The team from the Saskatoon Christian school left this week. The grade 11 class comes down for a week over the Easter break each year. It’s a highlight of my year for sure…and not just because they bring me good stuff from home (not that I’m complaining about that either…). They’re just a great group of kids (and leaders) and it’s fun having people here from home. People who actually know what a “bunnyhug” is. No lie, I heard one of the guys ask for his bunnyhug and I nearly cried. It was a happy moment…

This years group had a couple of…challenges shall we say, to overcome. The camp where the teams normally stay was booked, so they stayed at another camp up the road. It was pretty…but maybe a bit small for a dozen people. Okay…a lot small. But the group didn’t complain even once about being jammed into a space that would have slept six people comfortably. Well…they didn’t complain to me anyhow… =) I did hear a few “comments” when the girl’s shower turned into something out of a 1970’s horror movie about ants taking over the world. But contrary to the wisdom of the 1970’s, a good can of bug spray does the trick. Oh…and I guess there was some kind of mutant spider the size of a hand in the shower too. But we didn’t lose anyone, so it’s all good.

It’s interesting…each year the groups are a little different and they end up interacting with the guys a little differently. But every year, the guys love this team. It’s fun for me to watch the group the first day, when they’re nervous and unsure of themselves…and then on the last day when they’re laughing and joking and having such a great time with the guys.

This year’s work projects were digging a new garbage pit and working with some of the guys on the new pig barn. The guys who worked with the team had good things to say about them. One of the guys, Jose, who worked with two of the Saskatoon boys in the pig barn, told me that it was the first time he ever felt like he had close friends. One of the other guys, who was digging in the pit with the team, told me that he felt like he was a part of a family. That gets me every time I think about it. I love that these guys had that kind of experience with the group. They don’t get that a lot, that feeling of being a part of something bigger than themselves, so it’s encouraging to me when they get the opportunity.

My favorite moment came when the team had Easter Sunday lunch at the new place in the city with my guys. The guys made lunch for them, and then later we had a worship/prayer time together. That was all great, but the best part was the Easter Egg Hunt. =) My family has a tradition of doing the egg hunt thing every year (at least when I’m around, anyhow). One year we counted how many eggs we hid and it was running close to 300. Mom usually finds the last of them when she’s putting up Christmas decorations the next December. A couple of the leaders of the Christian School team had the same tradition, so at the last minute we decided to have an egg hunt with the kids from the home and the team. We had a ton of candy and chocolate eggs that came down with the team, so we made everyone go and stand out on the street, while the leaders hid everything.

My guys were all trying to be cool and act like it wasn’t a big deal…at least until we opened the gate. Then they went crazy. It was probably the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. My friend Corina explained to the team how street people have missed out on having a childhood, and how sometimes they do funny, childlike things because they never had the opportunity before. My guys have had lots of good experiences in their lives, but there are still things they missed. They definitely had to grow up too fast in some areas. Well…they made up for some of that on Sunday. =) We have some video, so at some point I’ll post that so you can see for yourself. It was entertaining. It was also a great chance for the two groups to mix and have fun together. And as a side note, I found three more eggs over the past couple of days that they all missed. I feel that my hiding skills have been vindicated.

The team also brought us six refurbished laptops which was an amazing gift as well. The dad of one of the girl’s was able to get them through his work. That’s been a great blessing. The guys are studying computers right now, so the laptops have been a real help. They’ll be even more so as the guys continue in their studies. The only complication has been explaining to the guys understand that they don’t all get one for their own. =)

And then, all too quickly, it was time for the team to head back Canada. We really did have too many good experiences to write down here. The trips back and forth to the camp each day in my truck…visiting ex-street families and making empanadas with them…working and hanging out with the guys…shopping for fruit and vegetables in the market…the best ever game of (whatever the name was…I have no idea. But it involved a lot of running and chasing and tagging and the Canadians kicked butt)…both the Bolivians and Canadians sharing their testimonies around the campfire…the last night sitting by the pool and talking and sharing about the week…

For those of you reading this, I miss you guys and I’m looking forward to hanging out this summer when I’m home. The guys ask me all the time about how you’re doing and I make things up and tell them that it’s all good when I really have no idea. But I’m assuming it’s all good. It wouldn’t kill you to write me you know. And they all want to know when you’re coming back to visit. I’m pretty sure they like you better than they like me. =)

Thanks guys! For a great week and for all the fun and good times. Have a great last few months of school and (it needs to be said)…enjoy the snow. It’s 34 C today… (That’s +34 in case you wondered. Here in the land of sunshine we don’t really need to add the + sign. There’s no confusing what direction you’re talking about…).

Blessings!

Ken

PS Oh yea…I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my favourite ex-youth pastor moment. The last night we stayed in a nice little hotel downtown. My room was on the third floor overlooking the pool area. I had a balcony. Lindsay (one of my youth from Avalon days) and Josh (another of my youth from back in the day) were suntanning directly below my room. Come on…does it get any better? It hardly needs to be said, but as a youth pastor I had a responsibility to fulfill. A nice glass of cold water did the trick and it felt like old times…

I haven’t written here much lately. My apologies. I’ve become a father…to eight teenage guys. It’s a bit weird to say the least. Before you laugh too hard, one of the guys (who’s still in high school) has invited me to the Father/Son lunch at his school on Father’s Day. My first one! I just started to write that I’m too young to be the father of a 16 year old….but then I did the math. So…when did that happen exactly? I used to be too youth…

So what’s it like being a parent? My week has consisted of pretty much constant driving from here to there. Registering and paying for classes…buying school supplies…buying furniture…buying groceries…trying to figure out how to feed eight teenagers on a tight budget…

I also helped the guys get their possessions moved to the house. Most of the guys don’t actually have that much…one of the guys showed up with everything he owned in a small carry on sized suitcase. Last night we drove out to where one of the guys was renting a room to get his bed and clothes. He warned me that it was “muy lejos” (“very far”) and that the road was “muy feo” (“very ugly”). I just laughed and confidently said, “Cuatro por cuatro” (“four wheel drive”).

I should have listened more closely.

First of all, let me just say that, once again, my truck served me well and we made it safe and sound. But it was pretty nasty going there for awhile. With all the rain we’ve been getting (by the way, another bridge washed out on the highway to the boy’s home today…that makes two…) many of the areas surrounding the city are mostly under water.

Where this fellow was living wasn’t very nice. It was one room…damp and musty with just bare cement walls. His bed was a mattress balanced on two big truck tires. He had a little cooker, a pot and a few dishes. I would have been happy just to grab his clothes and a few personal items, and “donate” the rest to his landlord (especially the rusty old fan that I’m sure hasn’t worked in a while)…but we dutifully loaded it all up into the back of my truck and hauled it back to the house.

The reason I’m mentioning this fellow, is that we almost lost him. Earlier this month, after I had talked to him and explained what was happening with the new place, he’d thought about it and decided that it was a good opportunity for him and that he wanted to join us. But then a couple of days before we moved him, he went with me and another of the guys to the big market near our house to buy some things. I bought each of the guys a new set of sheets…a pillow…a towel…and a plastic hamper for their dirty clothes I think. I could see him getting tenser and tenser as we walked around with this stuff, but I wasn’t sure why exactly.

The next day as he and I were driving in my truck, he told me that he didn’t think he could move in with us. He didn’t feel right about it. I told him that for sure, it was his decision. But maybe he could help me understand why he was feeling that way. I asked him some questions, and eventually understood what was going on. He didn’t feel worthy to be receiving the things I had bought the day before. He didn’t think he was good enough or deserving enough. He started to cry as he told me that he really didn’t see a purpose to his life and even why he should continue.

I explained some things to him about his relationship with God and who he was in Christ. That so much of what he was feeling and believing were lies. Then I figured there was no time like the present, so we pulled over and I prayed for him. He told me the next day he’d changed his mind and was going to stay and try to see if things could change. So far it’s been good I think. He definitely has some difficult moments, but I can see God working in him. But once again it’s clear, the spiritual battle that’s raging for these guys.

Just as a side note, this fellow is studying computers with two of the other guys, and they had their first exam yesterday. He got 26 out of 30. He was kind of annoyed that it wasn’t 30 out of 30, but I told him he did fine. One of the other guys got 27…which kind of annoyed him too. =) But he beat the third guy, so that helped the situation…

Anyhow…I’m just telling you this to help you understand where some of these guys are coming from and to ask you to continue praying for them. This is new for all of us (myself included!) and there’s an adjustment process we’re going through. It’s a good group of guys, but it’s still a challenge at times. We all bring baggage to the table, and these guys more than most. But like I said, God is clearly at work…so that’s encouraging.

As a random side note, we bought our appliances the other day. It was all good until Ken forgot that his new gate has a roof over it and perhaps the fridge standing upright in the back of the truck might be a mite too high to go under said roof. After a slight bang and many yells (after the fact) from the guys working on the house and a few random neighbors who were watching the dumb gringo try to back his fridge into yard…it was fine.

Styrofoam is a wonderful invention. And I wasn’t moving that fast…

Back before I moved last Saturday, I was working through my list of supporters, writing thank you cards for their (your) generosity over the past year.  With the move, that got put on the back burner, so to speak, for the moment. 

Now I have to tear those up and start all over again!  Before I even got those first thank you’s sent, I received so many more generous gifts that I don’t even know what to say.  I just looked at my account that my mission keeps for me online, and I almost started crying (for those who understand…I was definitely getting the twitchy feeling in my nose!). 

Thank you so much for your generosity!  It’s been a bit of a difficult week here in some ways (and an amazing week in many other ways)…but to see how people at home are supporting what we’re doing here is incredibly encouraging!  So again…THANK YOU!  I can’t wait to pass this news on to the guys… 

Saturday morning was a bit of a write off…45 minutes in the bank to make a simple transfer…two hours at the lawyer’s office to sign my name three times…  I was a bit frustrated.

The afternoon was a different story, however.  I got back to my house around 1:30 in the afternoon (armed with chicken for the guys to placate them for being three hours later than I said I’d be), to find that almost everything in the house had been moved to the front yard…thanks to the diligence of the aforementioned guys.  They’d even finished packing the few things I hadn’t before I left…which made finding my contact solution that night a bit of an adventure. 

We packed my truck first…and packed it was.  Boxes higher than the cab…and the cab itself as full as was humanly possible (David rode to the city with my stereo on his lap).  Then the big truck I’d hired arrived and the real work began.  I have a lot of stuff…and some of it’s heavy.  But we managed to load everything up onto the back of the truck’s flatbed…probably five feet off the ground by the way… 

And now it all sits in my new living room…everything I own…all of it…completely disorganized…

I’d hoped to try and figure some of it out Saturday night, but after buying the guys supper and driving them all to their respective homes, I got home and was so tired I could barely find my bed.  Actually I couldn’t find my bed…and I was a bit worried.  Then we found it outside, leaning against the house.  So I dragged my mattress upstairs, dumped it in the middle of my bedroom and promptly fell asleep.  Seriously…I don’t think I’ve ever been that tired.  I woke up sometime in the middle of the night…turned off my light and pulled a blanket over and went back to sleep.  Until this morning when, for some unknown reason, David decided to play his music at “Ken’s going to have to kill him and figure out how to get rid of the body” levels.  

But I’m in and that’s good.  Tomorrow the shopping begins and the organizing of the stuff…  I get a bit overwhelmed when I realize how much we need…not in the “how much it’s going to cost”sense…but in the “wow, it takes a lot to set up a house for ten people” sense…

So thanks for praying about all of this.  Like I said…I’m pretty worn out and emotionally spent.  It’s been a long road to get here.  But God is good and He’s been faithful through it all.  I’ll update more soon.