NH retreat-- day 2

the night ended great last night. we had a campfire and made smores with these giant marshmallows. it was so much fun. then we played with sticks in the fire trying to make ghetto fireworks. it was hilarious. we sang a bit--Manny playing the guitar--and laughed so much that it looks we were high other than the tons of sugar intake from the marshmallows and chocolate.

i got to spend some time with this guy from church. he's very quiet and reserved but once we got talking the conversation was so interesting. he had done some stage design for my program's youth rally last year but I didn't get a chance to connect with him becauce I delegated that to one of my colleagues and she was the one to communicate with him on that. I was surprise when we started talking because I didn't know he was such an interesting guy. he's an artist; he does painting and graffitti. he is also an electrician and is interested in physics, science, astronomy, etc. plus, he has very insightful comments when it comes to theology. the conversation was so engaging and stimulating that i found myself thinking, "wow, this guy is really cool and i wasn't aware of all that he has to share." i had talked with him about art and such but never more than 5 minutes and in collective conversation. it was crazy. he had spent the whole day quiet. the whole day. we were having all these engaging phylosophical discussions and he had been quiet all day. then we started talking about a particular point while at he campfire. we were talking about religion and art, and things and then quantum physics and the Large Hadron Collider that they've built in Europe. it was so awesome to listen to him and learn about things. he also shared some jokes in the process and made fun of my corny jokes. it was pretty neat. we talked for a long time and after most people had left we decided to head back and proceeded to talk more about Cain & Abel and God's punishment to Cain and the implications of that for us as we engage with God. it was really cool. i mentioned to Sonia how I didn't know he was that cool. i hope i get a chance to converse with him again. it was a very intellectually stimulating chat with such variety, depth and passion. i was pleasantly surprised. i would have never thought that behind that curtain of silence hid such an intriguing human being. hmmm...

before the campfire i had a very in-depth conversation with a friend. it crazy how things develop but i ended up sharing with her how i view her behavior and actions. i feel that my words were full of care and love for her but also full of clarity and discipline. i see this friend extremely burdened by what people say about her. her whole world revolves around meeting standards that are not even her own. i see her wrestle with that and in turn not allow for her to grow as the person that she could be. she has so much potential but yet is enveloped by this fear that prevents her from reaching her fullest potential. it was a charged conversation but a positive one. i was able to see where she is coming from and confirm many of my thoughts about her behavior. i also feel that she is very inwardly focused and that is something that is pushing people away as she tries to overcompensate for other things that she is "restricted" from. it was intersting. but i really hope that she can slowly but surely start to take hold of her identity and live freely. i can't wait to see what the amazing woman she'll become once she does that.

it was a great weekend indeed...