We have passed the midway mark of our mission trip, and so far, so good. It has been a great week thus far. Granted, it has not been without its hiccups along the way: minor injuries and illnesses, relational dynamics, and the oppressive heat (have I mentioned that it is HOT?!). But all in all, it has been a great week. And this is not just me saying this. I have heard from a number of SIMYs and students saying the same thing. So if you are a parent reading this, know that your son or daughter is serving well, learning lots, and having a great time while doing it.
After I finished blogging yesterday, I headed out to Yildizlar to have a Middle Eastern dinner with two of our groups, Team Shell and Team Port. Most of the students opted for the chicken, but we SIMYs who know better got the lamb. It was so yummy! The chicken came with some kind of garlic dipping sauce. I have never had anything that garlicky strong in my life. Tyler ended up eating a whole forkful of of because someone offered him a dollar to do it. (I won't mention what he ate later for a little more money. You'll have to ask him about that.) Next door was a TCBY, so Windall - The Silver Fox - bought a cone for his entire team. It was $.99 waffle cone day so we came on the right night. That $.99 included up to three scoops! If we had a TCBY in Cape with that kind of deal every week, I would be a much fatter man. We got back early and were able to shower and chill for a while before the other groups returned. That was nice after the late night the night before.
When the other two groups returned, Nate came in to the common room with a plastic bag with something in it. He called everyone around him and produced these tiny peppers called chile patins (apparently about 10x hotter than jalapenos). He passed them around telling everyone that they were really hot. Several of the students - and none of the SIMYs - tried them...and were not happy that they had. There was lots of screaming and running to get milk, water, ketchup, or anything that would make the burning stop (the picture of Molly above is from this incident). Nate explained to me that they had an immersion experience at a Hispanic market where they had to look around and sample foods. One of the Mexican men gave these peppers to him and told him that they were 'muy caliente' (very hot). Nate looked at me and said, "It's the hottest thing I've had in my life. You want one?" Who in their right mind would say yes to that? Then Will came in and said, "I ate three of those little green things. I cried a little bit." I was on the floor from laughing so hard! I can tell you this much - if I end up at that same immersion experience, I will NOT be sucked in to trying those peppers. More hanging out after that, followed by an impromptu concert in our stairwell, then off to bed.
Team Shell had a cool experience yesterday at the Urban Plunge. After talking with a homeless man, they prayed for him. When they were done, a woman walked up to them and said that she wanted them to pray for her, too, and she bowed her head and waited. So they gathered around her and prayed for her, too. What a great thing for them to experience! They also got to get soaked at their afternoon site - Ujima - playing water games with kids. It started out as dodge sponge, but ended up as people throwing buckets of water on each other. And Tyler was proud about the fact that he got to show a kid how to punt the football.
Team Port also had fun playing with kids yesterday at a different Ujima site. They are a little banged up, though. As mentioned yesterday, Shelby is working off of a sprained ankle. That meant that Myles carried her for a good part of the Urban Plunge. That, combined with the fact that Myles fell off a skateboard trying to show a kid some tricks, means that he has a sore back today. A couple of people in their groups were impressed by what one of the singers at the Harbor Light had to say to encourage them. He told them to be "cunning as serpents and gentle as doves." I'm not sure that they recognize that quote is from the Bible, but I'm glad that it made an impact on them. The other quote that Molly heard a few times that she really liked when she asked the homeless people how they were, they would say, "I'm blessed by the best and praying for the rest." Cool.
Team NASA has the opportunity to meet a need for a man yesterday. They saw him holding a sign that said that he needed diapers and formula for his baby. They talked with him and found out that he recently got laid off from his job as a roofer. So they went to the store and picked him up some diapers and formula to meet his need. He was very grateful and humble about their generosity.
Team Astrodome shared with me that they had the opportunity to cut up some wild boar. They described it as a sinkful of bloody meat...with eyelashes. I'm grossed out, so I'm moving on. They also shared that their debrief times have been very good, with people really sharing about what has been going on. Rachel also pointed out that people are really coming out of their shell and are willing to pray out loud which they weren't willing to do at the beginning of the week. That is exciting to hear!
Kara (Team NASA) mentioned last night that she feels like God is really speaking to them this week and showing them what their lives could be. That was really evident at the Salvation Army. Here were men who had to turn to Jesus to literally save their lives. He was truly their Saviour. And it could totally be seen in the joy that they expressed. This is so cool for our students to see! Sometimes I feel like teenagers are impervious to the kind of stuff they witness, but they are just a few bad choices away from being right where these men are. I hope they realize how much they need Jesus to help them to not only save their souls, but their whole lives as well.
That's all for today. More pictures have been uploaded at our Flickr site - check them out! And keep praying for our students as they make a difference in Houston...
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