The Young And The Restless

There's no doubt in my mind that my teenage years were some of the most trying times of my life. In my early teen years I had kinky hair, wore coke bottle glasses, and was extremely shy. I avoided alot of school/church functions because I hated being in crowds. Dumb, eh? Till this day some of my very best friends laugh at me and can't get over how "different" I look and act. If anyone was going through an awkward, fugly stage it was me!

More importantly as I look back, I remember that my walk with God was pretty nonexistent. Sure I was born and raised in a conservative SDA family but I didn't really start knowing God until about two years ago. Before I wasn't excited about being in church nor did I really realize the importance of having God in my life. I think I missed out on alot. I also think that if I were more equipped spiritually, I wouldn't have made some of the dumb mistakes that I made.

Learning how to become a youth leader here in Saipan has been challenging for me. I was a bit anxious to teach because I didn't know what it was that I could offer them. But God has a way with using anyone to accomplish things. So how do you get teenagers to want to come to church? How do you get them excited about God and what He can do for them? It's called putting their faith into action and getting them more involved in church and the community. I'm still praying about it.

So for now, I am just spending more time with them and trying to get to know them better. They're brilliant kids and so full of life. We study the bible together. We sing praise songs together while Kuya Ernie and Joy play the guitar. But I am most excited that they are starting to open up to me.

So here is the first activity I planned with the youth. We went bowling and had a blast!

Afterwards we headed out to the carnival. Joy and I rode the Octopus ride but I'd prefer to call it the "death ride". I felt like throwing up afterwards. I guess thats what I get for trying to be the cool aunt. Still had a blast though!