Spanish is fun. It's a fairly simple language to learn. Unlike English, spanish has hard and fast rules on pronunciation, verb conjugation and grammar usage. One could easily move to a Latin American country and with a minimal amount of effort on the part of an intelligent individual, become proficient in the Spanish langauge in 3 months. Or so I've been told. I've known teenagers who have gone with Teen Mania for 2 month mission trips and come back very close to fluent. It's all about exposure and effort.

When I went to Costa Rica in 2003, I was there for 5 weeks. We had a family team trip for the first week and then I stayed with the pastors in Costa Rica for three weeks, followed by the college team joining me for my last week. During my stay in between the teams arrivals and departures, I spent much time around people who didn't speak a lick of english, one of those being Lucas. Lucas was about 5 feet tall, with short arms and large hands. He was from Peru and he was in Costa Rica to help start a street ministry that he had already established in Peru called Fuego in Las Calles (Fire in the Streets). He had been a street kid and gang member, and upon conversion, God transformed him into a street evangelist. Even though we didn't speak the same language, I admired his passion and heart. He had a lot of fire in him and he could connect with gang members in a heartbeat. It was a miraculous thing to watch him when we went out ministered.  

Being that I understood more spanish than I spoke and Lucas understood and spoke zero english, it was fairly easy to mess with the poor man. We were around the same age and since we were both guests in Pastor Julio and Sylvia's home, we spent much time together. I think Lucas may or may not have developed a crush on me. I don't say that arrogantly, because Latins are so demonstrative in speech and body language that, had Lucas been an American male, I woulda sworn he was infatuated. If anything he may have developed a proximity crush, but I'll never be sure.

Emmanuel did speak english and was forever in my debt because of his skill at translating for me. He liked to pull pranks on Lucas as much as I did. For instance, Lucas was ALWAYS starving and when he ate he put away more food than a man twice his size. Then he would sit back and pat his bloated belly and groan at his gluttony. Emmanuel taught him how to say "I'm full". I conversely told him that he was pronouncing it wrong and it was "I'm a fool." When he got done eating he would say "I'm a fool." and we english speakers would roar with laughter at the accuracy of his inaccuracy.

One Sunday morning while we were on the way to church, Emmanuel decided to have some fun with Lucas. The night before, Emmanuel had taught Lucas how to say "Excuse me." - I think Emmanuel got the impression that Lucas might have a thing for me, because the next morning while Lucas was sitting next to me in the backseat he turned to me and said "Kiss me." I looked at him like he was crazy and Emmanuel started sniggering in the backseat behind us like a little kid who put a snake in his nemesis' lunchbox. Lucas had no idea what he was saying in english, but realizing that it prompted a laugh from Emmanuel, he began to repeat it over and over with a  big grin on his face, "Kiss me! Kiss me! Kiss me!". I began to laugh and blush and I did not want to tell the poor guy that he was saying "Besame!" to me over and over on the Sabbath of all days while we drove to church. Well, his protestations of love soon reached the front seat and the pastor's wife Sylvia, who was well aware of Emmanuel's joking, yelled back at Lucas and told him to stop saying that because he was not asking to be excused, he was telling me to kiss him. The look of abject horror and embarrassment on Lucas' face was a sight to behold. He kept saying he was sorry and Sylvia translated that I knew Manny had tricked him. He was far more subdued for the rest of the day, and that led me to believe that he probably did not have a crush on me as the suggestion of kissing me was terror-inducing.

But it sure makes for a good story.

Hey y'all-

Thanks for being a part of my life. I'm going to Ecuador with Trinity Church for the first two weeks in September. Some of you have asked about donating, so I wanted to post those links

If you are interested in making a donation towards my Ecuador Mission Trip, there are 3 ways. One is tax deductible, and one isn't so please be aware of that. The first one is making a donation through Paypal directly to me, and since I am not a nonprofit organization then I cannot give you tax credit for your donation. The plus side is that it's very fast & simple (if you already have a paypal acct), as well as safe and secure to do online- if you have a Paypal account then it will take you less than 5 minutes.

You can also give directly through my church, which is tax deductible, but it's bit more complicated since it takes about 10 minutes to register and donate. The registration is required so that they can send you your year end giving statement- my church WILL NOT spam you or send you junk in the mail, don't worry. It's secure and safe, and you can designate your funds to go to me on the site. Click logo below:

Lastly, if you are vintage, you can send a check to me, made payable to Frontline(don't put my name anywhere on the check, or you won't get the tax deduction) I'll pass your donation along to the church:

Brooke Wesson's Mission Fund
PO Box 1412
Forney, TX 75126

I'll be sure to share with you all what I learn about Ecuador as I study up on the culture and people, as well as a plethora of photos once I return. Check back on my blog for updates. Thanks for being a part of this latest adventure in my life.

Love,

Brooke

PS - this is one of the songs we'll be learning in spanish. It's a Hillsongs tune called "None But Jesus", or Solo Cristo en espanol. Enjoy!