Be Different!

Summer 2011:
This summer, I will be working with Youthworks!  as a site director in Caguas, Puerto Rico.  I'll get into the details of what that means in a moment, but let me give you some basics first. 

My mailing address:
Catacumbas
Attn: Daniel Unekis, Youthworks!
PO Box 9027
Caguas, Puerto Rico 00726

Cell phone:
I should be able to text and call on the island, but reception will be poor.  Text is much more reliable and inexpensive, so feel free to shoot one my way anytime!
712-470-3691.

E-mail:
danunekis@gmail.com

Common questions:

How is Puerto Rico classified?  Since 1952, Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth of the United States.  It has a unique cultural aspect to it in that it is a Hispanic culture, but has huge influence from the US. 

Where is Caguas?  Caguas is a city to the south of the capital of San Juan.

What language do they speak?   Spanish.

Can you drink the water?  Yes.  Unlike almost every Central American country I have been to, the water is Puerto Rico is safe to drink

Is USD acceptable currency?  Yes.  Puerto Rico uses the US dollar as well.

What is the food like? Similar in selection to other Caribbean/central American countries, but less spicy—it's very flavorful. 

What is the weather like?  Hot. Hot, and humid.  Very anti-Daniel.  I have been checking the weather frequently over the last 2 weeks and the highs have not come below 88.  The heat index is almost always a full 8-10 degrees warmer than the high.


Definitions/places/people

Youthworks- A non-profit organization headquartered in Mineeapolis, Minnesota.  Their main focus is providing life-changing, short term mission trips for youth.  Currently, Youthworks has over 75 sites across the United States, with 3 in Canada and 2 in Puerto Rico.  The ~350 summer staff workers (4 at each site) will serve over 36,000 youth and adult leader participants this summer.  This makes Youthworks the largest missions organization in the United States by a long shot (in regards to number of participants). 
Be Different!- This is the theme for the summer at youthworks.  The theme verse is found inLuke 6:27-28

Site Director- The person in charge of any given site.  All Youthworks sites have one, no exceptions.  They are almost always at least 22 (college-graduate age), and are the direct supervisor of everything that happens on a site.  Main responsibilities include meeting daily with all adult leaders on site, meeting daily with site staff, all paper work and logistics, direct and hands on leadership, finances, supporting site through weekly 1x1 meetings, etc.

Site Staff: the other 3 staff that work alongside of the site director to maintain the site and keep things running.  There are up to 6 different titles of site staff.  My site includes a program staff, a service coordinator, and a kids club staff.

Program staff- The staff member in charge of running club each night, as well as organizing all evening activities.

    Club- a 55 minute, theme-focused, interactive lesson each night which involves skits, singing, a personal story/talk, and Scripture.
   
    Evening Activities- Monday through Thursday, we will take the youth to an activity for either recreation, education, or engaging in the local culture of where they are serving.  My sites activities include going to a beach, joining the church that hosts us for a worship service, getting ice cream at the plaza, and having a community cook out.

Gabe Blanchard is my program staff.  He is from North Carolina.  He recently returned to the United States from a 7 month stay in Argentina.  Is the youngest member of our team at 19.

Service Coordinator-  In charge of coordinating all of the different ministries and organizations that we will serve with throughout the course of the summer.  Some of ours include the salvation army, hanging out with a group of kids at a club called Jardines, and working with another local church in construction or painting.

 Maria Bueno is the service coordinator.  She is from Miami, Florida.  She just graduated from Florida International University with a degree in Political Science.  She wants to continue to law school in teh future.  She moved to the United States from Colombia about 10 years ago.  She is the oldest member of our team (only a few weeks older than I am).  She is a native Spanish speaker.

Kids Club Staff-  Kids club staff oversees the daily operation of kids club.  In Caguas, kids club is significantly larger than almost every other Youthworks site.  We have been told to expect at least 100 kids on any given week.

Marilyn Lopez is my Kids club staff.  She just graduated from Simpson University in Northern California, and lives in Southern California.  Her degree was in Cross Cultural studies and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL).  Her father is Mexican and her mother is Puerto Rican.  Marilyn's first language was Spanish.  

Area Director-  Each area director oversees approximately 3 different sites.  They are most directly concerned with connecting with the site directors.  They are the site directors immediate supervisor and help should anything come up (which, it will)

Becky Fuller is my area director.  She is absolutely incredible at her job.  She has been with youthworks in some position or another for 6 years.  She will spend appx 2/3 of the summer on the island at either my site or the other site in PR.


Regional Director- Youthworks is divided into 4 major regions:  West, Mid States, Northeast, and Southeast.  For organizational and training purposes,  Puerto Rico is counted in the Mid states region.  The Regional director is the supervisor of all area directors within their region (appx. 87).


Ramp- The one week training I am currently at.  I am training iwth all 90 staff from the mid-states.  Our area directors and other full-time employees of youthworks are running the training sessions.  We start at 6:45 AM each day and aim to finish at 11:00 PM.  If that sounds like a long day, don't worry.  We get a 15 minute break :)


Other Info
I am (as always) running out of time, so I will finish this report quickly with what the next 24 hours hold.
6:00 PM -10:30 PM.           Training
10:30 PM - 4:30 AM           Sleep
5:00 AM                              Depart for Minneapolis airport
7:00 AM                              Flight leaves
10:00 AM ish                      Layover in Atlanta
2:30 PM ish                         Land in San Juan, Puerto Rico
4:30 PM ish                         Leave San Juan in our rented minivan to travel to Caguas
5:30 PM ish                         Arrive at our site and go to youth group at the church

Please pray for us through this stressful, sleep deprived time in our lives :)