The mission trip was awesome!  I am actually glad that I decided to go as well as have the opportunity to help in my own little way.  The church we worked with was a totally different environment that I was used to.  People always say (and if not, well then I do) that grown comes when you are out of your comfort zone, and I believe that growth has occurred within the people who went.  Our group of about 30 people each signed up to a particular team.  While some chose construction or medical/dental, I believed that I would be of most help as part of the VBS team that were, as our name suggests, throwing a VBS for a local church down in the valley.  The culture down there is completely different than from what we see in Northside San Antonio.  The church congregation held a very strong reverence for their church.  This is not to say that our church doesn't, but that they have a very strong belief that worship and only worship should go on in the sanctuary.  That is to say that the idea of doing crafts or playing in the church was not acceptable in the eyes of that particular community.  So because they only have one building, the activities were held outdoors.  This is where the comfort zone is invaded for most in the vbs team.  For myself, I am accustomed to the insane Texas heat, but I do have the luxury of stepping into some air conditioned room occasionally.  This was not the case here, in 100+ degree weather, we cherished every bit of shade we could find. 

My particular task as I've said before in an earlier post was to come up with a puppet show that would communicate the message to the kids as well as tie in the short video clips we showed into something that could be understood clearly.  While I forgot to bring the DVD the first day, and was practically writing the script the day before, it turned out well.  It actually is pretty funny because it fit perfectly with the theme of our impromptu VBS..."Trust and Obey".  While nothing really seemed to go exactly as it planned we just had to trust that God would bring us through, and He did. 

All in all this was a good experience and reminder for me.  It was a reminder to not take things for granted such as air conditioning, a church that has the means the means to support itself and help others, and an awesome group of people that I consider my friends.  It is also a reminder of things that I believe take priority in life within this consumer-driven society.  With the Wisdom of the Cross (inversion of worldly values) as the core of my philosophy and a heart to serve, it reminds me of why I decided to join up into the Military in the first place:  to protect what I cherish the most.  I want to make a difference in the world, but my contribution will be small, to protect those that have to power to change the world and its thinking, be they the politicians and government officials, or pastors and teachers who guide the growth of people respectively in the areas of spirituality and academically. 

So tomorrow begins the car ride down for the mission trip.  Am I excited?  Yeah, a little...Am I prepared?  No...not quite.  Do I have my puppet show written down?  Nope...not yet either...I do, however, have a lot of ideas floating around in here...ideas that I will be solidifying tonight.  Am I going to get any sleep tonight?  Probably not...since I have yet to figure out where to begin. 

So...mission trip is until Friday...but I will be heading back earlier for my pt test.  Am I ready for that?  Not quite...push-ups I am fine with...running...if I really push myself and am properly energized and hydrated...probably...sit-ups...57 sit-ups, no problem...57 sit-ups in 2:00 mins?  Might be a problem, might not...we'll see.  If I pass then I will finally be done with the application process and be then be able to send in my officer kit to the board for review!  And then that will be one thing off my mind...the thing that will be still be on my mind is to be better prepared physically and mentally.  As to which I need more work on, I have no idea.  But I do have a serious commitment to see that I am the best dang Navy officer they have seen...why?  Because if officers lead by example, I need to be sure that I can take on any task, but mentally and physically, in any condition.  It isn't impressive seeing someone doing their best on a good day when they are well rested and wanting to work, but I need to be able to do my best even with I'm half dead, totally sucked of energy and don't want to do anything but sleep.  Because of this mindset...I think I still have quite a ways to go before I can proudly say that I am prepared for almost anything life and the navy throw my way. 

Sigh...thanks to Betty, Meagan and others in the youth group, I've been sucked into doing these situation riddles...some of them I heard in Boy Scouts...mostly beside we were a bunch of bored kids who had nothing to do at night around the campfire.  I learned that I'm too nice of a guy to properly tell these riddles because I'm prone to want to give people hints...=/  so while these aren't situation riddles, which is good because I'll be gone all week and you won't be able to ask me questions...I do have two riddles for those interested enough to try them out.  And in the spirit of me being an English major...

"He begins and ends two common English words.  One is painful in love, the other painful in everyday matters.  What two words are they?"

And...riddle?  I don't know but it is a question that might have your thumbing through your dictionary.  This is a nine lettered word...in English.  Each time you remove one of the nine letters, down to the last, it still makes up a word.  The rules are that each time you can out any letter within the word so long as it the resulting "word" is actually a word.

ah...and one more for you, oh so clever people who weren't stumped at all by that...what is one English word, that means one thing...and at the same time it's exact opposite.  I'll give you a hint...because I think I should give you a direction to look in...it is a verb...when you use it as a transitive verb (i.e. takes on an object), it has one definition, and when it is used an intransitive verb (i.e. doesn't take on an object) it has an opposite definition.

ok...now I need to stop procrastinating and pack and write my puppet show...=(  blech...

Ok!  Finally, after hours of sorting through e-junk and all that jazz...I have finally made it to where I only have to use one e-mail account for everything!  So now that I've organized my e-mail and internet stuff...now begins the process of cleaning and organizing my room.  Moving is such a hassle...I think this is going to begin the process of paring down my belongings to the bare nessecities so that I don't have to pack much when I move anywhere...I have so much stuff to give away it isn't funny.

My 4th and 5th grader class amuses me.  One of them is at the stage where he constantly corrects others while they are reading.  Another has a mouth on her that didn't like that too much so she says, "well thank you Mr. Dictionary!"  Most are in the awkward stage...the stage where they make a conscious effort to be "cool" and are a bit self-conscious when they mistakingly do something they consider to be embarassing or "uncool". 

I find that my creativity and writing skills are being tested...I was rounded up to write a puppet show for the Mexico Missions Trip.  My forte in English was studying its origins, how it has evolved and its influences through trade and wars...I spend most of my time studying Shakespeare and Chaucer...but writing?  heh...yikes...