It All Started With Georgia Football

This year, same as last, the Youth and volunteer adults worked concessions at the UGA home football games.  This has been a solid revenue source for the youth in the past. 

Adults volunteered for each game of the season and I was required to only work one game - the last game of the season. By the way, thank you to all of our volunteers - Dwayne, Mickey, Megan, Gregarian, and Amanda!  Great work!

Back to the last game. It was rough. It was so cold that our drink dispenser began having issues as the gates opened for the fans to get in. We continued to have issues through the second quarter, when the motor finally gave up the ghost.  

Despite my frustration with being literally out of business before half time, it was a great experience!  The two young ladies I worked with were awesome, our supervisor was a hoot, and despite hypothermia (lol), it was good. We made almost thirty dollars just in tips!

I asked the girls what they wanted to do with the tip money and after presenting their ideas to the group as a whole the following Sunday, they decided to sponsor a meal for a needy family for Christmas.  After consulting with Saundra Arnold-Smith, our local elementary school counselor (and church friend), she agreed to find us a family. 

A couple of Sunday nights later, I took the Youth to Wal-Mart to do the shopping.  As we walked into the store, one of the kids turned around and handed me $15. Then another and another. By the time we started shopping, I anticipated we had enough money to buy food for two families.  Let me make a point here that this was out of the ordinary!  Most of our kids do not have money readily available and those that do are very particular about using it. 

So we shopped. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese, green beans, cookies and tons of other things... Then we went back to get breakfast foods like oatmeal, applesauce, pop tarts and then lunch foods - to which, ramen noodles were a requirement.  We got to the register and had money left over, so we bought more stuff.  We ended up purchasing enough food to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for a family with eight children from Ethiopia. 

As I sat on a bench waiting with the kids as a parent was due to arrive, I saw two of my youth turn around and walk quickly toward the opposite exit. I wasn't sure if they were making a run for it or what!  As I watched them, they went over to an older gentleman in an electric cart, said a few words, and then began pushing the older gentleman in the cart.  I watched in amazement as the man smiled and laughed with these two young men as they pushed him to the exit.  

When they returned, I asked "what was that about?"  One explained that the man's cart had run out of juice and he was trying to sit on it and push it with his feet. "He needed our help" the other explained.  I smiled and told them that I was proud of them for not only the act they performed, but for being alert enough to notice the man.  This wasn't something I asked them to do or prompted them to do in any way. It was all them. And for that brief moment, they were literally the hands and feet of Christ.  Good stuff. 

New Beginnings

While several people have encouraged me to begin writing down some of the happenings with our Youth at CUMC, I have been hesitant to do so for a couple of reasons. First, and yes, it's a confidence thing - I am not the best writer.  While I can write music / songs, I don't feel confident in writing stories.  I'm going to get over myself for the greater good. Secondly, and most importantly, I don't want the Youth to be embarrassed or feel that I am revealing anything that they would not want revealed about our time together.  Similar to the old Vegas motto, we say "what happens at youth, stays at youth."  I'm walking a fine line, but I feel certain that I can share without violating that trust.

It boiled down to this - despite the fears and concerns, others need to be a part of those things that amaze and remind us of how incredible our Youth truly are.  There are times when the only word that can describe how I feel in witnessing the growth of these kids is 'overwhelmed'.  That needs to be shared.  So, today is the day for a new beginning.

This past Sunday, we had seven in Sunday School.  The lesson that I had planned was a simple one - to discuss how Jesus changed up His message based on who he was talking to.  For example, for some, He might speak in parables while to others, Jesus was very direct with His teaching.  I used this lesson to set up the opportunity to reflect on the highs and lows of the past year, as well as how we needed to change our message moving forward to meet their needs as well as help them to grow.

I will admit that I wasn't sure how it would be received.  There were probably twenty well-spaced pieces of paper on the wall allowing each youth to mill around, read the questions, and determine their answers. Some of the responses were funny while others were very intuitive.  To give a small sample, I asked them to share what the most memorable part about the year was. Every single response dealt with the ministries we undertook this year such as visiting Safe Harbor Children's Home, Our Daily Bread and Laundry Love.  Not one mention of the trips taken or games played - it was all about ministering to others.

When asked what they would like to do more of this year, again, it was about taking more active roles in ministry.  Don't get me wrong, there were other things, such as 'more games', but overall, the responses were ministry-minded.  I did ask for their perspective on the positive things from the year, and one response that resonated with me was that "the Youth group grew in numbers."  I, too, am grateful for that.  There were also questions about opportunities to improve and someone might have written "less ADDness"...  But I digress.

Through this discussion, we began to talk about the anticipated Summer trip to Peru, and I broke the news that we would not be going, as the fundraisers to raise money had not been as effective as anticipated. I was asked more pointed questions about the cost, and I estimated that with all of the Youth and chaperones, the trip would probably cost in the neighborhood of $20 thousand dollars.  In that moment, one of the Youth looked at me and exclaimed "do you know how many people we could help HERE with twenty thousand dollars?!?!?!"

They get it.