I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey! I missed ya'll sooooooo much! Ya'll so kind to me! Feelin' loved by all'y all! Send me hugs and kisses! I'm sending them to you! XOXOXOX!!!!

Camp (summing up)

Today was the last day of camp I said good bye to many a new friend that I made this made this week. I learned a lot from camp and was able to do more than I had hoped. I went in not knowing quite what my job would be or how much I would be able to do. I ended up being the co-videographer this means I got to film,edit,and anything else we might have needed as far as multimedia goes. One of my jobs in particular was making a movie that would be showed to the youth right after the gospel was explained. It was not easy, I had to mix the kids having fun and being... well kids with the Jesus film. What would seem like opposites ended up working out together to be a short video that showed Jesus on a relateable level. I know that God's hand was in the making of it because I can never get the sentimental stuff to work out well. But this did, I saw kids hugging and crying together and grown men falling on their knees. It was truly amazing to see God work through our team in such a meaningful way.
I absolutely loved camp and think that it was a amazing growing experience where I was able to help out in a way needed but also learn a lot myself.
I think there is going to be a sort of party when I get back. You are all invited and if you come you will be able to see some of the work I've been doing. Right now I am getting ready once more for a much needed sleep, I was up till 4:00 last night finishing some video stuff for the DVD we gave to each camper. I only have 4 days left and as much as I can't wait to get home and see you all I know I'll miss Spain and everyone here. God has been so good to me and this trip has been amazing.
Thank you all for keeping up with this I can't wait to tell you all sorts of stories soon as I get back.

Day 1-3 of YL camp

Camp is going well. I have been having a great time hanging out with the staff and campers. Today was the third day of camp. The last week was all setup. I have already done a lot of video work with Alex and am glad that he’s letting me do so much. I have a lot of jobs but I still find time for fun. It has really been a great learning experience. Here are a few things I have learned: Sometimes biking as hard as you can so that you can get ahead of the group to film can result in you losing your lunch or breakfast in my case, that when someone drawls a mustache on a picture of me I look a lot like a Spanish TV character I that makes everyone laugh, that being 1/4 Basque can help one relate to the staff and campers it is also the butt of a lot of jokes, and last but not least, fences here are electrified and one should never ever grab them when trying to get a bike or other metal object past (this may have contributed to me throwing up). Well it has been an amazing and electric 1^st couple of days I hope I can get this to you all soon and can’t wait for what tomorrow will bring,

Alec

Off I go

Today I leave for camp. for about two and a half weeks. I do not know if I can get internet there so this might be my last post for a while. I will be helping Alex and David, two of Young Life's teck guys. This could be anything from filming and editing to holding bags. Whatever they need done I do. We are sort of calling it as we go when it comes to my job. I'm not quite sure what to expect but what ever I am doing please pray that I can do it, and do it well. Jonathan has been working hard to make sure everything is going smoothly and that the campers will have fun. Camp ends the 16th.
Hopefully I can update before that,
Alec

More Pics!

Here are some more pictures of my time in France.
Also I do not know If I will have an internet connection at the camp so you might not here from me for a while. Camp starts this Monday. No news on my lost bag. Looks like I'll just have to go shopping again.

Lossing it.

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I lost it!!! I lost ALL of it!! Grrrr. Ok… cool down. *Whew* Alright. So right now you’re thinking what did he do this time? Well I’ll tell you. I was on my way back to Spain from France by way of train, which was going well. I made all my connections and managed fine. I did get worried on the last leg of my trip, I was in the 2^nd to last car and couldn’t see the names of the any stations we came to, so I got a little nervous when I arrived at what I thought was Girona I had to get my main bag from the over head compartment I had to use two hands to do this and so I put down the one thing that wasn’t attached to me… my “goodies” bag. Then I went to the door and got off the train with my one bag. I was so happy to find that I was in Girona and not lost that I forgot about my other bag and left it on my seat. I said hola to the Banegas family and got in the car, we started to drive away, about 3 minutes after getting into the car it hit me. I left all my gifts on the train. Thank the Lord that I didn’t put anything important in that bag. I did almost put my camera in it but didn’t (Thank you Lord).

We are trying to see if anyone found it but there is nothing in it that says my name or any other contact details, but we are going to call and ask anyways.

This is everything I wrote on the train before I lost my bag:

I had a great time with David and Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard. They were great hosts and made me feel right at home. I got to see a lot of Paris, everything from the sewers and catacombs, to the tops of the Arc De Triumph and the Eifel Tower. (Yes Anna I did get pictures.) As I said before I had an awesome time with the MKs in Austria, and think that they encouraged me as much as I did them.

I am looking forward to this last part of my trip and hope I can be a big help to Alex (the film guy who’s working with Jonathan) and to Jonathan. Please keep praying for me and for my time here, also pray that I might find that bag.

I always need your prays and am very thankful for them.

As always,

Alec

I'm back

Hey,
I just got back from Austria! In case you do not know what I was doing, the Blanchards had to attend a TEAM France missions conference at a castle in Austria. David and I hung out with the youth and had our own teaching time with leaders who came just to teach the missionary kids. I found out a lot about the MKs, and I say "MKs" with hesitance because one of the things I got out of this trip was that "MKs" are just like any other kid you might meet and just because they are in another culture doesn't mean that they are not Americans or French. One of the hard parts of being a MK is that you are put into a box and made to feel like you do not belong in any culture, because the French call them American and Americans call them "MKs" or third culture kids instead of just treating them like everyone else. But at the same time some of the youth say that they like to be called MKs and that it makes them unique, mostly because they are, not a lot of youth have lived in two country's and know what other cultures are like. I guess what I want to get across is that MKs are just like me or you but with more cultural experience.
I was also able to get some more filming/editing practice because all the youth made a movie, slide show, and a song. I think it was a good experience and will help me be able to communicate with the children of our CBC missionaries.
I have some pic's of the conference. I know it looks like I was just having fun. But that s mostly because I was. It was a great time to make friends and fellowship with David and the other youth. Thank you for waiting for this post I couldn't get internet without paying for it in Austria so I waited till now.
PS. I did not have to wear a speedo in Austria only in France. So no pictures for you. ;)

To close

Hey, I'm still in France and am having a good time with David.
I had a little bit of a scare the other day. I was doing some computer stuff with David when I had a fatal software error. My computer shut down and whenever I turned it on as soon as the start up screen would load, it would shut down again. So David and I worked almost all Saturday trying to fix it. We eventually were able to start the computer using Linux. From there we could back up any needed files. We could then wipe my hard-drive. All we had left to do was re-install everything on my computer. Well I hope that we don't have any more problems and that we can enjoy the conference that starts this Tuesday. I might have to get a speedo or the French will not let me swim.
Thank you for your prayers,
Alec

I am now in France with David. I Didn't have any trouble at the airport.
I did type up a big long message telling you all about last week but right before I was finished I hit a wrong button and lost the whole thing! So I will type it again later.

DVD

I just finished the 1st week's DVD. I (and everyone else) am quite pleased with it. The only thing that we do not like about it was the fact that one of the three videos has some pixilation problems. Today, I will be trying to fix this with one of Jonathan's friends who is studying film in college. The next week will be even more fast-paced than last week! I have three days to do what previously took me one week. So I everything I did last week for the first DVD I have to do again, but in three days!! I will need your prayers this week more than ever.
As always thank you for wanting to know what I am doing.

Work.

I just finished the DVD labels and thought I'd take a break and tell you whats what.
It is 6:54 and I have stopped working only once and that was for lunch.
I guess this makes up for the 1st week. The 1st two days of filming have gone well, my only qualm is that things are moving much faster than I would like. As you know I have to film and edit the video each day, which is fine, but it can be hard to edit at times because I only have parts of the whole video. I also found out today that I will have to make three DVDs instead of two. (One for each week.) I would explain why but it is very confusing, I don't think I quite understand it myself.
Thank you for your prays. I please keep praying that I would not worry about it and just do what needs to be done. It can be a little overwhelming to think that this whole thing depends on me and whether or not I get this done in time. That's all for now. Back to work! *whew*

Soccer, Soccer and more Soccer!

ESPANA! Or Spain as we call it in the US, just won the world soccer cup! And I just got done washing out my mohawk that I did just for this occasion (note: I did not shave my head I just spiked it.) I will post pictures later.
Monday will be my 1st day of filming the soccer camp. It will be a challenge because not only will I have to take and capture (download) it, but I will also have to edit as much as I can each day. I will be needing your prayers very much. Pray that I will have an eye to catch what I need each day. Also pray that I could get a good sleep, I have been waking up several times each night.

Pictures!

Just some pictures I've taken. All of these and from "Saint johns eve" a big holy day here, celebrating the start of summer.
This is Judith and her Uncle.^
(From left to right) Jonathan, Jonathan's brother-in-law,Dad, and Mom
Mrs. Banegas cooking the shrip.
Most of the Banegas' and the young life staff

Mr. Banegas
Yum!

Me with a shrimp.Me after the shrimp


Litia
(From left to right) Mrs. Banegas Noemi,Judith,Litia,Jonathan.

Change of plans.

Ummm... Well...you see...


...THE 1st SOCCER CAMP WAS CANCELED!!!

Jonathan and I did not know that when the basketball camp was canceled, so was the 1st soccer camp.
So there are no camps this week. But the 2nd soccer camp will still be running next week. This all happened because when Jonathan asked questions about me filming, the people who run the base store (you can find their website in an earlier post) thought he was talking about next week. So there was a lack of communication on the part of the soccer camp in not telling Jonathan that the 1st camp was canceled. All in all, this means that I will have more time to make the DVD menu and to learn some more Spanish. I am trying very hard to lean the language and can have a conversion-ish thing with people, if I can point and say "este es?" and "cómo se de se ___ en espanol?". What I find hard is how you have to use a new word for each situation. I keep having to ask if I say "buen" or "bueno," while in English I would just say "good" for both.
Right now I am getting ready for a sort of holiday. There is going to be a lot of fireworks and we will stay up late having a feista.
Please pray that I would get the sleep I need to function properly. I usually wake up once or twice in a night, and can't fall asleep after I wake up for the second time. This morning I woke up with bags under my eyes. Mrs. Benagas was worried, so I had two small cups of coffee and my hands started shaking. I guess the coffee here is very very strong because at home I have a big cup of coffee each morning and am fine. I will try to get some pictures up latter on. God Bless.

Update

Saturday I went to Universal studios Spain. Yes I did ride some rides and hanged out with the youth, but I also got in some good practice with the camera, and some good practice with my Spanish. Litia and I play a game where I will point at something and ask (in Spanish) "How do you say___ in Spanish" and she would say it and I would repeat it after her, then I would say it in English and she would repeat it. Or we would do the same with her pointing at something and I would try to say it in Spanish and she would try to say it in English.
I went to church with Jonathan today and had a good time there, even I could not under stand it except for a few words I liked it because they do a lot of singing and prayer and then have a shorter sermon. I also met Elaina's parents and found out that they have been to the grand canyon and that they liked it. So when they found out I was from the same place they associated me with it and greeted me warmly. I will most likely start filming tomorrow because Jonathan's in laws are visiting.
Right now I am getting ready for lunch and trying to stop my running nose.
Prayer requests: That I could get over this cold that I have, I can not stop sneezing and have to carry a tissue with me everywhere. Also I still need to learn more Spanish and get used to the great food.

Thank you for keeping up please excuse any tYpose.
(Get it? Never mind.)

Take'n it easy

Today we just relaxed and rested, something I needed very much. I was able to get my hands on some soccer or football as they call it here images to start making the DVD. Right now I am getting ready for bed and a big day tomorrow, Jonathan will be taking a big group of youth to a theme park and I will be coming along to film it, not that it will be made into anything but so I can get used to using the camera before the soccer camps. The camera is a dvx1ooB pictured at the top of this post.
And this is the soccer camps web site (I know it is all in Spanish but it still looks cool eh?) :http://www.base.net/#/nosotros/eventos Please pray that I will have skill in what I will be doing and that I will grow accustom to the food because although it is all good it just goes right through me.

Well I would like to start by telling you that just before I left Remington told me to have as many adventures as I could… I said I would. (This is how I know God has a sense of humor.)

The flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles was fine it was as soon as I got off the plane that the trouble started. The 1^st thing I did was ask someone which gate my flight to London was at and how to get there.

I was told to go down one floor and out to a bus, my flight was in another building. I have had to do this before so I thought it wouldn’t be that hard… then I walked outside, there were about 10 busses at any given time all coming and going every which way. When I finally got the nerve to jump on a bus that I thought would take me to the right place I found that no one else on it was going to London (most of them were on their way to Tahiti) when the bus stopped at the building I was supposed to be at I started fallowing the signs to where my gate was. I then went through the security point, right before I went through the scanner three security personal yelled something and I as well as everyone else were told not to move, after a little while someone yells “All clear!” and everyone acts like nothing had happened.

Then I walk through the scanner…and then I got taken aside. It was my harp, it’s always the harp.

So they check it and ask me if I have anything that could hurt someone in my harp case, I said no and was sent on my way.

As I walked through the halls leading to my gate I noticed a change in the look of the airport, the paint, or lake thereof, was making me wonder if this part of the airport was still open and that I somehow missed a sign telling me otherwise. But I made my way through the construction and at the end (I mean the very end) of the building there were a few chairs and people waiting for the flight to London.

Let’s stop for a second and thank God that I made it that far. But the worst is yet to come.

When I got to London I found the airport was much, much bigger than I could have imagined.

When I was in Phoenix I was told that I would have to pick up my bags in London. So once again the 1^st thing I do is ask someone where to pick up my bags I was then told that I shouldn’t have to pick them up at all and to just go to my next flight but something told me that I would need to get my luggage (if you ask me it was Gods had watching over me) so I decided to get a second opinion. I found the help desk and asked if I needed to get my bags they said yes and (like everyone else) they told me to “Just follow the signs”. Well after going in a circle for a while I noted that the baggage claim was through customs.

Off through customs it was, I got a little paper to fill out with the basic stuff on one side, name, home, age, and so on. On the other side was a lot of information that I had to copy from my passport such as passport #, date of issue, expiration date, you get the idea. When I get up to the customs desk they tell me that I need a parents’ consent but that they would let that go because I was most likely going to miss my flight. Oooook. So I run to the baggage claim where I quickly find my bag, mostly because it is the only one left. Yet again I ask someone how to get to my gate and yet again it is in another building, what are the chances? So I think “ok, this is just like LA I can do this...” but that was one of my biggest mistakes it was not like LA at all, the busses only took you into London. After running up and down asking everyone I met if they knew which bus would take me to terminal and everyone telling me over and over “just follow the signs”. So after a long while I see a sign that says to terminals 1,2,3,4 this is the sign I started to fallow. I found that it did not lead to the busses but to a tram. So I get on the tram and it takes me to terminal two and I find the check in desk and they tell me that my flight is closed…but I could go on the next one in about two hours. Let’s stop and thank God again shall we? After I get done doing just that I call my mom and dad and explain to them what just happened. Eventually I got on my plane and was off. Soon as I get into Spain I through customs and by customs I mean a guy who looks at your passport and grunts, I love Spain the airport was easy to get through even though some of the sign were not in English, I then found Jonathan and went to his house for a much needed sleep.

I am now sitting on the couch typing this up after a much needed shower just as everyone is waking up.

Almost there

Right now I am busy stuffing as much junk as I can into my suitcase before I have to go.
It has been an interesting time trying to get my tickets changed and trying to remember all the Spanish and French I can before the trip. It will be just a little while before I am on my way and I am most thankful for your prayers, I will be needing them especially when I am in transit.
Thank you for wanting to know what the Lord is doing with me this summer.
I will keep updating this as often as I can.

Foot Ball anyone?

There has been a change in plans... The two Basketball camps did not get enough campers and had to be canceled.
Instead I will now be leaving the 18th of this month to make a DVD for a soccer camp. Which I like better because this means I get to be the one doing the all filming and all the editing. But it also means I have no one to blame if anything doesn't work/look right...yieks!


Hopefully I will not end up like this
guy.

Getting there.

Hello! If you are here you have most likely received an e-mail from me telling you about this blog. Thank you for visiting and supporting me with resources and prayers.
Right now I am preparing my stuff and getting ready to go to Spain then France and back again to Spain. Every day there will be a new Spanish word for you (and me) to learn.
I hope this blog is informative and fun.