June 20th..

Well, June 20th, 2009 began at 7am for me. And that was that.
Tried to scrounge around the house for some cereal, a Cliff bar, and some Reliv (the supplement I take for my nerve disease). That went well and I was on my way to my church at 7:45 with a blanket, a pillow, and a backpack. Before I go farther let me tell you what the plan was. A week or two earlier I had signed up to be apart of "24" in which I was to spend 24 hours with new 9th graders that were moving to the high school group at my church down the road. Was pretty excited as I didn't know what was in store for me. Knew that it couldn't be too bad as.. No, I had no idea what I was in for.
Got there fine and maybe 8 minutes later we started and told what, we as leaders of a group of ninth graders, were going to be doing. I was oblivious to all of the kids in my group as I have only been going to this church 10 months and didn't know a single kid in junior high.
They arrived. Well, one, did that was in my group. All the leaders had to be their at 8 while 9th graders were SUPPOSED to arrive at 8:30 or 9. This did NOT work out so well. They were still slowly trickling in at 10. Oh well. I tried to talk with the ones in my group and let's just say some did not want to be there. They looked bored, and probably were confused as to why a high schooler was trying to get them involved. I tried my best to keep a conversation going with a few of them. Some guys in my group sadly.. Still stuck in Middle school. Crude stories that dragged on, and so on. It was especially tough for me as I am... Not sure how to put it. As a homeschooled little innocent, I didn't understand anything. When I got to middle school in The American School of Kinshasa (in Congo), that kind of thing was going on and I was just appalled. I couldn't imagine anybody joking about any such thing. So life goes. That was O.K., I just, sorta' moved on. The kids I could tell were getting bored out of their minds. Standing around talking and talking.
But finally, relief came when we went to the church gym and played "Showtime". We split into our groups and each group had to act out "The Prodigal Son" with a movie genre given. Of course, one of the girl's group got "Western". Failed. Poor girls. They didn't know. Of course, my group received: High School Musical. Problem? None of my group had seen it. (Yes, me too!! Thank God.) Just silly pictures in which we guessed what had been going on. None of my "mature" high schoolers wanted to dance like me and the other leaders for our group, and it was just.. Awful failure. I tried dancing as much as possible. But, I was just a servant. Dancing in the backround like mad. (Heads up, Theo dancing = a sight that CAN be missed.) Truth: I can't dance to save me. I CAN make a fool of myself exceptionally well. Let me rephrase that, "I CAN make a fool of myself and get an A++." It's just pure silliness, but, God gives me grace! Phew, do we humans ever need it sometimes. There are definitely times in my life that I can't imagine God giving me grace over something I had done. Kind of brought my spirits down every time I think about it. Probably, a reason why he gave me this weak ankle trouble and CMT, to show me that although I continue to make a fool of myself, does He care?! Heck no! He's probably laughing hysterically WITH me as I dance and probably wants me to continue. Thanks God! Anyway, side tracked, but not really.
Speaking of dancing, the next activity was indeed a "Dance Off". We blind folded the members of my group one at a time and told them to dance. One of my 9th graders would dance and then another team's would. Quite funny as they were blindfolded. Two particular guys were amazing. Yep, they were black. Yep, they did some break dancing blind folded! Incredible. Lifting themselves off the floor with one hand and flipping around the gym. Insane. THEN, it was us leaders' turn. We did the same thing, one at a time. Did some group crazy stuff. Danced around to the typical pop music. Can't stand it, but, I guess the beats are interesting at times. The only thing that was on my mind though during this, was the fact that we were being video taped. Basically, all for laughs the next morning in youth group. Wasn't really embaressed, not sure why. It just hasn't happened seriously, in such a long time. Main reason: Making a fool of myself is my passtime and why stop when I'm so far ahead! Right? It's almost as if, I have made a fool of myself so much that it no longer matters. Wait.. That IS what happened. God can sure be funny at times huh?
Next activity was lunch. Sandwiches, water, soda, cookies... The usual. (I think..) By this time the 9th graders in my group had warmed up to me fine and it was fun to get to know them a little bit. We then went for a walk to learn about a house that is an after school program with kids that are having trouble in school. We as high schoolers can volunteer at it and help out. Reading with kids, doing some first grade math etc. Pretty neat. Moved on and went to a nearby park. Didn't know what we were doing there until our main guy in charge gave each group a trash bag and told us to walk around picking up trash.
This was depressing. I never expected to find so much trash in a park. Cigerette butts, plastic wrappers, plastic cups, styrofoam cups, plastic silverware, etc. etc. etc. Just went on and on. Why do people do it? Just throw their trash wherever they want. Instead of simply waiting to find a trash can. I know it's difficult America, but really. Kids in a park do not to see that junk all over the place, let alone in their play area! A friend of mine wrote a blog about this issue and did a very nice job of it. I'll stop their for fear of accidentally using his ideas. But seriously, it was rediculous. Now that I think of it, what really got me was the amount of trash my team managed to get, because we were looking for it. If we had been simply teens, walking in the park we may have only seen a third or not even. It was really sad to have all that trash in an area like this.
Next activity was a Scavenger Hunt. This went exceptionally well. Found a nice people in town that helped us out a lot and wished us good luck. And of course got plenty of stares. Stares are really something. You can see them fine, but feeling them as well is an experience. Looks of concerns like, "Aw, those poor children. Lying down in the ground.. Making odd shapes. Poor kids." Or, "What the @#$% is wrong with those kids?! They're standing next to those statues looking like complete idiots!" Oh, let them think what they want I say. Who cares? Not breaking the law, it's all safe! I was on the scavenger hunt with my group and two of the other leaders and one of them was going to a party that I had been invited to as well. It was okay with the main guy in charge of 24 if we left early so we took off. Little did I know, it was a mistake.
This party was the roudiess and obnoxious ever. Food and fruit was good. But, they're was to be live music that night. LIVE. As in: Punk, screamo, metal, hardcore screamo music that the birthday girl didn't like that much. Sad. The mom thought she wanted it. She didn't. The bands she didn't even know. Random. Didn't stay in the little room with all the noise, but instead went outside. Smoking was going down. Hate it. Yes, plenty of adults around. Pretty sure the people smoking were legal, just nasty. I went along with my friend who was helping me at 24 to another party that same night. This one, being completely different. No live music, just high schoolers. Stayed at this one for about an hour and then headed back to the church.
When we got back it was already June 21, at about 12:45am. Found out [again] that sleeping on concrete is not so easy. In fact, close to impossible for me. Didn't sleep well at all and was supposed to help that morning with little kids in Elementary.
All in all, 24 was a success for me. I got involved and for once (ALL thanks to God, He was the one that gave me this power this time) I remembered everybody's name. It was amazing. I couldn't believe it. Thankfully, I only had to help with signing in kids at the elementary, so that was a relief. Went home and sat in the sun and concluded the day. It's safe to say, I learned a lot on Saturday, June 20, 2009 Year of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
(Please excuse any spelling mistakes. It's too late, but I had to get some serious blogging in.)