Gone Campin'. August 27, 2017.
Imagine you're going on a camping trip. Simple. Just you and the (wife) (boys) (dog) (backpack). Not too far out. It'll be good. Pitch a tent, make a fire, sleep uncomfortably on the uneven ground, and just get away for awhile.
Well then your pal Hector wants to come, and he wants to go to this sweet spot out yonder, and he's gonna bring his girl. And she's vegetarian. And has a pet parrot. So he asks Terrence if he can watch the parrot but then Terrence decides to come too, and they might as well bring the parrot along now, and find a babysitter for Terrence's kids. So on and so forth this little getaway gets a lot more complicated, there's a bunch of people coming and you gotta organize food and carpool and who pays for what, etc. In the end, this is WAY more than you bargained for but also turns out to be an AMAZING weekend and you meet some really cool people and the spot Hector picked out is an awesome place right by the river and you all get home exhausted, but so full of life.
That's how I'll remember Toros Football 2017. We were without a team from June until January. Then a seed of hope was planted, we figured we'd do our best to try and get something together. It all got really complicated but things got off the ground. We kept getting better and learning every week through wins and losses until, when it came championship time, the guys went out there and played their best game of football all year for the win--the first championship for the Toros in their 6-year history ( but first year playing 11 v 11). You can see more pictures on Facebook and whatnot. Guys, that whole journey was a really special camping trip. Almost 2 years ago I went to a "practice" with 8 guys doing some drills, and upon their invite to be their coach I thought, "This could be a nice little side project to meet a few guys my age, do some discipleship...why not?" On this end of MAYAN BOWL VII, there's not just a trophy in the Toros' non-existent case, but there's 36 young men who have achieved something special and blazed a trail together.
I've gotten to walk with Hans for a year and a half, reading the Bible with him for the first time, growing as a man, changing jobs, getting married, becoming a steadfast leader and a better quarterback. I've met up and made friends and played counselor at times with Erik, Rodrigo, Pablo, Alex, Rico, and others. I've made some "motivational" speeches in chopped up Spanish, which is kind of like taking some beautiful king crab and serving it up like a crab cake with bread crumbs and enough mayo to glue it all together. It ain't the prettiest but it works out. I've seen guys look to be better for their families, and families come to adore the husbands/fathers more. I even got a text last week from Julio (offensive lineman who plays in a heavy metal band, I absolutely love this guy and his story) that, through being with the Toros this season, "gained the ambition to believe in God again" after he had been doubting His existence for some time. Bless God for such a neat season with a lot of potential to keep moving with them!
We're looking forward to some adventures in playing flag football, doing some clinics in poor neighborhoods (or even launching a football academy down the road), doing some construction work for needy families, participating in the National American Football Team to play in a Central American Tournament in February, and having a consistent Bros with Bibles meeting. At the year-end banquet, we talked about what it means to be a champion compared to just winning a championship. We're hoping these guys can take on champion-like attitudes in their work, their families, their studies, in pursuing Christ, in overcoming doubts, in setting and achieving goals. Lots of possibilities, lots of positive vibes these days, and for good reason. These guys have come a long way.
Alright, let's think about another camping trip. This one's more of a long-term mountainous trek. You start out with a buddy, but a little ways in he gets a job offer and has to jump ship. Even though it's not the best idea to go it alone, and that was never the intent, you gotta keep going because you can't just quit. It's not quite so easy but you hold it together mostly, hoping you'll find someone to accompany you. A number of people pass by, but no one with much interest in joining you. Well, shoot after a good while alone, you run into Blaine, which just by his name you know he grew up in the Rockies and actually guides these mountain survival trips and eats some of these leaves right off the tree and has this cool sleeping contraption with him. But he's out of work for the time being so is out on a solo trip, just doing what he loves. He accompanies you for awhile, it works out pretty good, so you keep going together. The trek's just a lot easier and a lot more rich with good ol' Blaine along. He brings a lot more promise for what may come along the rest of the road.
This is the story of AJ in Bethania. If you remember right, I started out working side-by-side with Abdiel, but after 4 months or so he found out he was gonna have a kid and got another job. November to July was mostly a solo mission in Bethania, collaborating with some volunteers and community members, but not anything super consistent or intensive. Well, SELVIN (that's a person's name) had worked at large community development organization in Guatemala for four years and was suddenly without work and, being part of our missional community, decided to come help out in Bethania a little. Well, turns out he's AWESOME at many things in Bethania--loving kids, being flexible, being friendly, caring about people more than programs, passionate about the Gospel, riding bicycles, and engaging in conversation with drunks, middle-aged church ladies, barbers, and bread-makers. You know how cool this is? We've been praying for someone else to have a heart for investing in Bethania that can maybe even keep this ball rolling when we're not here. And here God goes, just giving good gifts and working for His kingdom. It also makes me a lot more organized and directional and confident having Selvin with me.
Pray for these "camping trips"! Whenever you're in the wilderness, there's danger of getting lost and getting stormed on and getting eaten by large mammals, but we're thankful for the memories that have come so far and for what God has in store for his kingdom as an end goal for the journey.
We're coming up on 3 months left in Guatemala, at least for this chapter. Ya'll have been and are so good to us. Thank you. Please keep praying hard into the movement and establishment of the true gospel in people that need it. The deeply-rooted true gospel is so needed in the daily life of so many people in the Guatemalan context.
Much love and hope,
AJ and Alaina
p.s. Things We're Into Lately
1. Age: 27. Alaina has now passed into said age as of the 25th of August. Now only the younger AJ aspires to achieve the far-off...achievement.
2. Activity: Rooftop campfires. Been burning through the marshmallows as of late.
3. Food: Chicken Tikka Masala. Made it not too long ago and knocked it out of the park. This is the stuff the Hindu gods feast on. I prefer this recipe-ish. Next up, making a huge batch for Sigo Vivo this week.
4. Ministry: Sigo Vivo. Speaking of Sigo Vivo, we haven't been there much in the last 4 months due to, well, the TOROS!!! But now we're back there, went on a visit in the streets this past week. Met Carlos. And Carlos came with a friend to Sigo Vivo on Saturday.
5. Place: Belize. So we've gotta renew our visas by leaving the country one more time in October before we come home, so we're taking our last chance to go to BELIZE, meeting Mom and Dad Westy there, and taking Rudy and Tatiana (from Sigo Vivo with us). It's far off, but already got us giddy.
6. Book of the Bible: AJ: Galatians / Alaina: Hebrews. Galatians is just so spot on with its presentation of how the law is canceled by Christ, fulfilled by love, and possible by walking with the Spirit. Hebrews paints such a great picture of Christ as supreme and pointing all things back to Him.
7. Self-Denial: Not Biting Fingernails. AJ's been a lifelong addict, and Alaina an occasional user. But guys, I've been 56 days sober and Alaina was doing great until today she bit 3 nails while reading. (Insert motivational phrase for conquering your bad habits here).
Well then your pal Hector wants to come, and he wants to go to this sweet spot out yonder, and he's gonna bring his girl. And she's vegetarian. And has a pet parrot. So he asks Terrence if he can watch the parrot but then Terrence decides to come too, and they might as well bring the parrot along now, and find a babysitter for Terrence's kids. So on and so forth this little getaway gets a lot more complicated, there's a bunch of people coming and you gotta organize food and carpool and who pays for what, etc. In the end, this is WAY more than you bargained for but also turns out to be an AMAZING weekend and you meet some really cool people and the spot Hector picked out is an awesome place right by the river and you all get home exhausted, but so full of life.
That's how I'll remember Toros Football 2017. We were without a team from June until January. Then a seed of hope was planted, we figured we'd do our best to try and get something together. It all got really complicated but things got off the ground. We kept getting better and learning every week through wins and losses until, when it came championship time, the guys went out there and played their best game of football all year for the win--the first championship for the Toros in their 6-year history ( but first year playing 11 v 11). You can see more pictures on Facebook and whatnot. Guys, that whole journey was a really special camping trip. Almost 2 years ago I went to a "practice" with 8 guys doing some drills, and upon their invite to be their coach I thought, "This could be a nice little side project to meet a few guys my age, do some discipleship...why not?" On this end of MAYAN BOWL VII, there's not just a trophy in the Toros' non-existent case, but there's 36 young men who have achieved something special and blazed a trail together.
I've gotten to walk with Hans for a year and a half, reading the Bible with him for the first time, growing as a man, changing jobs, getting married, becoming a steadfast leader and a better quarterback. I've met up and made friends and played counselor at times with Erik, Rodrigo, Pablo, Alex, Rico, and others. I've made some "motivational" speeches in chopped up Spanish, which is kind of like taking some beautiful king crab and serving it up like a crab cake with bread crumbs and enough mayo to glue it all together. It ain't the prettiest but it works out. I've seen guys look to be better for their families, and families come to adore the husbands/fathers more. I even got a text last week from Julio (offensive lineman who plays in a heavy metal band, I absolutely love this guy and his story) that, through being with the Toros this season, "gained the ambition to believe in God again" after he had been doubting His existence for some time. Bless God for such a neat season with a lot of potential to keep moving with them!
We're looking forward to some adventures in playing flag football, doing some clinics in poor neighborhoods (or even launching a football academy down the road), doing some construction work for needy families, participating in the National American Football Team to play in a Central American Tournament in February, and having a consistent Bros with Bibles meeting. At the year-end banquet, we talked about what it means to be a champion compared to just winning a championship. We're hoping these guys can take on champion-like attitudes in their work, their families, their studies, in pursuing Christ, in overcoming doubts, in setting and achieving goals. Lots of possibilities, lots of positive vibes these days, and for good reason. These guys have come a long way.
Alright, let's think about another camping trip. This one's more of a long-term mountainous trek. You start out with a buddy, but a little ways in he gets a job offer and has to jump ship. Even though it's not the best idea to go it alone, and that was never the intent, you gotta keep going because you can't just quit. It's not quite so easy but you hold it together mostly, hoping you'll find someone to accompany you. A number of people pass by, but no one with much interest in joining you. Well, shoot after a good while alone, you run into Blaine, which just by his name you know he grew up in the Rockies and actually guides these mountain survival trips and eats some of these leaves right off the tree and has this cool sleeping contraption with him. But he's out of work for the time being so is out on a solo trip, just doing what he loves. He accompanies you for awhile, it works out pretty good, so you keep going together. The trek's just a lot easier and a lot more rich with good ol' Blaine along. He brings a lot more promise for what may come along the rest of the road.
This is the story of AJ in Bethania. If you remember right, I started out working side-by-side with Abdiel, but after 4 months or so he found out he was gonna have a kid and got another job. November to July was mostly a solo mission in Bethania, collaborating with some volunteers and community members, but not anything super consistent or intensive. Well, SELVIN (that's a person's name) had worked at large community development organization in Guatemala for four years and was suddenly without work and, being part of our missional community, decided to come help out in Bethania a little. Well, turns out he's AWESOME at many things in Bethania--loving kids, being flexible, being friendly, caring about people more than programs, passionate about the Gospel, riding bicycles, and engaging in conversation with drunks, middle-aged church ladies, barbers, and bread-makers. You know how cool this is? We've been praying for someone else to have a heart for investing in Bethania that can maybe even keep this ball rolling when we're not here. And here God goes, just giving good gifts and working for His kingdom. It also makes me a lot more organized and directional and confident having Selvin with me.
Pray for these "camping trips"! Whenever you're in the wilderness, there's danger of getting lost and getting stormed on and getting eaten by large mammals, but we're thankful for the memories that have come so far and for what God has in store for his kingdom as an end goal for the journey.
We're coming up on 3 months left in Guatemala, at least for this chapter. Ya'll have been and are so good to us. Thank you. Please keep praying hard into the movement and establishment of the true gospel in people that need it. The deeply-rooted true gospel is so needed in the daily life of so many people in the Guatemalan context.
Much love and hope,
AJ and Alaina
p.s. Things We're Into Lately
1. Age: 27. Alaina has now passed into said age as of the 25th of August. Now only the younger AJ aspires to achieve the far-off...achievement.
2. Activity: Rooftop campfires. Been burning through the marshmallows as of late.
3. Food: Chicken Tikka Masala. Made it not too long ago and knocked it out of the park. This is the stuff the Hindu gods feast on. I prefer this recipe-ish. Next up, making a huge batch for Sigo Vivo this week.
4. Ministry: Sigo Vivo. Speaking of Sigo Vivo, we haven't been there much in the last 4 months due to, well, the TOROS!!! But now we're back there, went on a visit in the streets this past week. Met Carlos. And Carlos came with a friend to Sigo Vivo on Saturday.
5. Place: Belize. So we've gotta renew our visas by leaving the country one more time in October before we come home, so we're taking our last chance to go to BELIZE, meeting Mom and Dad Westy there, and taking Rudy and Tatiana (from Sigo Vivo with us). It's far off, but already got us giddy.
6. Book of the Bible: AJ: Galatians / Alaina: Hebrews. Galatians is just so spot on with its presentation of how the law is canceled by Christ, fulfilled by love, and possible by walking with the Spirit. Hebrews paints such a great picture of Christ as supreme and pointing all things back to Him.
7. Self-Denial: Not Biting Fingernails. AJ's been a lifelong addict, and Alaina an occasional user. But guys, I've been 56 days sober and Alaina was doing great until today she bit 3 nails while reading. (Insert motivational phrase for conquering your bad habits here).