Youth Week.
What a blast! From bowling to laser tag to being locked-in; we did it all. We even hot glued a sheet to the church and projected a movie: instant outdoor movie. Why had I not heard of this before? Brilliant. The crowd favorite seemed to be our Paint War. As The Doctor would put it, somewhere along the "wibby wobbly, timey wimey" line I got the idea that it might be fun to throw paint on each other. Let's be honest, the inspiration is probably Pinterest related. The important thing is, I was right! Throwing paint on people is the best! You can't help but smile and laugh as you are splattered with vibrant colors. The end result is pretty cool too. Each person is covered with different patterns and color combinations, so artsy. I'm glad I asked my good friend to come photograph the war. She captured the moments we won't want to forget.
Funny story time. I asked one of my good guy friends to help me drive my youth to Lazer Blaze. He works with youth too and likes laser tag, so why not? I knew this might stir up some silliness from the boys in our group and I was right. After all, they've taught me a two week relationship is super serious and guys and girls are never just friends. As we were about to go into our game, one of the boys decided to be funny and point at us and say "You two should date." My response complete with serious face, "We are." My friend nodded in agreement. The look on the boy's face was priceless. I let his jaw stay dropped for five good seconds then said, "Just kidding, but that'd be cool right?" Don't mess. I can take your awkward and make it more awkward.
I love a good game of Ultimate Frisbee. It seems like I hardly ever play anymore so it felt incredible to get two games in during a week. As I ran down the field I yelled, "Feels like college!" In fact, the only time I enjoy running is during Frisbee games. I'm so happy my youth group has found a love for the game.
At our lock-in we focused for a few minutes on taking steps in the direction God wants us to go this year. Looking for opportunities to show his love to others. I had everyone write a letter to their future selves to hold themselves accountable and check in sometime this year. I was surprised at their reaction, no whining or sighs. They seemed happy to write. I'll never know what they said to themselves but I can't wait to mail those letters out in a few days, weeks, months. They'll never know when it'll arrive. I love surprise snail mail.
As I crashed into my bed Saturday morning after the lock-in, I reflected on the week. I happily planned a whole week of lively activities for teenagers. Yes, last minute changes were made and there were even misunderstandings about the rules of "Romans and Christians," but I think I can safely say that everyone learned something. Maybe it was simply a new game, or maybe it was about themselves, each other, or their relationship with God. We had a great time and bonded as a group, that's really all I could have hoped for. This group continues to impress me twice over.
I'm so lucky, 'cause my job totally rules.
-KP
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