My youth group and I will soon journey to a bible camp on the shores of beautiful Lake Sakakawea for a Labor Day weekend retreat. It is a great time to for our new youth group members, who were only a year before still with the "little kids", to integrate into the youth group. The weekend also provides the opportunity to eat junk, play, hang out, stay up late, eat late night snacks, sleep in late, eat brunch.... well, you get the idea.
Just as side note, there really isn't anything better than a pastromi sandwich at 1:00 a.m. Give it a try!
To prepare for this 48 hour trip resembles nothing short of a full military maneuver. The vast amounts of stuff that you need is truly amazing! I'm not taking about my personal luggage - limited to one bag and a sleeping bag. I mean all of the items and implements for bible study, devotions, games, communion, worship, etc. It usually takes one vehicle just to haul the foodstuffs for two days. Those of you who have kids at home know how much they can eat. I can sit in awe as a teenage boy puts away an entire pizza and could still handle a half a pan of rice krispy bars. Amazing! On retreat, without their parents' supervision, they are allowed to make their own food choices and they do it with abandon! Hot dogs, pizza and pastromi sandwiches for breakfast, macaroni and cheese cold from the frig and pop and candy until they can't handle the buzz. Who could ask for more?!?
I have never had children of my own, but I am beginning to understand what a mom goes through when packing for a trip with her family. She doesn't just pack what she will need, but also what any other member of the family may need and would never pack for themselves. Extra towels, pillows, blankets, sunscreen, bug repellant, washclothes, toothbrushes (new, never used!), Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, tissues..... Wow!
When going on a trip with the youth group, I must also take a first aid kit if our destination does not supply one. We never fail to need a first aid kit. Last year's retreat featured a piece of playground apparatus that was duly dubbed "the swing of death"! Imagine one large pole about 30 feet tall with a cross bar on top that had a swing on each side (two swings total). The cross bar rotated so the two swings are going around in a circle. We figured out early in the weekend that if you put a littler youth on one side and a bigger youth on the other side, that the litter youth would just fly! To make this piece of playground equipment even more lethal, it had a motor that would make the cross piece swing without help from the participants. Thus, the swing of death. I gave first aid to two youth and filled out at least two incident reports before deeming the swing off limits. I have to admit that I tried the swing myself after enduring much peer pressure from the other chaperones. I think one of the youh even gave me an extra push to send me into orbit. At one point in the ride, I was pretty sure I would meet Jesus really soon!
We must plan for rain or shine. Shine is great because we can be outside enjoying our beautiful surroundings. The youth make their own fun and it's always a blast. We can enjoy the lake and get burned to a crisp. Good times. If it's rain, Plan B goes into effect. Movies, popcorn, games, Wii, naps, more snacks, grousing about the rain, repeat cycle. We're praying for shine!
I really enjoy our Labor Day trip. The kids mix and mingle and your youth leaders begin to emerge. You find out who will watch out for the younger youth, who will step up whe I can't figure out how to use the DVD player and who will stick by the youth that gets a stomach ache from too many gummy bears. You also discover who has the gift of encouragement for those kids who aren't as athletic as the other kids, who has a beautiful singing voice and who is brave enough to into words what God has laid on their hearts. Our weekend will include quiet time to talk with God and to be still.
I have often thought and even written that if people really knew how awesome my job they, too would consider a career change. To see the difference a weekend can make in a youth group is a marvelous phenomenon. We'll come home tired, a little grumpy and well, not April fresh. But we come home a group.
Better get the pack mule saddled up!
