I am a youth intern at a local church and as part of my job I work with the Tweens after school program. Here is a small glimpse into my world:
These kids bless me, challenge me, and more often than not make me laugh:
My blessing:
2 weeks ago was Ash Wednesday myself and 2 other volunteers went to church with our crosses on our foreheads. The students asked many questions about what these were and why we had them. In the process of answering questions we decided to have an impromptu Ash Wednesday service right there with the kids. I know many of them understood it more than I ever did at that age! Can you say blessing!!
My Challenge:
Today was a challenging afternoon, in a good way. We talked about how the Scriptures help show us when we are doing something wrong. One student piped in saying that the Bible is wrong, "I believe in God but not the Bible." How am I supposed to explain this really heady and sometimes challenging concept to a 10 year old? I tried my best by saying that God inspired the writers to write the Scripture and that's how we got the Bible. Then tried to move on but this one student wasn't done challenging me. "Why did God tell people to kill people if He told us that killing is wrong?" AH! How do I explain THIS to a 10 year old? I tried to just skim over it and move on, but she wasn't quite done with me yet.
My laugh:
The same student: "I watched this movie about Jesus' life and how he was killed. He could connect with God in a way that no one else could and this made some people really mad. It was either the British or the Jewish but I can't really remember. So they got mad and put him on a cross and he just wouldn't die so they took this really big needle and injected him with poison." Again I tried to explain that this isn't really the way Jesus' death went down.
These students are amazing. It's these students that make the ministry life so wonderful for me. While just one second ago they were annoying and I swear they weren't getting one single thing from my lesson they say the most wonderful and thoughtful and deep thing I've ever heard! They challenge me, they bless me, and more often then not they make me laugh.
Matthew 19:13-15 (The Message) "One day children were brought to Jesus in the hope that he would lay hands on them and pray over them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus intervened: 'Let the children alone, don't prevent them from coming to me. God's kingdom is made up of people like these.'
Luke 18: 15-17 (The Message) "People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. 'Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.'"
