I'm so thankful for Daryl

I'm loving my job.

This is a big statement for me, espcecially because I've rarely said those words in this last year and a half. Don't get me wrong, I've found enjoyable people to work with, like my friends Jhonny or Marcelo and Bonifacio. But overall my job was highly administrative, relationally very stressful (can I be so bold as to say "dysfunctional"), and overall not a good fit. So in December we met with our supervisors and made a change to re-focus my time on Bolivian youth, ages 15 - 25.

This weekend was their big retreat of the year. It was a beautiful place about an hour and a half outside the city, bummer that it rained the whole time, but they had a great time. 190 youth showed up, plus speakers and some adults leaders. All the games and activities focused around their theme "The Return of the King" from the trilogy "Lord of the Rings." And the entire weekend was planned, financed, and led by the youth of the Bolivian Baptist Union. They did a great job.

I was given the job of speaking on the first night about "Losing focus on Jesus in the busyness of life." And then I led two workshop sessions on the topic, "How do you choose a good mate?". The workshops were packed, they gave me a whole gym, and we had a riot, lots of laughing, and some serious thinking together too.

My ears are still ringing from the team chants and game times, and my stomach hurts from their hilarious skits. It took me back to so many summers at Trout Creek Bible Camp, and all those crazy high school and college retreats. My heart is still trembling from a couple of spontaneous but deep conversations. I got to know many of the youth leaders in Cochabamba, mostly because I stayed up through their 1am counselors meeting. And my mind is racing with what God might have planned for our future here. God is working in the hearts of these students, and they're hungry for friends and mentors to share life with, to journey together through life's biggest questions.

The youth of Bolivia are in a unique place in history. Their culture is going through massive change, a transition so rapid that their parents are lost trying to relate to their own children. I'll illustrate with a story.

Pablo is a college student. We found each other after a workshop, and we were just chatting about life and family when he asked, "what do you think about philosophy? you know like Aristotle and Plato, or even current European writers? you think we can learn anything from them?" Now, you have to realize that Pablo grew up in the high country of Bolivia, speaking Quechua, herding sheep and growing potatoes. He moved to Cochabamba to be able to attend college, and is now studying philosophy as a major. His grandparents are most likely illiterate like 80% of their generation, no one in his family has ever heard of Aristotle or Plato, much less been able to discuss them. So we kicked around some ideas about how Christianity and philosophy and how God speaks to us when all of a sudden he blurts out...

"You know who's really been making me think lately? Bono and his band U2? Do you like their music?"

Who would of thought that I would somewhere outside Cochabamba Bolivia, shooting the breeze with a guy who not only knows how to herd sheep, but also listens to U2 on his MP3 player, and is thinking about how what Bono has to say might have something good in it, something philosophical and deep, something spiritual. And I'm sure glad Daryl introduced me to U2 some 14 years ago so I could sit there and talk to Pablo about God and music and art.

And the whole experience made me think, I'm so thankful for Daryl, my beautiful wife. Daryl, you've been more than just a best friend and a great wife and mother. You've been my tour guide in learning to see and appreciate the art and beauty and mystery in life. You have a unique and special ability to see, to communicate, to create. I wouldn't be who I am today without you in my life. No matter what God has planned for us, I'm just glad to be on this journey with you.