I’ve been reading Judges recently.  It’s one of my favorite books.  There’s so much visceral “rawness” to the story-telling.  Something really struck me as I was reading the other night.  I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of the “warrior-priest”.  It’s a peculiarly Western idea that the two must be separated - that the pursuits of men of the cloth and men of the sword are mutually exclusive and incompatible.  The Buddhist Shaolin monks of China are perhaps the most well-known example in the West that the East holds no such conviction.  As I was reading, I was reminded that this book is not a Western book.  The judges that God raised up to deliver Israel from the hands of her oppressors fit neatly into this category.  From Ehud’s dagger to Sampson’s brute strength, the stories of their conquests are bloody and merciless.  At the same time, these were all men who gave glory to God for the deliverance, who led the Israelites with grace and wisdom during times of peace, and who stood between God and the people in a role that not only foretold the arrivals of the prophets, but of Christ himself.  It also occured to me that perhaps this is a much better picture for what God expects of men in regard to masculinity than what either the traditional evangelical church or Mr. Eldredge have to offer.  Not hatin’, just sayin’.

I really thought my last job was the best job in the world.  I worked for myself for the three years before moving to Ecuador.  There were many nights that I was still working at 12:30 in the morning, but I could always sleep in until about 10:00 if I wanted.  I joked often that the dress code for my job was “boxers” and that while I thoroughly loathed my boss, my wife seemed to have a thing for him.  Many days I would take a shower as early as 3:00 p.m., whether I needed it or not. As most of you know, the plan was to continue on with the business once we moved to Ecuador.  Most of you also know that didn’t happen.  Most of you also know that I landed a job at the same school where Rachel is hired as school counselor.  I thought I’d tell you a little more about the job.

I teach three classes: Design and Digital Media (which covers design principles, digital photography, photoshop, basic html and other web-authoring applications), Video (digital video and editing), and Yearbook (which is a ton of work, but pretty self-explanatory).

I also serve as the school’s primary resource for graphic design needs.  In that capacity, I also am a part of the Public Affairs Team at Alliance, which is an oversight/planning committee for everything that the school puts out that ends up in the public eye.  One of the big projects for the coming semester is planning the school’s 80th anniversary celebration.

During the second semester of the coming year, it’s looking like I’ll have some additional teaching responsibilities.  One of the other teachers plans to be out due to pregnancy, and I’ll be covering a couple of middle school basic computer skills classes for her.

That’s all in addition to being recently named webmaster for a significant website changeover that AAI has planned for first semester.  Everything’s being changed over to a content management system that will allow for department heads and others with the need to access the site to be granted control over specific areas for editing.  I’m worried about what that will look like, as those who will be given access have skill levels that range from “I’m not sure where to plug my printer in” and up.

All that to say that this next year is going to be very, very busy for me.  The responsibilities are right down my alley, but there’s a fine line between knowing something well enough to do it and knowing it well enough to teach it.  I’m a little nervous, but am sure I’ll settle into a groove sooner or later.

One of the new AAI families that just got to Quito stayed with us for a while yesterday and last night, while their place was being fumigated. Ben Tuten will be teaching 6th grade math & science, and Mari Hernandez-Tuten will be working with Rachel in the counseling department. Ben’s about as white as me (howbeit significantly taller), but Mari’s Mexican/Puerto Rican.

The first day we hung out with them, we went to one of our favorite local eateries, and I overheard Mari ordering in Spanish. I seriously almost cried. I don’t know that I could have identified a Mexican accent before, but having lived in Quito almost a year it stood way out. It made me realize just how much I miss Mexican culture.

Rachel and I lived in the “Little Mexico” section of Kansas City before moving here, and loved it. So many wonderful restaurants, so many passionate people. Our grocery store didn’t have a Mexican food section, it had Mexican food in every section. (Mexican cereal in with the cereal aisle, amazing pepper selections in the produce aisles, and even a super-dark, Mexican coffee you could always find in the coffee aisle.) We really loved it.

Rachel has always been a huge fan of latino culture, and I was quickly on my way. I think that there was an assumption in the back of my mind that the culture in Ecuador would have some overlap. Other than the base language, I was really wrong. Andean culture, at least in Quito, is very cold, distant, and reserved. People don’t really talk to each other on the streets. There’s a very developed sense of the proper way to do things, and what people will think if you don’t measure up. You can know someone for years before getting an invite to their house for dinner.

All that to say that there are aspects of Mexican culture that I really, really miss … and I’m so glad the Tutens are here.

I got the chance to accompany a group from the Samaritan’s Purse office in Quito on a trip this past weekend.  We traveled by bus to Babahoyo, a city in the Los Rios province of Ecuador.  Samaritan’s Purse had done a lot of work in the area earlier in the year, when much of the province was ravaged by flooding, and wanted to throw a party for the city to celebrate their coming together and overcoming.  The event took the form of a 4.5 hour concert in a bandshell down on the riverwalk, and my buddy Jeff (the assistant country director for SP) asked if I’d come along and capture it photographically.  It was my first opportunity to take pictures of a night-time event like that and it was a great experience.  Hope you enjoy them.