So I finished ministry/internship with Word of Life. There were 7 weeksSo there were 7 weeks of camp. I was there for 6 of the 7 weeks. Just missing the first week of staff orientation... Mainly where they all prepared the camp and cleaned it all up. But when I got there most of it was ready and we had meetings and were able to have fun together before all the campers arrived each week.
The camps were really great each week. .
At the beginning they put me into working in stage production... Helping with anything that had to do with presenting on stage. Then they put me to being a Camp-counselor. At first I was super nervous... Not because of having the responsibility of caring for ten girls each week.. Because that's quite the normmmm for me. And not a problem learning how to charge a room with lots of people. .. But in my case it was more because of sharing with the kids in Spanish.. For example sharing the gospel in Spanish.. The verses don't come to me in Spanish (obviously). My main concern ended up being if I would be able to help the girls as best I could.. Meaning: I didn't want the fact of having an American Camp-counselor to hinder their experience of learning the most they could. Luckily the first week I was co-counselor with someone else and so I was able to learn the ropes of everything :) One of the best parts of that week was the co-counselor was my roommate in The Institute in Argentina. So it was great sharin' a room just like the ole days :)
Camps went really well all summer. Each week ended with a banquet... it was great being a staff cause it was a day we all got to enjoy being together after taking care of campers all week :P and then we had the weekend to either go to Lima or stay on campus. Each weekend changed for me. I would go to Lima to various friends house and we would rampage around Lima like wondering gypsies. .... Okay maybe not that much. But basically we had time to go places :P
Or the weekends that I stayed on campus... For example that's where the last post comes in I think... where Valentines Day we all (being 12 people) went trekking across mountain after mountain (dessert mountains mind you) and then swamps and getting torn and scratches or anything possible to reach a beloved river we had heard existed. Yes.. We went not knowing the way, so we used a general sense of direction and... walked. That may the reason it took us 3 hours to get there and only 1/2 hour to get back :P but we had fun and have those memories of the great adventure forever. It was the bomb.
I might have decided not to tell you about the next day when we all got called to a meeting and may have had a little... mmm we'll call it a 'chat'. Let's just say.... Renita had really been hoping to both swim and go to town that day... And neither of those happened. Hahaha but hey. We got an adventure out of it, guess there are prices to everything huh? (Why do I feel like I have stories like this everywhere I go?)
The following week we decided to do it again. OF course... This time getting the OK from the In-charges hahah (obviously so we could pleasantly enjoy the coming day) Plus... now knowing the way.. It was a better chance of getting the OK ;)
(Im not sure if that's basically considered trouble-makers getting better?) hahaha nAwww
So we gather even more people. This time instead of 12 people... We were 24 in all. Mmmmm doubled. The only thing about this... Is the "guide" being one of our fellow-men who hadn't gone the past week... But to get permission the head of campus wanted us to go with someone who knows their way around. ... So we got "guide" friend. Andnnnnddd.. Then come to find out the only way he knows was actually looonnnger than what we had taken the week before! so up and down and up and down extra mountains we went! Hahahah basically turned into a laughing-matter of gaining the ability conquer any mountains from this day on....
But we arrived to the lovely river and have a bless-ed and dear time with our fellow-companions.
(Note: last sentence said in British accent) ahhaaz we did enjoy ourselves.
So! When the time of the very last week of camps came... Everyone was quite sadddd. and not ready to be done yet. There were many last memory photos and goodbyes to people we didn't know if we would see again. That's the worst part of things coming to an end no? Not knowing if you'll go back to this place ever again. Where you've been making so many good memories and great times.
More than that it was harder to say goodbye to all the people who came from Argentina... Because they're the people I've been with all last year, studying in the institute with them, living with them, and just everything together for this whole past year. ... And now to have to say goodbye to them and not know when I'll see them again. Mmman. Life's crazy huh?
I have so many great friends that came from the institute.... And now goodbye until the unknown?
Mmm. So we had our everyday goodbye party until the end basically.
After camps finished. I stayed a few extra days in Lima with some of the friends from Word Of Life. I was also able to visit my friends in Lima from YWAM last year. I spent a day with them an they showed me even more places in Lima. Mannn Lima is a huge city. And the traffic is incredibly horrrrrrendous. Seriously if you ever wanted to go on a leisure ride on Sunday (or any day for that matter) don't ever typick the capital of Peru to be the place. Because you definitely will find it everything EXCEPT that. Let's just say car and taxi rides feel more like a grandma in a rocking chair... Except a hyper grandma that's just stuck on rocking as fast as she can back and forth, back and forth.... Now just think of that while driving all around Lima. Then think of a huge city... A huge one that takes 3 hours to get across. Whether it takes 3 hours because it's so big or because the traffic is so bad... I know not. But.. I imagine it's both combined.
So there was Lima. Although I may have just ruined your desire to ever drive in Lima... Don't let that trick you into blocking off the whole city from your list of "places to go one day" ... (Cause obviously Lima has allllways been on yours right?)
So. Though the traffic be as it is... Let me tell you that the first few times I went to Lima I did NOT like it so much. The first time I actually left the airport was after maybe the 5th time being there :P And I finally got to discover the Narnia that I always saw behind the airport gates. I went through with Ywam a few times. Then I stayed a week with my friend last year, then going on the weekends of this year at camp. .... All allowed me to finally get to know and see lots more of Lima. I now have a softer place in my heart for the capital of dear Peru. And I may not be as biased anymore. Before being hard-core Iquitos fan. Buuut. Traveling throughout Peru helped that also :) Annnnd going to NEW countries last year helped.. Obviously like ARGENTINA. (Uno de los mejores) or countries such as Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay. All grand places guys. Definitely a must of life.
Anyway. I'm not sure how I got onto the subject of cities and countries. Ah si. Describing Lima.
After a few days in Lima. I finally took my flight to Iquitos! Larm was there to pick me up with David y Easterlita and of course with little ñaño Ryan. (Who is not so little anymore being 7years old!) Larm took me to her place of the base where they're translating with Wycliff Ministries.
Larm and I had a few days together before she went to a conference in Lima. We were able to see MEPI people and eat our ritual Sunday night ice cream like we did when the Fam was here.
After being with Larm a few days. The day she left to Lima I switched over to the Ywam base. Which is only a few minutes away for Larms place. Quite handy.
And since then I've been here at Ywam helping at the base and with the DTS School. Since the school just started I've been helping in all their events to "introduce" the students to Iquitos. It's been lots of working but making adventures for them basically. It's great because it's everything I did as a student here in my DTS and now I get to be on the other side of putting everything on for a whole new class of students. But the best part for me, like always.. Is getting to know new people from different places and countries. I love that about every place I go... Only the bummer part is you always have to leave.
But for now I'm here and have about 2 weeks left. Time has flown by so fast. But I'm trying to take advantage of every moment I still have left here... Especially not knowing the next time I'll be back.
Sometimes it's just learning to accept that that's how life goes you know?
Comings and goings and not knowings.
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