Near a little town called Santo Tomás in Chihuahua, Mexico every July there is a week long retreat for the jovenes (youth) of the region. I only found out about it this last spring and can now say I have had the privilege to be a part of the ministry there.
The first thing that needs to be cleared up for my generally North American audience is the Spanish concept of youth. In the English speaking world we have the teenager which cover everyone aged 13 to 19, in the Spanish speaking world they have jovenes which applies to anyone aged 14 to 29 and that is exactly how broad the spread was in the campers that showed up.
I was flattered when I first received notice some months ago that my presence was specifically requested at the camp this year and that they wanted me to teach a workshop on photography. I don’t in any way consider myself an authority on the subject of photography, and even less so when it comes to teaching in the Spanish language, but it was a travel opportunity as well as a great chance to practice the language and meet new people. I had to go.
Before this week at camp I had never done any kind of presenting in Spanish and so needless to say, I felt at the very least, slightly inadequate. How was I supposed to learn how teach and in a foreign language by the time camp came? The tips that I learned to reduce pre-presentation jitters also apply to speaking in a foreign language. Preparation is key. So before I left Canada I bought a book on photography in Spanish (it really wasn’t actually that helpful) and the night beforehand I prepared a lesson in a word for word format about how a camera works and what all the settings do. It went incredibly well and as the week progressed the time I alloted to prepare the lessons got shorter and shorter and my confidence grew. It was awesome. By the end of the week I really felt like I could speak nearly fluently again and had actually addressed the whole camp from the front stage several times (by several I mean twice).
In the end however, it wasn’t specifically the photography or language practice I got that really made an impression on me, it was the legacy of my now deceased grandfather and the strength of the church that I saw there.
I am realizing that I didn’t know my grandfather or what he did while he was living in Texas that well at all. While at the camp I met a plethora of youth who spoke to me about the friendship that he had demonstrated to them and the influence that he had been in there lives. I on the other hand am having a hard time remembering one specific special moment I had with him. He was a man of very few words, but every single one of them was important to hear. I loved my grandpa, but we lived in very different worlds and it was with these people, far away from where I grew up that his life found purpose. I just hope that my life has a similar impact on the people I meet.
I also was able to observe strength of the Mexican church during my time at camp and I must say, I don’t believe that there is a huge need for North American missionaries in the region but that focus should be shifted integrating well trained local pastors into these churches to show the people of Mexico the truth that can be found in the Bible.
And lastly, I want to include that for me, the mostly truly unique part of the whole week was an anointing I received from a female, Uruguayan pastor. My head and hands were anointed with a strong smelling oil for ministry through communicative media, a path that I felt very inclined to take anyway, but it was still a strange yet welcome experience.
She then asked me to pray for all the campers that would like to blessed in a similar way and no, there was no speaking in tongues on my behalf. Maybe it’s because I never asked. I am pretty sure that in both the books of Matthew and James it says that you get what you ask for and I know that that has been proven to be very true in my life.
At any rate the week at camp was a real challenge and blessing and I am so glad I was able to go. I might have to carve out a week out of my schedule in July 2008 for the next one.
