Say Wha'?

Good googa mooga!! What just hit me? A team from Waynesboro, Virginia.

Last week we were blessed to host a team of seven from the United States of America...or if you would ask one of them where they were from, they'd say,"'Murica". But, "thad ain' nuthin' budda thang", "cusin" Larry was having a "grit time" teaching us Canadians the finer points of the English language. As I admonished the kids not to learn English from these superb, grammatically-challenged folk, Mikee was wagging a finger and telling me he was "gonna' learn me sumpin'". "S'not purdy" trying to translate from English to Spanish when you're just not sure what is being said in your first language. Somehow between shouts of "Good googa mooga" and "Lawd have mercy!", we managed to cross the communication barrier. If you "wan' s'mo" of this fantastic Southern drawl, I will post a few more favourites at the end of this blog.

Arriving on the 30th of June and leaving on the 7th of July, we celebrated both Canada Day and Independance Day together. Canada Day brought fireworks, patriotic cake, maple leaf tatoos, and the faithful flag. Independance Day bore gifts of Tootsie Rolls (pronounced with a long 'o'!), patriotic pins, miniature flags, and smarties (a.k.a. rockets). Quite honestly, I think the red and white kicked some red, white, and blue butt

Our party may have rocked, especially our rendition of the national anthem, but this team broke the mold in other ways. A few days into the construction project, the five men were forced to deal with the varying opinions of several different Bolivian workers regarding their bricklaying. In one day they managed to lay 20 bricks. Each time they set down a row, a man would approach and tell them to rip them out and do it a different way. Needless to say, frustration built faster then the wall they wanted to finish. During lunch, they discussed their situation and decided that they needed to return in humility, clearly stating that they were there to serve.

It was tough to come down with certain expectations and discover that what they expected was quite different from the actual experience. Granted, this is typical of short term mission trips, but this team had character and personality. The authentic presence of God evidenced itself from the way they handled the construction site to the way they loved on our kids.

Adreana, Julie, Jeff, Joe, Mike, "Cousin" Larry, and Dave (Mister America), thanks for coming down and sharing so much of yourselves with us. You brought muscle and memories, you gave laughter and tears, and you left a hole and a longing for more of the same. God bless! Y'all come back now, ya' hear?

Please find Southern US English with accompanying Canadian definitions below.

Glossary

Ain' nuthin' budda thang - It's nothing.
Good googa mooga - Oh my goodness!
Wan' s'mo'? - Would you like some more?
Mum n'dem' were der' - Mom and they were there.
Flash dem coconuts - Show me your muscles.
Where da' ball? - Where is the ball?
Get ou' da doe! - Get out the door!
POE -lice - police.
S'not - It's not.
S'purdy - It's pretty.
Murica - America.
Lemme learn ya' sumpin' - Let me teach you something.
Yer as cuntry as cornbread - no translation.
'Ceptin' I don' use 'em all - Except that I don't use them all...as in they don't use all the consonants.
Slick as snot on a doorknob - no translation.