I am writing as one tired lady! I just got back from spending a week in Niagara, NY on a YouthWorks mission trip with jr. high students. Now, I know what most of you are thinking right now..."I'd rather gouge out an eye with a fork than spend a week with jr. highers!"...but hear me out and you might change your mind.
There are a few things about students that age that are unavoidable. They will try to talk to the opposite sex more than they talk to you (the adult). They will try to figure out ways to make you (the adult) pull your hair out. They will be loud. They will not sleep. They will cry when you take their cell phone away.
However, there are also some things about jr. high students that not many people know. They have extremely sensitive and moldable hearts. They have a thirst for adventure. They have an amazing capacity to be compassionate. They really do want to learn. They really do want to know and experience God. And they really do WANT adult leaders to love on them as well as set boundries for them to follow.
I was amazed at all of the things our kids accomplished this week. They stripped wallpaper, they painted hallways, they stained a front porch, they served food at a soup kitchen, they handed out lunches on the street corners, they hung out and entertained the elderly at senior centers, and they played with countless inner city children...all in the name of Jesus. Do you want to know what else they did? They changed. Their hearts were opened like never before to the love of Jesus Christ. They laughed and cried as they shared with us their desire to grow closer to Him and serve Him here at home. They made plans...plans to change their world.
So, was it a week in paradise? Not by the world's standards. We all slept on the floor of a run down church with no air conditioning in 80-90 degree temperatures. We spent a week working to make other's lives better instead of spending our week on the beach in Hawaii. And we experienced what it means to be the hands and feet of God to another generation of people. So, yes, I do believe it was a week in paradise! Yay God!
2 comments:
Hi Amy Rudge:
Heard about your blog & had to check it out.
You have a real true feeling for the kids you hang around with. You can see it.
I'll miss seeing you on my every few months trip to the big city of Maderia.
Maybe we'll connect in Chicago sometime.
It was a pleasure having you in my life
Grma Tina from WI
Thanks Tina...I will miss you too! I hope we can connect sometime again! You guys have all been my family for the past three years. Thanks for always including me!
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