Youthseses (not a word)

Teenagers... my favorite group of people. The plan for these guys was to get them playing. Play hard, then end strong with a meeting that got a lot deeper.

Day 1: Rain. One teen comes and isn't able to stay the whole time. The rest of us played volleyball until we got tired. Or kicked out, since there was a prayer meeting afterward.

Day 2: Rain again, but Elber properly made the most of it as seen below:

We played in the mud! I didn't run so hard, as I've never been very confident about my knee in slippery situations. Plus, I had taken off my shoes for the sake of keeping them semi-presentable for the future.

More importantly, all the rest of the teens had a lot of fun! The shrieks of the girls, including myself, was part of the hilarity, aside from everyone falling down at least once. There were mud clots thrown. There was some sliding. There was some sneaking up behind people to cover their face in mud (thanks Eve!).

Day 3: Capture the flag! I have been a fan of capture the flag especially after college, but I have yet to find a form of playing as fun as when we played in Tech.

Chaco was no exception. We tried water balloons, but to no avail. We tried various rules, but it just got confusing. We finally had something going, and then..

..I twisted my ankle in an unforeseen hole in the ground and couldn't play anymore.

Shame...

Nonetheless, I think the rest had fun. I mean, look at Eze's face in the following picture.

We finished around 8 that day, sun still shining, and invited everyone to bring a friend the following night for some tragos, or fruit shakes.

Day 4: The leaders and I met early for some discussion on the year ahead. After, they rehearsed a beautiful little skit we had taught them that incorporates the song "Agnus Dei," version by Third Day.

When the kids came, we were surprised to see so many! We played some Trainwreck, watched the skit, and then I shared the first half of my testimony. Vanina later told me that all of the kids were in awe of my story. Most people expect a missionary's life to have been easy breezy, I suppose.

We attempted to play 4 on a couch later, but it was hard with a group of 24. I still enjoyed it all the same, as well as the durazno (peach) shake. DEEEEE-licous!

As I seem to be focusing on one or two persons during each description of ministry events, I suppose I'll concentrate a little time on dear Eze of whom we've been previously introduced.

I had stayed in Eze's house last year for half of our time in Chaco. His mom is amazing, and I had lots of conversations with her. With him as well, as much as could be understood. This year, the Lord provided some pretty meaningful moments in which I learned more about his family, and his dreams of possibly serving overseas. I told him about a cool opportunity in Chile, and he is very interested.

Eze is an outstanding young man, with great great potential. I sincerely believe that he will be one of those people who changes the world.

Chau.