A Few Youth Meetings
First off, you should all be proud of me because I resisted the urge to make a pun out of the title for this week's blog post. It has been a few weeks since I have updated my blog because I have been very busy as you will see. Since the last time that I wrote a post we have had three youth meetings. We have seen the same core group of teens each week and I am happy to see each and every one of their faces. Two weeks ago I was preparing for a special evening which took place on Friday night. We invited another youth group from a Lutheran church in Ostrava to join us for the evening. I was a bit anxious about the meeting because I had only met one of the teens from this other group and she and Matouš had organized this meeting. Without having met the leader of this other group I was a little unsure about the dynamics of this other group and how they might mix with ours. I have found during my time here that Czech people in general are kind but a bit uncomfortable and shy about meeting new people. Our group is made up of teens that have known each other for a while, some for only a couple of years because of the English camps but others have known each other their whole lives. I wanted to make sure that this group of young believers from this other church felt welcome with our group so two weeks ago we had a discussion night instead of our usual lesson. I wanted our group to think about what it was that they enjoyed about Youth Revolution. Why they choose to spend their Friday nights together. Some of the teens said that they enjoyed the games, the food, and even my lessons but the overwhelming response was that they enjoyed the people, the relationships that they have in the group. With that in mind I spoke with them about loving their neighbor as themselves. I wanted them to think about how they would feel if they were visiting another group for an evening. What would they need to feel comfortable? How would they like to be treated? Of course I wanted to add some fun to this so we did a couple of skits to act out the DOES and DON'TS of making people feel welcome. We also celebrated the birthdays of Barča and Klára with some homemade chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies and the singing of Happy Birthday.
This past Friday the Lutheran youth group joined us and the night went very well. It was great to see the teens from our group reaching out to and interacting with the other group. We had about 14 teens and a total of about 20 including the leaders. Táňa, Patrik and Eliška led the worship for the evening. We played several games, some organized by our group and some by their group. We enjoyed some food, music and talking. And I spoke on the topic of light. When Matouš asked me about organizing this gathering I asked him to get some information about the other group including the make up of the group. I wanted to know if the group was younger teens or older, whether there was a mix of believers and non-believers. Matouš told me that the other group was made up of all believers so I wanted to give them and us a challenge. We live in a dark world both in the United States and in the Czech Republic and as sin increases, the world becomes a darker and darker place, more and more difficult to see what is right. We can see it in the states. Things that people found repulsive and shameful 50 years ago are now glorified within our society. I challenged the group to live as lights in the world and not to cover or dim their light because others need to see it. Not only does it bring God glory but it causes others to pause and evaluate the choices that they are making in their own lives. In darkness it is impossible to tell the difference between what is ugly and repulsive and what is beautiful and right. Shining our light as believers shines the light of truth into even the darkest places. Pray that all of these teens would think about the lesson throughout the week and for weeks to come as they live out their lives. Pray that they would choose to be different and that that difference would be attractive to those that they come in contact with.
Getting to know one another
After I was killed in our game of Killer.
A Birthday Visit With Friends
Earlier I said that we celebrated the birthdays of Barča and Klára but during that same week, Anička and Bohdana had a birthday as well. In fact Barča, Anička and Bohdana all share a birthday. Since it is not easy right now for Anička and Bohdana to make it to youth group I wanted be able to celebrate with them so we all met in Kroměříž last Saturday. Jirka and Katie also met us there so we had a little English Camp reunion. We spent the afternoon together traveling around the town talking and laughing. I also got the chance to spend time with the rest of Anička's family over the course of the weekend. It is always a joy to be able to spend time with that family and see how much the kids grow between visits. Katie and Jirka stayed with us until Sunday afternoon when they returned home because they both had school the next day. I however, stayed until Monday evening because Anička's mother, Vendy invited me to meet with her students in a small town known as Zborovice, about 10km away from Kroměříž. It was great to meet with these students because for them, meeting an English native speaker is a rare thing, especially one from the United States. There is a much greater opportunity for those living in cities. My Facebook was flooded with new friend request throughout last week. Pray that the Lord would use this as an opportunity speak with these teens about the gospel when they message me online. Pray also that the Lord would open up opportunities for Anička, Bohdana, Katie and Jirka to join the rest of the youth group.
More School Visits and Conversation Groups
Not only did I visit the school in Zborovice last week but I also visited Patrik's school once again later on in the week. It was the second time that I have been to their school, having visited last year. The class was not very talkative but I was happy to be able to meet with them once again and I pray that God might open up opportunities for me to speak with them about the gospel if I come across them around Ostrava or speak with them on Facebook. This visit was also interesting because I found out that their new English teacher is a believer. Pray for her as she interacts with these students several times a week.
Last week I also continued to meet for English conversation groups with those interested. The teen group seems to be struggling with only a couple of people attending each week but the Adult or Open group continues to grow and flourish. Each week at least one new person joins us and it is getting to be tough to find room for everyone in the area of the church that we meet. People from both the church and just those who have attended the group before are inviting their friends, coworkers and acquaintances. This past week I chose the strange topic of Aliens but in the middle of talking about how many other planets their might be and what kind of life if any might live on those planets one woman asked about God. This woman said that she was not a believer but that she was wondering how Christians can say that our God is the only god. It created an opportunity for me and several of the other believers in the group to respond to the question. I was really encouraged by the young people in the group. One who attends YoungLife and the other that is a part of Youth Revolution. Both of them spoke very well about it and with confidence. I was particularly impressed with Kuba, our youngest Youth Revolution attender (12 years old). He spoke about the difference between the God of the bible and the gods worshipped by other religions. He said the God of the bible is the only one that sent His son to die for our sins. This shows you that He is a God that loves us. I was very proud in that moment I must say. I heard the following day that the woman who asked that question really enjoyed the conversation group and would like to return this week. Please continue to pray for these groups. We would love to see God use these groups to draw people to the Lord with questions just like the one that this woman asked. Pray that we might see an increase of people in our teen group and that people might come to the Lord through these groups.
Getting Into The Lives Of The Teens
This past Saturday afternoon I got the opportunity to support Terka, one of the teens from Youth Revolution, as she played a handball match. I love getting invited to the activities of the teens that I work with because it allows me to see a different part of their lives and to see them doing some of the things that they love. I do wish however, that I would have worn some warmer clothes because I was freezing as I sat and watched. I don't know how those girls did it, even with running around. I may now be feeling the effects of this decision as I am not really feeling that well today. Pray that I would feel better quickly, as I have another very busy week ahead with more school visits, conversations groups, and youth lessons to plan. Pray also that the Lord would use visits like these to show not only the teens but their family and friends that I love these kids and that God might use it to open up more people to hear His truth.
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