indian style. Opps!
5. I went to a workshop that talked about worship, which was interesting b/c wednesday before the conference I was talking to Ang about the difference between corporate experiences of God and private time (in public) with God.
--I believe that a church comes together to corporately worship God, to do it together, but there is a vein of thought that you come to church so that everyone can have their own individual experience with God all together. i.e. Participation means doing your own thing. Read your bible, pray, dance, sing, stand, sit, kneel, while everyone else does whatever is the best for them as well. Some might say this is following the Holy Spirit’s prompting or listening to God, and really, I haven’t done enough research to say anything about it one way or another. Obedience has a place in worship as well, and sometimes that means doing something the worship leader suggests even if you don’t want to. I’m sure there is a place for both. Gah. I don’t think I can succinctly explain all that is going through my head, b/c I have good/bad arguments for both sides.
It probably boils down to whatever the biblical mission of being a group of believers (church) is, but I do wonder if private (in public) worship has come out of a specific worldview, (humanism –man is the measure of things, or maybe a different worldview). Or even out of the way we reformed the church back in the day putting such an emphasis on a personal relationship with God. Or maybe it comes from our Western mindset?
6. So the kids weren’t supposed to be using their cell phones or iPods at the camp. And I asked one of our students to put her iPod away several times, really nicely, and she wouldn’t obey. Instead of starting a fight with her I told God I just wanted another adult who didn’t know her to take it away.
Well, She ended up putting it away, and I was less worried, but then this younger guy who was helping put on the event said “who has an iPod they can loan me?” and she offered hers! He kept it for 2 days AND she felt good about herself in the process. That’s how we roll.
7. I tried to hang out with my girls at the youth conference, but they didn’t seem to want to talk to me, sit next to me, etc. Then I realized how I would have DIED if my parents had been involved in my youth group, and vaguely remember Mom and Dad asking us (my brother and I) how we would feel it they got involved. Teenagers.
8. Plus they might not want to have sat next to me since I sported earplugs most of the conference. I did hide my ears with my hair though. I figure, if I felt my hearing was important enough when I was going out a lot, then it’s still important at church. Plus it drowned out that noise that distracts during sermons- people shuffling papers, scooting chairs, whispering, etc.
9. I don’t know that I wake up my children like all the other parents out there. The pastor gave a sermon illustration and showed how God probably whispered to Samuel in the middle of the night, and didn’t use a “booming it’s obvious I’m God” voice. He said this b/c parents apparently speak quietly to their children when waking them up. I don’t! I come up the stairs singing, jumping, shouting. I jump on their beds, tickle their feet, and do my fake opera singer voice. Maybe I should rethink my strategy?
In C------ news:
C----- always says “Comprar Pesos?” In case you don’t know, a peso is a unit of money here in Mexico. So it means “Buy Money?” What she’s really saying is “Can we go shopping?” It’s precious. I tell her in response. “I wanna buy pesos!!! Let’s buy pesos!” or I change it to “Comprar Besos” which is “Buy Kisses?” and point to my cheek so she can kiss it. She rolls her eyes, sighs, swats at me and says “ay chamaca.” It’s like saying “oh my goodness” but chamaca might be a negative noun representing “young people that do wrong things”. The way she says it, it’s loving and cute! Especially noting that I’m
We’re working on making her sentences better, so eventually she’ll stop saying that. I’ve started carrying gum with me so that instead of her saying “chile” she’ll have a good reason to pronounce the second c and say “chicle”. I always say “No tengo chile.” (I don’t have chile.) Hehe. She met some girls at the youth conference that knew sign language, so that was special.
Another C------- thing. Somehow, she always finds me when I’m on the phone with my mom. ALWAYS.
In other news:
One of the cows next door keeps escaping and coming into our yard and then mooing a lot. I got a picture of him next to my house today then chased him off the property. I was playing piano when I noticed his head go past the window. I jumped up, opened my front door, and there he was.
We’ve also had a random horse in our yard several different mornings. It’s usually wearing a bridle/lead? Not sure of the terminology. I haven’t really seen it around except for in our yard, and there is a law here that if you don’t take care of your animals and they go on someone else’s property they can have them. I woke M---- up to see it, b/c she had asked me to buy her a horse the day before, and she yelled at me to let her sleep. That’s how much she really wants a horse.
We prepared to let a family spend a week with us. A dad, 3 kids and a baby. They walked the whole way here b/c of marital problems and he’d heard we take care of kids Mon-Fri and let the parents have them on the weekends (not true.) He was the best food dicer I have seen in my whole life. And he was a blessing for the day he was here, playing guitar with the kids, cooking for us voluntarily, etc. But he decided to go to relatives in Ensenada the next day. I was amazed at how Steve and Joanne were so willing to open their home up, move kids into their brother and sisters bedrooms to open up a room for him and his children, etc.
A song I’ve been stuck on:
Trumpet Child
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