May 17th 2008

Today I woke up at nine and had breakfast which consisted of a piece of bread and a cup of tea. Then Kiki saw that I was putting in my contacts so we had a discussion about contacts and glasses. I then did my morning devotion and read some more of my book. Then, I wrote out a phone dialogue that I expect to have later today so that I can go to the youth group I will be working with for the first time. Next, I checked email and wrote a list of important phone number and other help information that I can carry with me at all times. After my noonday devotional I had lunch. For lunch, I had tacos with beef, peppers and onions, lettuce, avocados, and salsa with lemonade to drink. When I started working on my journal entries, I noticed that a majority of my conversations with Kiki have been in English and it makes it hard for me to get back into the Spanish mindset and be able to understand and communicate. Also, two exciting opportunities opened up for me yesterday. One is the fact that Mauge invited me to a cultural discussion with dinner on Wednesday night at her house. Another was the fact that during one of my discussions with Kiki, we were discussing my schedule while I am here and since I have a meeting on a couple of the Friday’s evenings; he thought that it would be a good idea if I helped out with his youth group on the other Friday’s when I do not have a meeting. I continued to read my book and work on school work the rest of the afternoon. Then I made a phone call to arrange for transportation to and from youth group. Everything went well until I had to give directions then Susana and Luigi helped me give them. I then went to youth group. When I got to youth group, I was introduced to everyone with a greeting and handshake from the guys and a greeting, hand shake and kiss from the girls. It was a small group of about ten people or so. They opened up the meeting by asking for prayer petitions. Then a verse of Scripture was read to reflect on; followed by standing in a circle and holding hands for prayer. Next, there was a time of worship which was followed by a time of fellowship with drinks and snacks. We then watched a movie about Mount Sinai and Moses journey in the wilderness. The next activity was to read multiple Scripture passages and discuss them. Finally, the night concluded with us standing in a circle and holding hands while praying. The youth group then had another time for fellowship in which the group asked me several of questions about what I was interested in, what I was studying, and how long would I be in Cochabamba for. During the fellowship time, I also played table soccer with one of the guys. To reflect on the whole youth group experience, I was able to understand about a quarter of what went on during the night. Also, I was able to understand and respond to most of the questions about me without any interpretive help. I noticed that the group was very patient and kind with me. The way this group of people interacts with music was something I have never seen before. Also, the way that they pray was smooth and sounded like it came from the heart was a joy for me to see as well. A difference that I noticed was the way that they show affection for one another. For example, a girl and guy would cuddle together during the time of worship and then that same person would cuddle with another person during the movie. In America, we would only expect this type of behavior only if these individuals were in a relationship. When I returned from youth group, I took a shower, did my night time devotional, and went to bed.