OSC--Guanajuato 2010

Monday July, 12th
Sorry this is a little late.  We have been EXTREMELY busy and on top of that, the internet at the camp is down.  Hopefully 2 updates and some pictures will help :)
This morning we had our first day of construction.  Breakfast was served at 7am and we were ready to work at 8!  Our team divided into 3 groups.  One group was the dirt crew.  They were focused on backfilling the new bathrooms.  The entire footprint of the building had been dug out and the outside walls had been poured.  While the maestro and his helper were working on laying some PVC piping to act as drains in the finished building, we were responsible for moving dirt to fill in as needed.  Pick axes and shovels were flying.  Wheelbarrows were screaming around the construction site like Indy cars at the Indy 500.  Stampers were slamming into the newly deposited dirt, leveling everything out.  It was a site to see!  Those on dirt crew also dug up a post (and the concrete that had been poured in a large hole to keep it sturdy in the ground!) and moved a lot of stones around.  They worked VERY hard.  The second project for our team was washing moss off the bottom of a brick wall.  This wall creates the front of several bedroom/classroom spaces in the camp.  This wall is being painted and will be wonderful once it is done.  However, before it can be painted it has to be cleaned as there is moss growing along the bottom 2 feet of it.  Some of our team had bleach water and brushes, some had scrapers and we went to town on that wall!  The final portion of our team got to work painting.  Some were painting inside three of those classroom/bedrooms.  They were nicknamed the cheese-whiz crew as the color yellow that they were painting looked more like nacho cheese than it did paint.  (the consistency only served to further their claim that they were cheesing the room, not painting it!)  The other half of the paint crew was outside painting two sections of the wall—bright pink!  Once the wall is done it will have orange, pink, green, purple and yellow sections and should look great!  Work was supposed to last until noon with cleanup beginning at 1130, however, at 1115 it started to rain and so we hurriedly gathered up the tools and quickly cleaned and put them away.
For lunch we had tamales and they were AMAZING.  The team loves the food—I have not heard any complaints.  The kitchen ladies even went to special trouble to make some special hot salsa for Hodge and Silcox.  They both enjoyed it but weren’t overwhelmed.  (Although at one point Hodge did remark “
whew!  I feel alive!”).  Perhaps the ladies will take up the challenge of finding something too hot for Hodge.  Time will tell :)
This afternoon was our first VBS time.  Several members of the team walked through the village to gather the kids.  They arrived slowly at first but then more and more started pouring in.  By the time all was said and done we probably had around 40 kids come…a great turnout for the first day.  We played basketball, soccer, Frisbee, jumped rope and played tag.  It was just basically a time to have fun.  After about an hour we gathered everyone together and shared with them about Charlie the Gospel Worm.  Evan and Ellen did a great job.  We then gave them the option of going in and working on crafts or going back out and playing games.  Most of the kids came in and made a necklace with a cross and the Charlie colors.  After the craft time, the kids made their way back outside and everyone played games.  The highlight of the day was without a doubt the races we had at the end of the day.  The kids from the village were jumping on our kids backs.  Someone came up with the bright idea of having a race, so for a good 15 minutes we held piggy back races!  At one point Dixon, one of the interns here this summer looked at me and said “I’m glad it’s not me doing that!”  I agreed!
After another wonderful dinner we started our group time early tonight, because we knew it would go long.  We talked about masks and had a great group discussion.  Then we broke off into groups for a special exercise.  Everyone paired off and had a chance to make plaster masks of our faces.  We started by smearing Vaseline on our faces and then came the plaster.  As our masks too shape we had to close our eyes and eventually breathe out of straws.  It was a very intimate and unique experience.  In fact, it was such a powerful experience that God used it to kick a couple of kids over the edge, in a GREAT way.  Let me explain.
Jake Sherman (shared with his permission) came into the trip struggling with some trust issues.  He shared with our small group the first night that if he could change one thing about himself it would be that he would trust people more.  Thus far he has been stretched in that area a couple of different times.  The mask making event really stretched him and afterwards he was overcome with the Spirit.  He took off running across the field and just started praying to God.  One of the guys joined him and they had a great time of prayer, crying and sharing.  Jake shared that he has always told himself that he believed in God, but never felt it.  During the mask event and then afterwards he felt, for the first time, that God was real and there with him.  Jake said that when he ran off and started praying it was the first time in his life that he felt like he was having a conversation with God rather than talking to a brick wall!
After the experience our family groups (a guy’s small group and a girl’s small group together) spent some time debriefing the experience.  Lots of great conversations followed as our group times went well past lights out and bedtime!

Tuesday July 13th
You are getting a half day blog today, as Alex is going into town and can post there (despite the internet at the camp being down).  Also, I have been having some cell phone troubles here, so if you have tried to reach me for any reason I will not have gotten it.  If you need to get in touch with us please try Hodge’s cell phone.  Ok, back to the day…
Last night we went to bed and shortly after lights out a major storm moved in.  Thunder and lightning and torrential rains came through.  When we woke up this morning our construction site had turned into a mud pit!  But have no fear, we pressed forward and continued the work.  In fact, we pressed forward so well, that they are running out of major projects for us to do and are using us strategically for the rest of the summer.  We are being used to bring dirt up from the river and take rocks back to the river.  We are still painting and working on the bathrooms, but we are moving faster than the maestro can handle.  Today (before moving to river detail, the dirt crew finished leveling all 4 floors, started mixing cement, and leveling dirt around the building.  The team is working well together and people are making new friends.

Prayer requests:
Please continue to pray for our safety and health.  Everyone is sore and tired, but doing well.
Pray for our team dynamics.  As we continue to dive deeper and deeper we are beginning to get into some very personal things.  Pray that we would continue to love each other and provide a safe environment for people to explore their feelings and faith.
Pray for our VBS times, that we would continue to connect with the kids and have opportunities to talk to them about Christ.
Pray for lasting life change.  Lots is happening in the hearts of the youth (and leaders!) while we are down here.  Pray that those changes would make their way back home and be life changes, not mountain top experiences!