¡El Grito Lenca!

There is a scream that runs in the blood of many Hondurans, those of Lencan descent. It is a passionate, full-bodied, and jubilant call that reminds people of this area of their shared lineage. I was recently told of the Lencan scream and how it sounds. You really can´t do it without laughing! When I ask people at my office to do it, they pass it off on someone else, saying that the other person can do it better. It sounds like ¡Oh-ee! or ¡Ee-oh! and it often changes pitch between sylables. Some people start low and go high, others start high and go low (this kind souns really strange, but I love it, so its the kind I do). My host dad starts high and goes higher with the Oh-ee version. Its a sound that has so much culture tied to it, you can´t help but love it.

Now that I know what it sounds like, I hear it all the time. I was on my way to Gracias the other day and I saw a woman outside of her house. I gave el grito Lenga a go and much to my amazement and joy, she replied with her own. On my way back from Gracias a couple days ago, the truck I was in had some nice rollbars so I was standing the whole way (much more comfortable and fun, I think). I saw a couple people I knew along the way and I gave them my proud grito Lenca. My parents claim I don´t have any Lencan heritage, but when throw my voice into that scream, my blood begs to differ.

En-theos

This summer I've learned and been able to practice something life-changing. At camp we would always encourage our kids to choose to be positive and enthusiastic. When kids would make that choice, we would have great weeks and a cabin full of brothers. Sometimes you have to be a little crazy to get your kids to smile and have a good time, but its always worth it, especially when you refuse to be embarrassed. :)

Here at orientation we have some really enthusiastic people, like Passionate from Zimbabwe. Smiling ear to ear, he taught all of us a song at devotions one day that had some awesome running, spinning, and searching actions to it. It made me really miss church in Africa, where everyone dances around for at least 15 minutes every week. I think if I went back now I would really really appreciate that kind of church. Right now Passionate is sitting one row in front of me talking and laughing, doubled over most of the time.

Reading Jesus for President, they wrote that the root of enthusiasm is en-theos, which means 'in God'. So when someone in enthusiastic, that is God showing through them. Maybe it is hysterical laughing, like my friend Passionate. It could also look like passion for a cause, compassion for people, or sheer joy in life. Many people lack enthusiasm in any of its forms, a tragedy of a magnitude that I can't bear to imagine.

This summer I've been able to live with a lot of enthusiasm. Not just breathe, eat, drink, work, and sleep, but really live! Its a wonderful thing, and I'm looking forward to a life full of living. :)

Counseling the Boys of Comanche

This summer I am working as a counselor at the YMCA Camp Tecumseh in central Indiana. It is a really good time. During the staff training week I got to know a whole ton (at least!) of really cool people. The other counselors are all really open and excited about life and ready to meet people. A bunch of them try to read with at least some of their spare time, which is impressive concerning how short it is. I've never met a group that has had such a high concentration of really interesting, open, artistic, friendly, and happy people. So pretty much, the week and a half that I was here before camp started was nothing short of awesome.

My cabin was a little bit rough the first two weeks, mostly because two of my campers took so much of our time that we couldn't spend much time with the rest of the kids trying to get them to know each other. I was originally paired with Mike Lang, a junior at IU who is from Kokomo, Indiana. At the end of the first week we got a third counselor in our cabin named Essian Ukanna, a Dartmouth graduate who is half Georgian and half Nigerian. The three of us together work very well and we have a ton of fun. This week all of my campers have been great kids who have listened to and respected us. It has made a world of difference and I can tell by how even the depressed, unsociable campers are having a great time and are feeling comfortable enough to jump in to activities.

I think this summer is really going to be a great one. For one, I have the privilege of getting to know all kinds of really awesome people. I get to learn how to deal with plenty of different kinds of kids from all kinds of backgrounds. I've learned how to make pens on a lathe!!! I also get a lot of experience leading and observing devotions and discussions for adolescents. I have plenty of time to think about Biblical stories and what they mean. And I'll be spending some time writing new devotions and chapels with another counselor.

I'm excited about that part because I feel like it could have an impact on people's faith. So many of the devotions and the chapels are modern adaptations of stories where Jesus comes and is rejected by people or all that they experience of Jesus is that he takes the physical and mental anguish that they have experienced on himself and experiences it all himself. An example is a story about a couple who gets a phone call from God saying that God is going to come to dinner, then the couple makes preparations and turns away a beggar, a man in need of help, and a sick little girl in their anxiousness. Or another where Jesus walks around and takes a weeping woman's sorrow onto himself as well as trading a Vietnam veteran's stump of an arm for his own strong one. I think these messages are mostly good but are also depressing because we constantly watch Jesus being rejected and suffering. Jesus did suffer in his life and on the cross, but he also preached a gospel of love, acceptance, and community that leads to a very fulfilling life. Everyone at camp experiences all of these things and they say that they feel closer to God here, yet for some reason camp lifestyle is not connected with Jesus. I hope to build that connection. Not to say that I think camp is the Kingdom of God, but I think we would do well to live some of the camp culture.