OFF Rocks!

Before anything else, I gotta give my props to SC Johnson and Company for inventing OFF bug spray. It totally works! I would not have survived this weekend had it not been for OFF. I would've been covered head to toe in bites from only God knows what. I don't even want to think about the different kinds of insects that were looming out there in the wilderness, waiting for the smell of my tasty blood to suck on (ang tamis!). There was one point where one of the girls asked me to braid her hair. As I was pulling strands of hair, I noticed something at the roots. It was small, it was alive, and it was imbedded in her head! If I am correct, it was a tick! Now thankfully, she didn't freak out when I told her and because I was behind her, she couldn't see the look of panic on my face as I tried (several times) to remove it. I was honestly and totally creeped out!

I was totally reminded of my 7th grade teacher, Mr. Taylor. In Science class, he told us about ticks and how they could be carriers of Lyme Disease. If you happen to find a tick, there's a proper way to remove them. You simply cannot pull them out (which I DID!). You're supposed to use tweezers or light a match, blow it out, and hold the fumes from the match as close to the tick as possible. This forces them and their stinger to disengage whole. Ticks have an affinity for warm and damp places...behind the ears, behind the knees, in your underarms, and sh*t, apparently in your hair. I distinctly remember an experiement he did when he went hiking in the woods. He tied a teddy bear to a rope and threw it among the trees and bushes. When he finally retrieved it, it was covered in ticks. How gross is that?! He also discussed the proper attire to wear in the woods. To avoid ticks and any other insects, he stressed the importance of being covered- long socks, pants, long sleeved shirts. Let's just say that thanks to my teacher (and you should always thank your teachers!), I took his advice and stayed covered the entire weekend. Despite the warm weather, I opted for running shoes and socks versus slippers; I wore running pants or overalls versus shorts; I wore a hat, a hood and I put my hair up; and although I wore sleeveless shirts to try and tan, I sprayed OFF like crazy all over my body. As a result, I came home with barely any bites! Even so, I've seen, swapped, dodged, and killed enough bugs to gross me out for a lifetime. Okay, so that's exaggerating just a bit, but when I say there were hella bugs, I totally mean HELLA!

BFE

Ya'll know what that means, yah? Well, the campgrounds for our weekend retreat was in boonyville, Wisconsin. As we crossed the state line into Wisconsin and passed what seemed to be the only town for miles, we continued down roads and roads of green. I'd say "lush" greenery, but lush seems like a word used to describe somewhere exotic like Hawaii. In any case, through the scenic greens and gravel roads that the Lexus had to endure, hubby and I came to the conclusion that there just ain't sh*t out here. We were going to be in BFE for three freakin' days...lovely.

Campgrounds

Our camping area was on the shore of a leech infested lake. Leeches. As in blood-sucking. As in what sucked on the privates of Wil Wheaton's character in "Stand By Me." What I didn't know is that they come in two colors: black and white. Compared to the black ones, the white are the ones that haven't sucked up enough blood yet. So am I to assume that the black ones have had their fill? I think not! I'm all for the learning of something new each day thang- "If you don't know, now you know." But when it comes to leeches, only one thing comes to mind: don't go taking a dip anywhere that'll result in having lil' bloodsuckers on you. *shudder, shudder*

The grounds actually had a cabin that could house up to 15 people. The cabin itself didn't have any electricity. It did have a hand pump for water for the sink though. It had gas stove and gas fridge (?)and 'twas a good size for a meeting place for the 13 kids. Most of the kids, though, opted to sleep under the stars. As mentioned before, hubby went all out on camping gear and I felt bad in some ways because our tent was the biggest. Here we were, two people, in this huge tent while the kids were packed in 4's or 5's in tents that should've only fit a couple comfortably. Ah well, the joys of camping and bonding...

As far as the bathrooms, it was a walk. Nothing drastically far, but as night rolls near and everything is pitch black, 'tis far. With the exception of bugs, it surprisingly had clean toilets, sinks, and showers. The showers reminded me of the Philippines. While you're trying to wash yourself, you're keeping an eye on the bugs on the wall making sure they don't move any closer than they have to. Still, I think I got bit in some places where the sun don't shine. Lovely.

Communing....or not

Most of the devotional activities were held outside under the trees or at the bonfire. The kids were given lots of free recreation time: canoeing (in mentioned leech infested lake...and btw: a couple girls fell in. Ewwwww.), basketball, hiking, swimming (in a different, swimmable lake), volleyball, turtle hunting, and just plain chillin.

But the purpose of this trip wasn't to play games. It's a retreat after all...a spiritual retreat set out in the wilderness to get away from the chaos of our everyday lives, to be without our cell phones, TV's, computers, and if you're one of the typical kids on this trip, to be away from their parents. I believe that some of the kids misunderstood the nature of this retreat and because of their self-centeredness, obnoxiousness, and sheer stupidity, didn't give this weekend a chance at all. This may sound harsh because well, I remember how it was to be in their shoes. I was at that point where I felt I was alone in the world and no one understood me, but we keep saying that today's youth are a totally different breed from when we were kids. The kids nowadays have a major problem with respect and common courtesy; they talk back and curse, and let's just say that they would've NEVER gotten away with such behavior "in my time." I realize that everyone has their own drama and these kids are no exception. Many come from broken homes, dysfunctional families, single parents and yes, it's understandable that their lives are far from normal, BUT...it's not an excuse for these kids to act the way they do. It's funny 'cuz it's really about applying psychology here and understanding why they do what they do because of their homelife drama. But at the same time, some of these kids reinforce the reason why I simply cannot teach at the high school level.

I'm a true believer that there's a reason for everything that happens and me going on this retreat weekend wasn't a coincidence. I'm not the totally out-going type where I can just hang with these kids right away and bond...hubby can and I'm glad that they have him as a Kuya and role model. Me, I'm there, I'll listen, I'll say what I gotta say, but I know that they can't talk to me like they talk to hubby. It's all good. I can be there for them in other ways. It was a good experience to be there with them and to see them out of their element and away from the church environment. It gave me a chance to get to know them a little bit more. I did get to facilitate an activity that I thought was something the group really needed and I'll take that as my contribution to this retreat.

I expected a little more depth to the retreat itself. I felt that the kids weren't so into it as I thought they would be and many times, it was a countdown to when they could escape to do something else besides connect with God. At the same time, it could've been due to the nature of the activities. Although there were 6 chaperones, only 2 planned the weekend out. I felt that hubby and I personally could've added our much needed input to have made the activities more meaningful and something that these kids could better relate to. The leaders of the retreat are parents of one of the kids and perhaps because of this reason, they still hold back in sharing and letting anyone in. Hubby and I haven't stopped talking about it and I believe that we are being called to be more active in this youth ministry. I feel that because of the experiences that we have between the both of us, we could help make a difference. I was telling hubby that I could see him being the Youth Minister for them and plus, it all works out because he's already bonded with the kids, they trust him and can talk to him in ways that they can't talk to the other leaders.

I knew that there were other reasons unknown to us why Minnesota was the place where we'd end up living. I now know that we were meant to join this church- hubby was meant to help the praise band grow and develop, he was meant to be a blessing to these kids, and we were meant to be the "new blood" that in some ways, helped (re)ignite the fire of many projects and activities that they've been praying for. The church has so many needs and is in this continual growth process and I feel that we were meant to be here for that.

Overall, aside from the drama and disappointment, it was a good experience. It was nowhere near as unbearable as I originally feared and yet, it could've done without all the bugs. Seriously. I even got a chance to write. Being way out there in the woods, sitting on the dock of the lake, and seeing all the surrounding beauty is so inspiring that you can't help but feel God's presence. I did not anticipate how I would end up feeling and how this weekend would affect me, but it did in many ways. It gave me the opportunity to reflect about my life and to feel God's power and love working within me. The Holy Spirit was truly present and I'm thankful that I was there to open my heart and mind to the experience.

Once again, much thanks and appreciation to the makers of OFF bug spray!!!