Capricorn Youth Outing

31 May 2010

Friday is our Youth Service in Capricorn. This past Friday, we took our teens to a Youth Rally at John Thomas' church. When I pulled up to the church to begin the process of gathering Permission Slips and giving them wrist bracelets as ID, I was floored to see all the buzz in the parking lot. Our teens were so excited about our outing that they'd arrived EARLY (which is huge here in Africa).

As I got out of my car, I was greeted with the most beautiful sight I'd seen in quite some time. My sweet youth that has been in the hospital for suicide prevention and depression (that I've written about previously) was waiting for me. I jumped out of the car, took her in my arms and gave her the biggest hug- not wanting to let her go. I looked at her beautiful face over and over again, told her how much I'd missed her, told her I loved her and that I've been praying so hard for her. She just smiled, told me she loved me too, and thanked me for sending her a note. She said, "The note was so inspiring. It made me want to get better and come home!" I was honored to have that brief moment with her. She came home for a short visit during the weekend. She headed back for more treatment and evaluation. I'm hoping she'll be home each weekend until she's healed! I plan on spending some quality time with her as soon as I can!

After that wonderful reunion, the madness of our Youth Outing began. We took almost 40 youth up and over the mountain. A group of PRECIOUS 12-13 year old boys wanted to ride with me. I squeezed 5 in my little car and enjoyed watching them take-in the mountain views; these kids rarely get to see the mountain at night. They were in awe of the shimmering lights of the city as we rounded the mountain. Not only were they staring out the window, but they were actively teaching me some Afrikaans phrases. The kids love that I'm TRYING to learn their home-language; it's neat to watch them feel empowered by their knowledge of two languages and being able to teach something!

The concert was awesome. There were local and foreign guests that performed. We watched our Capricorn Youth let loose and have fun around other teens NOT in their tiny little town. I saw a great issue with their social skills. Our youth have NO idea how to act in a crowd. They get up and go to the bathroom, they walk around, stand on tables, never stay together- but flee to separate seats- just because they have a little bit of freedom. It was both exciting to see their freedom and frightening to see their lack of couth in a crowd.

Overall, Friday was an amazing time for our youth! Oh the lessons I continue to learn…