Chuck and I just returned from spending the last couple days chaperoning the junior high and senior high local mission project. We stayed at the homes of church members overnight and served at a couple organizations during the day around Glendale and Pasadena. This was my first venture into the world of youth ministry--aside from my own youth ministry experience, I have tried to steer clear of being a 'youth volunteer' for the last 10 years. There are various reasons for that which don't need to be posted here, because really, that isn't the point of this reflection :) However, my husband is one of the youth interns at Glendale Presbyterian, and they needed some help this weekend with transportation, so I said I'd join them. The weekend went really well overall, and I really enjoyed being with the students and spending time with them. What I found most entertaining however was reflecting on the differences between attending a mission trip as a high school student versus attending as the adult leader. I went on several trips as a high schooler, but haven't been on one since, and well, the differences were quite fun to reflect on! So, in no particular order, here are a few things that I've realized are a bit different!
- As a high school student, every mission trip I attended is categorized in my brain not by the work I participated in but rather by the particular boy I had a crush on that week. Mission trips are breeding grounds for youth group crushes to emerge and I would spend the entire week 'stalking' a particular guy with my friends, trying to figure out if he liked anyone etc. For instance, freshman year, Stephen caught my eye. The following year was the week of Ben, and so on. Not the most humble, servant-like attitudes to go into a mission trip with, I realize that. My friends will enjoy this, they were part of nurturing these crushes :) Now that I am married I DO still have a crush--only this time, he knows it. Instead of coming up to me the last day of the trip to ask "what was your name again?" like most of my high school crushes seemed to manage to do, this 'adult' crush puts his arms around me and ignores the teasing of the adolescent boys as he whispers in my ear that he loves me :)
- No longer do I feel the need to change my clothes inside my sleeping bag, the awkward relationship between a high school girl and her body has definitely subsided, praise the Lord!
- I never drank coffee in high school, but now that I do, I realize the importance of the rule that coffee is reserved for the leaders first, with the left overs going to students as they desire. Early mornings after late nights of lying awake listening to giggles = sleepy adults in the morning! (The kids are tired too, but here is where age has it's perks of getting dibs on the caffeine first).
- I used to despise the wake up crew of adults that would poke their heads into the tents and start waking us up--in Mexico a bull horn was even used--talk about a painful wake up call! However, I am starting to realize the benefits of this. Rousing sleepy teens at 7 AM is a difficult chore--we had amazing and cooperative kids, but still! Wake up crew does not equal my new favorite job!
- The Leader's Meeting. I used to think of this as some sort of secret society--after we were all occupied for the evening the adults would drift away to huddle together. We never knew what was being talked about, which kids were in trouble, what sorts of secret information was being shared--I just KNEW it was a time of fascinating dialogue and imparting of really really good gossip about my peers. Yeah, that's not exactly how it works. Basically the leader's meeting is a time when we are all super tired, not exactly thinking clearly, and having to make logistical decisions about the next day which in theory should be simple but in our state of exhaustion appears to be complicated. Yes, Leader's Meetings--not the exciting Secret Society I once believed.
Playing some kind of game during a lunch break, I never did figure this one out.
We made animal masks with the kids one afternoon, which basically turned into silly pipe cleaner creations, which everyone had fun with!
Caitlin and I
Signe and Rachel
We made animal masks with the kids one afternoon, which basically turned into silly pipe cleaner creations, which everyone had fun with!
Caitlin and I
Signe and Rachel
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