Beginning Again

I think this past opening night was my seventh in my YWAM career. They don't really ever get old. Opening Night is our big celebration to welcome the students to our base. Usually there is no real theme to the event but the staff makes a funny video to introduce themselves. The videos are hilarious to those of us who know them but often the students don't get the inside jokes. We tried to lessen the awkward feeling the students inevitably get from being in a new place with strange people telling inside jokes. We gave the night an Academy Awards theme. We had the staff dress in fancy clothes and the DTS staff, like myself went over the top in thrift store finery. To give you an idea, my dress was black velvet with rhinestones and the biggest, poufiest shoulder pads I had seen since the 1980's. We laid out a red carpet and tried to decorate our venue in star-studded fashion. We even had red carpet interviews against a YWAM background. I think people had fun. I made a video montage of pictures that made it look like all the DTS had starred in obscure made-up movies like "Little Trouble, Big Sandwich." People seemed to enjoy it.

 It was pretty surreal for me to realize that I was committing myself again to the crazy 24/7 job of DTS staff. It is both an amazing privilege and a difficult sacrifice. Part of that sacrifice began at the end of the night when Exodus was announced. Exodus is something our base does to start each DTS. It's basically a multi-day camping trip that helps the students break down barriers and get to know each other better. I've been on two of these before and I don't particularly enjoy them but I understand their purpose.

The students and staff are limited in what they can bring with them on Exodus. We could only bring: one shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of shorts, one sweatshirt, one pair of socks, one pair of shoes, one pair of sandals, Bible, journal, pen, swimsuit, hat, sunscreen, backpack, sleeping bag and camera. Note that I did not list toothbrush or deodorant. The deodorant is the one thing that bothers me the most. I hate the smell of B.O, especially if it is coming from me! I am always tempted to cheat since the staff's bags are not checked but I know it is wrong, so I don't.

We woke up really early to pack a lunch. Then we headed to a local park to play games. We formed three different "tribes" and made up names and cheers. My team was called CaHaGerTex because we had people from Canada, California, Hawaii, Germany and Texas. We ended up winning probably because we did a human pyramid. Everyone loves a human pyramid. After establishing our tribes, the students then went on a scavenger hunt throughout the island to give the students a chance to get to know each other and the island. They had to hitchhike everywhere to complete their assigned tasks, which was a stretch for some. One group got picked up by someone early on who took them to all the stops and took their pictures for them. Obviously they were the first group to arrive.

The staff met up with the students at the final stop, Iao Valley. We ate lunch and then all had a quiet time with God. It's easy to feel God's presence in such a picturesque place. After Iao Valley, we drove to our campsite and set up camp. The last time I went on Exodus, four years ago, we slept under a tarp. This time we slept in tents because there had been too many centipede bites in the past. I was grateful for this minor improvement in accommodation.

We had to eat Ramen noodles for lunch and dinner. Unfortunately I hate Ramen noodles and having that for two meals a day was not my idea of fun. We also had plain oatmeal for breakfast to spice things up. We had to use the same bowl and chopsticks for every meal. It's funny to see how much my attitude can be based on what I eat. Eating Ramen and oatmeal made mealtime borderline disgusting when I usually enjoy eating. In addition to eating bland foods, we spent the time getting to know each other better and spending time with God. It was good but I really wanted deodorant. One of the funniest things was when we had a contest to open a coconut. Myles, a fellow Texan made our team win by a mile. He smashed the coconut repeatedly on a rock and just ripped the thing apart. You'd never guess he'd never opened a coconut before.

We ended up spending two nights out there dirty and deodorant-less. Afterward, we drove to my church for Love Feast- a fancy dinner to bless the students. It is always such a relief for the students to be back in civilization and eating delicious food instead of Ramen. I was so grateful to be back. My friends had brought me deodorant, toothbrush, snacks and perfume. It made me feel loved.