New. Loving. Soccer. Stretch. Sacred. Kindness. Community. Holy Spirit. 6-7. Communication. Bravery. God. Love. Compassion. Gratitude.

Three words to describe an experience. 

This is what I asked the team who traveled to El Salvador to write on a little whiteboard on the table in front of them, when we returned to camp. 

The list they gave to describe the trip could have just as easily been the words they used to describe Johnsonburg.

Then I asked them to share moments or stories to illustrate those words. Here’s what I heard. 

Playing soccer with children and youth who speak a different language breaks barriers. 

Forming relationships with people who live in another country, another town, another type of housing is eye-opening and provides a new perspective. 

Love is helping someone carry heavy luggage or delivering purified water to an elementary school. 

Sacred time is listening to someone pray for you - in a language you may not understand. 

Compassion is giving away your new camp hat to a middle schooler or handing your soccer ball to a young kid who is so excited to receive a gift. 

New is embracing culture and food that is outside your comfort zone. 

Bravery is attempting to speak Spanish with strangers. 

Gratitude for eating food lovingly prepared by our hosts and the beauty of a hike up the Santa Ana volcano. 

Stretched by heat, tired bodies, delayed flights, new foods, lots of Spanish, and tight bus rides. 

Kindness was experienced through the consistent politeness of the youth at the church. 

There is more-- more words and more stories but this gives you a taste of the value of this experience. 

Now what? 

They- the group who said yes to this experience- will consider how God is calling them…. To what God might be calling them. On Dia Cinco of the experience, during the sermon in worship that morning, we heard Isaiah say “Here I am, send me” in response to God. 

Maybe one will say "send me!" to work abroad and return to Central America- maybe El Salvador. 

Maybe one will say "send me!"   to work as a translator and help with Living Waters for the World and bring clean water to a new community who desperately needs it. 

Maybe one will say "send me!"   to be a teacher and love God's little children and open their minds to other cultures and teach them to be tolerant of differences. 

Maybe one will say "send me!"  as an engineer and stretch across borders to help other communities in need. 

Maybe one will say “send me!” as a volunteer who learns how to build sustainable water purification systems and takes a Living Waters for the World team to help another community. 

But whatever they do, the core values of Johnsonburg, which were embodied in this experience, will surely live on with each of them. 

Joyful Belonging. 

Boldly Becoming.

Unapologetically Authentic.

Relationally Rooted.

Guardians of Creation. 

Because we know that the values we hold true at Johnsonburg will be the values they carry out into the world.