Argentine Reflections

I really love meeting people from countries around the world and entering their cultural contexts – as best I can.  But I don’t think I’ll ever get used to greeting men with a kiss on the cheek.  Scheduling dinner at 9:00 pm and serving it at 10:00 pm is a reach for me, but I’ll eat good food at any time.  The Argentine people are very friendly, very hospitable, and very good cooks. 

Over 80 young, enthusiastic, committed Christian camping leaders met near Cordova for training, fellowship, encouragement, and networking.  The event felt much more like a family reunion than a professional training conference: lots of singing, laughing, activities, and interaction. 

The need for interaction, fellowship, and conversation trumped any attempt to match activities start (and end) times with the printed schedule.  I’ve never before begun speaking at 11:40 pm.  But it worked.  I thought I would have a hard time keeping my audience awake, but I was the only tired person in the room. 

A highlight one lunch was sitting with a group of young leaders hoping one of them could speak English.  A couple of them could communicate moderately well.  Their English was much better than my Spanish.  As we talked they learned that I had worked at Pine Cove – I was a rock star!  Pine Cove had sent teams of college students to their camp the past two Januarys to help run camps and support their ministry.  One said, “I felt like Moses with Hur and Aaron holding up our arms.” 

They took me into the kitchen and explained that the cooks from their camp had volunteered to help prepare meals for this conference (since we met at a school that had a kitchen but no regular food service staff).  One of the ladies learned that I had been associated with Pine Cove and proudly showed me the Pine Cove T-Shirt she was wearing!

I have been reading Diarmaid MacCulloch’s biography of Thomas Cranmer for the past several international trips but finished it on my flight back from Australia.  In Dallas I picked up Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.  It was a fun read and filled the extra hours at the Starbucks in the Santiago, Chile, airport.  I got an extra six hours in Chile due to a missed connection into Cordova.  I really like good writing.  Both books worth the effort!

The visit was filled with new experiences: new games, new musical instruments, new friends, new encouragement, and new energy to see Christian camping grow around the world.   

New Friends

General Session

Pine Cove makes an impact in Argentina

Family Picture

 
Dan with Fausto Re and Daniel Re