First Youth Group

Last night was success. We didn't know what to expect. We had attempted to get the word out, but you still never know. It ended up that they started showing up to the church at a little after 6:30pm.

At first, all the kids were quiet and reserved. I have seen this before. Everyone comes into a new situation with reservations. Questions are floating around in their heads. "Is this going to be lame?" "Will I be bored?" "Are they going to embarrass me?" Except this time, they were thinking it in Spanish. I usually would go up to those kids and talk to them and get to know their names. But I didn't feel that comfortable this time. Instead, I did my best to interact, throwing the football and playing soccer. But there still was a communication barrier as well as all the other stuff going on.

So we started playing the first game. Tying balloons onto people's legs. This got some of them into it. Still, some people were on the sidelines.

So we attempted another game. The chair game. A game that I have never seen fail. We get people in a circle and make people find other chairs. It was then that we saw the walls come tumbling down. All of a sudden, everyone had smiles on their faces. Laughing. Getting along. Getting excited.

We finished with another game and played four songs in Spanish. Then I said a few words about how Jesus stands at the door and knocks....waiting to be invited into our lives. Elio translated for me. Then we prayed and let them go.

Afterwards, our leaders were pumped up. We were so excited that all of our concerns and fears were over, and that the first one was a success.

It is fun to be a part of what God is doing here. This took a lot of time, a lot of prayer, and a lot of nervous sweating. But we are now a step closer to where we want to be.