Christian Camp

The boys' cabins were in the building to the left and girls' to the right

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday at a Christian camp in the mountains overlooking a majestic volcano. (I need to remind you that this is summer vacation for schools here. They call it "summer" because there is less rain at this time of the year. The weather is actually a bit cooler now than in March - August). We left at 5:30 am sharp Tuesday morning. The drive to the mountains took about 2 1/2 hours. On the mini-bus from hour town were nine fifth and sixth graders, two moms, and us. As soon as we started going up the mountain, the weather changed drastically. It was sprinkling a bit, windy, and about 20 degrees cooler. It was a shock for the kids when we got off the bus. We waited a few minutes until another mini-bus arrived carrying a group from the church of the national missionary who works in our town. There are two single young women who run the kids club, teach English and computers weekly in our town; one is a national with a degree in psychology, and the other one is American with a degree is Social Work. In total, our group consisted of 18 kids and 8 adults. We had the camp to ourselves and were responsible for all the activities. The camp provided a cook.

Our two leaders

Lunch line - the only time we had dessert

As soon as everybody arrived, we had breakfast, consisting of rice and beans and scrambled eggs. We had chicken and rice for lunch one day, but all the meals except for that one consisted of rice and beans. That is what the nationals eat everyday. John and I found it quite refreshing that nobody complained about the food. These kids ate what was in front of them and were off to play as soon as possible. The food was exactly what they eat at home three times a day. We were also pleasantly surprised about the facilities. I was expecting an out house, but we had toilets and running water. The camp does not have a water heater, but only foreigners have water heaters here as far as I know. After we settled in our cabins, we started the activities with a mixer because the kids were from two different towns and did not know each other. The group was divided into two teams, balancing the boys and girls and the two towns.

Team activities

Volleyball with a soccer ball

The theme for camp was self-esteem because the staff felt that it was needed. The Bible verse was Psalm139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." We had crafts, fun activities and Bible lessons. Everything was well planned, with a good balance of outdoor activities, crafts and Bible lessons. Tuesday night we had a camp fire. The kids were introduced to "s'mores." Although you can buy all the ingredients at any supermarket, "s'mores" is a typical American treat. Of course, they all loved them and wanted "uno más."

Camp fire - notice the green grass underneath. We could never do this in California!

I had five girls, one mom, and the American missionary in my cabin. After a run with the cold water in the showers and some giggling, the girls went to sleep at about 10 pm and slept all night until six am. John was by himself with five boys, supposedly, they were the more mellow boys; however, two boys from the other town had cell phones with them and kept talking to girlfriends. John finally had it with them, pulled them all out of bed and had a big pillow fight. They loved it. John had about four hours of sleep Tuesday night. Anytime that there was free time, they played volleyball, basketball and soccer. John was right there playing with them the whole time. That, plus all the outdoor games, was a lot for the old man. Today he has spent most of the day in bed napping. The two moms who went with us also participated in all the games and activities. They had as much fun as the kids. They also helped in the kitchen serving and washing dishes. We all helped at keeping the dinning room and meeting hall clean.

This is one of the moms participating in a water balloon game. By the way, that is not her son.

We met a few cows on our nature walk

Wednesday morning the weather was beautiful; after breakfast, we went for a hike up the mountain. It was quite a trek! It was very steep at some points, but the view at the top was very beautiful. Their assignment on the way was to collect two things that were similar without harming the environment, of course. We encounter some cows on the way, and some kids wanted to take two for the show-and-tell. At the top we talked about how even things that we consider alike have differences, how our Creator made us all different, and talked about Psalm 139: 1-6. We had more serious talks about self-esteem before lunch, but after lunch, we played capture the flag. Each team had a flag that they designed the day before. Finally, the buses arrived, and we had to leave. Our bus had to go by Burger King on our way home, so John bought Jr. whoppers, fries and coke for all fourteen of us, including the driver. We arrived back our town, safe and sound, not even a paper cut after two days of crazy activities. I am sure the kids had a lot of stories to tell. A good time was had by all!

View of the volcano from the top of our mountain

I got up at seven this morning and have been making my world-famous lasagna sauce all morning. I am also washing clothes. Our tiny washer broke down on Monday, but it was fixed after a whole day of comings and goings. The timer was broken, but they did not have a replacement. I told the handy man that we needed to wash some clothes to take to camp. Somehow, he found the repairmen who were in the hacienda at another house. They came an repaired the part. They finished at about 6:30 pm Monday. Also on Monday, the alarm at our house in California went off. That took a few calls back and forth until the house was secured again. I guess it was very windy in Escondido on Monday. One door got rattled by the wind and set off the alarm. But I digress, we are having a marriage conference on Saturday. I am making lasagna for the whole group. I bought a huge stainless steel pot in the big town when we had to go to the bank. It is the best and biggest pot I ever had! The sauce will simmer for three hours. I hope it turns out well because I had to improvise with some of my secret ingredients.

Now you are up to date...until next time...from the beach.