This past weekend, we had a long youth retreat-from Friday night to Monday. These are things I learned along the way.
1. Q-99 is the weapon of choice (Q-99 is a anti-bacterical spray we use for disinfecting everything.) I could not count the times I said, "Do not spray someone else with that Q-99."
2. Censorship, even kind censorship is not appreciated. I have a young friend on myspace that uses language not in keeping with her belief system. I reminded her that I read everything she writes and I discovered last night she unfriended me. (Do you know unfriended is not an dictionary word.)
3. New things are always more exciting than old things. This weekend, I allowed a staffer to fry, who had never fried, and it was the highlight of his weekend. This experience was much more exciting than washing pots.
4. You also find time for things you really want to do. Amidst standing on my feet 8 or more hours a day, supervising teenagers and writing checks, I still had time to work on my Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study and read a little of a book.
5. You can do whatever God puts in front of you. This weekend was a challenge. One of the groups made last minute payment and I was scurrying around to find enough workers. Most of my older staff were busy, but my younger staff did come through for me. Most of this staff had only worked one summer and maybe one retreat, however they did great and God was honored by their work. I, in the past, would be frantic about not having enough help, but I've learned to calm down and know He always supplies what I need.
6. Youth are great. I hear people talk about the youth of today: "They have no work ethic. They don't care about anything but themselves. They don't love Jesus. Why can't they be more like we were." The youth, I've seen, are wonderful. They love Jesus better than I did at their age and they are so willing to please. It is my privilege to work with them.
What did you learn this weekend? Let me know. I can't wait to hear.
