Migrant Mission 2011 - July 20th: Worship Trailer at Sakuma Camp 2

The 20th of July, 2011 was a day that I'd been building up to, in some ways for 3 summers. As a junior in high school I lost the church I'd gone to for my entire life due to a variety of factors - one being controversy about long term involvement with illegal immigrants - rather people said it outright or not, many were bothered and offended. But after the church closed down I had a meeting with BJ, fairly desperate to find somewhere - anywhere - I could plug in and find fellowship. But I was also extremely cautious. I talked a lot about the migrant ministry. As he phrased it, it was like an egg of hope I was holding onto - so fragile. I wanted to go to a church that would be a part of it. For two years after deciding to stick with Adventure, BJ finally approached me and said "we're doing it." And that's in a very brief nutshell how I got here. And now, July 20th, I was going to be stepping onto one of my favorite patches of dirt and an absolute war zone in the Spiritual realm - with the Adventure youth group. Leading them.

Abbey and a girl in Camp 2 half a day after my warfare, proving Satan dead wrong.

Not surprisingly the enemy was full on trying to shred me in the morning. All the standard - but unfortunately effective - means he always uses against me: isolation, loneliness, the whole "no one gives a *bleep* about this mission or that you've flown back here because your heart is so into this mission" lies that continuously had been coming up since the trip's inception.

Hannah (left) and Caitlyn (right) on the bus.

On the bus I had a nice chunk of time to do some warfare and put on the armor of God. I was good after I did that, overall. I prayed like crazy over the team.
We got to the church we were staying at (Crossroads Covenant Church) and unloaded all of our things. The guys stayed in the youth room above the coffee house (which is an outreach ministry). The girls stayed in one of the children's church rooms by the sanctuary.

After we were settled in I had the opportunity to give my final talk to the youth group. This one was about how to engage specifically with the kids at the camps. I talked about our attitude, about mistakes I'd made to avoid, about and my favorite part what to do. Things like the importance of touch, games that the kids were familiar with...and the hamster dance. The hamster dance is pretty ridiculous. It's a dance that my Northwest Evangelical Presbyterian team learned on a Mexico mission trip and carried over into the migrant ministry from 2007 on. Below is a video of what was then my youth group performing it in 2007 several miles from the Sakuma camps.

I got the distinct (partly evil) pleasure of teaching it to the Adventure crew. Obviously there were definite mixed levels of excitement about it - but everyone was a pretty good sport. Samm helped me figure out the electric slide piece of it, which always confuses me slightly, but the rest I could do in my sleep and on command with or without the music.

Kelsey as we prepared with the worship crew for Camp 2

After that was complete we headed out to join with a group who brought a worship trailer to various locations and preached the gospel to all kinds of people around Skagit Valley as a ministry. That evening they were going to my beloved Sakuma Camp 2.

I was feeling some anxiety about "who are these people, what's their mission? Is this actually going to be a good thing. Will my and their philosophies clash?" Sometimes I'm pretty silly. Sometimes I don't trust God very much.

We met them, and they are awesome. Our job in the grand scheme of things was to entertain and love on the kids while they set up and drew in adults and teenagers, and then we would join them for the worship and message. They gave us tools like bean bag toss, face paints, beads, and a hot wheels race track as activities to do. There were prizes involved, and honestly I did feel ambivalent about that. These kids have by in large learned to take what they can and run with it and come to groups to get things, not build relationship. I brought the concern to BJ, and he gave me the green light to speak on the bus. And so I talked about, even though we were doing the prizes to make our focus relationship and in how we bestowed prizes and ran the games for our focus to be their hearts.

Around 5:00PM we rolled out towards the camp. I rode with BJ to help navigate...and goodness knows that was a bit exciting. For having worked in the Burlington area so long I'm really not familiar with the layout of the surrounding area like Sedro-Woolley. We got to the freeway and from there I could get us there no problem, thank the Lord.

When we arrived at Camp 2 the worship trailer was already there. My heart pretty much lept when I saw it. I was back! We rolled across the little sketch wood bridge that even in a car made one nervous to cross. You can feel the slats of wood move as you roll over them. A part of the experience I embrace. I do admit I was glad the worship trailer hadn't done the bridge in. I was impressed they'd been able to get it across given how narrow the bridge is.

I helped Rhonda park the bus and watch for kids. Then I got on in, gave some mini to the point speech, prayed, and we got off it. Maybe I'm just super in love with the ministry, but it felt like I was stepping out onto holy ground. I greeted the first kids I saw instantly. It was go time and I was going. If ever there was a time in my life when I knew what needed to happen and I was ready to lead it was this moment.

One of the girls who remembered me.

We drew the kids over to our activities. Some of them remembered me, which really brought joy to my heart. They always remember Suzanne and Mara, but often my role hasn't built super deep one on one relationships because I'm running around with kids on my back or catching grasshoppers or other things that I don't expect to be remembered for. But I was wrong. I guess after knowing a lot of those kids consistently for so many years they remember me as well as I remember them.

Olivia loving on a little boy.

I'm a video guy, and have brought my video camera into the camps since 2007. Last year I brought my HV30 (high def $800 camera) to Nicaragua and the Philippines, but even still didn't feel like it would be a good idea to bring to Burlington. But this year, since it could be the last time I'd get to do this, I brought it. I'm thankful I did and that God's hand of protection was over it. As I was filming with it my heart was just overflowing. I don't remember feeling SO happy in at least a year, maybe even longer. Watching Adventure plug in and engage with these kids as well, or better than I'd been playing in my head since 2009 was almost too much. I was just whispering "thank you, God. Thank you Jesus. Thank you. Thank you" as I watched everything unfolding. I wrote in my journal that night "Watching the team was one of the most amazing experiences - maybe of my life...If I'd died in that moment I would have been truly content. Fully happy."

Hannah painting a girl's arm after getting painted herself.

Nick blowing up balloons.

I wish I had complete video coverage of every amazing moment that evening. I got a lot of them, but I know there's so many that I've forgotten too. Watching Hannah and Heidi rock the face painting was amazing. Hannah let the kids paint on her arms and face - Heidi had a really special connection with a little girl, Esmeranda, I knew from last year. Just thinking about what I saw at the face painting table is bringing me back to a really emotional place. The bead crew was awesome. Sami - Caleb - and Olivia. The games - bean bag toss and car races - our team got what I'd said about relationship. It was all about engaging with the kids and their hearts. Making balloon animals (and eventually swords), wow. It was great watching Nick and Zac get beat up by them - a role similar to one I've taken many times, and would yet take almost every day from this point on.

Garat and I doing some piggyback.

Just because I had the camera didn't mean I was out of the action. I spun kids around, did a little piggyback (I was running low on food that gave me actual sustenance so my energy was not good for that), tickled kids and talked to them. I was in my element.

Everyone worshiping.

At some point along the line the worship started and a lot of the youth group and kids joined in. I was filming it and taking pictures, capturing moments that I don't ever want to forget. During that a boy asked to use my still camera. I let him. Was it smart? Maybe not. Was it as dumb as letting a little girl use my video camera a couple minutes later...no. Was that pretty dumb. Absolutely. Did it surprise me that after I'd given people advice to hang onto and watch their cameras that I broke the rule completely within an hour of being on the field? Absolutely not. Throughout the evening I shared both cameras with a couple different kids. Arely (I'm guessing on the spelling), a girl you'll hear a lot more about in continuing blog posts, was one who got to use it.

Arely using my video camera.

She became my little buddy at Camp 2 for the rest of the two weeks. And used my camera a lot. What blew me away is that even though I lost track of the still camera for awhile, it was never stolen. The same deal with my video camera, in increasing amounts as the week went on.

I really enjoyed some of the Spanish rock worship even though I didn't know the words. And even the slower songs. Something about the culture just draws me in. I wasn't in the thick of the worship, but it was awesome soaking it in, loving on the kids, and filming with it going on.

During the sermon I was in and out. Arely and other kids wanted to play out in what I'll call the soccer and grasshopper field, so I and some others went with them. Honestly it's a blur how it all went, but I know I was busy running around for part of the time.

Hannah and I at Sakuma 2.

At some point I looked over and saw Hannah sitting on a bench under the pavilion looking, as I'd describe it, rather wilty. Definitely like she was on the dehydrated side. I'm not normally someone who likes to share water...but she hadn't brought any. It turned out to be an actual high moment laying down my irrational fear of backwash, strange as that may sound.





Something I jotted down in my journal, that still reflects how I feel is "God used a terribly flawed man [myself] to bring life to kids. And God will do even more."

The gentleman and a cute kid. :)

I had a discussion with one gentleman from the worship trailer group, and I wish I'd written down some of its contents, but in essence he was blown away that my vision had brought so much together. It was pretty epic.

When we left the group was so excited to go back the next day. I was pretty excited at everyone's enthusiasm.

There was a great kickback to my first Burlington mission trip for me in that we showered at the Mt. Vernon YMCA both times. Why is that epic to me? Really it's just the great symmetry of it all, and I wasn't a part of finding locations to shower either time. So it was like God having a little sense of humor with us AND providing showers...praise Him for that!

The night was rough. Some people hit breakdown point. Watching one of my close friends (who shall remain nameless since I haven't asked their permission to write this), had a pretty brutal emotional and physical breakdown after praying for someone and had to be carried to the room, and all I could do was stand there and watch - feel extremely powerless and pray.

As if this blog entry isn't long enough...indulge a little more. It strikes me reading my journal that "wow", there were almost two different Brian's in the space of 3 hours. One who rose up and made a mission happen...and one who reverted back to the inner 15 year old or so self who didn't know what to do and felt inadequate to handle the situation.

Will this blog end on a rather downer note, much like the day did? It seems right to me in telling the story to tell it how it was and not sugarcoat the times that were difficult or I almost gave up. So yeah, after the leader's meeting and laying out a plan I did go to bed rather discouraged and still praying. I don't function well at 1AM...which felt like 3AM to me having got used to the Illinois time zone.

I didn't know what I'd encounter the next day. Would more of the team break down? Would my friend still be owned? Would people feel disillusioned or really struggle if there was less excitement at Camp 2? I went to sleep with those questions buzzing around my overcrowded mind.