As we waited for breakfast, I sucked it up and went over to talk to Maria, who was probably about 15 years old. I say "sucked it up" only because extroversion is NOT my thing; I prefer to be approached instead of do the approaching, but that approach was not going to work for me for the next ten days. I kept thinking about what Dan Sands had said to be at the last meeting. This is your trip; you are going to get out of it what you put into it, so I needed to suck it up and move. Maria and I did ok with my horrible Spanish and her equally difficult English, but we made it somehow.
For breakfast, Marcia, Brittney, and Haylee joined our table. Marcia's English was better, and so was Brittney's Spanish. Through our conversation, I discovered that Marcia is 39 years old, and when she learned that I was 41 with two kids, she asked me if I was a "gringo" and laughed. She explained that most gringos wait to get married and have kids. Well, since I married young, I guess I don't qualify as a gringo.
After Project Room Ready (yeah, I made that up just now), Harold, Hay, and I went for a walk over the suspension bridge. The bridge is probably a half mile from the camp. After crossing the bridge, we went up a hill to a small village at the top. We already knew that the village existed because Rocky and co. had toured the bridge in the dark (not the brightest idea) the previous evening. We heard voices, and we followed them and discovered a school that was in session. Obviously, our presence caused quite a stir (gringos!), which caused the kids to be staring out the window at us. Smart guy that he was, the teacher came outside to converse with us. We three communicated the best we could with him. We found out that the school was an elementary school through 4th grade, and the students were learning all the things that U.S. kids learn - grammar, history, math, etc. The profesor himself had three kids: 23, 16, and 10.
The suspension bridge, of course, was our means of conveyance to the village atop the hill. It was somewhat rickety (not Indiana Jones-rickety), but stable. Nevertheless, you could get a pretty good ride if there were a lot of people on the bridge, or if you had some naughty ones on the bridge who wanted to keep things interesting. Morgan Davis was NOT a fan of the bridge. Even though she stopped briefly to pose for me, that smile is completely false. At one point, she screamed that she wanted her mommy.
Next was lunch. I took a "bye" for this one. It was some sort of shrimp gazpacho (later, I learned it was called ceviche (sah-vee-chay), which is a pretty popular dish in Ecuador. Basically, it's like salsa and shrimp together. It was accompanied by rice and plantain chips. The chips were good, but I just couldn't do the shrimp. I am proud to say that the rest of the Aaker clan gave it a go.
After lunch, I couldn't take it anymore, and I had to lie down for a bit. I put the fan on me, and I started to doze for a while. It felt good to catch up for a few minutes.
In the meantime, kids started arriving with regularity, and they came in all forms of transportation. . .taxi, bus, and even on the back of a truck. I was also told that there was a group of kids who had traveled 13 hours from the jungle, just to be at this camp, which would last from Friday night to Sunday morning. Likewise, I also knew that our Ecuador team had sponsored some kids so that they could go to camp.
I "forced" Rachel (who can be as introverted as I) to come with me to mingle with some of the campers who were arriving. It was a stretch for both of us as we would prefer to just hang in the background.
First, we met 43 year old youth leader Julio (yeah, it took us a few tries to figure out how old he was because he kept telling us a different number to tease us) and his crew: Juan, Vanessa, Nat (?), and Anderson. Communicating was tough, but we (Rach, Jess, Britt, Mo, and me) made it work.
Then, we had a team meeting at 5 pm. Our task was to come up with four Icebreakers by 5 pm. Oops - someone had dropped the ball there. Rocky came up with "Rock Star," the human knot, and other possible ideas (Psht and month birth order), but we really only had time for two before the supper bell would ring at 6:30 pm. In teams, we would be responsible for presenting the Icebreakers. My team consisted of Randy, Sheila, Richard, Harold, Jeff, and Jess.
Anyway, all the kids were herded onto the soccer (or futbol) field. I heard a rumor that there were 230 kids registered, and they kept coming. There was A LOT of kids on that field. The process began by dividing the campers into birth month groups without talking. Yeah, I kinda missed the memo on that one since my Spanish is crap, so I was standing in the middle of the field, screaming "THREE!" which was our group number. Oh my. So much for a smashing start. What I learned was that Richard was trying to kill time in a fun away until another translator (en route) would arrive to assist with the process.
Finally, the translator arrived, and it was time to start the IceBreakers. I figured that the best thing I could do in this situation was to dive in head first, regardless of the language barrier, which is exactly what I did. Standing off to the the sidelines was not going to do any good, and it certainly wasn't going to facilitate the process of breaking the ice with Ecuadorian kids who were as nervous and as shy as I. Jess led the process with "Rock Star," and she did a great job. My group did awesome at the human knot; we were the first done, so we had to do it again (at which time we did not do so well). We just laughed, dropped our hands, and pretended that we had successfully solved the "knotty" problem.
Since our group finished a titch early and supper was not yet ready, we played Duck, Duck, goose (Pato, Pato, Gansa in Espanol, I think). I think I am safe in assuming that U.S. kids would have been irritated by having to play such a childish game, but these guys didn't care and jumped right into the competition. Then, it was time for supper.
The campers ate first, and what a magnificent meal it was: a grilled pork chop (Harold had seen the kitchen crew slicing meat off the pig), rice, and an onion/tomato relish all chased by some orange/strawberry pop. That's the thing when you eat here; there is no water or milk to accompany the meal. It's always soda - specifically, Coke, to chase it all down.
Chapel (can't remember what it was called in Spanish) was next and started at about 7:30. I didn't understand a dang thing, but music is music, and it the language of the teenager. The music was intense and high energy and loud - all the elements that a kid loves when it comes to worship. Rather than hang back because we didn't have a clue as to what they were saying, the Ecuador team jumped in feet first. We were dancing right along with our Ecuadorian camp-mates; we had a congo line in motion, and well, we were moshing right along with the Ecuadorians. They loved it that we were hopping around with them, and I think it's safe to say that we were lovin' it too. I think it's also safe to say that Team Ecuador was, by and large, all in - kids AND adults. If you're gonna go, go big. Chapel flew by; it started at 7:30 and went to about 10.
From 10-11:30, Catherine, four Ecuadorian kids, and I play "slap UNO." I don't know if this was a game that Megs and Tay-Tay made up or not, but they were playing it the night before with Haylee, and it got pretty raucous. They were playing it again on Friday night, and so after a few rounds of normal UNO, our group switched over to slap UNO as well. Basically, it is the same game as regular UNO, but whenever a "1" is laid, you have to slap your hand down on the pile. The last hand on the pile has to take the whole pile in his/her hand. As you can imagine, it can get pretty wild, and it makes for a fun kind of Icebreaker. Even though the only words we communicated were "verde," "amarillo," "roja," and "azul," we had a fantastic time. I went to bed feeling as though the first night of camp had been a good one.
Observations: You don't need much in life. I have two sheets for a bed and a cold shower, and I am doing just fine. People run out to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and spent $150 on just one comforter, and you really need are two sheets, if that. Need is a world of difference from want.
Random moments are not random. Whenever God put(s) someone in my line of vision, He does so for a specific reason; it is not random. If I lock eyes with that person, or if I notice someone, it is ordained. He expects me to move, and He will take care of the rest if I am obedient.
I have become the embodiment of David Crowder's song, "Undignified," even if it's just during worship.
Even when I think I can't anymore, I always can. I may think I'm tired, but God always gives enough energy for the moment. If it's His Will, He will awaken my inner Energizer bunny.
Language is an obstacle in our heads. Smiles and hugs are universal. Likewise, there is a whole lot that can be communicated through a simplistic form of charades. Translating, though, is exhausting. I want so badly to understand what is being said, and I get frustrated when I can't understand. Fortunately, people are patient with me, but I can't help but feel as though I am missing out in a big way when I can't understand.
Nevertheless, words are the smallest, most insignificant form of communication. They are almost meaningless. Action is truth. People are always watching, and what counts most is how you act and what you do when you don't realize you're being watched.
Passion is vibrant everywhere in the world. God is very much alive and present everywhere you go.
People are important, but they aren't the only ones of God's creatures who need compassion. There was a dog in the cafeteria tonight who had fleas, ticks, an eye infection, a broken leg, and worse, a broken heart. As we were playing our various card games, he wandered in and was looking for something - not sure if it was food or a person. I gave him a few strokes in spite of his ailments, and the look in his eyes was so forlorn that I had to fight back tears every time he passed by me. He reminds me of the fact that we are all looking for a little love and attention - that we matter to someone at some time - that we aren't invisible.
I love watching Tay-Tay and Megs. I really didn't know Tay-Tay at all, and I feel bad that I've missed out on knowing her up until now. She is really funny, and she is so energetic. Likewise, Megs is an all-star. Both she and Tay-Tay have dived right into the thick of the action. Megs shared that she has waited for this trip for a long time, and she is definitely making the most of it. 
Just as I am a sucker for Dove chocolate, Randy Tensen is a sucker for babies and little kids. If there is a baby or a two-year-old around, you can be sure that he's not far behind. I watched him dig a hole in the sand with a two-year-old today. He has a patience and gentleness that I wouldn't have guessed. Likewise, he doesn't know a lick of Spanish, but he is trying his best to learn new words and phrases, and he is the first one to make fun of himself when he messes up.
As I sit here pondering life in Ecuador so far, I sure don't miss traffic, TV, or the other time sucks in my life. I'm still not sure what God wants me to do while I'm here, but I am open to it all.
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