ArgenText

Annette, the Apathetic Traveller

2008-09-03T22:01:00.009-05:00

At 10 p.m., exactly 12 hours before we'll walk out the door en route to Mendoza, Argentina for the Youth Specialties International Convention, Annette exasperated with having to pack yet again, walks into the office and says,

For a while i thought I was getting better at this traveling thing, but now I realize that I'm just becoming apathetic. Maybe it's like having your fourth child, you're not really a better more experienced parent, you're just too tired to care any more.

Peruvian Ground

2008-09-03T21:34:00.014-05:00

[click a photo to biggie size it]

“Well,” he said shaking his head as he printed our boarding passes, “You’re going to have to run. Once the gateway doors close we can’t open them again.”

I thought he was speaking metaphorically, “You need to really hustle”, but, no, he meant literally that to reach the gangway in time we would have to run because the gate, number 13 which we’d never flown out of before, was in another terminal about a half a mile away.

The next thirty minutes were incredibly tense. How we got through them is a whole other story. (click here for the full story)

A few days into our time in Peru I saw that just like we’d gotten lulled into complacency about travel, we’ve gotten used to smoothly run conferences where we know what is expected of us and how long we have to teach weeks before we arrive. Not so in Peru.

The day before the conference began, we were told of a previously unstated expectation that we would - that very night - prepare 50 conference volunteers. "You have 90 minutes," they announced. Needless to say we scrambled a bit but it worked out.

The conference stood out in some positive ways too. For example, this was also the first Raíces event where we were given time to facilitate some learning activities we have been developing over the years. We’d never done them with such a large group so there were times when we felt overwhelmed by the chaos but feedback from various leaders reminded us that creating ways for learners to engage experientially with the material is worth the chaos.

Despite the emotional rollercoaster of the conference, we have no doubt that it gave both vision and tools to those who attended it. One cell group leader said, “We thought we didn’t need any more training, but this weekend I’ve seen that there is still a lot we need to learn.” And the organizing committee asked us to return and help them teach it throughout the rest of Peru. But now that they have with the book, the animated classes, and a new crop of trained leaders they have the tools to accomplish that goal whether we make it back or not.

[click here for the in-depth version]

GuateMALA was BUENA

2008-08-14T20:50:00.002-05:00

Participation is essential to our RAICES workshop

Annette's turn (above), Tim's part (below)

We dropped into bed this morning at 7:50 a.m. after 19 sleepless hours of travel home from Guatemala. But it was well worth it!

The convention was a huge success - 3200 youth leaders from 12 countries, 150 volunteers, and over 50 workshops. When it was all done, the organizing team had a celebration dinner where we read thousands of overwhelmingly positive evaluation forms.

Lots more happened in Guatemala. I'll write about that later... after a good nights sleep.

Supernatural

2008-08-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

The theme of this year's international youth leaders convention in Guatemala is Supernatural. And we get to be a part of it!

training in Mexico - Feb. 2001

Ten years ago any of us developing youth leaders in Latin America would have thought it was incredible that 500 youth leaders could be convened anywhere in the region. But this Friday, Saturday and Sunday we get to lead workshops and forums at a training event with 2500 youth leaders, and this is just one of many... not even the largest of them.

youth leaders convention in Guatemala 2006

Remembering how far youth ministry has come in the last 15 years really does highlight the supernatural aspect of what is going on. It also reminds Annette and me how much we can't do this alone. We have chosen a life that requires dependence on God and interdependence with friends who pray for us, are willing to maintain friendships even at a distance and support our work economically. We couldn't do it without you...nor would we want to.

Thank you.

More from Cochabamba

2008-08-05T19:11:00.003-05:00

When he met us at the airport River was distracted. The main speaker, an internationally known recording artist, was supposed to arrive on the flight with us but the airline said that he hadn't boarded his flight in Madrid, Spain. River was holding out hope that he had gotten on at the last minute and it hadn't been registered in the system.

If you're interested in more details about what happened in Bolivia, click here to read Annette's report from Cochabamba.

How'd it go in Bolivia?

2008-07-28T22:38:00.010-05:00

As you can tell from the photo, we enjoyed getting to be
part of the national Bolivian youth leaders convention.

There were youth workers from every part of the country...
some travelled more than 20 hours by bus to be there.
[We didn't take this photo, it just seemed like
we needed a really Bolivian looking shot :-)]

River Claure (far left) is one of the founders of the
Bolivian Youth Leaders Network, the director of
the convention and a wonderful friend.

Thank you for praying for us. The feedback from our workshops
was very positive, Annette and I felt better about
how we worked together than possibly any
other time and we were invited back.

Cochabamba, Boliva

2008-07-23T15:47:00.009-05:00

Beginning tomorrow (Thursday) Annette and I will be in Bolivia for the national youth leaders convention: FeExtrema.com (Spanish)

We have great things to say but we don't always say them great... er, um... what I mean is that our content is perfectly good but we're not perfectly content with goodness of our presentation. You get the picture :-)

So we would love it if you would pray for us this Friday, Saturday and Sunday that we would be able to help these young Bolivian leaders.

Transitions

2008-07-17T20:16:00.010-05:00

Yesterday we were learning here (Bear Trap Ranch, Colorado)

Today we are repacking and preparing here (Buenos Aires)

In a week we'll be teaching workshops for youth leaders
here (at a camp outside of Cochabamba, Bolivia)
These images reflect the geographic and relational transitions we're making this week. [click here for more pics or here for more info]

45 Years Later

2008-06-28T23:02:00.001-05:00

We're still in Colorado doing our apprenticeship in mentoring.
Here we are with a group of proteges and our coach.

Last weekend my father was in Colorado for work.
He stayed an extra day and we all got to hang out
together at Bear Trap Ranch where we're living
during this month's assignment. In a very cool
coincidence... Dad told us that in 1963 he and
Mom worked a month at this very camp.

Our Curriculum Arrives Today

2008-06-14T09:00:00.003-05:00

For a week we've been learning how to use life mapping, reframing, and personality matrix assessment tools but when Greg and Jennifer, Jeff and Lisa, Paul and Susan, Elliot and B'linda, Pete and Cheri, Denise, Andrew, Annie and Emily arrive at Bear Trap Ranch this afternoon they are the curriculum. Their needs and what God is doing in their lives as he prepares them for their next step with OC will dictate the flow of this summer's OC Internship.
Learner driven training forces us to really listen to those who are being prepared and to be sensitive to God's leading...which is much more challenging than merely moving through a lesson plan. We're particularly excited to work through this process with a great team of our OC colleagues, some of whom we'd never met before even though they've been with OC even longer than we have (they were in Asia and our paths had never crossed in the last 14 years, until now).

As our fearless leader Steve Aldrich says, "It's gonna be a GREAT summer."

Why Is Our Apt. Empty?

2008-06-03T22:42:00.000-05:00

For the next month Annette and I will not be in Buenos Aires (B.A.), but in the mountains of Colorado getting hands on training in mentoring. "But why Colorado?" you might ask.

To answer that we need to go back a bit. When they invited us to Argentina it was to be mentors of the youth leaders who will be going through the program at the institute... kind of like the youth leaders for the youth leaders. As part of our preparation we are spending a 5 weeks as part of a mentoring program for OC International's new staff, all the while being coached and mentored by Steve Aldrich, an expert with decades of experience in this field. Our hope is that this mentoring apprenticeship will equip us to be more effect in our role in the youth ministy institute. Please pray with us for that.

We don't return to B.A. until July 17th and 7 days later we head off to Cochabamba, Bolivia for three days of leading workshops at the national youth leaders convention. This is the 6th year in a row that we've been invited but the first time we're able to participate. Some of you may remember the only other time we tried to go to this Bolivian event, the airline we were flying on went bankrupt and we were stuck in Chile for 7 days.

When we return from Bolivia we have a week before we leave for Guatemala for an annual youth leaders convention - 2000+ youth leaders from all over Central America. We'll also be in meetings with the Guatemalan team helping start the youth ministry institutes we're a part of. We get back from Guatemala and 9 days later we leave for Lima, Peru for a Raíces congress where we'll be doing in-depth youth ministry training for around 350 dedicated leaders. Wow, I'm tired just typing out that summer schedule :-)

Annette's First Half

2008-05-13T17:42:00.002-05:00

Annette finished her 1st half-marathon.
She got the medal but i got the kiss!

She finished the 13.1 miles (21 kms) in 2 hours and
wasn't even out of breath (really). Another thing
that made it so great, Memo and Janelle were at
the finish line to help celebrate.

Fall... forward

2008-05-07T18:39:00.002-05:00

You know winter is right around the corner when
…everyone around you has on scarves and boots.
…the golden leaves of a few weeks ago have all fallen off.
…the heaters are all on.
…you drink coffee for the warmth not the flavor.

I still think like someone from the northern hemisphere (May = warm weather) and the days have been so sunny that I go outside in short sleeves and am surprised by how crisp the weather is. Despite our hemispherical vertigo, we've had a number of pleasant surprises lately:

A vist by Tom & Betsy Bloxham from Wichita, Ks.

Running into friends around town (remember this is a city of 13 million people, and we know about 30 of them)

Hanging out with the Youth Specialties office staff.

A visit by OC’s pastoral couple, Ralph and Joyce Anderson. We’ve known each other since 1994 and greatly value their friendship and wisdom (not to mention the gifts and excuse to be tourists around town).

If you're in the mood for seeing more pics of life where it's fall in May and eating beef is an inalienable right, we've got some up on http://picasaweb.google.com/annettegulick/2008 (scroll to the bottom for the latest).

How to Cure Frustration

2008-05-07T17:36:00.006-05:00

"So have you started working yet?" People have asked us this question quite a bit over the past few months. The short answer would be "Yes." The more accurate answer is that we never stopped working, even though at first it felt like we couldn't get traction and were getting disheartened. However, the last couple of weeks there is a definite feeling of momentum. Here's an update on some of the projects we're in the middle of.

(click on the logo above to visit the explanatory web site)

Instituto Especialidades Juveniles- This brought us to Buenos Aires and will absorb a major part of our time once classes start in March of '09. Until then we're on the launch committee, which means we do whatever has to be done. Last week we met with the director of the school we're partnering with - the one that will provide the academic accreditation - and it went even better than we'd hoped.

Raices - We recently spent time putting the finishing touches on the textbook that should be going to print any day now. In the next few weeks we'll be working with the designer to get the web page with the animated classes up and running, just in time for the summer conferences where members of the Raices team will be teaching around 1500 youth workers from this material.

Lider Juvenil (Youth Worker Journal in Spanish ) - Youth work in Latin America finally has its own professional journal and Annette is a columnist (see her name there on the right hand side), which hearkens back to a conversation she had years ago: "I majored in Spanish and Professional Writing in college and got a masters degree in Theology. What on earth will i do with those? Write about theology in Spanish??" Apparently the answer ended up being... yes.

Breathing and Sneezing Brown

2008-04-18T10:36:00.005-05:00

Like a dreamy impressionist painting, but that
romantic mist is actually nose-clogging smoke

This is the park where we exercise

Annette is not deterred by the brown layer of air

I took this in the street in front of our apt.
(Click pics to see them BIGified)

From the roof of our apt. building this morning
I blew my nose the other night and... well, let's just say there has been A LOT of smoke in the air. We returned from our twice annual team retreat and as we were about to land in Buenos Aires the woman in the seat behind us said loudly, "No one told me that the pollution is so bad here. I think I'll go to Uruguay." I looked out the window and could see a layer of cafe con leche colored air just below us that was so thick I almost thought we'd feel a bump as the plane passed from the clean into the dirty layer.

There was no *bump*, but as we left the airport we smelled smoke so we did a Google search of - fire, Buenos Aires, pollution - but we got nothing. Now, a week later, the fires and resulting blanket of smoke are all over the news (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7353595.stm) and I can no longer distinguish the taste of turkey from smoked turkey (an alarming side effect - ha ha).

Both Amigos and Friends

2008-03-20T16:45:00.007-05:00

One of the better gifts we've received arrived yesterday in our email inbox. Click here to take a look.

[Note: For the English version, you need to scroll down the page but don't miss the hilarious fotos at the top.]

The Unexpected

2008-03-11T08:48:00.007-05:00

[Week 4] Annette and I are on the train going into downtown when a man gets on carrying a harp... a BIG heavy harp. I feel sorry for him. It must be a precarious situation travelling in a lurching train with such a large and valuable instrument. I imagine that that he is on his way to the philharmonic or a music school. So I'm surprised when he sits down on the arm of a seat and begin to play.

It was surrealistic - a roving, public tranportation harpist!? He played two songs, bowed, we all clapped and dropped coins in his satchel. Later as Annette and I exited the train, we saw him playing anew in the adjacent train car.

Due to the sound of the train, it's hard to hear how well he played, but click here to view part one and two of the video + a few more photos from week four.

Lacking Rhythm, Not Life

2008-03-06T08:10:00.000-06:00

[Week 3] We stayed up talking with friends until after 1:00 A.M. and then got up early to be available for the delivery guys who were supposed to - but never did - bring us our mattress.

For the last four nights I've missed dinner (unless you call crackers and tea dinner, which Annette does) and we seem to always be eating breakfast around lunchtime.

It's still summer here, but for the last week it has fluctuated between hot and sunny and cool and rainy (March is the rainiest month in Buenos Aires), sometimes in a 20 minute time span, making it hard to know what to wear when we leave the house.

These aren't complaints, just observations that illustrate how Annette and I haven't found a rhythm yet in our life here. But life is anything but boring. For example, we had Sunday lunch beside the Plate River with a wonderful Argentinian family who lived in Mexico for several years. As they droppped us off at the craft fair near our home we ran into our housemates, Memo & Janelle, who were with two girls from Scotland who are ambasadors for World Without Walls. We joined up with them and were captivated and profoundly encouraged with the stories they shared as we toured the craft market, ate the largest ice cream cones we've ever seen, and had afternoon tea with more friends.

Our afternoon was only slightly affected by heavy rain --we moved our chairs further under the porch overhang and periodically commented on the odd redish lightining-- so we were surprised to hear later that it had caused flash flooding and even two tornados/water spouts. (continued below...)

Right now my heart is full... this life God has allowed us to live is full of surprises, amazing relationships, purpose and hope. Annette and I are so aware of how much we owe to those of you who we're connected with and who make this work and life possible. Now all we need to do is figure out when to sleep and when to eat.

Note:

2008-03-06T07:29:00.000-06:00

You may not have noticed but we've changed from being mexikids and are now argenteens. In a related development, our blog was renamed ARGENText and the wonderful but now retired MEXItext is enjoying a siesta.

The First Two

2008-02-29T17:27:00.007-06:00

Buenos Aires: Moving In

Click above to see a few photos and two short videos from our first two weeks.

Cheap Labor, Urban Life

2008-02-16T21:14:00.003-06:00

And as you can see in the photos (click to view bigger), we've got some cheap imported labor, in the form of my mom and dad, who are making our transition to Argentina so much easier by bringing their painting, interior decorating and icecream eating skills to bear.

The last three days we've been painting a 440 sq. ft. apartment in downtown Buenos Aires that friends of our are letting us use...rent-free! While we prepare that apartment, another friend has has loaned us her place which is 45 minutes across town. Both places are within walking distance of public transportation, little grocery stores and restaurants.

For both Annette and me it is the first time we've ever lived in a truly urban setting. So here are a few things we've learned so far:

Paint, cereal, and electronics are more expensive in Buenos Aires; taxis, pizza and plumbers are less
You need keys (plural) to get in and out of your home, and the keys are the huge old castle/skeleton type
Every taxi driver here seems to be an economist, historian or political analyst and 4 out of 5 have asked me if I think Hillary or Obama will win.
You can't get lunch after 3:30 p.m. or dinner before 8 p.m.

A Soft Landing

2008-02-14T10:49:00.004-06:00

The refrigerator in the apartment we’re renting for our first two months in Buenos Aires had nothing more than condiments so I was surprised by the delicious smell of hot bread wafting out of the kitchen. As I came to the doorway Tim said, “Memo and Janelle have brought over toast and smoothies for us all.” Then looking down at the heavily laden table —the delicious whole wheat bread from a nearby bakery, dulce de leche caramel spread, butter, whipped honey, Nutella, and various fruit jams—Tim exclaimed, “It's so great to arrive and have friends who take such good care of us. It’s like we landed on a cushion of friends.”

Our whole transition has been aided by dozens of people in both countries who have given us their time, their sorting/packing ability, their backs, their storage space and rides to and from the airport to help us relocate.

But why, you might ask as we do, why do we have so much stuff when we left Mexico with pretty much just what fit into the back of our car? Tim has solved the mystery: our stuff had kids. It must have snuck into the closet while we weren’t looking and multiplied.

One Week till Liftoff

2008-02-05T20:24:00.000-06:00

(click the photo to see it larger)

In 7 days - or exactly 147 hours from now - Annette and I leave for Buenos Aires, Argentina. If you can't remember why we're moving, the short answer is that we were invited - and accepted - to help start a series of accredited youth ministry institutes - the first in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

Please pray for us in this new phase of life and work... it's a huge challenge and way more than we can handle, so God's going to have to do that thing where his strength shows through our weaknesses.

Argentina: Fast facts

2008-02-05T19:28:00.000-06:00

(in front of the Pink House in Buenos Aires - 2004)

Argentina is the largest Spanish-speaking country in South America (Pop. 40,000,000).

Buenos Aires is one of the largest cities in the world with 13 million people living in the metropolitan area.

Approximately 90% of the population is Roman Catholic. Only 20% of these practice their faith.

Because Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere it’s hot at Christmas and freezing in July.

Buenos Aires and Washington, DC are the same distance from the equator and have similar weather.

A phonetic study conducted by the University of Toronto showed that the accent of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires is closer to the Neapolitan dialect of Italian than any other spoken language. This gives creedance to the common saying, “Argentina is a nation of Italians that speak Spanish.”

"I feel liberated"

2008-01-26T13:52:00.000-06:00

click pics to see big version

Instead of telling what we thought about Roots "experiential learning" conference in Costa Rica, we'll let you read some of the feedback from the participants (translated from Spanish):

This has been an experience of spiritual refreshment, where I could rest and work through some issues that have been affecting my life. It renewed my vision and gave me new energy.

Completely exceeded my expectations! It was a unique experience in my career of faith and ministry. I felt accompanied, motivated and valued as I learned from and enjoyed each activity. What I think is most valuable is that all this wasn't manufactured as part of the program, but was made possible through the atmosphere of authenticity of each team member and the nature of Christ formed in them. Thank you for being models worthy of following.

This experience has affected me so much that I can't even begin to imagine the impact it will have. Being here was an oasis. My vision has broadened thanks to what we did "building knowledge together," hearing other's testimonies and life experiences, and making new friends.

This was a simple experience, in the sense that it was how I imagine Jesus ministering in the everyday, yet it was profound. It has allowed me to reassess some paradigms that have governed my life and ministry. I feel liberated and empowered to continue to serve as a tool in God's hands for the salvation of our world.

I am leaving with the commitment (and prayer) to understand, internalize, live and share the following: to raise up leadership who understand the full orbed implications of salvation and model holistic spirituality which leads them to implement holistic discipleship, for the glory of God.

Everything was excellent! I want you to know that washing the tired feet of these youth leaders will have repercussions on work with youth around the world.