Youth Group

I don't know that I've ever written anything about working with the youth group in Santa Rosa.. Well, other than the service projects at the hospital.. and the mission trip..

Scratch that. It's been a while since I've written anything about working with the youth group here in Santa Rosa. Basically since I moved here I've been serving as part of the leadership committee for the youth group at our church here. 

I think it's safe to say that I am easily the least useful team member for several reasons:

1. At first I was really too shy with my Spanish to speak up in meetings.
2. I do not understand things like the "dinamicas" (games) that we play. File that one under "cultural differences."
3. Everyone else on the committee does a fantastic job, so their greatness with the teens is hard to live up to! This is not sarcastic.

Here are reasons that I am proud to be considered a part of the leadership committee:

1. The other leaders. In the time that I've been here, the size of our youth group has at LEAST doubled, and if you count the youth groups of churches in our area, tripled or more. This, again, has NOTHING to do with me, but God is truly working through the other leaders and through the teens themselves. My co-workers for the mission (Jon/Stacy, Angel/Rosa and the DESEO team) have truly devoted themselves to the teens that we meet and work with, and in a society of kids that are looking for adults that care, they have truly found a handful in this leadership. 
2. These teenagers are amazing little humans (though, yes, mostly bigger than me). They are here because they want to be, almost never because their parents drag them. Most of them don't have family in the church at all. They invite friends, and they come to participate. The more I chaperone and interact with them, the prouder I am of each of them. 
3. You already know the stereotypical "spiel" about youth being the future, etc, so I won't repeat it. That spiel is true, however, and in this case I am glad that it is. This is true for all of them, but especially the young men are learning how to be leaders in the church. They attend the seminars the mission puts on and are participating in Bible studies, they are learning to speak in front of the church and even preach, but most importantly they're learning what it means to live a Christian life all the time.

I started writing this post with the intention of writing about a specific activity we had recently but got sidetracked....Imagine that. I will say that this particular group has seemed to find a really great blend of fun and serious moments. I think, and hopefully it's true, that within this group they are learning the importance of giving back to their community, to learn how to truly have a relationship with God, and how to have a fun and fulfilling life as a Christian instead of learning only the ways of fun presented by the world.

I think being part of a youth group can help establish a Christian walk early because being part of a youth group when I was a teenager is partly responsible for my faith now. I'm extremely glad to have a chance to participate from this side of the youth group now, and I am more than happy to be "the weird gringa" that is getting to know them and occasionally giving unwarranted life advice, whether they like it or not!

VCOM October

Last week, VCOM's South Carolina campus was here for a medical brigade. As always, it was an interesting and busy week.

Let me start by saying that I was a little sleep deprived going into it because my wonderful parents flew me home so I could go to my cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding for a beautiful cousin (and a really great addition to the family), and I could not have had a better weekend with everyone. Thanks, Padres, for the tickets! It was a blast and I would have been so sad to miss that family event!

Back to VCOM. Last week was one of "those weeks" for us on the mission side of the trip. Between sick doctors, missing translators, schedule changes and one very bizarre hospital tour experience, the week constantly seemed to have reasons to take a turn for the worse. However, God is good and faithful, and He pulled off yet another success that had nothing to do with me or anyone else involved. 

We spent the first 3 days going to a different village each day, which were 3 that we attended with July's group from the Virginia campus. They are each 1-2+ hours from Santa Rosa which makes for a lot of bus time, but also means that the people we are see are incredibly grateful to have a brigade in town. It is always amazing to hear the expressions of gratitude and to watch as a new set of students develops an even deeper love for serving their fellow humans.

We spent the next couple of days around Santa Rosa seeing children from one of the local orphanages, touring the hospital, and spending time in the nursing home visiting with the residents.

These students (as they almost always do) impressed me with their love for people and ability to jump in and build relationships, even when they can't communicate. I'm sure I will be reminded of this group's lively personality every time I go to the orphanage and hear them talk about performing with "Justin Bieber."